Off to Yarndale!

The first stage of an exciting few weeks of travelling hither and thither begins today with the short trip to Skipton to run my stand at the new Yarndale event that's taking place this weekend.

I've got lots of new and different things on sale on the stand including gorgeous yarns from Juno FibreArts who I'm also working very closely with on a top secret yarn for the Vintage Shetland Project (at this point, I can't say any more than that!) and a big stash of Jamieson & Smith Shetland wools to choose from too.

If you've been thinking of  Blouse with a Gathered Neckline or Dark Red Pretties do come and take a look at the beautiful Lace Weight yarn I have had specially dyed in my own colourway by Juno to match these two iconic garments.

Or would you love that top that Jennie wore on the Call the Midwife series - otherwise known as Ladys Evening Jumper?

Well Juno has also recreated the colour so that now you can.

I also have small amounts of lots and lots of Jamieson & Smith 2 ply jumper weight yarn which as you all know can be used for so so many of the projects in all my books so why not make yourself that Such Flattering Puff Sleeves or a Bubble Stitch Yoke?

I've now also finally got exactly the right bright red yarn to knit Sun Ray Ribbing in a gorgeous Alpaca blend.

I've also got a small selection of Jamieson & Smith 2 ply lace which is perfect for vintage knitting. And of course, I have the Wartime Farm kits in Jamieson & Smith too. The Excelana kits are currently sold out I'm afraid (although they will be back in stock in a few weeks) but we do still have some of the original Jamieson & Smith colourway left.

In addition to all that, I will be launching a new design at Yarndale in advance of anywhere else. The pattern uses only 2 balls of Excelana DK (1 ball each in two colours) and features a colour work pattern inspired by Faroese patterns published in the late 1920s. Here's a little peek!

If you can't make Yarndale the pattern will be available from the website and ravelry on Monday. A small selection of patterns from Volumes one and two will also be available at the show and will then be launched as PDFs single patterns very soon!

So in the meantime, I look forward to seeing some of you at stand 144 this weekend and I'll be back next week with a lot more news about pattern releases, yarns etc, etc!


for now,
Ruby xx

Competition Winner!

And the winner is Mariela! Congratulations you have won a copy of Jean's fabulous new book. I'll be in touch for your details, or if you see this post please email me with your address and I'll forward it the publishers who will send out your copy directly.

Best wishes
Ruby xx

Knitting's Golden Age

Some of you may remember that last October I headed off to Boscombe with a very brave, Miss Fleur McGuerr to take part in some filming for a BBC documentary. You can read all about the day's filming on my blog here

At the time the documentary didn't have a name and we didn't know when it would be scheduled to air. Well I'm delighted to say that the day has come and at 9pm this evening on BBC 4 the first in the series of documentaries entitled Fabric of Britain will hit our screens. This first episode is titled "Knitting's Golden Age" and Fleur, myself and The Call of the Sea swimsuit all appear along with such luminaries as Sandy Black and Kaffe Fassett - although neither of these appear in a knitted swimsuit!

If you are able to please do watch. The documentary's produced, Georgina, will hopefully letting me know how viewers from the US and other countries will also be able to view in the near future.

To celebrate the Knitted Swimsuit Project page on the website will be 'properly' open a little later today and a number of swimsuit patterns including The Call of the Sea, A Dashing Little Swimsuit and more are now available as single PDF patterns for the first time. I haven't been able to merge three patterns into one as I had originally hoped and mentioned in an earlier blog post as they are basically just too big but hopefully the thoroughness of the patterns will make up for that! In the hope that someone may like the outfit I wore for the shoot, The Princess Twinset and Crowning Glory beret patterns will also be available as single pattern downloads for the first time too. Yarn kits for The Call of the Sea featuring Coquette will also be available.

I hope everyone enjoys the show and that everyone is inspired to knit their own knitted swimsuit!

for now,
Ruby xx

Great Little Gifts to Knit Giveaway

The lovely and as I have mentioned before, greatly influential, Jean Moss, has once again very kindly offered a copy of her latest book to readers of this blog. “Great Little Gifts to Knit” is in Jean’s own words ‘totally new ground’ for her and akin to ‘an unknown voyage of discovery’. 

 

 

 This may be, but the book is quintessential Jean, with clever, witty, well designed knitted gifts to make for every occasion. Here are a few which just say Jean to me in big bold colourful letters:

The Jubilee Jacket and Hat is very reminiscent of World Knits

 Fiesta Shrug - vintage Jean at her best with clever colour and stitch combining worked over a simple shape

 

Wensleydale Tea Cosy - a great excuse for Jean to let loose her incredible knack for putting together a fabulous array of colours

 

and finally the Odalisque Turban and Hat - much more vintage in style and ‘inspired by the louche and lanquid odalisques in the paintings of Matisse’.

To be in with a chance of winning a copy of the book, take a  look through all the projects in the book in the photo gallery on Jean’s website then come back to my blog and leave a comment telling me which pattern you like the most. I’ll choose the winner this time next week but in the meantime if you would rather purchase the book and get casting on right away you can buy it from amazon as well as other book and yarn shops.

If you would like more chances of winning why not call on some of these other marvellous people who will be taking part in Jean’s book tour over the next couple of weeks:

Tues 17 Sep    Zeneedle Margene Smith
Wed 18 Sep    Redshirt Knitting Erika Barcott
Thur 19 Sep   A Friend to Knit With Leslie Friend
Fri 20 Sep      Craft Sanity Jennifer Ackerman Haywood
Mon 23 Sep   Connieleneknits Connie Lene
Tues 24 Sep   Knitsofacto Annie Cholewa
Wed 25 Sep   Ulla Bella Anita Tormoen
Thur 26 Sep  A Really Good Yarn Julie Schilthuis
Fri 27 Sep     Urban Yarns Alexa Ludeman
Sat 28 Sep     Linda Marveng  Linda Marveng
Mon 30 Sep  Yarnings Jen

Good Luck!
for now,
Ruby xx

Blanche Too

I have wanted to revisit and improve my Blanche design from several years ago, for some considerable time. Time constraints being what they are however,  I didn't get the chance for over four years to come back to one of favourite ever designs and improve and expand the pattern. The original design was also in an aran weight yarn but now it is knitted in Excelana DK making it a perfect every day jumper. Knitted in stocking stitch it is the shaping and details that make this garment really special. The instructions now include 9 sizes from 30 inch to 52 inch chest and has full instructions to knit Blanche either in flat pieces or in the round.

And so here she is -

I have used Excelana DK in Persian Grey for the sample. Charlie is modelling the size 34 inch (86cm) - her correct size. It is designed to be worn with between 1 and 3 inches of negative ease at the bust to give it a perfectly sculpted 1950s feel to the garment. The ear-rings, necklace and bracelet are all 1950s originals and the gorgeous checked pencil skirt is hand made.

The square neckline is extremely flattering for all body shapes as are the short-but-not-too-short sleeves.

The body is shaped with subtle decreases and increases to create waist shaping again reminiscent of the 1950s.

This example is knitted in the round and is a real pleasure to knit particularly when taking a break from more challenging projects. You can easily knit Blanche up within a couple of weeks and be wearing her before the end of September.

It looks great on both a slim or more full silhouette as you can see here with me modelling my own version in Nile Green Excelana. This version is knitted flat and then sewn together. It is the size 42-44 inch which comes out at 41 inches.

If you would like to purchase the PDF pattern you can buy the pattern either directly from ravelry
or
via my website

The pattern containing 9 sizes and instructions for both knitting in the round or flat construction is £4 (please note this is for a downloadable PDF pattern only) and here are all the bits you need to know:

Blanche

To fit bust size: 

76, 81, 86, 91-96, 101, 107-112, 117, 122, 127-132 cm

30, 32, 34, 36-38, 40, 42-44, 46, 48, 50-52 inches

Materials

Excelana Luxury DK, 100% pure new British wool, 119m (130yd) per 50g ball

4 (4, 5, 6, 6, 7, 8, 8, 9) balls in shade Persian Grey

Stitch Holders

Stitch Markers

Plus

If knitted flat:

1 pair 3.25mm (US 3) needles

1 pair 4mm (US 6) needles, plus an additional spare 4mm needle

1 4mm 60cm circular needle

If knitted in the round:

1 3.25mm 60cm long circular needle

1 4mm 60cm long circular needle plus an additional spare 4mm needle

Set of 3.25mm double pointed needles

Set of 4mm double pointed needles

Buy Now

£4.00

(PDF download)

I do hope you like her.

for now,
Ruby xxx

A visit to the John Arbon mill in pictures

We spent a lovely few days down in Devon visiting our good friends John and Juliet Arbon who run and own John Arbon Textiles where Excelana is made. The mill has recently moved to new premises and so I paid John a visit to see the new mill in action. I get very excited by machinery, particularly old machinery like at John's mill so thought I would share some of my favourite 'machinery and related paraphenalia' photos - now that is not a phrase you'll hear from me very often!

And finally, here's John in action

For now,
Ruby xx

Dolce and Gabbana and me!

Imagine my surprise when I received an email pointing out a famous admirer of my work. No less than Dolce and Gabbana in fact.

In their autumn winter collection there is a very pretty, simple lace jumper, short bodied with a deep rib waist band, a boat neck also finished with ribbing and quite full short sleeves. And here it is, Cashmere perforated Knit Sweater, for sale at £640 here.

Look familiar? It certainly looks amazingly similar to The Jan Sweater from A Stitch in Time Volume 2
don't you think? This jumper has proven incredibly popular and knitters versions of it can be found on blogs, tumblrs and pinterest boards all over the internet as well as on ravelry.

Its hard to believe that this 'interpretation' is coincidental. However Jan is of course a vintage pattern and I can lay no claim to the original design and nor would I try to - although Dolce and Gabbana do appear to be suggesting it is their original design. This I find very hard to stomach. However life is far too short and therefore I would alternatively like to request that rather than paying £640 for a machine made, mass produced copy, people purchase A Stitch in Time Volume 2 for £35 along with approx 6 balls of Excelana 4 ply Wool for £30 and make a much more economical yet infinitely more beautiful and unique version of this iconic jumper - oh and maybe also mention to anyone who will listen that the Jan Sweater was here first - and that she is from the 1930s not the 1950s as described on Matches Fashion website!

for now,
Ruby xxx

Help Save Mutonia

Long time readers of my blog will probably remember that I have been very fortunate to spend time at Campo di Mutoid or Mutonia in Italy as a guest of my good friend Woolly Wormhead and the other mutoids. The camp, both legal and rent paying, is under threat from one individual who is attempting to force the local Santarcangelo council into evicting this talented community and destroy the incredible artworks that dominate. Many of the people who live in the camp are talented and respected artists many of whom are commissioned worldwide to create art pieces based on those found at Mutonia. Visitors like myself also cannot help but be inspired by the sculptures and other art pieces at the site.

The Mutoids since their arrival in the 1990s have transformed a derelict industrial site, where machinery was left to rot and rust without any thought to the environment. The Mutoids have used these abandoned materials to create their art, bringing life back into their immediate surroundings but also into the industrial waste itself.

Below are some photos from my trip to Mutonia in 2010 showing the camp and the artforms and also a derelict gravel pit a mile or so up the path from the camp which reveals just how great a transformation has taken place.

Entrance to the Mutoid camp

amazing works of art scattered around the camp

fabulous metal sculpture from waste products

some of the metal men that the Mutoids have become world famous for

living accommodation fitting in seamlessly with the surrounding woodland

the time machine

straight out of H G Wells!

Woolly's inspiration is all around her

home as a work of art

bringing a derelict plot back to life

a metal insect

amazing fire flies at night all around the camp

the gravel pit - an example of how the Mutoid camp looked before their arrival

just waiting to become a work of art

yet more examples of what the location would look like if the Mutoids hadn't been allowed to rent the land

As you can imagine there are a lot of legalities for Mutonia to deal with collectively and individually, with lawyers time to pay for. So to help raise funds for the campaign Woolly has launched an e-book called Hatopia, which is a collection of 10 of her hat patterns all shot on location at Mutonia.

Copyright Woolly Wormhead

You can view the collection and purchase the book here and by doing so, know that you have helped save Mutonia!

The entire collection costs only £9 with a whopping £7 of each sale being donated to the fund.

To find out more about Mutonia and the campaign go to Woolly's website here
and also do take time to read this Mutonia statement:

"The Mutoid Waste Company arrived in Santarcangelo di Romagna, Italy in 1990 to perform in that year's "Festival Dei Teatri", a renowned annual festival held in the town. From that time on Santarcangelo became a base for the group and it became their home. Their art, their way of life and they themselves became an accepted part of life in Santarcangelo. Over the last 23 years they have increasingly collaborated on projects with local institutions such as schools, and their ties with the local community have strengthened. In recent years some of the Mutoids have chosen the Yard as a safe place to raise their own children.

The Yard is unique: a place that follows the rules whilst living completely outside them, a place that advocates an alternative outlook on life, a place that allows people to discover new things - and it's wonderful that such a place is considered a true part of Santarcangelo and that the locals readily accept the Yard as part of their community.

Despite these many years of mutually respectful cohabitation there is one voice that has continually spoken against the Mutoids presence; a single objector who now seriously threatens this culturally important phenomenon.

Mutonia is not a campsite (even though its inhabitants live in caravans, buses, trucks and temporary constructions that look more like works of art than houses); it's not a standard travellers site (although many of its inhabitants have a semi-nomadic lifestyle); and the group have never illegally occupied the land.

In recent years Santarcangelo's local council has been searching for a solution to the situation, seeking help from other government bodies, with the ultimate aim of declaring the Mutoid Yard as a Site of Cultural Interest.

Unfortunately the Yard currently finds itself under a very real and serious threat of eviction - a reality which would not only destroy this unique community but also disperse its inhabitants and their artwork."

And finally here is a photo of Woolly in the Time Machine itself - inspired herself and inspiring others with her creativity, her vision and her ideals.

for now,

Ruby xx

All images other than Hatopia cover, copyright of Susan Crawford 2010