Winter 2016

It's shaping up to be a busy winter already. My first festival of 2016 will be the Waltham Abbey Wool Show this weekend. It will be my first time at this show along with promoting my new book, Take Heart: A Transatlantic Knitting Journey. I'll be there again with Natalie Selles, Leeleetea, and we'll have our selection of knitting kits and patterns. Stop by to see the samples from the book in person or just to say hi!

Waltham Abbey Wool Show, Sunday January 17th, 10am to 4pm

My next festival will be Unravel, again hosted in Farnham at the Maltings, February 19 to 21. Then it will be a few weeks till I head up to the Edinburgh Yarn Festival again, March 18 to 19. I'm looking forward to revisiting both of these shows this year. Hope to see some familiar faces and meet plenty of new ones! 

Take Heart: A Transatlantic Knitting Journey

Some of you may have already seen, Take Heart: A Transatlantic Knitting Journey, the first book to be published by Pom Pom Press, the latest endeavour of Pom Pom Quarterly. It was released nearly a month ago and I am so pleased and overwhelmed to call it my own. That's right! My very first book in partnership with Pom Pom. We've been working together on this project for the last ten months and it's finally in the hands of many readers and knitters. Take Heart is my first collection of ten new accessories for fall and winter. Head over to Pom Pom's blog, they have a much more eloquent and detailed description of Take Heart: A Transatlantic Knitting Journey. 

Along with ten new designs, I also decided to included Take Heart, my first published pattern. At the time the definition behind Take Heart,'to be encouraged, to be brave', was a fitting title for this project. In this book you'll get a glimpse into how I started knitting and how it led me to London, where I am today. It's been an intense and educational journey putting this book together. I've been striving and struggling with various new experiences while trying to defeat old insecurities. Once again, 'Take Heart' was an appropriate name for this new collection. 

Take Heart - Toft Aran Alpaca

Since I had to keep this project under wraps, I felt as if my posts and photos of my knitting were barely non-existent. If you follow me on Instagram, you may recall seeing the occasional picture of yarn. I am very thankful to have had the support of each company featured in the book. These are all blends and colours I admire and I hope you do as well. 

Lady Godiva by Handmaiden

Alpaca Tweed by The Border Mills

BLF Fingering by The Uncommon Thread

Islington DK by Kettle Yarns Co

It's also been overwhelming to see the support from the knitting community. Many knitters and yarn shops were anticipating the release of Take Heart, once Pom Pom and I started to divulge what we had been up to. A few have already finished projects from the collection and it's a joy to start seeing them pop up on Instagram and Ravelry. Many reviews by various bloggers have started to flow in as well. Please feel free to share your thoughts on Take Heart: A Transatlantic Knitting Journey with me. Some of the reviews that I do know of can be found with links on my 'Press' page. All of the pieces can also be viewed on Ravelry. 

Photo Credit: @pompommag

Photo Credit: @ayarnstory

Photo Credit: @hannahschm

Photo Credit: @88stitchesyarnshop

Photo Credit: @maryambutt2940

Photo Credit: @linaknits

If you're looking to get your hands on a copy, head over to Pom Pom,  to order directly from them. There's always an option of a PDF version too, if you'd prefer. Ask your local yarn shop to see if they are stocking it. Take Heart has been available in shops around the UK since Christmas and it's just started to make an appearance in Canadian yarn shops. If you're in London, stop by Loop and you just might catch me on the shop floor. Pick up a copy and say hello! 

Castle Bay - Handmaiden Lady Godiva

SEPEMBER

September always feels like the beginning of a new year, more so when compared to January. First of all my birthday is at the beginning of September. There's a lot of time spent thinking on what this past year has meant and also provokes me to narrow down my goal to accomplish before the year is over. Plus, fall is my favourite season. Small signs creep in and take over the fading summer. For a long time it was the start of a new school year, which meant new challenges and new projects. Now, September sparks the first real buzz again amongst the knitting community. Of course, I knit all year round, but during September I find more knitters are picking up their needles again after a hot summer and striving on with the fall projects and contemplating their Christmas knitting. 

This time last year I was just starting to get to know the knitting community in London. So far I had been interning at Pom Pom for a few weeks and one of the first events I helped Lydia and Amy with, was The Great London Yarn Crawl put on by Yarn in the City. Pom Pom hosted the afterparty for the knitters to regroup for drinks, a pop quiz and prizes! This year the organizers, Alison and Rachel added the Pop-Up Marketplace as a place to visit and shop along side London's independent yarn shops. The marketplace was at the Chelsea Old Town Hall and I was fortunate enough to be a part of this elegant event. 

Natalie Selles, also known as Leeleetea, and I will be teaming up together to take on some of the upcoming yarn festivals and craft fairs this year! 

Acadia & Terra

You may have seen the recent photos I've been posting on Facebook and Instagram. If you haven't seen them, then here they are. If you have seen them, then here are some more! This mini collection started four months ago when I spent the weekend at Unravel in Farnham, my first yarn/knitting festival in the UK. I happened to have a table next to The Fibre Company and spent the weekend drooling over their yarn and chatting with founder, Daphne Marinopoulos. By the end of the weekend I was delighted to bring home some of their blends, such as Terra and Acadia, to inspire new knitted accessories. So here they are - my finished pieces, conveniently out in time for Wool Fest this weekend in Cumbria. Unfortunately I wasn't able to attend Wool Fest this weekend but I hope to venture there next year! 

The first blend is Terra, a rugged Aran weight blend of baby alpaca, merino wool and silk. My first idea was to reknit my Reversible Cable Headband because one skein of Terra is perfect for this project. I never seem to tire of knitting this headband. It's incredibly quick and easy to do. It was a pleasure to have a change from the neutral colours I usually use for this pattern and knit with the beautiful colour pallet Terra is available in. This sample is knit in their colour, Black Locust Bark. Also, this time last week I was soaking up the sun's rays on Guernsey. See my last post as to how I ended up there. However, Guernsey allowed me to photograph my new pieces against its breathtaking landscape. Plus no wind machine necessary, bonus! The following photos were captured by my housemate, Marcel Le Bachelet, on our hike along Icart Point. He's a talented social media guru and photographer extraordinaire, so check out his site!  

Photo Credit: @mkjlb

Photo Credit: @mkjlb

Photo Credit: @mkjlb

Naturally, Terra inspired me to design another headband. This one I've called Rocquaine Bay, after an area of water off the Guernsey coast which is known for it's treacherous rocks and tragic shipwrecks. Again this pattern only uses one skein. The sample is made with their colour Beet. 

Photo Credit: @mkjlb

Photo Credit: @mkjlb

Photo Credit: @mkjlb

The second yarn I had the pleasure of working with was their double knit weight, Acadia. Again, it is a blend of baby alpaca, merino wool and silk. I don't have the words to describe how much I love this yarn. It's heavenly and lends itself perfectly to the simple stitches that I like to use in my designs, yet the organic texture of the yarn still sings. These are my Pembroke Bay Mitts, named after Pembroke Beach, where I was able to stick my toes into the Atlantic Ocean for the first time in over a year. Samples are knit in Blue Leaf Birch and Mountain Ash. 

Photo Credit: @mkjlb

Photo Credit: @mkjlb

Photo Credit: @mkjlb

Photo Credit: @mkjlb

Photo Credit: @mkjlb

This last one is probably my favourite of the three new patterns. Icart Point Hat  uses two colours of Acadia. If you choose two subtle colours like Verbena and Pinecone you'll get a lovely gradation of the colours in linen stitch. I can't wait to knit this up again with a higher contrast of colour. 

Thanks to The Fibre Company for their yarn support and Marcel Le Bachelet for beautiful shots! All patterns are available on my Ravelry page. 

Guernsey

It dawned on me recently that since settling in London, nearly nine months ago now, I have not left the city for a weekend where I can purely enjoy myself. Of course I've ventured outside to Farnham and Edinburgh, but those were both knitting and work related weekends, fun but still work. So when I received an invite from my housemate to spend the weekend on his home island, Guernsey, I thought "Guernsey can't be that bad right?". Turns out Guernsey is friggin' awesome and it's the kind of place that I absolutely love. If there's rugged landscape meeting the majestic Atlantic Ocean, I'm all over that and Guernsey certainly had lots of it. In a way it reminded me of areas of the Maritimes back home, only with more WWII bunkers and gin & tonics. 

A few of us ventured away from Kin 2000, our home in London, to spend the weekend celebrating Marcel Le Bachelet, the First of His Name's birthday, at his family's home. When I wasn't soaking up the sun in his mom's garden surrounded by cats and chickens, we were venturing across the island. We sat with our toes in the fine Guernsey sand, climbed over rocks and enjoyed the award winning dairy that Guernsey has to offer. I had the best scrambled eggs and ice cream (not together) of my life. 

I did bring some work with me on this short holiday. I can't help it! However, I was more than happy to wake up early before the boys to knit and enjoy the calm surroundings. In my next post I'll share what I managed to accomplish and my new knitting designs that the Guernsey landscape help bring to life.