Just call me Ruby

knit a poppy on BBC Radio 2

2009-11-03T13:12:00.003Z

This morning I had my 5 minutes - or should I say 20 seconds - of fame. Sarah Kennedy of Radio Two told her listeners all about the Knit a Poppy campaign. You can here a little clip from it below.

The response was fantastic and the appeal has now received over £1000 in donations which is unbelievable. So a big thank you to everyone who has donated and again I would love to see photos of your completed poppies, so please send these to ingrid[at]knitonthenet[dot]com.

for now
a big big thank you
Ruby xxxx

Knit a Poppy

2009-10-29T10:13:00.006Z

The official Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal launched a couple of days ago in the UK. Our own Knit a Poppy Appeal has been running for a couple of weeks and is doing really well, but if you haven't yet had a chance to download my knitted poppy pattern here is the link. A donation of £2 is required for the downloads with all proceeds going to the Appeal.

You can knit the poppy just for yourself or you can knit a few, sell them to family, friends or colleagues and donate the money direct to the Poppy Appeal. I would love to know if you have done this so I can estimate how much the poppy pattern has really raised for the Poppy Appeal. We also have started a Poppy Gallery on the knitonthenet blog and I would love to see photos of your poppies so please do send them to ingrid[at]knitonthenet[dot]com and she will share them on the blog.

I'm thrilled to hear that many people in Canada are also knitting the Poppy for Remembrance Day too. I'm honoured that there will be people around the world wearing my little poppy on such a significant day.

for now
Ruby xxx

A Stitch in Time fashion night

2009-10-21T12:33:00.004+01:00

The day finally dawned yesterday when our fashion show was to happen at the Cath Kidston store in Liverpool.

The main aim of the evening was to promote knitting and to hopefully get some non-knitters to pick up needles and have a go. The fashion show combined selected garments from A Stitch in Time with those from the latest Cath Kidston clothing range. The Cath Kidston staff laid on tea, cakes and jam sandwiches which went down a treat.

The cakes were all made by the lovely Genevieve, seen posing below in the Diagonal Rib cardigan in royal blue

The show got underway with Lianne very bravely coming out first in The Call of the Sea

The brief for all the models was 'ham it up' and enjoy themselves which they all did fabulously

This is the adorable Yuki in Greet the New Season playing at being a domestic godess.

Lianne following in the domestic vibe using a Cath Kidston handkerchief as a turban - they are the perfect size and shape.

A certain amount of frivolity ensued and the urge to reveal knitted underwear became to much for some people to bear -

This young lady is Meg, who had no fear of the catwalk at all, modelling the Blackberry cardigan

followed by Sunray Ribbing

She shows really well how the garments can be worn in a casual way.

We gave Light and Lovely and Enchanting in Black and white a playful feel with vintage shorts and skirt respectively

Frilly Jumper is modelled by Suzie who looks really elegant here. She's also wearing my great grandmother's polished jet beads and earrings.

Yuki is wearing my daughter's dungarees for a modern take on the Land Girl look. The jacket is a second version of To Set off your summer frocks which I finished sewing up on Monday night! This time I used Pure Castlemilk Moorit with 30% silk from The Natural Fibre Company. The firm texture was perfect for this jacket which needs a lot of body for the sleeves to stand up.

I think this is my favourite look of the night actually.

Next is Michelle looking slightly more demure showing off Made So Quickly rather than her undies!

Not to be outdone Lianne closed the show 'revealing' her Slimline Undies

The store very kindly let me have a table just for the books

I was rather tired by the end of the evening but I did agree to one photo of me in my own Made So Quickly and Cath Kidston Tea Dress - looking slightly relieved that we had got through it all ok.

And finally here's my favourite photo of the night of all the girls together

Thank you girls for a really enjoyable evening.

for now
Ruby xx

All photographs courtesy of Charlie Moon

A Stitch in Time with Cath Kidston

2009-10-06T19:54:00.008+01:00

I am so excited to show you this poster. To see my name on the same page as Cath Kidston - I really can't believe it

If you do fancy popping along to the evening I think places are limited so it is advisable to phone the store to reserve a place. I think the first 20 places get front row seats at the fashion show!

for now,
a very excited
Ruby xx

Edited: Date wrong on poster! Said Weds instead of Tues - corrected poster now uploaded.

What do Cath Kidston, Ysolda, Selvedge & buttons

2009-09-30T22:51:00.008+01:00

... have in common?

Answer: They are all in this post.

I have been waiting to tell you about a visitor to my stand at IKnit but was waiting for the photos to be available. Well now they are. Ysolda Teague came and spent some time with me and we had a great time dressing her in garments from A Stitch in Time and discovered that the first garment she knitted was from the original Stitch in Time and was Such Flattering Puff Sleeves.

This is also shown on Ysolda's blog. Funnily enough I finished sewing yet another of these sweaters at the IKnit show to wear for an evening out whilst I was in London. This is the end result.

I knitted the second size, but again played with the fit to suit my excessively narrow shoulders and much preferred the fit as a result. I kept the length short and have added some pleated interfacing to the 'puff' to provide some structure and shape. It was a technique used a lot in the 40s in both knitted and woven garments to add structure. I'll show how its done in another post. I used RYC Cashsoft which is much softer than the recommended Jamieson & Smith so doesn't have as much natural support from the fabric itself so needs that little bit of help.

I haven't as yet got the full details, but I am hosting a very exciting evening in Liverpool on October 20th. I have been asked by the Cath Kidston store in Liverpool to present an evening of vintage knitwear alongside their Autumn/Winter 2009 clothing range. We are having a fashion show, presentation, enormous quantities of tea and cup cakes, followed by a chance to mingle and knit. It is a ticket only event but I should have full details of that side of things by the end of the week. The knitted garments will all be from A Stitch in Time and I am styling them for the fashion show with the lovely vintage inspired pieces from Cath Kidston. I'm so excited about this event as I am a big fan of everything Cath Kidston does and it is hopefully only the first in a number of collaborative events that we will be doing.

If this wasn't enough for me to cope with, I have a small article in the latest issue of Selvedge (Issue 30).

It is their 'Guiding Hands' piece and explains what to look out for when buying vintage knitting patterns. I am so proud to be included in this magazine and plan to order the free rosette you can get as a contributor. (Is that very sad? I don't think so?) I think its a little late coming out so is only beginning to appear in shops this week.

So what can top all of this? Well, after yarn there's only one thing for me and that's buttons - vintage buttons. On Sunday I went to the Vintage Textile Fair at the Armitage Centre in Manchester. It only takes place twice a year but it is a great fair.
I bought A LOT of buttons. Many of them are destined for pieces in A Stitch in Time Vol 2, but some are also for personal projects.

This first group are plastics from the 1930s to the 1950s.

This more varied group are predominantly plastics from 1930s to 1950s with one set of horn buttons. The red, white and blue buttons are coronation ware and I would really like a way to fit these into Stitch in Time 2.

The black buttons in this group are glass - the larger ones from the 1950s, the tiny ones from between 1890 and 1920. The third button is hand painted mother of pearl from around 1900

This last bunch are a mixture from 1940s to 1970s in plastic.

This beautiful art deco buckle was a gift off the lovely Maureen who I buy most of my buttons from. This needs something very special but I amundecided whether it will be a sewn or knitted garment.

And finally, I've been playing with a beret/tam to complement my flattering puff sleeves. I'm using leftovers from the sweater itself, a spare ball of Jaeger Matchmaker 4 ply in charcoal, and the lovely lighter grey from Jamieson & Smith.

I'm designing this organically - making it up as I go along! Its knitted in the round from the brim up in traditional manner, however I have tinkered with the increasing but I'm really pleased with it up to now. The increases are usually done on one row shortly after completing the ribbing, but I've increased more gradually to alter the shape slightly. We shall see! I've got to start working the crown next which might need a little forward planning. I haven't completely decided yet what is going to be the centre but I have a few ideas to choose from.

Phew, so for now,

Ruby xx

Behind The Times

2009-09-08T09:21:00.006+01:00

Impressively, I managed to prepare a blog post about a fortnight ago and then didn't get it quite finished. It remained unposted and is now unfortunately obsolete.

Since I last posted we have managed to get back to work to some degree and were able to have our stall at the I Knit Weekender. I had a great time, meeting lots of lovely knitting folks and signing books. I also gave a talk on why I love vintage knitting which people seemed to enjoy and also ran my Make Do and Mend workshop for the first time. This is a workshop I would really like to do a lot more of. I'm certainly hoping to do a lot more workshops in the future so watch this space! I even managed to say hello to the lovely Alice Starmore, who was very sweet.

I've managed to do a fair bit of knitting but I've only one to share today. When travelling down to Fibrefest in Devon a few weeks ago I started work on a gauntlet design that would be easy to knit whilst travelling. The gauntlets are knitted side to side in garter stitch with short row shaping for the wrist, cuff and thumb. A provisional cast on is worked, so that grafting together of two garter stitch rows can be worked giving a completely seamless glove.

I used Jamieson & Smith Shetland Aran which is really, really lovely to work with, and used two balls in total plus a small amount of a contrast colour for the edging which is worked with a simple double crochet row. The buttons are vintage and I used three different pairs, one on each gauntlet.

And the model is my lovely Charlie - of course!

I've managed to set up my Ravelry shop (which believe me is quite an achievement for me) and the pattern can be purchased as a pdf download for £2.75 by following the link above.

I've also made up some kits all using different vintage buttons and the Jamieson & Smith yarn but I haven't got those online yet. I'm determined to make this working from home/full time self employment work!

Mum is making slow but steady progress. Her sight hasn't as yet improved unfortunately but she is beginning to pick up words that we say here and there and seems a lot brighter in herself. I'm so grateful for all the support I have received from so many people and I hope one day she will be well enough for me to explain to her just how wonderful everyone has been. Thank you once again.

I have a lot more to show but will leave it at that for today as I have to drive Charlie to a concert in Manchester shortly and hope to see "Julie & Julia" while we wait. So much more to share but

for now
Ruby xxx

Self Employment and a little knitting

2009-08-18T10:24:00.003+01:00

I commented somewhere recently about becoming a full time self employed knitting person. Gavin and I have both been fully self employed for many years in one form or another, but a few months ago the hard decision to shut down his family print business was taken. When that completed last month we became totally reliant on the knitting and craft industry for our living. This had seemed a scary step anyway but the last couple of weeks have really brought home just how precarious you are when self employed...

Mum was sent home from hospital on Friday evening. She has been diagnosed as suffering from receptive aphasia - this takes different forms but in my mum's case she can't read or write, uses the wrong words when speaking, has no memory recall, an attention span of literally, seconds but most significantly, cannot absorb or comprehend anything that is spoken, either directly to her or for example, on the TV. She did not respond to therapy in the hospital as she was in an extremely agitated state about coming home. The therapists therefore made the recommendation that therapy should take place in the home. She is in the process of being assessed by them but treatments have not yet begun. Two of the other 'symptoms' of mum's stroke are that she can now barely see and needs to talk almost continuously. You can imagine that all these 'symptoms' added together make it very, very difficult to communicate with mum or to engage her in the relearning activities that we need to do. Dad, as long term readers of my blog will know, has been poorly for some time, and I am very worried about him becoming over tired and ill again also. The therapists can naturally, only attend maybe once or twice a week at most, whereas mum needs constant support and stimulation.

I am there with mum and dad as much as possible, yet at the same time am terribly conscious of work not getting done. As a self employed person you do everything. Everything from designing to accounts and invoicing is getting left. Then when I am working instead of helping mum and dad, I feel guilty that I am leaving them. However if I don't work I don't earn. There is no sick pay, no paid holidays, no unemployment benefit, no one to take my place. In addition to this, being creative when this worried, wound up and mentally exhausted is not easy. I love being self employed. I wouldn't (in fact, couldn't) have it any other way, but its at times like these that the idea of a 'steady' income sounds like a damn good idea - but then, I wouldn't have the time to look after mum anyway as I would be working!

Is there, can there be an answer? At the moment I doubt it, but I understand now that I have to learn to cope with this shift in our daily lives and find a way to integrate it in with everything else, not to let it exhaust me (if at all possible), not to feel resentful and not to feel guilty if I can't always be there. The actual learning to cope is the hard part, but I'm hoping I'll get there. I have a lot of support from family and friends around me, both 'real' and 'web based' who have all proved invaluable over these last couple of weeks, and I am extremely grateful to everyone who have contacted me and have lifted my spirits.

The one creative thing I have managed to do is sewing up. I think I've said before that I find hand sewing extremely therapeutic, my mind goes into neutral and for a short period of time I manage to switch off. The first thing I finished off is another Made So Quickly from A Stitch In Time.

I used Rowan Milk Cotton rather than Organic Cotton, and as I only had 5 of the 1960s buttons I wanted to use I reduced the number of button holes from 6 to 5.

I also shortened the body as this one is to wear with two high waisted skirts that will give it more of that genuine 1930s silhouette. I also played with the fit by making a medium back and a large front and working additional armhole decreases to create a narrower shoulder. (For my chest size I have extremely narrow shoulders of only 4 inches width.) Ideally, I probably should have gone for an extra three quarters of an inch in the body length but it does sit perfectly with the skirt in the photos.

The second project I sewed up is this original Mary Quant sweater dress pattern for Charlie.

Its knitted in Rowan Wool Cotton, which has worked absolutely beautifully for this design. It has a deep turned up hem to give the dress weight and, also, to give it a slight A line shape which is so 60s.

The collar is, unusually for patterns of the period, worked using short row shaping, which really helps how it sits.

I also reduced the length working six cable repeats instead of the eight given in the pattern.

I really love this one. I got carried away taking photos so here are a couple more I did in black and white to get that 'Twiggy' vibe.

Thought we'd go a bit Pop Art on the last one!

Finally, after days (and nights) of indecision I eventually found a project to cast on to keep me absorbed when I was looking for a challenge but without having to work out my own pattern. With a view to the up coming I Knit Weekender (where I’m doing a workshop on Make do and Mend techniques) and the talk by the wonderful Alice Starmore I decided to make Aberlady Sweater from The Celtic Collection. I’m using Jamieson & Smith 2 ply jumper yarn in a gorgeous slate grey, but have very little to show yet. This is the original.

(Copyright Anaya Publishers Ltd)

Its knitted in the round from the bottom up, with knitted in underarm gussets. Hopefully more next time.

but for now

Ruby xxx

Mum

2009-08-08T17:51:00.002+01:00

This post was going to be a very different post to the one I'm posting now. I had had a wonderful day out with Charlie for her 17th birthday but then early the next morning I got a call from Dad telling me that mum was taken ill. She was rushed into hospital but in the space of about three hours had two major strokes. At first she couldn't see or hear at all. She can now see slightly but cannot understand anything that is said to her.

We do not know at this point how long it is going to take for mum to improve and hopefully recover. My dad and I are going in to see her for several hours each day. This is obviously going to impact on my time to do other things including blog, but I'm going to do my best to keep posting, as certainly at night, after visiting is over, the urge to relax and knit is very strong. However, if things don't go according to plan I hope you will understand.

I'll talk more in a few days but in the meantime if you can spare a positive thought for mum we would be so grateful.

Mum on stage at about 4 or 5 years old.

In a typical 1950s pose.

As Diana Rigg in the Avengers!

Love you mum.

for now,
Ruby xxx

Good Taste

2009-08-03T17:17:00.003+01:00

Whilst preparing my next BIG blog post I thought I would share this illustration with you that I found in Good Taste (somewhat ironic when you see the illustration!) August 1943.

I think its legible but in case its not, the 'gentleman' is saying to his secretary "Come and sit on my lap. I can dictate better that way."

But did she say yes?

for now

Ruby xxx

View of Shetland - One

2009-07-21T10:52:00.005+01:00

Finally the dust seems to be settling around our lives and our chosen path (which I'll tell you more about another time) but to help us separate the old from the new and to start work on some great new projects (again, more later) we travelled to Shetland for what was a wonderful week. We were invited by our friend Connie, from Jamieson & Smith, a shetland yarn company and spent a LOT of time looking at wool and knitting which was terribly hard work! However between those times we travelled around the island enjoying the dramatic scenery and long, long days. So, without further delay,

Welcome to Shetland

Below is the view from the cliff tops at Eshaness. A beautifully wild and rugged part of the island on the west coast looking out onto the atlantic ocean.

This is also where we saw our first puffin!

We actually stayed on a small island in the north sea immediately next to Lerwick on the Mainland, called Bressay (pronounced Bressa) and spent a lot of time at the far side of the island at a little cove called the Voe of Cullinsbrough (pronounced Cullinsbrock). Most days we were the only three people there and were able to share the view only with the sheep, seals and birds.

The water was stunningly clear but icy cold.

These are some of the ruined crofts scattered all around Shetland. These ones are on Bressay.

Gavin and Charlie enjoying the peace.

Here are some of the lovely Shetland sheep we shared the cove with.

These three were competing in the prettiest sheep competition but we couldn't choose a winner.

This croft in much better condition is in Burra on the West coast and was the temporary home of a local textiles exhibition. We were taken there by Connie's lovely Aunty Grace, who also showed me how to use a knitting belt and shared some of her knitting secrets!

This was an item in the exhibition that I was particularly intrigued by.

Cradle straps.

I have never come across these before. The cradles even have holes in the sides to thread the straps through. Aunty Grace thought that children learning to knit where often given these straps to make as their first knitting project. The 'baby' is wrapped in a traditional baby shawl knitted in undyed grey wool. Grace mentioned that baby shawls were often knitted in grey wool as they wouldn't show the dirt and soot.

Burra happens to be home to one of the most beautiful beaches anywhere.

Again on the Atlantic ocean, the sand was white and the sea was turquoise. Connie attempted to snap a rare family pose as the tide came in.

First attempt we got a little wet!

But more success on the second attempt.

To wind up blog post one on a yarny note, the sweater Charlie is wearing on these photos was a final piece I made for college many many years ago, which she dug out of the attic and fell in love with.

I remember being very proud of it at the time and can even remember my inspiration, which was some medieval mosaic tiling which had originally been red, blue and yellow and which had all faded to these muted browns and taupes. The waist shaping is all concealed in the aran pattern on the front of the sweater and the sweater also has sleeve and welt hems. It was knitted in Jonelle pure wool, which for those you not as old as me! was John Lewis' own yarn, which was absolutely lovely and very reasonably priced. They also used to do 'put away' and let you take a ball at a time, which for a poor student was brilliant. Those were the days!

I'm going to close this post with a picture of myself and Connie at Jamieson & Smith, where I'll start my next blog post.

but for now,

Ruby xxx

Women at War

2009-06-05T12:28:00.004+01:00

I have a great little book, called Women at War published by Liver Press in 1988 and written by a lady called Pat Ayres. This book tells the story of how the second world war impacted on Liverpool women using their own memories and words. With both of my nans, young women in Liverpool at the time, I can't help wondering how many of the stories are their stories. I found out recently that my granddad's sister died at 21 due to illness contracted working in one of the munitions factories in Liverpool. The idea of women working at that time was not a popular one. This poem, reprinted in the book, was first published in a local works magazine in 1944:

There's lipstick on the drinking cups,
There's talcum on the bench,
There's cold cream on the surface plate,
Hand lotion on the wrench,
and 'Soir de Paris' scents the air,
That once held lube oil's smell-
I've just picked up a curling pin,
Believe me - war is hell!

Anon.

Says it all really.

I had a heap of other things to share today but unfortunately my camera isn't working, but I recently bought this lovely original Bestway pattern

which surprisingly included a size 40 chest which you don't find that often.
I can't wait to make it, despite the fact that its got 11 pieces! I'm definately going to do a toile first so I can see how close I actually am to pattern.

I was 'made up' to find that the Cath Kidston shops sell off cuts of their dress fabrics so I bought this lovely floral polyester crepe which I think I'm going to use for this dress. I have to admit I'm not 100% sure if its right for it or not. What do you think?

Sorry its such a tiny image, its the only one I could get hold off. I'll show the fabric better when my camera's recharged.

Finally, I'm off to Coventry tomorrow to the UK Ravelry Day, where I'll be sharing a stand with the lovely Woolly Wormhead, signing and hopefully selling our books.
We are inside the main hall, so do come and see us if you're at the Ravelry Day event. Woolly is travelling all the way from Italy just to be there!

Another event very close to my heart opens today at the Cornershop in Winchester. There are knitting events going on until the end of June, with exhibits from the university's Knitting Reference Library (my favourite place).

I would highly recommend a visit, particularly during Knitting in Public Day when Linda Newington, Curator of the knitting reference library, will be there.

Off to start packing.

for now
Ruby xxx

Daintiness Counts

2009-05-20T11:57:00.004+01:00

Whilst working through my vintage pattern collection for the perfect patterns for A Stitch In Time Vol II, I read this wonderful advert in the LUX knitting book 1939. Just why does the poor girl not click with the 'gallants'?

If you are looking out for this magazine on ebay take care. There are more reproductions of it than the original. Here's the cover.

Just make sure you read the information carefully before buying.

Next time you don't get asked to dance just remember the lucky nightmare.
for now
Ruby xxx

A Stitch In Time on Cast On Podcast

2009-05-15T20:33:00.002+01:00

So exciting but scary. Here is the link to the latest episode of Cast On Podcast with me being interviewed by Brenda Dayne. I'm listening now but haven't heard it all yet.

I really hope you enjoy it.

for now
Ruby xx

Lets start again

2009-05-15T11:44:00.002+01:00

What I find much harder than starting to blog in the first place is re-blogging after an unexplained absence. Do you just launch into FOs and WIPs? Or do you give some sort of explanation? Well going through my blog over the last few months I seem to keep giving explanations and then NOT really getting an awful lot further. I feel for the purposes of some sort of consistency to my blog I need to tidy things up and then start again. All clean and tidy.

Life has been and still is, very complicated for a whole number of reasons. Emotionally and physically exhausting to be honest, with little or no time left over whatsoever. The reasons are too complicated and varied, some involving business which can't be aired on a blog anyway, so I'm not going to go into them all. These myriad issues unfortunately impact on my ability to always blog regularly and this gets me really cross. These things are also interfering with my chosen path generally so over the last month, plans (many, many plans) have begun to change my life dramatically. So can I ask all you lovely readers to bear with me, not desert me completely for more exciting blogs, whilst these changes take place. There is still a long way to go and there will still be restrictions on my time, for some time, but I know its all going to be worth it in the end.

There are lots of exciting things afoot which I will get round to sharing. One is an interview I did yesterday with the lovely Brenda Dayne of Cast on. Its for the next episode which isn't live yet, but as soon as it is I will post the link. She was so, so nice on the phone yesterday. I'm rubbish at phone interviews and always think I sound really boring, but she was very positive and extremely gracious, and as a result I look forward to hearing it.

Another is work on A Stitch in Time, Volume II, is most definately underway and I will be sharing more news about that soon.

I'm also managing to do a little twittering and you can find me here

Believe it or not, there are WIPs, FOs and patterns to share too, and they will all follow soon.

lots of love
for now
Ruby xxx

Meet the Girls

2009-04-14T19:20:00.002+01:00

There have been a number of reasons why my blogging is somewhat erratic at the moment and hopefully these will gradually sort themselves out, however, a very positive reason why I didn't blog over the Easter holidays was the arrival of these four lovely ladies.

Gertie

Dolly

Peggy Sue

& Betty

They are 19 weeks old and in three days we have already had three eggs. They have settled in wonderfully and are completely captivating and have absorbed me totally over the long weekend taking my mind off more worrying matters. Dolly and Peggy Sue are like peas in a pod and follow each other round. Dolly actually has more black feathers in her tail than Peggy Sue so you can tell the difference. Gertie is the oldest and has already got her comb, but the other three aren't far behind. She's definately the boss but the others are getting more confident each day.

I will be back in a couple of days with a 1940s evening dress - finished, Two garments out of Stitch in Time - finished, Galliano sweater - sewing up in progress, Mary Quant original 1960s sweater dress - sewing up in progress.

Take care everyone,
speak very soon,
for now
Ruby xxx

New Designs and a Big Thank You

2009-03-17T22:01:00.003Z

Thank you everyone for all your kind and uplifting comments both here on the blog, to my email and on ravelry. You all really helped to lift my spirits this week and give me the boost to get through. Thank you, thank you, thank you. You're the best.

I will be working away for the rest of the week at the Stitch & Craft show at Olympia in London but before I go I wanted to share three new designs which I have just released on the new issue of knitonthenet.

The first of the three is my somewhat delayed Celia's Gloves pattern. This pattern went missing three months ago and I finally managed to get it rewritten in time for this issue.

These gloves use a single repeat of the lace pattern from my Celia Scarf pattern.
The gloves are made from the same Garn Studio Drops Alpaca but the pattern is extremely versatile. When I was reworking the pattern I used some left over 4 ply tweed and it looked fabulous.

The next design is Miss Moneypenny, so named after the character in James Bond, who I thought really summed up ladylike glamour.

I had come across a pattern in an early 1930s magazine featuring a ribbed garment made on very big needles. What they had done though was use a thick aran weight yarn, knitted it on bigger needles than normal and pressed it out. The result was a bit mixed. But it got me thinking that if the designers of that period had had access to the super chunky yarns that we do now, they would probably have given them a go from time to time. So I decided to create my own 'period' big wool garment using Twinkle Super Chunky. To avoid unsightly seaming I have knitted this in one piece to the underarms, including the button bands, separated for the upper body, then work a three needle bind off at the shoulders. The collar is 'grown on' with decreased worked to shape it into the neck and short rows worked to create the collar points. The collar stands up at the back without creating bulk. The sleeves are knitted separately and sewn on as I didn't want a yoke to the upper body and I wanted some bulk in the sleeve head to create body.

This is the view from the back, which I feel also gives it a sort of 1980s, Anthony Price look to it. Might be my imagination!

The final design is Quadrato. This means square in italian, so it is a square scarf, but this doesn't sound half as interesting as Quadrato. I have given this pattern as a chart as it didn't make sense to try and write it out line by line. Initially I found this quite daunting, not because I find charts a problem, but because I write them out on squared paper and I find the jump to working chart on the computer quite a challenge. However, once we had the rows and columns drawn up and a key devised it was really quite simple. I'm glad it was a single sized square though. Made things a lot easier.

Quadrato can be worn around the neck (at the front or back)

or as a headscarf

I love this photo of the lovely Vicky, and I love the way the texture of the Rowan Yorkshire Tweed really stands out on the image. I love Yorkshire Tweed, I wish Rowan hadn't discontinued it.

However, after three hours sleep last night to get all this done, I am off to bed ready for an early start for the 4/5 hour drive to London in the morning.

for now
Ruby xx

A little post

2009-03-10T09:01:00.005Z

I'm not very good at blogging when life is troublesome or getting me down as these things aren't what my blog is about, and when I am wrapped up in lots and lots of work and decisions and problems and stress, all of which depress me, I just find it impossible. Also, its not what I want to write about. My blog, for me, is about creativity and fashion and inspiration and I don't want to fill it with my depressed ramblings. So I'm not going to burden and bore you all with what life is throwing at us at the moment, but just apologise if service is occasionally interrupted for a while.

There are good things to talk about which I will work through over the next few weeks:

I'm are featured in April's Prima magazine talking about vintage clothes. There is a gorgeous full page photo of me and Charlie which I've asked for permission to use but haven't heard back yet. This is the photoshoot that was being done several weeks ago.
I can't get over how lovely the photo is. I normally hate any photo of me and far prefer to be taking them.

knitonthenet should be online this week and its looking fantastic. I'm getting more and more into 'fashion' (clothing, basically) photography and am learning how to use studio lighting a bit more with each session. I'm quite surprised how much I like studio work (I say studio, I mean the house extension) as I always thought I preferred natural shots, but I have found I like the control over the conditions that studio and lights give you.

The Celia gloves pattern will finally be ready and in this issue, along with two other of my designs.

The Galliano pattern is nearly finished. All the pieces are knitted (photos to follow soon). However, I am going to knit it again as we have had to basically rewrite the pattern. Another lady has also been knitting the sweater and I will compare our patterns and then write a final version. If anyone wants to have a go at this once I'm at that stage I'll prepare it as a proper pattern. It will still be a WIP I am sure and open to change and suggestions.

I will get the spats pattern written up and put on the blog once I come back from London. I will be working at the Stitch and Craft show in Olympia from Wednesday to Sunday next week so probably no blogging! There will be lots of friendly faces there. The lovely Theo is working on Sunday, my friends Larissa, Lazykate and Biggan will be popping in and the lovely Jane Waller will be there from Thursday through to Sunday too. It will be a hard working show but I'm looking forward to spending time with so many friends. Theo and I have lots of out of hours plans too, and hope to get to I Knit on the Thursday night. (If you are interested in coming to the Stitch and Craft show, there will be a draw on knitonthenet to win free tickets).

Speak very soon,

love Ruby xxx

If

2009-02-19T00:05:00.006Z

you were to ask me details about what I have been doing the last two weeks since I last blogged I would be hard pressed to tell you. Except to say I have been busy, very busy. Knitting for knitonthenet, sewing for me, catching up on all sorts of things in the house and accounts (yuck), pattern writing, tech editing, answering emails etc., and the two weeks have just disappeared. For the last two days I have been writing almost constantly, preparing for a talk I'm giving. I have, however, been continuing to go through my patterns, making bigger and bigger piles for each decade right up to 1959, which is where I came across these little beauties. The answer to that perennial question at this time of year "Do I really need boots on, but its too cold for shoes?"

The answer is "No you don't need boots, you need Spats!"

This pattern is in a Stitchcraft from 1959 and is in a fashion supplement direct from Paris. The spats go over the shoe and are held with elastic under the sole. I will share the full pattern if you really want me to when I return in a few days after my talk, a visit to the Knitting Resource Library at Winchester School of Art and a trip to see my lovely uncle Tom who is unfortunately very poorly.

See you all in a few days,

for now
Ruby xxx

Edit: I have just found out I will be making a pair of these for my daughter when I get back, so if anyone would like to join me in a SPATKAL do let me know.

Finally some FO's

2009-02-02T17:05:00.004Z

I've been so seriously behind in photographing and cataloguing finished objects, but today I managed to take a few photos this morning whilst there was still some natural light available. Since lunchtime there has been a heavy snow laden sky and it has been snowing steadily for a number of hours now.

Before I reveal my FO's a little update on my last post. Unfortunately, no the pigs aren't mine. I intend to have one or two at some point soon but I'm starting with chickens in April and working my way up. Also all the yarn that went from the middle of the room went in a number of directions. Some on top of the bookcases, some into the outhouse/utility/laundry room which fortunately is heated and some at present into the loft whilst it gets sorted.

And now, finally, for some FO's. The first two are from A Stitch in Time. The first is The Rose Jumper, knitted in Blue Sky Alpaca Silk (one of the most gorgeous yarns on the planet).

I love the crocheted flowers. The front neckline has small tucks sewn into it under the flowers to improve the drape over the bust.

I have a beautiful wool tweed fabric which has the wheat colour of the jumper running through it, which I am making into a skirt - but its not finished yet.

The second FO from A Stitch in Time is Variation on the Cross Over Line, for which I've used Rowan wool 4 Ply in this lovely old blue. This is a very forgiving sweater and I could possibly have done a size smaller - I did the large - but there is no gape at the front which means I don't have to wear a brooch with it unless I want to.

It is knitted in a really simple rib stitch which creates this great textured fabric with the most phenomenal stretch. And for those of us with an ample bosom it is extremely flattering. The front is knitted in three pieces (four sections) two of which cross over each other as can be seen. The two centre pieces extend over the shoulders to form this triangle detail at the back.

I really think this is a timeless garment. So flattering and wearable.

A while ago I mentioned that one of my designs was in Knits to Share and Care and I was given the garment back the other day so I could belatedly take photos of it.

The design is called Babys Coming Home and is for premature babies to come home from hospital in. Its made using Rowan fine milk cotton so its super soft on the skin and in a natural cream shade. Unfortunately in the book it looks beige - still lovely, but beige.

This is the full set of matinee coat, pants and hat.

This is the detail of the 'triangle' pattern around the yoke, neck and on the hat. The coat is knitted in the round, sleeves are knitted on DPNs.

I have two more FO's from A Stitch in Time waiting to be sewn up and a third on the needles. But taking a break from all this vintage knitting, I found two balls of Rowan Scottish DK lurking around and also this lovely beret pattern on Gudrun's site. I've been wanting a great hat for ages and this really has knitted up beautifully.

I think the yarn almost looks like a rock formation.

Much more to share but now sitting in total darkness so

for now
Ruby xxx

P.S. Update on that Galliano pattern coming soon.

Before and After

2009-01-21T17:18:00.003Z

The ongoing internet router dilemma forced a huge move round, sort out, re-organise of rooms in the house and has left me with my computer still in the kitchen now on its own little table for now, BUT with a lovely work room/studio. I thought it would be best to show you the transition visually, beginning naturally with before...

And after...

somewhere comfortable and relaxing to sit

a work table with space on it to work

shelves of inspiration

Ruby nana's sewing machine, still in working order

An early 1960s LBD,

The original 1930s fireplace newly opened up.

So now you know what exciting stuff I've been up to for the last couple of weeks! However a new sense of calm and purpose is beginning to surface from my post new year blues, all that sorting has done me good. I will leave you with this photo that I found on my camera, taken on January 2nd when the piglets where only 2 days old.

You can just see this little chappie waking up his mum by butting her in the snout! whilst the others sleep under their heat lamp.

for now
Ruby xx

The Internet and I

2009-01-05T22:44:00.007Z

have a real love hate relationship. But at the moment its mainly the latter. Shortly before christmas my lovely Mac was moved from its temporary home on the table into the front room, which is to be my study/library/workroom. Now we've had problems with internet access in there previously when I had my old laptop and thought the problem was the computer, but since my Mac got moved I have barely been able to get on the internet. Its temporarily reconnected now and again for a few minutes at a time and then gone off again. I became convinced it wasn't the computer at fault. We read that wireless telephones can cause problems so we unplugged the phone in that room but still no good. Unplugged the computer, carried it into the kitchen and put it back on the table and the internet immediately came back on.

I have no idea what it is about that room. But it has to be resolved as I have nowhere else to go. I, once again, am not connected to my printer or my scanner as they are in 'my' room and I really don't want us eating our dinner around the Mac on a regular basis.

Has anyone else experienced problems like this? And if so, how was it resolved?

Unfortunately, Paris has had to be postponed until February but to make up for it we're going to go for a week which will be lovely.

I also had lovely posts and treats planned for christmas and new year, which didn't happen, so they'll just have to be January pick me ups once I get everything connected again.

I have however, been busy knitting, sewing, reading and cooking and will have lots to show in the next few weeks. Like many other people I managed to get to John Lewis and got some bargains. Two lots of Rowan 4 ply soft - both for A Stitch in Time projects, a pack of Rowan Wool Cotton - undecided what this is for, and not in the sale, 8 balls of Rowan Pure Organic Cotton to make this one from A Stitch in Time

Its called Made So Quickly, and does knit up really quickly. I've gone for the same soft peachy/salmon colour as the original as I really really like it.

I particularly like the way the front is knitted in one piece but divided to give that cardigan feel.

On New Year's Day I treated myself to a good long read of one of my favourite books "I Capture the Castle" by Dodie Smith.

Seen through the eyes of 17 year old Cassandra, life at the remote castle and the changes that take place in a few months are exquisitely described. Each character is developed fully and the story engrosses you completely. But most of all, I love the 'everydayness' that is described. Doing the washing and ironing, accidentally burning the porridge whilst arguing. Its so natural and real and helps evoke perfectly the atmosphere of 1930s rural britain. You feel yourself transported back in time and long to be a part of their life. I can't recommend it enough.

Whilst at John Lewis I bought two Vintage Vogue patterns.I have been looking and looking for about two years for the perfect camel coat and finally found this pattern from the 1950s which is exactly what I have been looking for

and also this gorgeous suit from 1944 which I just couldn't resist

and which will go so well with my vintage knits. I certainly won't be wearing the fur wrap but maybe the little hat?

for now

Ruby xxx

a little blogging goes a long way

2008-12-18T21:43:00.004Z

I have decided that rather than leaving lots of stuff to pile up and then having to do big long blogs that take ages I'm going to TRY and blog more frequently. Certainly between now and christmas I have a few posts to get through.

The good news is that in the last ten minutes I have finally got a working scanner. Its also better quality than any scanner I've had before which hopefully means it won't break with as alarming regularity as all the others.

I've started planning 2009 and have come to the conclusion that I am going to have to be seriously organised if I am going to achieve the targets I have set myself - I'll share some of these plans with you in the new year - but in the short term, once the christmas festivities are over, we're going to go over to Paris for a few days on a vintage button and ribbon hunt (hubbie and daughter don't know that's why we're going yet, that's on a need to know basis) and also to find more of these

This is the back cover illustration from the french magazine Le Petit Echo de la Mode and shows dressmaking patterns available. Can you imagine being able to get patterns as beautiful as these? This particular issue is from 30 September 1934 and instructs the parisian women on how to make their own high fashion clothes and also how to customize their existing wardrobe as well as featuring some fabulous adverts such as this one

which roughly says that "Ondulux" in a few moments, simply by placing it on your head like a bonnet, will give your hair the exact waves that you want. Do you think it would work?

for now
Ruby xxx

A huge thank you

2008-12-12T21:12:00.003Z

to everyone who has messaged me both on this blog and privately about my last post. Those comments have meant the world to me and have really helped me regain my motivation and you have no idea how much I appreciate you all taking the time to lend me your support.

The offending items have been removed from ebay and I have managed to stop myself spending the rest of my life trawling through every page of ebay and etsy for more of my designs, and I will carry on doing what I've been doing and more things besides.

No pictures again today as I have also managed to loose the battery charger for my camera. I will get myself sorted shortly I promise.

Spending the weekend with the lovely Jane Waller in her lodge in the woods looking through vintage patterns, ooh, and was interviewed today by Prima magazine for a piece they are doing on shopping in vintage and charity shops. There is to be a 'glamorous' photoshoot in January at one of my favourite shops. Couldn't ask for more.

Have a lovely weekend, whatever the weather.

for now
a back on track
Ruby xxx

Sometimes, life disappoints

2008-12-04T08:36:00.002Z

I was really disappointed to find out yesterday that someone is selling one of my designs, knitted up, on ebay. An email has been sent to the person asking them to remove the items from sale, but its just a real shame that people do this. I've had similar experiences before and it always knocks the wind out of my sails. I have offered those designs for free and at my own expense - yarn, time, blog/web page costs - and would like to think that people have the decency not to try and make money from other people's efforts. But I have been proven wrong yet again. I'm sure these people would be the first to complain if there were no more free patterns available, but it does make you want to stop.

I could say a lot more, but I will leave it at that.

for now,
a sad Ruby xx

Where do I start?

2008-11-29T10:36:00.003Z

I find writing the first post when I haven't blogged for a while very difficult as there is so much to talk about and you feel that you are going to be bombarding people with a three page long blog. So I thought the best thing to do today would be to say hello again, and then do a few posts over the next week or two bringing everything up to date.

The main reason its taken me this long to get back in the saddle is that once A Stitch in Time came out I got the worst cold/flu I have had in many a year and although I kept going, inbetween doing what I had to do I was exhausted and felt awful. I must apologise aswell if I've missed any emails or comments during this time, but I'll try and get everything up to date now. Also my scanner broke which severely restricts my blogging.

But really I should just use this first post to celebrate. A Stitch In Time is published, looks beautiful and is selling really well. It can be bought directly from the knitonthenet shop or other retail oulets including yarn stores. It has taken up two years of my life and in the last few months has become all consuming, with little time for anything else, but looking at it now it was worth it. It is the culmination of a 20 year obsession with knitting, all things vintage and fashion and I am really proud of it and of what has been accomplished.

I'll leave you with some of my favourite images from the book:

Have you made a jumper yet? from 1921 using Habu Kuzaki Zome silk

The model is the beautiful Miss Miranda

With the new cowl neckline from 1932 again using Habu

You might recognise this model from the book cover or from the cover of knitonthenet. This is my lovely friend Theo.

Concentrate on the Sleeves from 1934 using Jo Sharp Classic DK Wool

And this is the fabulous Fleur De Guerre.

for now
Ruby xxx