Friday, July 11, 2014

Goodbye again

Unfortunately I have not given the blog the love it deserves, so it is time to say goodbye.

I know that Facebook is not for everyone, but it works better for me at this time in my life, please feel welcome to come over and have a look. If FB really isn't for you I still update on Twitter and Instagram, and of course the newsletter and the Ravelry group are the best way to find out what is happening pattern wise.

Thank you for listening to me over the past 7 years, and supporting Just Jussi from tiny beginnings to the amazing business it is today. I love knitting!

Sunday, February 2, 2014

Super Sammi!

My latest design has been released;
Sammi has a flowing shape, with the structure maintained by the ribbed sleeves and shoulder seams. The garment is designed to sit at waist length and is perfect worn over a strappy summer dress or a longer under top.
The garment is worked in the round in one piece to the underarms, then the front and back are worked separately.
Sized for almost everybody, the fit is oversized and comfortable. A great garment for the beginner lace knitter as there is no shaping, and perfect as a gift for a little girl as she will be able to wear it for a couple of years
Serious Miss Isla!

On the mannequin - you can see the lace pattern and garment shape
I used Malabrigo Arroyo which is a beautiful sport weight (5 ply) yarn from our friends in Uruguay. The smallest size uses exactly one skein of this delicious yarn, and the lace pattern is simple enough to hold it's own against the hand painted yarn.


Sammi is available for immediate download for $7.50 NZ from Ravelry, please click on the link above.


See you soon!





Sunday, January 19, 2014

Happy 2014!

Ah, my poor little neglected blog.

Social media takes up so much time, time I would rather spent working!

I do like reading back over the blog though, and it has just turned nine...nine years blogging, thats 20% of my life right here in words and pictures.

I like that.

So, this little blog will stay and hopefully I will find better ways to work so that I can update more often.

This year is going to be busy, I'm going to be studying part time as well as designing full-time.
The study will have positive spin-offs for the blog as I am studying for a certificate in digital photography, specialising in portrait photography.

I'm back to work today after a lovely, long, relaxing holiday, and I realised that I may not have told you about this lovely , easy cowl pattern I released just before Christmas. Hīnaki is a lovely squishy cowl with a simple , easy to memorise pattern repeat. A perfect last minute gift.







Happy New Year everybody, I'll see you again soon!


Sunday, December 8, 2013

"Head to toe" e-book winner

Congratulations Saskyumchar! I will contact you via Ravelry regarding your prize.

( 2nd duplicate entries and spam were discounted from the results)

Friday, November 29, 2013

E-Book review and Giveaway!

I am regularly asked to review books or patterns, magazines or yarn and I don't because it is a yarn which is not easily accessible for my readers in Australasia (by not easily accessible I mean either not for sale here or not readily available for online purchase from a reputable supplier). Or it is publication which is does not marry well with my brand and the sorts of patterns my customers like to knit.



So I was happily surprised when I was asked to review "Head to Toe: Kids' Knit Accessories" by Katya Frankel. This book contains a whopping 24 patterns for knitted accessories that your kids will love. It's easy to dress a baby the way you want to, but from the age of two children tend to want to dress themselves and their taste varies wildly (with my girls they each went through the "no pants" year, then the "no dresses" year, it drove me nuts!). I know a lot of knitters have trouble finding patterns for boys, you won't have that issue here as all of the patterns are suitable for boys and girls.

Katya has addressed this nicely by providing a wide range of hats, scarves, cowls and socks which will appeal to the conservative child as well as those with broader taste. The patterns use simple stitch patterns and cables as a canvas to which you add the colour of your choice depending on the child.


I love the Breamish socks which come in five (read that again FIVE) sizes) if I'm paying for a sock pattern I expect it to come in at least three sizes, there is nothing worse than trying to size a sock pattern up or down when all you want to do is knit it! (I do not apply the same principle to free patterns as I feel that if someone is generous enough to offer a free pattern I am grateful even if I have to re-size it, because they have done a lot of the work for me). This makes the book excellent value as you can use it for years as the children grow.

The Simonside hat is already on the needles here, I'm making it for Cody for Christmas. Cody is a quiet little guy and I'm knitting this is a heathered blue/grey wool. I think it will suit him beautifully.

Katya has cleverly created a set of patterns which suit both boys and girls, with beautiful photography and styling. The size ranges are outstanding and the patterns are comprehensive and easy to follow. I'm impressed!

To win an copy of Katya's e-book "Head to Toe: Kids' Knit Accessories" go have a look at the e-book page then please leave a comment here containing the following:

-  which pattern you would best like to knit and why
- your Ravelry name

 I'll draw a winner using a random number generator on Monday 9 December at (around) noon my time.  All duplicate entries and entries without a Ravelry name will be ineligible for the draw 
(e.g. if you forget to add your Rav name in the first comment and add it in the send that is fine, but only the first comment will be eligible)

To purchase both the print and PDF versions combined, please visit the Cooperative Press website.


Thursday, November 21, 2013

Friday again?

I'm not asking where the last week went, rather I'm asking where the last 3 weeks went! Time seems to be moving very fast and very slowly at the same time.

Flash has been studying full-time  and working full-time for the past two years, to say it has been hard for him is an understatement, to say it has been hard on me is the same (but not as hard as it has been on him!).

I have had to takeover 90% of the household tasks, whilst trying to raise a baby business and work all the hours. We are both exhausted. We have forgotten what a social life looks like, we don't know the names of any of the cool bars or eateries in the city. If we do go out it is for an hours or so at a local restaurant or cafe then back to work.

Two more weeks until his final exam and then it is all over, except that it feels like we have been saying "just two more weeks " for the past month. It feels like that last week of pregnancy, every day feels like a week and then suddenly it all went by too fast and you are buying a school uniform for a five year old.

We won't know ourselves in two weeks time....but then I'm starting a two year Digital photography diploma course in March, so we will be back on the hamster wheel, but I certainly won't be doing all the housework!

Today I took some time out for Christmas shopping, and bought something for myself. This i-cord machine was on sale, I've been looking for one for ages and this is the best I have seen. I'm planning on using up some fingering yarn which has been lying around the place for far too long and making some hats and scarves for Christmas presents. I love i-cord but anything more than a few feet is always a pain to make, I used to use the knitting machine to make it, but that has been in the garage for a couple of years, and going back and forth over a little area for so long is bad for the shoulder. This little guy makes a metre or more a minute and you can rope curious onlookers in to make a couple of cheeky metres before they get bored.


Purchased from Spotlight Henderson on sale for around $23, usually around $29.
Uses 4-5 ply, cast on with a firm, smooth yarn and then change to your main yarn if your main yarn is prone to breakage (only a problem for the first couple of cms).

Enjoy your weekend! I'll be making i-cord.

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Indie Gift-a-long 2013 !

Over one hundred independent knitting and crochet pattern designers have banded together to bring you a holiday crafting experience unlike anything ever seen!

Starting November 1 (GMT) with a 25% discount on ALL gift-a-long patterns
(use the code "giftalong" no quotation marks, at the Ravelry checkout) which continues to November 15, supported by multiple KALs/CALs which will run right through to December 31 so that we are right there crafting with you through the holiday season.

To clarify:
Discount from Nov1 - Nov 15
KALs/CALs from Nov 1 - Dec 31
Discount code - giftalong


The list of participating designers is here

Join the Gift-a-long Ravelry group here and check out the threads for the KALs/CALS, there is something for everyone, and hundreds of prizes!

Prize thread here

The Pinterest boards are looking AMAZING, each has a different theme, loads of eye candy there. You can follow me on pinterest here and the Gift-a-long boards will become visible on Nov 1.

All of my patterns are eligible for the discount.

The Gift-A-Long promotion is presented by Ravelry’s Independent Design Community, working together using the tools of social media; and is not officially sponsored by Ravelry, Pinterest or any other social-media platform.