Pink stripes and brown mittens

I appear to have inadvertently created my favourite sweetie - Liquorice Allsorts in sock form - by adding in some candy pink stripes to these DIY self stripe socks.

In part I think I was motivated to "go pink" with these DIY self stripe socks as an antidote to an endless sea of brown mittens.

I made the mistake of checking Ravelry's hot right now page the other day only to see so many versions of brown mittens - and even a sweater version (untested, unknit - just a colour chart slapped onto an existing pattern -by a designer who has never made a peep about anything remotely political or controversial before. But I digress)

I counted 11 separate Bernie inspired patterns!

Seriously, when did knitters lose their sense of creativity? Why the rush to make a pattern (and presumably make the mitts) that everyone else is also doing?

The original mitts weren't even hand-knit. They were upcycled from a sweater. If you wanted to pay homage to the original intention and upcycle something yourself I could see the point. But indulging in a commercial activity as some sort of tribute to something that was originally about the opposite of consumerism seems very odd to me indeed. I even saw specific “Bernie inspired colourways” for heavens sake.

I know that knitting has always had it's wildly popular patterns. The ones that suddenly everyone seems to be knitting. But this is something else.

So many people rushing to capitalise on something that wasn't even hand-knit in the first place.

And yes a free pattern is still gathering social currency (if not actual currency), otherwise Caitlin Hunter wouldn't have bothered to go to all the trouble of colouring in a chart for it.

A quick glance at the Ravelry front page was enough to make me feel as though I was in a parallel universe - one where I don't really give a flying flamingo about brown mitts - or the old white man wearing them.

I'm far more excited by the historic firsts of that particular day for women, and women of colour. The amazing purples and jewel tones. The wonderful, inspirational address by Amanda Gorman. So many firsts and so many sources of joy and inspiration that knitters could have focused on instead of brown mittens.

And if you are intrigued by the thought of designing your own self-stripe socks but the thought of all those ends puts you off, you might like to take a look at the Clasped Weft Join - no fuss, no weaving in of ends, just pure self-stripe enjoyment.

Ravelry and why I'm not deleting my account

Fuss Free Mitts - one of my free patterns

Back in the summer I wrote about the accessibility issues over at Ravelry in the wake of their site upgrade, and the decision I had made to transition my patterns sales over to a different platform - Payhip. You can read that post here if you missed it.

I originally set myself the deadline of doing this by March 2021 as that is when the Ravelry team have informed us that the Classic view will be retired. After this time, folks who are unable to use the new version of the site will be left just that - unable to use it.

As a result of some downtime over the Christmas holidays (thanks to Covid for cancelling our plans) I was able to move all patterns across sooner than expected and so I started the new year with no active patterns for sale on Ravelry, instead they are all safe in their new Payhip home.

I will continue to keep the pattern listings live on Ravelry and will also be adding new ones. After receiving some pushback on this (and not very polite feedback either) I’d like to address the reasons why. Partly so I don’t have to keep typing out the same comments every time I launch a new pattern.

1. Ravelry is first and foremost a pattern database. The purchasing function is very much secondary. Just because a pattern is listed on Ravelry it doesn’t mean it’s automatically available for purchase there. Books, magazines, LYS kits - so many listings in the database are just that, a listing.

2. Anyone can add a pattern listing to Ravelry. You are adding the information about the pattern, not the actual pattern itself. This means that if I remove my patterns from Ravelry (and I’m not even sure I could) someone else will invariably add them back in at some point. If I want to maintain any element of editorial control over my content and my intellectual property - and I do - then that means I have to maintain a Ravelry presence and list the patterns myself.

3. Listing a pattern in Ravelry is of benefit to the knitting community and to indie yarn dyers. I’m a huge advocate of supporting indie businesses and by listing a pattern which uses indie yarn, it’s a real benefit both to that business and to customers who find themselves wondering “Now what can I knit with this 100g of sock yarn”. Every pattern listed adds information and knowledge to the database which is arguably Ravelry’s greatest strength.

So there we have it. Yes I will continue to list my patterns on Ravelry, with a link to my Payhip store where the actual purchasing takes place - via Paypal - in the exact same process that would happen on Ravelry. I’ve written about what Payhip is here.

The only difference is that the pattern will be emailed to you and not deposited in your Ravelry library. If you would like a copy gifted to you so that you have a library copy, please just email me (the email address is at the bottom of your pattern PDF) and I will take care of that for you.

January Cowl - a cosy knit on darker days

January Cowl

Sometimes you need something cosy, something not too complicated and something that will work with whatever you happen to have in your stash.

I found myself in somewhat of a knitting crisis recently. A sudden urge to knit a worsted weight, cosy cowl in a textured stitch that I had been playing with. The only problem was that my husband was occupying the spare room (now office) where my stash was housed.

He was on a marathon length Zoom call with colleagues and I was desperate.

But I did have two skeins of Eden Cottage Yarns Pendle 4ply to hand in my emergency stash. So I decided to wind them and hold the yarn double to achieve the required worsted weight type squishiness. Success!

1 skein of yarn held double is enough for a single loop cowl, 2 skeins held double will give a more generous double loop version.

And in case you fancier a lighter weight version I have also given the numbers for a version with the yarn held singly, in which case half a skein would be sufficient for a single loop cowl, or a full skein for a double loop.

Both versions are included within the pattern.

The cowl is knit flat and seamed or grafted at the end.

The 2020 Temperature Blanket: Completed

Well, it happened.

2020 is done and dusted and so is the blanket to end all blankets. Much like 2020 itself, the blanket was seemingly never-ending and it has turned out slightly larger than planned.

And by larger I mean that folded in half lengthways, it’s the perfect size to cover our double bed.

It is well over 8ft long and no - I haven’t measured it as I don’t have a big enough house :)

I did do a few basic calculations though and worked out that it comprises approximately:

• 792,000 stitches

• 293 hours of knitting

• 1.98kg yarn

I managed to get a stretched out photo by employing a handy helper and commandeering the stairs.

We have agreed that the blanket can live downstairs as a family TV blanket snuggler, on the understanding that it lives on my bed at night and I think we are all happy with that arrangement.

If you are curious as to how I actually knit the blanket you can find my planning post here and at the end of this post I have given details of the yarns I used. I didn’t keep track of actual amounts though. At the blankets widest point it was 550 stitches across (2200 per day) so I ordered yarn as and when I needed it. It’s safe to say that I used at least 2 balls of each colour apart from the 2 extremes of temperature.

If you are interested in how to knit your own Temperature Blanket you can find my e-book here.

In praise of fluff

The start of 2021 was never going to be a walk in the park but my goodness, if this first week of the year has left you feeling fragile and in need of solace please know that you are not alone.

I've been pretty quiet on social media this week, mainly because it's so hard to know what to say. Many people are struggling. I hate the word "triggered" but it really does describe very well the real knife edge that people are on right now. Myself included.

My emotions aren't so much a see-saw as a trebuchet and I find myself reacting to things that ordinarily I would let slide.

I've avoided posting the "fluffy" content, fearful of being seen as glossing over or trivialising the unfolding world events. But there's nothing I can say that hasn't been said thousands of times already and right now, damn it, I think we need all the fluff we can get.

So, starting this weekend I am declaring a FluffFest.

In a marker of how seriously I am taking this situation I am forgoing my usual coffee for hot chocolate and marshmallows. I'm digging out my favourite knit - right now it's a basic colourwork sweater that requires 13" of stocking stitch in the round 💓 and all the snacks.

If you'd like to join me please use the hashtag #JanuaryFluffFest

Bring your comfiest PJs, your fairy lights and All The Biscuits and let's embrace the fluff.

A new e-book: How to Knit a Temperature Blanket

E-book: How to Knit a Temperature Blanket

As my own 2020 Temperature Blanket draws to a close I find I'm not ready to say goodbye to it just yet. It's been quite the year - to say the least - and knitting this blanket has given me so much comfort and support during some very unsettling times.

I wanted to create a resource for those who'd like to knit their own Temperature Blanket and so I've written a 19 page e-book with tips, suggestions and resources for you such as:

• Working out a temperature scale

• Yarn choice

• Estimation of yardage

• Size and gauge

• Choosing colours

• Ideas for construction

Like any big project the idea of starting a Temperature Blanket can seem a little daunting. Decisions on yarn, needles, colours, temperature scales etc - can all seem a little overwhelming. That's why I thought it might be a good idea to do this together - within a separate group in the Everyday Knitter Mighty Network.

If you purchase the e-book there is a link in the PDF which will take you to the dedicated, private group which, whilst quiet at the minute, will hopefully provide you with a year long source of support and encouragement from others undertaking a Temperature Blanket of their very own.

Once 2021 is underway I might open this group out to others from the main Mighty Network group who are undertaking their own annual project (of whatever nature) but I'll be totally honest and say that I haven't decided about that yet. Whilst I want to make it as accessible as possible I would like the group, at least for the first month to be exclusively for those who are undertaking this project.

If you have any questions please do pop it in the comments below or email me (email link at the bottom of the page