A new design and a puzzle...

As you probably all know, I am a big fan of Shetland wools and I have a new design published in December's issue of Knitting (by GMC) using Jamieson & Smith Shetland Aran in a vibrant shade of orange. This is how she looks in the magazine.

copyright GMC publications

The wool is easy to work with and seemed to enjoy being worked into the twisting cables of the design. The original inspiration was victorian and edwardian evening cloaks made of devore velvet where abstract patterns have been burnt out of the lush, rich velvet pile. The theme suggested by the magazine in fact, was theatrical, and is a theme that given enough time, I would love to do a whole book of designs for! The collar is knitted to stand high, framing the face and to keep the neck warm - maybe when waiting for the handsom cab after seeing The Importance of Being Ernest or the like? I contemporized the style slightly with an interesting cable edging which is worked around the bottom of the cape once the panels have been sewn together. The cape itself is made up of five panels with cable patterns to the fronts and back panels, with the side panels in reverse stocking stitch. The ornate buttons I used are actually 1930s buttons but have a look of tortoise shell which I thought echoed the era I was inspired by. The hand openings are easily created  at the side seams and the rib band is picked up after the panels are put together.

The pattern is exclusive to Knitting for six months and then the rights revert to myself when it will be made available as an individual pattern. I'm looking forward to making myself one of these at some point! Below is a detail shot of the cable before I frantically sent it off in the post. (Late as always!)

copyright Susan crawford 2010

You can see the colour is a lot darker on this photo, and in reality its probably somewhere imbetween the two images.

And now a puzzle...


A little something I have been trying to do some research on has unfortunately not got very far. A lovely lady came to see me at the Knitting and Stitching show at Alexandra Palace with a fascinating photo of some yarn that she had, with a completely unfamiliar label, both to her and to me. She asked me if I could possibly find out anymore about the yarn and where and when it was made. Below is the image of the balls and their amazing ball bands.

So what do we know? Very little. It came with another similar yarn called Southdown 4ply that also features the stags head logo and is made in England. Southdown is a breed of british sheep and I am wondering if Kangaroo implies Merino (corny but the most likely reason for the name). I don't want to say any more than that so I don't lead people in any direction, but am really keen to know if anyone knows the manufacturer and the probable period of production. Please either comment on the blog leaving me a contact or email at the address above. I would be really grateful for any information no matter how tiny!

for now
Ruby xx