Just Call Me Ruby

Friday, July 29, 2011

Some Pretty Pictures

Excellent progress is being made on A Stitch in Time Vol 2 and it will soon be going to the printers. In the meantime I'm excitedly looking forward to the arrival of samples to pick our cloth cover for the book. I've always wanted to publish a book with a hard back cover but wanted even more to publish a book with a cloth cover like the Odhams books etc so am thrilled with this. I also think it will make the finished book even more special.

I know I've been quiet on the blog for several weeks as I have worked on the book day and night so thought I would share a couple of the designs from the book with you:


Copyright Susan Crawford 2011

This gorgeous coat is officially known as 'The Swagger Coat' and is from the 1930s. It may be more familiar to many of you as Miss Marple's coat, worn by Geraldine McEwan in the TV series. It has also been seen far more recently, for approx 5 seconds, in the film 'The King's Speech', so a bit of a celebrity!

To create the smooth, slightly shiny fabric the pattern required and also getting the uncommonly big tension for the period, I used Fyberspates Scrumptious Aran in Water. It knits up beautifully, extremely quickly and with its high silk content, has exactly the right amount of sheen. The first size shown here takes 8 skeins. It will be available in a wide range of sizes from 30-52 inches.

This garment has had quite an impact on everyone who has seen it. She's called Kasha and is from the 1940s. I have a separate blog post all about the intricacies of multi sizing this little lady as she is quite a challenge so I won't dwell on that today. This beautiful cardigan jumper is knitted in Skein Queen Blush in a very special shade created by Skein Queen herself called Vintage Gold. The largest size is knitted in Lotus Cashmere DK. The lace motif is pretty complex but has been charted for the book making the knitting a lot easier. The button band is knitted as part of the fronts with the collar and little shoulder pads knitted separately and sewn on afterwards. Because of the complexity of the lace pattern, Kasha is available in a smaller range of sizes but is still available in sizes 30-44 inches.


Copyright Susan Crawford 2011

And one final reveal before its back to work for me. This is the Pretty Frilled Jumper, again from the 1930s. This is knitted both vertically and horizontally and with delicated frills knitted separately and sewn on afterwards. The stitch pattern is very simple but made more intriguing by the unusual construction. This design seems to look good on everyone who has tried it on despite being a little underwhelming in the original pattern. I think its the frills, framing the face so elegantly and then adding a bit of glamour at the wrist. It is knitted in Jamieson & Smith 2 ply Jumper yarn which has the right amount of body to get those frills to stand to attention. It is available in a range of sizes from 32-46 inch bust.

I will leave it there for today but will introduce a few more designs next week.

for now
Ruby xx

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

KNIT NATION 2011

I will be travelling down to London this weekend to take part in Knit Nation at Imperial College London.

I will be teaching two classes "Vintage Fit & Finishing" and "Interpreting and Working from Vintage Patterns". I think both classes have either nearly or have sold out, although there may be one or two spaces left on Sunday for Working from Vintage Patterns.

I will also be having a stand at the event and thought it would be nice to offer a 10% discount on Excelana yarns to any pre-order customers of A Stitch in Time, Vintage Knitting Patterns, Vol2, who buy from my stand. To claim your discount please bring a print out of your order confirmation from the knitonthenet shop (only pre-orders directly made on the shop I’m afraid) and we will deduct 10% off any Excelana purchase.

I am trying to work out how to offer the same arrangement on the online shop for pre order customers but haven’t got it sorted out as yet, as our shop is very basic and doesn’t allow for a lot of ‘fancy stuff’.

This and the potential offer on the shop is in addition to the discount voucher being provided with the book pre-order package.

There will be a lovely selection of the garments from Volume 2 on display along with the yarn usage guide I've been steadily compiling, so if you see something you like and you want the yarn ready to get started when the book arrives next month, you can take advantage of the 10% offer.

I've also been calculating amounts needed for Excelana when substituting it for other yarns used in Volume 1 and Vintage Gifts to Knit so lots of reasons to come to my tiny stand and say hello!

I look forward to seeing some of you there.

for now
Ruby xx

Tuesday, June 07, 2011

More on the making of A Stitch in Time Volume 2!

Things are going full steam ahead and very quickly as the book gets closer and closer to being ready. We recently had a further photoshoot around a series of outdoor locations that I had chosen close to my home. I'm lucky to live in an area that has a significant number of places that lend themselves beautifully to period photoshoots and just like with volume one, I wanted to include as many of them as possible in the book. As every single waking moment of every day is currently accounted for, twice over, I'm going to pass this post over to my assistant Inny, who has written a great account of this shoot over on the knitonthenet blog. There are also some great behind the scenes photos. You can read all about it here.

for now,
back to work!
Ruby xx

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

A Stitch In Time Photoshoot on Film!

At one of the most recent photoshoots for A Stitch in Time Volume 2, one of Charlie's friends at university who is also studying film, kindly offered to video the day and then turn it into a short film for us. Scott Willis, our wonderful film maker, travelled down from Edinburgh on the day of shooting in March and spent the day quietly filming us. He has since spent many hours editing the footage into a marvellous visual treat of the day. I do hope you enjoy it.

A Stitch In Time Photo Shoot from Scott Willis on Vimeo.

The garments shown, as I'm sure you're going to ask, are all in Volume 2 and in order that they make an appearance they are:-

Sirdar 1035 (yet to be named!) in Skein Queen Blush, shade Vintage Gold - 1940s
Helen Shrug in Excelana 4ply, shade Alabaster - 1930s
Tri Cable Cardigan in Shilasdair Cashmere 4 ply - 1930s
Pretty for Everyday in Rowan Cashsoft 4ply (also in Excelana 4ply) - 1940s
Glamorous Evening Top in Knitshop Mulberry Silk - 1950s
Pretty Frilled Jumper in Jamieson & Smith 2 ply jumper weight - 1930s
The Jan Sweater in Excelana 4ply, shade Powdered Egg - 1930s
There is a glimpse of Dinah's Lacy Top in Rooster Baby, shade Ice Gem -1930s
Then Sirdar 1035, Jan Sweater then back to Sirdar 1035
At the very end you can see Pretty for Everyday in the background and the garment on the cover shot is Cryscelle in Knitshop Mulberry Silk - 1930s. Phew!

The two models appearing in the film are the wonderful Theodora Burrow and fabulous Lola Valentine. The hair and make up artist is Catherine-Elizabeth who can do the most amazing hair I've ever seen. Others present are myself, Charlie, Gavin and Inny.

I want to take the opportunity to thank Scott once again for a fantastic production. He's only just finishing his first year - he is going to be so good!

I'm off to watch it once again, so
for now
Ruby xx

Friday, May 20, 2011

Italia!

Last week was a very exciting week. Gavin, Charlie and I set off for Italy to spend the week with Woolly Wormhead and her family just outside Sant Archangelo in the North East of Italy.

Woolly, Tom and Aran off to a wedding - copyright susan crawford 2011

With four avid photographers, Woolly, Tom, Charlie and myself all armed with our cameras at all times, there have been a LOT of photos to go through. In the end, I've chosen a small selection for the blog that I think sum up our time there.

The camp we stayed at is known as the Mutoid Camp, which is the base for a group of sculptors and artists who make the most amazing pieces out of scrap.


Copyright susan crawford 2011

The sculptures are larger than life and are dotted all around the camp.


copyright susan crawford 2011

This first sculpture is by the lovely Lou, who made us very welcome on the first night of our stay, inviting us to a barbecue she was hosting. Later in the week, Lou was to get married. Unfortunately we had to fly home on the morning of the celebrations which was a real shame.


copyright susan crawford 2011


copyright susan crawford 2011

This huge 'man' is one of a number done by another camp resident, Debbie who makes incredibly detailed and intricate sculptures, particularly for their scale.


copyright susan crawford 2011

This huge beast stands at the entrance to Woolly's plot. Its scale can't quite be appreciated here but it is over 10 feet tall. Many of the sculptures on the camp have been done as communal projects so I unfortunately don't know the details of the artists for all the works I have shown.

Gavin and I slept in Barp which Woolly used to use to get around in. Charlie was in a separate trailer


copyright susan crawford 2011

and Woolly, Tom and Aran were in the 'silver decker bus'


copyright susan crawford 2011

Sant Archangelo is a beautiful, Italian town, which has built up around a walled centre.

This is the view from about two thirds of the way up the hill

This it the beginning of the ancient walls rising above the town.

And of course amazing typically italian streets. I love the shades of green and pistachio, coral, pink and terracotta all blending into each other in this photograph. High up one of these winding streets is a small museum - a button museum! It is a fabulous museum with buttons from 1700s through to current times, and with a huge number from the 1920s-1940s which made me very happy.


copyright susan crawford 2011

The owners made us extremely welcome offering us iced tea and cake whilst we studied the collection and even had a small range of 'overs' from between the 30s and 50s from which I purchased a small number! I'll share these another time though.

One of my favourite day trips was our visit to San Marino, which is only 30 or 40 minutes from Sant Archangelo and rises up on the horizon in front of the camp. It is apparently the oldest republic in the world. It is also very wealthy and very, very pretty. Cars are parked part way down the mountain that is San Marino and then the rest is done on foot. The views are spectacular, stretching across Italy in all directions.


copyright susan crawford 2011

The streets though are very, very steep so I would recommend good walking shoes!


copyright susan crawford 2011


copyright susan crawford 2011

Three year old Aran made light work of all the steep climbs! However you are rewarded at the top with some very nice restaurants and cafes to sit, recover, eat and drink - I'm good at that bit.

Me - copyright woolly wormhead 2011

Charlie - copyright susan crawford 2011

Gavin - copyright susan crawford 2011

Back at camp there was some work to do as Woolly had photography to do for both her forthcoming Bambeanies booklet and also a retrospective she is beginning to work on. I couldn't resist getting involved and taking some photos of Woolly's work myself. A particular sculpture features heavily in Woolly's photos, which is known as the Time Machine - a result of a collaborative project by the Mutoids.

It has many parts, sides and shapes which Woolly has used to great effect. I actually managed to catch her at work when she wasn't looking!

As you can see from the photo above, Woolly persuaded Charlie to do some modelling for her. I took a couple myself in an attempt at Woolly Wormhead style -


copyright susan crawford 2011 - hat woolly wormhead

I will most definitely return to Italy. It was everything I hoped and more, but most of all I want to thank Woolly, Tom and Aran for making us so very very welcome and sharing their little part of Italy with us.

for now
Ruby xx

Friday, May 06, 2011

Pre-order update and Pattern Preview

Due to the popularity of the pre-order offer on A Stitch In Time, Vol 2, we only have a few left where mini skeins will still be part of the pre-order package but I'm happy to announce that the new offer will be:

A signed copy of A Stitch in Time Volume Two
A Susan Crawford project bag
Discount vouchers
PDF preview pattern
All still for £30 + £4 P&P to anywhere in the world.

I'm also holding postage costs down for as long as possible but as we subsidise the postage costs I can never guarantee how long that will remain the price, but for now...

A couple of days ago I released this adorable pattern to all the wonderful people who have kindly pre-ordered A Stitch in Time Volume 2 and this is the pattern that any new pre-orders will also receive as a PDF - "The Jan Sweater"

Jan is knitted in Excelana 4 ply using the shade Powdered Egg. The original design is from 1938. It features a classic boat neck and deep ribbed welt. The lace pattern is very easy to follow particularly as the body is unshaped between the welt and the underarm.

Front and back are worked the same, all in all making this a great introduction to vintage knitting. The boat neck can be left fully open as shown on the photos, or it can be sewn up to suit the wearer's preference.

Photographed, is the beautiful Faye, who modelled for me for the first time recently and was an absolute joy to work with, instinctively understanding the clothes and the eras they were from.

The ear rings and brooch both belonged to my grandmother Ruby, as did the watch that you can just see in the first photo. The scarf and skirt are both vintage finds.

Don't forget there are a handful of pre-order packages left that include the mini skeins if you really wanted to get your hands on those, but I think that Jan makes a very good replacement. Don't you?

for now
Ruby xx

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Bridget's Blunder!

Its difficult at the moment to share much of what is happening as such a lot of what I am doing is checking and rechecking and measuring and calculating so I thought I would share this little poem with you which I found at the back of a 1940s pattern booklet, promoting the famous 'Patonised' wool of the time, and its called 'Bridget's Blunder'

Bridget's Blunder

My story tells of Bridget Whitting

Who loved both plain and fancy knitting,

But though she worked by day and night

Her efforts seldom turned out right.

Friends would say, "Cor! That jumper's posh!"

But when she'd given it a wash,

Instead of snugly fitting Bridget

It seemed more suited to a midget.

One day, when off to see her draper

She saw announced inside her paper

A brand-new wool; was she elated!

For bold as brass the maker stated:-

"This wool's the best that can be got,

It will not shrink, no matter what!"

So Bridget told her woolshop flat,

"I'll have a basinful of that."

And hurried home with glowing cheeks,

But couponless for weeks and weeks.

Soon willing Labour bore its fruit -

A salmon-pinky jumpersuit,

Which Bridget wore with pride o'er-weening

Till, solied and creased, it needed cleaning.

Said B., "It won't take half a wink,

the makers say it cannot shrink."

(But they forgot to say - the wretches! -

That wool made shrinkless sometimes stretches).

'Twas washed; the outcome nearly killed her,

It went three times round Aunt Matilda!

And looked in shade like Aunt Euphemia

Who suffers from acute anaemia.

"That's finished it," wept B., "I'm quitting,

I'm through for good and all with knitting;

I'll write at once to my MP,

about this dire clamity."

Her tale was penned 'midst groans and hisses,

- The MP showed it to his Mrs.

Who said, "That girl should be advised

to stick to wool that's Patonised,

Which, used with reasonable care

Will wash and wash, and wear and wear;

Trust P&B, the leading spinners

Only to turn out certain winners.

Just tell her she's a chump to quit

When there's such lovely wool to knit."

B. took the tip, no longer weeps;

that MP's in his seat for keeps!

I hope you enjoyed Bridget's tale.

for now

Ruby xx

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Why are so many vintage patterns only in one size?

I would very much like to introduce you today to Jen Arnall-Culliford.

Formerly employed by Future Publishing, Jen is now working as a freelance tech editor and has very kindly taken on the task of tech editing A Stitch in Time Vol 2 for me. It is a mountainous task but Jen is the sort of girl who loves a challenge! We work very closely together on every pattern, in our efforts to give the knitter the best pattern possible, without radically altering the design. Jen has agreed to write some blog posts explaining some of the more challenging situations we are encountering and how even so, we are managing to maintain the integrity of the original designs. So over to Jen...

So, why are so many vintage patterns only in one size - or, the challenges of vintage patterns… This is the first in a short series about technical editing of complex knitting patterns.

My background is in chemistry, and one of the things I love about working as a knitting technical editor, is the amount of problem solving, pattern spotting and maths involved. People often think I have a peculiar career path, but to me it makes complete sense! Straight chemistry didn’t provide enough variety for me, but many of the skills I learnt are directly useful in knitting. Writing lab reports so that another chemist can repeat your work uses exactly the same skills as writing a pattern so that another knitter can create the same garment. And likewise, the problem solving that you use when trying to make a natural product in the lab are the same as the problem solving that you apply to charting or grading a knitting pattern. They are, really!

Many of the patterns that will be featured in A Stitch in Time Vol. 2, were originally published in just one size. Susan is working hard on rewriting these patterns to give a range of sizes better suited to modern knitters (this process is known as grading). In most cases, this involves adding extra stitches to widen a piece, and extra rows to add length. For colourwork patterns, this is usually a straightforward process – adding extra motifs to the bands, and then rows between to lengthen. Cable patterns aren’t too complicated either, although sometimes the repeats are wide, and compromises need to be made to allow width increases of less than one pattern repeat. You will no doubt have seen patterns where extra small cables, moss stitch or ribbing are added at the sides of larger garments. It is generally lace patterns that pose a particular problem, and sometimes in these cases, grading a pattern in the traditional way just isn’t possible. The designs use the shape of the stitch patterns in such a way that it is vital to respect the way in which the stitch pattern evolves if you wish to grade larger (or smaller) sizes without losing the most important design features. A stitch pattern that has sloping sides may be used to create any of the shaping that the garment requires, for example at the waist, bust, armhole or neck opening. If you change the point in the pattern where this shaping occurs, then a vital part of the original design is lost.

Many of the lace patterns chosen for A Stitch in Time Vol. 2 use complex motifs where the stitch count changes as the rows are worked (creating a shaped pattern). This makes it almost impossible to change any of the garment dimensions in less than a whole pattern repeat. And pattern repeats can be quite large! Imagine, for example, an original garment to fit a 32in bust. The front measures 16in across, 12in to the armholes and then has an armhole depth of 8in. The stitch pattern has a diamond shape, and measures 4in wide by 4in tall, and stitch counts change on almost every row, making it necessary to keep shaping for armholes in the same relative position on every size. If you want to make the armhole depth more than it already is, you would need to go up to 12in, which is much too deep for any size. Likewise, to decrease the depth, you would need to go down to 4in, which is too small.

In some patterns, it is possible to work half pattern repeats, which give a smaller increment in which to work, but that’s not the end of the problem, as working a half repeat may well necessitate writing a whole different set of instructions for the shaping. Given that some of the patterns already take a large number of pages in just one size, adding extra pages isn’t a printable option. And remember that more written instructions increases the probability of errors. So the more instructions there are, the more checks and tests need to be performed to remove them. In science this is often possible as the risks and rewards involved are high, so budget is available for lengthy and rigorous testing. In knitting, these same risks and rewards are lower, and as such it isn’t normally possible to have more than 3 levels of editing of a pattern, without increasing the cost to the consumer dramatically. Most patterns and pattern books don’t sell in anywhere near enough numbers to cover the cost of professional test knitting of every size of a garment, followed by multiple levels of technical editing.

Given these challenges, it isn’t surprising that many older patterns were printed in only one size, and explains why some of the patterns in both volumes of A Stitch in Time are graded using needle size changes and yarn weight changes instead of pattern instruction grading. When a designer has gone to such lengths to use a stitch pattern so creatively, it’s wonderful to be able to offer that design in a wider range of sizes, whilst preserving the very design features that make the pattern so special. With careful choice of different weights of yarn, you can grade a pattern in the best possible way – the finished garment will look the same as the sample, just larger. How often have you seen disappointing patterns where the proportions have been destroyed with acres of extra filler stitch pattern in large sizes? Using needle size and yarn carefully avoids this problem, and gives larger sizes the same cleverly designed proportions as the original.

Next time I’ll take you through how we chart a pattern with changing stitch counts, and hopefully get rid of some of the confusion surrounding “no stitch” symbols.

For more technical blether, I can be found on Twitter @JenACKnitwear and on Ravelry also at JenACKnitwear.

I do hope you've enjoyed today's guest post. Jen will be back again in a few weeks with more insights into what goes into the making of A Stitch in Time.

but for now,
Ruby xx

Images courtesy of Jen Arnall-Culliford

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Revised Publication Date Information

I recently emailed all the pre-order customers of A Stitch in Time Volume 2 to explain my decision to amend the publication date on the book. I am hoping that everyone has received and has had time to read the email and would like to share it with you now:

"As you know, A Stitch in Time Volume 2 was due for publication on 31st March. However I have had to revise the publication date due to a number of factors that I have been trying to deal with, but ultimately by rushing the book to meet the original publication date, I believe errors etc will creep in and I really don't want that to happen.

An unusually high number of the original vintage patterns being used in the book have been found to be incorrect on knitting up and I have had to spend more time than expected correcting the patterns before they could be knit again. More than expected have proven so inaccurate that I have had to remove them from the book and replace them with alternative patterns. This means even more knitting and checking.

With to the high level of inaccuracies in the original patterns I have taken the decision to introduce a further level of independent technical editing which is expensive and time consuming but I am sure you will agree, well worth it, if it removes errors in the new patterns.

With so many patterns in the book, it is proving a momentous task to get all the patterns written. There is also an additional section on fit and finishing to help choose and complete the right patterns, which I'm writing at the moment. I think it will be a great addition to the book and a valuable tool when knitting from any vintage pattern, and I don't want to miss it out just to save time.

These books really are a labour of love. With just Gavin, myself and my mother in law permanently involved on the project at all levels until it goes to be printed, this is what self publishing is all about, but it does mean that you have to do everything yourself. I wouldn't have it any other way but it does create additional pressure and time constraints.

In addition to this there have been delays in the arrival of Excelana, which was being used for a number of patterns in the book. As it is my own yarn, I really want it to be featured in the book, but I only received the final batch last week, which has dramatically delayed things. Also, the lovely firm, JC Rennie went into liquidation very recently, which means several garments that were knitted in their yarns are having to be reknit in a yarn that will still be available when the book is published.

I am so grateful to every one who has pre-ordered the book, as without you it probably would not have been possible and I appreciate your commitment to the project, and am determined to communicate fully and explain what is happening. Realistically, with the number of setbacks and delays we have experienced and also additional work needed, I think it would be safest to move the publication date to the end of June and then if it is ready early, it will be an unexpected bonus. I hope this isn't too disappointing, but I am convinced that the finished book is well worth the wait. (We are currently looking at over 75 patterns and around 400 pages of wonderful vintage gorgeousness presented in a beautiful hard back book). I will continue to release images and details of projects in the book without giving the whole game away and will communicate as regularly as possible to advise of any developments. I am also looking at the early release to yourselves of a single pattern from the book as a thank you.

Pre-orders will continue to remain available at the discounted price, along with all the extra goodies, for the forseeable future. If you are unhappy to wait please do contact the shop and your order can be cancelled and a refund arranged but I do hope that you will bear with me these extra couple of months to make sure you all get the book you want.

with kindest regards
Susan Crawford"

I hope it fully explains the huge task involved in putting this book together. I have received some lovely responses from customers offering moral support in this huge task, and these responses have really helped. Thank you everyone.

for now
Ruby xx

Friday, March 11, 2011

Behind the scenes of a Stitch in Time Photoshoot

Whilst work on A Stitch in Time Volume 2 continues day and night I thought I would share some images with you from the most recent photoshoot. We had a great day and were very fortunate to have the whole day filmed for a future short film which will be released a little later in the year. But in the meantime here's a little glance behind the scenes of just one of the many photoshoots that go into the making of A Stitch in Time.


The Location (Image Courtesy of Ingrid Murnane 2011)


Hair and Make Up (Image Courtesy of Ingrid Murnane 2011)


Setting up a scene (Image Courtesy of Ingrid Murnane 2011)

Taking a photo (Image Courtesy of Ingrid Murnane 2011)

Cover Girl Theo resting between shoots (Image Courtesy of Ingrid Murnane 2011)

Props (Image Courtesy of Charlie Moon 2011)

Pretty Shoes (Image Courtesy of Charlie Moon 2011)


Lighting in the strangest places (Image Courtesy of Charlie Moon 2011)

The Finishing Touches (Image Courtesy of Charlie Moon 2011)

What you don't see! (Image Courtesy of Charlie Moon 2011)

Another sneeky peek (Image Courtesy of Charlie Moon 2011)

My Latest Camera (Image Courtesy of Ingrid Murnane 2011)

for now
Ruby xxx

Wednesday, March 02, 2011

Excelana unveiling!

I have just got back from having a thoroughly lovely time at Unravel in Farnham, Surrey. I have done the show for the last three years but what made this one rather different is that it was the official unveiling of 'EXCELANA' our beautiful new vintage inspired yarn.

Excelana is 70% Exmoor Blueface/30% Blue Faced Leicester and the sheep who kindly provided the fleece all live on Exmoor less than 50 miles from the mill where the fleece is spun and processed.

Here is a picture of our lovely ladies on the hills of Exmoor

courtesy of British Wool Marketing Board

The British Wool Marketing Board and the Campaign for Wool are both supporting the brand and I hope that we will be able to see the yarn in shops around the country and all around the world. In the meantime, the yarn can be bought through my website or directly from the Excelana website that we've set up.

So what got me started on this mission? John Arbon, who owns and runs Fibre Harvest in North Devon, has long wanted to use the Exmoor Blueface sheep for a knitting wool. But the fleece of this particular sheep does not usually get used in this way and John has had to jump through many hoops to get to the point where we would be ready to do so. John and I met through A Stitch in Time, when he bought a copy for his wife to be Juliet. We have all been firm friends ever since. John and Juliet are both in love with the 1940s and 1950s and loved the idea of a vintage inspired yarn. So we set to work!

My requirements for a truly vintage wool were -

For it be extremely stretchy with good recovery

To be lustrous with a soft handle

To drape well but to have body

To have good stitch definition

For the stitches to bind well to each other

A yarn that takes colour well

To have the right feel

A colour palette with individually beautiful colours that combine to work perfectly together.

I studied a lot of sources for my colour palette but one of main references was this amazing shade card from the 1930s which showed a wide and stunning range of wools available.


Image copyright Arbour House Publishing 2009

Eventually I made my decisions - 7 colours plus a natural undyed and waited for the work to be done and to be able to see and touch the finished yarn.

And here they are, eight beatiful colours


Image copyright Arbour House Publishing 2011

From left to right we have: Persian Grey, Nile Green, Cornflower Blue, Powdered Egg, French Rose,
Ruby Red, Alabaster and Saharan Sand. To purchase you can follow the link below or click on the button in the side bar.

And here are a few of the colours when knitted together


image copyright Arbour House Publishing 2011

The stitches really cling together well which is just what you need to knit fairisle.

Initially we only have 4 ply available but it will be followed by DK, Aran and yes, 3 ply and hopefully more colours in forthcoming seasons. Obviously the yarn has to sell for this to happen so do keep your fingers crossed for us, do buy the yarn if you are so disposed and ask your local wool shop if they would think of stocking it.

Wholesale enquiries are all done via the contact information on the Excelana website and there is pattern support in A Stitch in Time volume 2 as well as a forthcoming Excelana booklet.

And that, for today is that. My lovely technical editor, Jen, is with me for a few days as we go through more patterns than you can possibly imagine and in a few days time we'll have another reveal from A Stitch in Time Volume 2.

for now
Ruby xxx

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