Rainy Window Stitch

By Jo, 6 months ago | Tweet this | 1 Comment

Jarol Aran yarn has arrived just in time! Having really made the most of the last few unexpected, heady days of summer 2011, and seen the forecast of what we can expect over the next few weeks, I know that the summer is definitely on its way out. The pool has been dismantled in the garden, and I have to sweep up more leaves off the ground than are still attached to the tree. To top it all off, I know that it won’t be long before I’ll be flicking that switch on the central heating dial to an almost constant on.

As much as I love the warmth (not much of that this summer I think we’ll all agree) and the outdoor lifestyle that a perfect summer brings, I look forward to the onset of autumn followed by winter. I like the idea of getting out my warm jumpers and wrapping a scarf around my neck, warming my toes in thick socks and snuggling under a blanket on the sofa in front of a movie.

I’ve decided to knit myself some cushion covers ready for the onset of the chilly weather. We’ve got some beautiful yarn just perfect for my project in the form of Jarol Aran 100g balls. Available in 6 gorgeous colours, my choice being the Jarol Aran English. I wanted a cushion cover that had a textured feel and look, so have decided to use the Rainy Window stitch.  It’s really simple to knit but I think a couple of these on my sofa will look fantastic, so here’s how to produce the pattern:

 

Rows 1 & 3: edge st,  p2, * k1, p3; repeat from * to last 4 sts, k1, p2, edge st
Rows 2 & 4: edge st, k1, p1, * k3, p1; repeat from * to last 3 sts, k2, edge st
Rows 5 & 7: edge st, k1, p1, * p2, k1, p1; repeat from * to last 4 sts, p2, k1, edge st
Rows 6 & 8: edge st, p1, k2, * k1, p1, k2; repeat from * to last 3 sts, k1, p1, edge st
Repeat rows 1 through 8.

Having had another look at the gorgeous contrast of colours available in Jarol Aran, I may just have to knit one cushion cover in each colour!

Stitch of the Week – Pyramid Stitch

By Jo, 6 months ago | Tweet this | No Comments

Continuing with the unusual stitches them,  let’s head to Egypt. Think the Sphinx, the Valley of the Kings and floating down the Nile. Combine these thoughts with the craft of knitting and you come up with a fantastic stitch called Little Pyramids. This a great little stitch that creates a reversible pattern that lies flat, with knit triangles and purl pyramids on one side and then knit pyramids and purl triangles on the other.

Multiple of 6 + 5
Row 1: k5, *p1, k5; rep from *
Row 2: k1, *p3, k3; rep from *, end p3, k1
Row 3: p2, *k1, p5; rep from *, end k1, p2
Row 4: Rep Row 3
Row 5: Rep Row 2
Row 6: Rep Row 1

A little taste of Egypt without having to go anywhere near a camel!

Knitting with a French twist – the Eiffel Tower stitch

By Jo, 7 months ago | Tweet this | No Comments

Continuing on the unusual knitting stitches theme, loving Paris the way I do, and having stood underneath the Eiffel Tower taking hundreds of photos trying to get the ‘perfect shot’, I was amazed to find an Eiffel Tower knitting stitch! This is an eyelet stitch, very easy to knit using only the basic knit and purl stitches. The delicate pattern that it creates would be a lovely design to incorporate  in a baby’s blanket. We have some fantastic yarns on sale at the moment including  Sirdar Snuggly DK  which would be perfect for this kind of project.  Sirdar Snuggly DK is available in a range of 19 beautiful colours and on sale at £3.00 per ball.

The design works on multiples of 6 stitches and when knitted, is a pretty good likeness of one of Paris’s most famous landmarks. So, put the coffee machine on, heat yourself a pain au chocolat,  and get your knitting needles out!

Row 1 (right side): *Purl 4, yarn over, purl 2 together. Repeat from * across.

Rows 2, 4 and 6: Knit 1, *purl 1, knit 5. Repeat from * across, ending knit 1, purl 4.

Rows 3 and 5: Purl 4, *knit 1, purl 5. Repeat from * across, ending knit 1, purl 1.

Row 7: Purl 1, *yarn over, purl 2 together, purl 4. Repeat from * across, ending yarn over, purl 2 together, purl 3.

Rows 8, 10 and 12: Knit 4, *purl 1, knit 5. Repeat from * across, ending purl 1, knit 1.

Rows 9 and 11: Purl 1, *knit 1, purl 5. Repeat from * across, ending knit 1, purl 4.

Repeat these 12 rows for pattern.

Bon tricot!

Parallelogram Stitch

By Jo, 7 months ago | Tweet this | 1 Comment

I’m having a creative month! Last week, I took an pair of jeans, cut the legs off just above the crotch, got out my faithful sewing machine and sewed myself a fantastic over the shoulder handbag. The creative juices are thankfully still in full flow and I’ve decided to knit myself a woollen knitted clutch bag for the winter. I’ve found the perfect yarn for this Debbie Bliss Andes 50g in Turquoise. I know it’s cool to ‘felt’ but I wanted a basic knitted rectangular clutch bag, with a chunky pattern and stumbled across the parallelogram stitch which is going to create the perfect design I had in mind.

 

To achieve this look you need to work in multiples of 10.

Multiple of 10
Row 1: P5, K5
Row 2: K1, P4, K4, P1
Row 3: K2, P3, K3, P2
Row 4: K3, P2, K2, P3
Row 5: K4, P1, K1, P4
Row 6: K5, P5
Row 7: P1, K4, P4, K1
Row 8: P2, K3, P3, K2
Row 9: P3, K2, P2, K3
Row 10: P4, K1, P1, K4

After all, a woman can NEVER have too many bags!

Louisa Harding Rajasthan Pattern Book – October Give Away

By JaneB, 7 months ago | Tweet this | 14 Comments

Inspired by the exotic adventures of India, Louisa Harding’s gorgeous Rajasthan pattern book has 17 glorious patterns to knit up in Louisa Harding yarns. The lovely cardigans, scarves and shawls in this book are lacey and pretty as a picture.

This month, we’re celebrating lace knitting by giving away a copy of this fabulous pattern book and a set of 6 beautiful beaded stitch markers. Then all you’ll need to do it grab your needles, select your Louisa Harding Yarn or your lace weight yarn

Here’s how to enter for a chance to win this fantastic treat:

1. Click here to check out the Louisa Harding pattern books on this site.

2. Enjoy a quiet browse through the fab patterns in this range of pretty knits.

3. Tell us in a comment to this post which Louisa Harding book is your favourite.

4. We’d love it if you clicked the Facebook Like button (or Google+ if that’s your preference) at the top of the page for the book you like best.

5. And as a bonus chance, you could wander over to Facebook and  Like this status update .

Why not share this post with your knitting friends to make sure they have a chance to win too.

The closing date is 31st October, 2011. The draw will take place on November 1st (using Randomizer) and the lucky winner will be announced on this post and on Facebook.

Happy knitting and good luck!