New design Tuesday - round up

Today I'm just going to catch you up on where the current designs stand...there hasn't been much knitting this week, my Uncle passed away on Thursday after a brave battle.

My parents, sister and I came to NZ in 1972, my Uncle arrived in 1986 and my grandparents about 12 years later, my sister now lives back in England, my grandparents are quite elderly and my Uncle never married or had children so everything has fallen to Mum to organize, and as always she is doing a stellar job.

Today I emailed Blaise with a link to a macaron recipe I knew she would like, and said that we have to make them soon, she replied "as soon as the crazy has calmed" and my reply "haven't you learnt yet Blaise? The crazy never ends, you just have to learn to ride the waves"

My way of riding those waves is to knit:

- Grellow...actually we are almost friends again, the sleeves are on and I'll be finished this evening

- Nikau revisited...very happy with these, need to write the pattern, found 2 beautiful babes for the photos

- plum blossom...still waiting for me to correct the spelling and punctuation...

- and a newie...Torrent...simple, bright, useful...more info soon!

Have a great week, we will be saying goodbye to my Uncle The best way we know how...with words and memories, hanging out as a family, making to most of each other.

New design tuesday - working

I like it when a detour suddenly becomes the right road, when meandering (and let's face it...avoidance) leads us back to the path.

I took an idea that I liked with that Grellow, and turned it into something that I am only just starting to like again, it's a fair few weeks away from being finished at this rate, so I decided to turn my energy into improving something I like very much, the Nikau sweater...the pattern needed updating (I am so much better at writing patterns now) the yarn didn't work for most people and the motif wasn't doing it for me.

Here is a photo of the old Nikau and the New Nikau (top)

Not too much difference overall...everything has changed, but everything has remained the same.

the yarn is thicker (took me 2 days to knit...with plenty of breaks, and work) but still organic, the motif much more clearly defined, and the hood....SO much easier, so much easier.

and a few options for those who aren't so much into Nikau palms...this will look lovely when blocked, there is a polar bear motif to come and there will be a funnel neck option as well...for those who like hats more than hoods.

The Plum blossom cardigan has been revised by the Tech editor, now I have to make my changes and send it back to her...not too much longer.

New design tuesday - old design tuesday!

Hopefully this incarnation will be the last for the Grellow (working title) I completely ripped the Koigu one!

This is how I work, I refine and change elements that aren't working, I get ideas along the way and suddenly the reason I came up with the pattern in the first place (3 colour slip st) has disappeared from the design altogether!

I'm knitting this version with Wollemeise, initially I thought the yarn maybe too firm for babywear, however it knits up beautifully and gives real bounce to the stitch patterns, and even though I have only been knitting Grellows for weeks, I have been frantically sketching whilst doing so, and now have an entire e-books worth of 4ply (fingering) weight designs ready to take their place in the line up...hopefully the process will not be as torturous as this has been.

Who knows what will be here next tuesday...maybe I will have finished...maybe I will decide to add a hood...c'est la vie!

New design Tuesday - the one where I distract you with a jellyfish

Here is the jellyfish of the title...it is really an adult sized Aviatrix ( I used the largest size worsted pattern instructions, but used a bulky weight yarn) with built in scarf, here it is blocking. The combo actually looks really good on, I should get a photo when Blaise comes to pick it up on Thursday. I started it on friday and finished it yesterday, it was good mindless knitting for the stolen moments I was able to grab.

I did not accomplish anything like the amount of knitting I had optimistically hoped this long weekend, in fact very little knitting was done at all, however there was lots of family time, and couple time which more than made up for it. Charlotte's birthday tea was combined with Easter sunday, so most of the family gathered around at our house for a big Indian feast, I love preparing, cooking and eating Indian food, so leap at any chance to go all out!

The Grellow (working title) cardigan has grown a little, I am onto the slip moss st bodice now (this is the newborn size) I love, love, love the i-cord cast on...it is neat, tidy, clever and strong enough to prevent rolling, did I tell you I loved it already? I have tweaked almost every aspect of this cardigan, but will wait until it is almost finished to decide if it needs ties or buttons, ties are nice, but buttons are convenient for parents...we will see.
I also love how this yarn works with the stitch patter, I have found these short colour change yarns ( I have used Koigu KPPM and Shibui sock in this one) respond very will to slip st patterning, it reduces the appearance of pooling, even if it is achieved by one  pooling colour being layered on top of another pooling colour!

More distractions... I have a couple of patterns in a soon to be released book "10 secrets of The Laidback Knitters" - you can read more about the book here, or on the Facebook page and even attend book signings if you are the United States - so exciting! I can't wait to see it.

Mister Man!

he's here! all 20 sizes of him.

I'm actually pretty proud of this pattern, the vest is simple - "v" neck, no body shaping - but the stitch pattern looks amazing with handpainted yarns, the shoulders sit nicely with no overhang, the back neck is snug and the stitch pattern is both charted and written.

Ebony is my favourite colourway from Fleece Artist, the browns and deep blue/greys remind me of rusting steel plate, the kind of thing you see on modern buildings, I like the broodiness of it.

finishing up

Like my friend Ailsa I decided to spend some time just knitting accessories, nothing too taxing on my poor sick brain (unlike Ailsa I chose particularly simple projects - that woman is a lace legend)

Blaise's hats:

 Ysolda Teague's "Verity"

homage to a hat seen online - couldn't get off the couch to buy new yarn, so used what I had - Lambs pride in Charcoal.

 Panda hat - made up on the needles, better with the brim tucked under (need to get a photo of that!)

Socks for Flash (Ravelry is keeping me honest, the last socks I knitted for him were finished more than 2 years ago)

he has huuuuuge feet,  so I always have to augment the 100g ball with contrast colours at heel and toe, this time I decided to make this the contrast the feature of the socks, so I have a lovely Koigu kpppm in a camo colourway and Patonyle in a dark donkey grey. I'm knitting the socks as 1 sock on 2 circs but knitting 2 at a time (my brain was too addled to work 2 socks on 2 circs) I knit the rib on one sock first, then on the other sock, and continue in this way alternating between them as each component is finished so that at the end I have 2 finished socks! I will immediately cast on another pair when these are finished, I have some lovely Subeam St Ives in a heathered cocoa colourway which will suit the remaining Koigu.

The sock pattern I use has evolved over the years, I worked a 4 x 2 rib pattern in this one, which extends down the top of the foot, this works best for a business sock as it stays up (and the contrast parts are hidden by his shoes!)

My infinity scarf from the previous post, you can't see the sparkles in the photos - but they are there!

The Mister Man pattern is not far away now, boy has that been a long time coming! and I'm still working away at the Plum blossom, I've had a change of heart about the child's size, have decided to work it in a DK weight yarn now...just waiting for the yummy yarn to arrive.

In family news: Holly and Nick (and a bunch of friends) have had to dig their driveway up in order to lay a new water main, as the old one kept bursting for earthquake related reasons. Nick has had to email EQNZ as their house was assessed as "no structural damage"  when it actually has demonstrable structural damage - the assessor wouldn't look at the photos they took after the September quake which show the difference between then and now, which is extremely distressing for them. I do worry about them - this was supposed to be the time of their lives - newlyweds with a lovely old house to renovate, Holly was about to retrain as a teacher as it is much more family friendly than winemaking, and they were planning to start a family. The retraining has been put off for a year due to intakes being cancelled and as for the baby - it's not a sensible option in light of the instability in the land and their lives. I know they will be fine, and there are many people much worse off, I just want them to have a nice life, they are good kids, they deserve it.

Catch up 2

Today marks a week since the tragic events in Christchurch, today at 12.51pm we will have 2 minutes silence as a nation, if you are overseas you can check your local time here and maybe observe the 2 minutes with us.

I'm having a bit of a down day today, the shock of what has happened has finally hit me (you know - when your head has known for a week, but your subconscious suddenly catches up and you cant stop crying)

Holly is coming up for a few days, I can't wait to see her, I won't want her to leave, but all we can do is support her and Nick and be here for them.

As a family we have made donations to the usual agencies - but have decided to put most of our resources into this fantastic community organisation: The Rangiora express  they are cooking hot meals for the people of the eastern suburbs and flying them in by helicopter - they are awesome.

The Civil defence website continues to be a useful source of information.

and the Student volunteer army is beyond awesome - this is the future face of NZ? fantastic!

thank you for the comments and emails, our family is fine, but if you can find a way to help out - please do so, this is going to be a long haul for the people of Christchurch.

catch up

just a wee catch up about the family in Chch.

Holly got her meds before she expired from the pain of a sore back (skiing injury) and abdominal surgery, her painkillers had been very carefully balanced and timed prior to the quake, but after the quake the pharmacist wouldn't fill her (hospital issued) prescription, luckily her Aunt in law is a GP and she told them which emergency pharmacy to go to, to ensure Holly maintained her pain relief schedule.

Power has been restored to their home, water and sewage are a long way off (in the Mayor's words the sewerage system is "munted") but they can get water from nearby, visit family and friends for laundry and showers, and my darling Flash has organised a Portaloo so poor Holly doesn't have to worry so much about her hygiene (yes they are letting their close neighbours use it)

They have discovered their very own "water feature" it's bubbling out of a crack in their driveway, I hate to think what has caused it, but it's not causing any damage!

Holls is determined to stay put, I admire her spirit, but I also want to drag her home to Auckland, where she can be safe (surrounded by upwards of 40 dormant volcanoes...)

Love and thoughts to all in Christchurch, or with family and friends there, if you need help just ask - we are all sitting here ready, willing and able.

Chile redux

with the Presidential guard in Santiago - the sunglasses were necessary in this place of tears

making empanadas at Los Lingues

my vineyard? Vino Bello restaurant Santa Cruz

with Senora Maria-Georgina Canales the master hat maker in Lolol, my plaiting was so good she offered me a job!

Santa Cruz winery - scenery seems reminiscent of Otago

Vinovino Panpan restaurant - the pile of rubble was a bread oven prior to the earthquake

The cellar at Haras de Pirque - the final dinner

I do not know where to begin, we arrived home last week and I am just getting my head together.

Ok...25 years ago I saw a movie calling "Missing" starring Jack Lemmon and Sissy Spacek, it documented a father's journey to dicover the fate of his journalist son who has gone missing in the aftermath of a bloody coup in a Latin American country - Chile is not mentioned by name, but somehow everyone knew that the country in the movie was based on Pinochet's Chile. The movie affected me deeply, affecting my political beliefs and giving me a certain wariness of South America in general.

When Flash told me we were going to Chile I was initially incomfortable, however some quick research assured me that we would be safe on this adventure. I have told you before that these exotic and luxurious trips that I am lucky enough to take part in are arranged by Flash as a customer reward, so we travel with the same group of people each time, the company isn't about to put anyone in danger so I relaxed a little, and my investigations on the internet eased my mind further.

The flight direct from Auckland to Santiago was a painless 10.5 hours, followed by an hour by bus to Santa Cruz, a country town of 19,000 people surrounded by orchards and vineyards. Santa Cruz was a laidback intorduction to life Chilean style and a good place to practice our kindergarten Spanish, the people were quiet, polite and friendly, but being blonde blue eyed and tall, people stared wherever we went, which was disconcerting - I suppose it is good to placed in the position of a minority for a change.

As always on these trips we were submerged in amazing places, beautiful food, wonderful wine. Chile's topography is very similar to NZ, often I would look up and think I was in Central Otago.

6 teams competed in the blending and label design contest - we won!

We had a fantastic time, we relaxed, walked, talked and explored. I have lovely Aracaunia yarn to play with. I'll let the photos talk for me, my head is not just full of Chile, but also the upcoming wedding and getting my head around my transfer from PC to Mac - a good choice, but a seriously steep learning curve! the results will be worth it though as you will see.

Free Friday

I am evangelical in my approach to spreading the word about Ravelry  the only way I can describe it is as a "Facebook for knitters" but it is so much more than that.

Ravelry brings knitters and crocheters (almost a million members so far) together to talk, help and provide information to one another, if you wonder if the mistake is with you or the pattern ask someone, if you don't know where to get something, how to perform a technique or what size a 3 month old baby's foot is...ask someone! The site is free, the advertising is minimal and mostly by indie designers and yarn dyers and the tone is inclusive with a governing motto of "be excellent to one another"

I have a little group on Ravelry, there people can ask questions about the patterns, request help, give me feedback on designs and enter contests - every friday I give away a free pattern to the first person who replies to my post (friday being anytime from 12.01am friday NZ time to 11.59pm friday Boston USA time (chosen as it is where the Ravelry batcave is)

click here to  join my wee group, and get ready for the next Free Friday!

Twilight Plum blossom*

I've told you about my lackadasical design style before, it's an organic, evolving thing...oh yes I can get stuck in, work like billy-o and produce designs in short order, but I prefer to let things flow.

I have been the former for the past month or so, and while I was working on a set commission, my brain was overflowing with ideas, this one just had to come out first - with a string of friends expecting daughters this cardi was inevitable. The moment I sent the last parcel off to my delightful employers I set to finding the perfect yarn...then realising I had the perfect yarn, and I could dye it to the perfect colour.

The yarn is a sportweight merino/silk, the caridgan is plain jane round neck, set in sleeves (with a twist, they are knitted from the top down, with the sts being picked up around the armhole, then a bit of short row shaping and it's done, easy peasy and very fulfilling. The embellishments are embroidered and crocheted, but once again simple-as.

The blossom branch needs to be slightly larger, that's easily fixed, the fact Blaise wants me to knit one for...not so easy in sportweight...we will see, Christmas is coming.

I have a job for you Ravellers - if you think this pattern should be available for sale let me know on this thread in the JustJussi group. If I do decide to offer it for sale, the charts will be larger with each size.

*no vampire connection at all!

Catch up time

Less posting generally means lot's of working around here.

Flash has been in China all week, so I have been staying up until 2 am getting things done - and the results have been fantastic! I have almost finished the 12 designs I promised an Australian company, and theres a lot more to come from that partnership.

next project is to look at the idea of self-publishing hard copies of my patterns to wholesale to yarn shops, but I'm trying not to think about that yet, I still have my current job to finish!

The Free Friday promotion over at Ravelry is going well! join my group and if you are the first person to reply to my post each friday, you win a free copy of that weeks pattern - easy!

The 50% off promotion wraps up today at 23.59  USA Eastern Daylight time, and I'll start thinking of how next to use this fantastic Ravelry tool

The Rhinebeck Aviatrix contest seems to have run away with itself, the number of people queueing and downloading the pattern has increased substantially  - and remember we have agreed that the Aviatrix wearer does NOT have to be a baby!

Roaring Meg pattern owners will have received a note from me saying that the pattern has been updated, don't worry! the numbers haven't changed, but the instructions and layout are improved...it's one of those things about pattern writing - as with all things...you get better with practice.

The next pattern to receive this treatment will be Riverstone, I've improved the neckline and will give another neckline option - you will get a note from me when it is updated.

here is a teaser!

Have a lovely weekend everyone

Where's GrannyG?

Rhinebeck

Nirvana for knitters, I had planned to go this year - we were going to start off at Rhinebeck, then mosey around New York and Boston for a few days before our holiday in Chile was due to begin.

Then the earthquake struck and our trip to Chile was cancelled
Then Pop passed away suddenly...so last minute flights and hotel rooms in a booked out city had to be paid for...and we thought...we won't need the spending money for Chile and the trip to Rhinebeck so we will use it on all of the associated expenses.
Then the Chile trip was back on...now sans trip to the USA...due to budgetary constraints...dang! but we will try for next year.

In the meantime I will live vicariously through GrannyG my friend Genny who is going to Rhinebeck (with bells on) this year.

I am holding a contest (this from the Just Jussi Ravelry group)

Last year I heard from so many people telling me that they saw cute wee babes all cosy and warm wearing their Aviatrix helmets at Rhinebeck, which gave me the germ of an idea…then Genny told me that she was attending this year…and kindly agreed to help me turn the idea into a reality.

If you haven’t knitted an Aviatrix yet, you have plenty of time left before the fibre event of the year, hurry up- it will only take you a couple of hours and then you will be in to win!


New Zealand’s very own podcasting celebrity knitter, the voice behind ”Crafternoon tea”, spinner, weaver and all around National Treasure is going to Rhinebeck this year and she wants to cuddle your babies.


Find GrannyG at Rhinebeck, get a photo of Granny, yourself and your Aviatrix wearing baby, and post it on this thread to go in the draw for $50.00 US to spend in the online yarn store of your choice.


The contest will be drawn a week after the end of the festiavl to give you time to get your photo posted here, the winner will be drawn by random number generator and will receive the voucher by email (I will PM the winner to request their email address)

GrannyG will be easy to find at the Ravelry meetup - just listen for the kiwi accent! and she gives more clues on how to find her in this weeks podcast.
there you have it - easy as pie, please share this with your Rhinebeck attending friends - the more people we have chasing GrannyG the better! You do have to be a member of Ravelry, and post your photo into the "Rhinebeck" thread on the "Just Jussi" group.
 

Aviatrix pattern available for free on Ravelry

 

Henry

A bright spot in an otherwise dark week has been the release of my Henry pattern (only on Ravelry at present) this great sweater knits up quickly in worsted/ aran weight yarn, has minimal shaping but uses rib and cable to give a great fit. It's nice to design something a bit more tweenage boy friendly, although it is just as nice on girls (think horseriding and hiking)

Last  week has us visitng my Grandad in hospital after a massive heart attack and now  follow up complications mean that he is back there for a while...Flash has the 'flu...and Holly and Nick live in Christchurch...they came through the initial quake on saturday morning  intact and started feeling survivor guilt very quickly as their house was fine, yet the in-laws (Nick's parents)  house has a huge crack running through it, the driveway ended up in the road and the backyard disappeared - they have no power and no water.

Yesterday morning's 5.1 aftershock was literally under Holly's street - and now Holly and Nick have no chimneys, and were sleeping in the dining room to stay safe. I feel so bad for them, they say it is the aftershocks that are doing them in - the lack of sleep and the constant state of alertness is taking it's toll.

It's the big things - the old buildings being demolished, the shattered lives of friends and relatives and the little things - the lists that need to be made for insurance - for wedding dress fabric bought and paid for but still at the shop - which may no longer exist, the cats who have started peeing in the house out  of fear.

I sent a big box of love yesterday - cookies baked by Blaise, treats, things to do and watch and enjoy, things to take their mind off the neverending aftershocks and relax for a moment, and wool...of course.

My friends in Christchurch our love and thoughts are with you.

Contest!

I have finally finished writing this pattern in 20 sizes!!! yes it will fit your new baby right through to his Big Daddy!

To celebrate I have decided to run a contest - the prize being 1 skein of the extremely nummy Fleece Artist Somoko in the Ebony colourway which I used on both of the vests in the photo.

What do you have to do??

Come up with a name for this vest pattern - something memorable, catchy, geeky whatever - I will know it when I see it, if more than one person comes up with the same winning name there will be a draw.

Winner will be announced in 2 weeks time - by which time the tech editing will be finished and the pattern will be ready to go!

Leave your answer in the comments section with your email address or blog address, or include your Ravelry id.

Specs: fingering weight yarn, simple 4 row cable pattern, v-neck, sleeveless, designed for use with handpainted yarns - to make the most of the colour changes.

Housekeeping

thank you for the lovely comments and emails re: my previous post, sometimes I wonder if I am in the right line of work - and after the post and talking with a friend I realise that it is my ability to fall apart after a meeting like this that makes me able to be responsive and caring, so I'll stick at it.

If you follow my Ravelry activity the way I follow some of yours you will have noticed a flurry of FO's recently, hats for Blaise started last winter, socks for my Dad for last Christmas...I have undertaken never to have more than 2 wips (one more difficult for home, one easy for spare moments) and madly finished everything I have - now I just have to apply the same discipline to my pattern writing (I have 4 waiting to be transcribed, 2 waiting to be tested and 5 which have had the basic worked out and need knitting) I had a basket full of wips and it felt so good to actually finish them!

I have just about finished the little hoodie for TJ (the name we have given the Grandson to be as we are pretty sure the parents are going to name him after his father) on my needles and then hopefully I can get back to working on my stuff, as he now has a blanket, a multitude of hats, long socks, soakers, longies, singlets, 2 sweaters and 2 cardis, I'll wait to see what he looks like and what colours suit him before I knit any more.

Lastly, I have been receiving a lot of emails recently from home based knitters wanting to buy cottage licences for my patterns, this is something I have mostly stayed away from in the past - my Dolly Mixture e-book allows purchasers to sell the garments they make with those patterns, but for the rest of my patterns I have always worked on a case by case basis.

I have decided to make the "Garter stitch plain and simple" e-book available with a one off lifetime licence to those home based knitters who knit for profit. $30 US and 30 only available at my ETSY store.

I am not going to provide licences for sale retroactively for any of my other previously published patterns - knitters who have already requested permission will keep it, and I will continue to grant permission to those who take the time to email and ask me.

(as you can see this post was never going to be about REAL housekeeping - I try to keep that to a minimum!)

Patterns available now

Garter stitch plain and simple patterns - all 8 in one booklet for $10.00 US - only available as a .pdf (file which you store on your computer and print out as required)

(put it on your Ravelry wishlist - the wishlist fairy visits occasionally!)

Christmas is getting closer and closer - today I have to tidy up the studio, as guests usually end up hanging out up here anyway, capture the perfect photo for our Christmas cards...I have one in mind, we'll see how it pans out, and finish sewing the felt gingerbread man ornamentsI am making for the girls - I really should have thought it through - 10 gingerbread men = 20 little button eyes and 30 buttons on tummies...and all sewn by hand...but hey, that's what Christmas is about isn't it?

Kits are going live!

Yes I know it has taken a while (thanks for the reminders Deb!)

but I have finally got it together with the kits.

I have combined the "garter stitch plain and simple" patterns you have seen recently with my own handdyed yarn (the yummy wool/bamboo/silk "Biba" sportweight yarn) and packaged them together with knitting needles, stitch markers, a label and basic notions.

Hat kits are $15.00 US and Garment kits start at $24.00 US

Garment kits are available in 2 size groups to keep everything simple, I have included the hat patterns free of charge, in case you have leftover yarn.

New Zealander's pay $5.00 postage, everyone else pays $12.00

The first 25 garment kit purchasers will get a handprinted calico tote to keep their project in.

Ok so - perfect Christmas gift for a new knitter, pregnant mum on bedrest or anyone wanting to knit something simple, elegant and quick for their favourite little person!

Click on the little deer for the link

Countdown - yarn colours

here are the colours I'm offering for the first round of kits

The yarn is "Biba" a blend of wool, bamboo and silk, very soft and cushy!

my research suggested that people wanted a softer than usual pink, but a brighter than usual blue and some colours not usually available for babies.

Here are my basics:

cotton pink
sky blue
just olive

mercury grey

the winter dapple you have met before

the summer dapple - bright blues, yellow and greens

a small range to start, I'd rather react to client's requests to develop further colourways.

It's all coming together, patterns are written, bags printed, supplies ordered.

and these special colourways are for starter kits - tiny projects for tiny people

Garter plain and simple

since there is so much secret knitting going on, I thought it only fair to let you know where the knitting kit idea is up to...

I still gasp at this utter cuteness, the little cap sleeves are a joy to knit, and oh so simple.

the same idea gave me this darling little front opening for a sweater which pops over big baby heads no problems at all

a cardigan was required...but it needed something else

yep - that's it!

Now, I have to finish something special before moving onto the next kit step

Patterns for pants, hats and a few extras, testing of yarns to find something perfect, then playing with dyes to get a pleasing palette

hmmm - maybe a few more weeks...