Blog Upgrade

Just a little note of warning in case everything on the blog goes rather strange for a few days. My blog is being updated and redesigned this week and its possible that things will look a bit untidy until the update is complete. Once the update is complete is should be much easier to find old posts, patterns, books etc.

for now

Ruby xx

The Jelly Tea Party

This lovely tea party was organised by the even lovelier Alabama Whirly and her gang of Outcasts. Lots of people came to partake of wine, tea, cakes and a little knitting. It was a glorious evening and everyone was in their summer frocks, sitting on deck chairs and relaxing.



The deckchairs before everyone arrived.



My little stand



the stand from another angle - here you can see the motoring hood with the simply perfect corsage worn as a brooch.



Here I am with Jen from The Knitter. Jen wore her long gloves especially for me! and was trying really hard to be well behaved and ladylike.



What the girls from the knitting mags really get up to on their nights off!



The adorable little bed jacket paired with the skating skirt.



The perfect combination



The gorgeous Skein Queen who brought the lovely yarn above and had a stand alongside mine.



There was lots of tea.



And lots of cake!



There was even a display all about the pleasures of tea drinking.

We all had a really lovely night thanks to all the Outcasts, who worked so hard to make sure the evening went so well and thank you everyone for coming along and joining in the fun.

for now
Ruby xxx

Vintage Gifts Part I

Its been a busy couple of weeks first coming up to the publication of Vintage Gifts to Knit and then in the week following. I felt it would be easiest to break it all up into separate blog posts although they all link together. So first of all, let me introduce you to all the projects in the book:



There are projects to knit for women, men, children and the home, for yourself or for gifts.
There are a wide range of sizes available with the women's garments ranging from 30-54 inch chest. I'll talk in a bit more detail about the different patterns, inspiration and construction over the next few weeks. You can also view more images from the book on my flickr page (not yet finished but expanding)

I am delighted with the book as I have said before, but particularly with how it has captured the essence of some of my biggest inspirations, Stitchcraft and Needlework Illustrated, which I will talk about more next week.

The book can be purchased in print form for £14 or as an e-book for £10 and each of the patterns can be purchased individually as a pdf download at £3 each. All the different formats can be purchased from the knitonthenet shop, here on the blog** or the downloadable formats can also be purchased through ravelry.

** I'm working hard on the just call me ruby website so that it will be easier to purchase directly from here but website design isn't exactly my speciality so it is taking a while!

I'm delighted that I can also offer a full wholesale package for the book and the patterns which you can find out more about either by contacting wholesale[at]arbourhousepublishing[dot]com or by emailing me directly on the usual email. Review copies are also available via Arbour House or me.

Finally, for this post, I am working with two or three yarn stores in the UK on events instore during the latter half of this year to promote the books and patterns. If you are interested in holding an event do get in touch on my email. On the new website there will also be an events page which will give details of whats happening.

Tomorrow's blog post will be all about last week's tea party and a 135 year old department store.

but for now
Ruby xx

Vintage Gifts to Knit is finally about to be published!

I can't believe we have finally got here, but on Wednesday of this week - that's the 9th of June, Vintage Gifts to Knit will be published. I am so excited yet incredibly tense. I have felt as though this day would never come and was terribly conscious as well of letting people down if we didn't get the job done. But we are nearly there now, just 24 hours to wait. I am travelling later tomorrow, or possibly Wednesday morning, down to Reading for the Summer Tea Party (see previous blog post) which will be an unofficial launch party for the book. If you are coming and you have pre ordered a copy of the book, you will be able to pick up your copy on the night. All other orders will be being despatched on Thursday. Everyone has been incredibly patient while waiting for me to get this book together and I can't tell you how much I appreciate your support. Thank you all so much.

I have to update the blog and the shop and ravelry etc properly at the end of the week but in the meantime here's a little sneak preview of some of the other designs in Vintage Gifts to Knit.



This stunning jacket is inspired by vintage bed jackets and can be worn in its traditional role or as a cardigan or 'day' jacket. It is knitted in Rowan pure wool 4 ply and is deceptively simply to knit, with only a 4 row lace pattern to follow. I love this one - It also has neat, little gathered sleeve heads and a fabulously draping hood , very Phantom of the Opera!



I've called this mens sock pattern 'Father's new socks' just because I think its the sort of present that my dad would really love to get. Unfortunately for him, these ones are for Gavin - seen here as 'foot model'. Knitted in Jamieson and Smith 2 ply jumper yarn using a really simple slip stitch to create the mock fair isle effect. I've gone for these muted autumnal colours but they would be really good in black and grey or navy and cream for office wear too.



And finally for tonight, the much mentioned skating skirt. Designed initially for my good friend Alabama Whirly to knit during the Olympics, this turned into something far more than originally expected. Seen for the first time, being worn by Alabama at Unravel in Farnham, so many people asked about the pattern I realised it had to be included in the collection. It is knitted from the top down in the round in Jamieson and Smith 2 ply jumper yarn (yet again) and has 8 panels with shaping worked into each one creating this lovely drape, reminiscent of bias cut fabric. The rest of the photos for this one are fantastic, I can't wait for everyone to see them.

Its only at the end of this project, that I realise quite how much of myself I put into it. Its a very personal collection of designs that I absolutely love individually and collectively and all say something about the era they have been influenced by and the things that I love. I hope you all love it too.

Time to go to bed.

for now
Ruby xxx


Vintage Gifts to Knit is available to purchase from shop.knitonthenet.com for £14.00 plus £3 p&P worldwide.