knitting workshops in france

Recently I had the exciting task of booking some dates for a workshop with Les Soeurs Anglaises in the South of France. What a fantastic setting for some relaxing knitting! Check out the dates in my class list and dont forget to look at the website to get the details not only for my class, but also to check out the other talented artists and designers that run courses at the maison de maître.

superman knitted jumper

Vintage patterns are a favourite source of inspiration and projects for me and in my search, I recently found this fab wonder woman jumper on practical polly's blog. I was inspired to put up some pictures of my own past efforts to inject a little comic book heroism into my knitting. This pattern, adapted from a vintage leaflet, as with polly's, took forever to knit, as I knitted it a few rows at a time during other design projects.

The jumper also needed a dismantling and a reknit after it was finished as I underestimated the size of superman's 'muscles'. but after almost a year, it was finally finished in time for superman to brave the massive new york blizzard of 2006...phew....so many lives were saved due to superman not freezing in the snow thanks to the ultra warm blue sky alpaca it was knitted in!

wedding knits

Here is a picture of some work in progress. The brief is to make some warm yet pretty cover ups for bridesmaids at a chilly January wedding. Their dresses are strapless, so I have suggested lacy shrugs just to warm the arms and prevent the beautiful ladies from becoming the 'something blue'! The yarn is a silk and wool blend, which will knit with a beautifully understated sheen whilst providing great warmth. The only problem is that there are five bridesmaids in all.....better get knitting....!

The recipe for the shrugs, along with other Monty knitting patterns will be on sale from my website and all good LYS very soon hopefully! Look out for pictures of the finished garments and wedding in the new year.

i love knitstable

I visited Whitstable on a rainy Monday but it was definitely not miserable! I had unfortunately just missed the biennale, which was celebrated with many interesting exhibitions and events, but the hangover was evident, mostly in the many knitted and yarn based objects or 'graffiti' dotted around the streets.

my favourite was this pomflower, which I almost walked straight past.....!

The real reason for visiting was to see the shops on harbour st; frank and seaside sadie. Frank is a great little shop showcasing new and exciting designers with products such as handmade books, jewellery and artworks. Well worth a look at the shop or website.

Seaside Sadie is a small but perfectly formed yarn shop owned by the lovely Claudia, an expert knitter and feltmaker, who I met on my degree course. If you fancy felt-making workshops, handmade felted goods, the beautiful Kentish Aragon Yarns and more, head on over. Sadie is relatively new, so the website isn't up yet, but if you want to contact Claudia, email her; claudia@pokeyhat.plus.com.

(Keep an eye out here for news of my latest design in the aragon yarn......)

Love, love, love Colinette Jitterbug yarn.....

tidying up

trying hard to prevent my yarns and knitting from taking over my whole life, but I don't think it is working.....although, I have organised the cones in a rainbow, so at least it looks nice.....!

viktor and rolf

On Monday I went to the Viktor and Rolf exhibition at the Barbican museum. It was fabulous, I really recommend it. The centerpiece was a huge 3 storey dolls house containing exquisite porcelain dolls wearing intricately made miniture replicas of each full size outfit in the exhibition. Of course, the dolls were the icing on the cake for me - beautiful yet slightly eerie.
Before this exhibition, I had never fully appreciated the stunning and technically perfect collections of this duo, assuming that the conceptual side of their work was just gimmicky. It isn't. The Art concepts are well thought through and add to the work, not detract from it. And they have a beautiful website too, check it out....

can't stop lookin at my feet....

This week I started wearing the first pair of socks I have knitted and I must say I love them! They fit perfectly and are so comfortable. The gorgeous, vibrant Colinette Jitterbug yarn is such a stunning colour that I can't keep my eyes off them. I wanted to make use of the space dyed colours, so knitted them in a slip stitch pattern which holds stiches over a few rows. The flecks of dark colour, I feel, make the spikey nature of the stitch more prominent, which fits in with the tropical theme I had in mind. If you fancy knitting them yourself, the pattern will be in my forthcoming book, Knitters Palette.
Only trouble with them is, now I am addicted. I have since knitted one and a half pairs, both gifts, and have another two pairs planned for myself. When will I get any work done......?!