The Sun Came Out ... So We Took Some Photographs ...

Knitwits Yarns knitwitspenzance.co.uk

Finally, on Saturday, the sun made an appearance!  After what felt like weeks of grey, overhanging cloud (and was, in fact, weeks of grey, overhanging cloud) we actually saw blue sky and a big, shiny, warm orb in the sky.  Had spring finally arrived?  Sadly - no.  Since then we've been back to grey, drizzle and sea mist; but it gave us hope that maybe, just maybe warm weather is on its way.  (And then I listened to the long range forecast which was, basically, that this week's weather is going to take two steps forward and one step back so no little summer tops just yet.  Which is a pity as that's exactly what we've been knitting.)

As with all fashion retailers, wool shops have to think (and work) in advance and our suppliers are working even further in advance than us - with one rep telling me this week that he's off to a meeting next week to see the new autumn/winter range for 2013-14 - yikes, now that's really scary, given that we're not really out of last winter yet.

So - for some weeks now we've been knitting up summer knits in the strong hope that this is going to be a really lovely hot summer (well, come on, it's got to happen some time!).

King Cole's Bamboo Cotton yarn is one of our biggest sellers all year round and this spring they've brought out a range of new colours and new patterns.  We particularly like this one:

but felt that a really bright, zingy version might be fun.  So we Tracey knitted one for me.  I love it - but just wish my arms were a little browner!:

Given that there is a huge range of colours in Bamboo Cotton, the various colour combinations are endless.

Next up is a little summer top in Rico's new Summer Print Yarn:

I thought this pattern was/is lovely:

but it has a but it has a pattern panel on the front with holes and blackberries - which you can see better in the picture of the plain, capped sleeve version of this top:

That pattern is fine and dandy but, as can be seen from the models, you really do need to wear a light t-shirt underneath which, in a summer top, I think is a bit daft.  So, I missed out the pattern and knitted this:

Again, lovely top, shame about the pale, pastey, post winter arms!

The sharp-eyed amongst you might also be thinking, "hang on a minute - that bright top is knitted in a plain colour and all the balls on your site are multi-colours".  Well, congratulations to all of you who made this observation.  Yes, there are plain colours in the Summer yarn but we are still awaiting delivery (as are, so far as I am aware, all Rico stockists).  Supply can be a problem for our suppliers and it then becomes a problem for us - a bigger problem when the companies take out full page colour adverts in knitting magazines (which, of course, they've booked months in advance) and then there's a delay in the yarn's arrival and customers are phoning asking about the lovely yarns they've seen advertised which are no-where to be found in the UK.  We await our plain colours with eager anticipcation .......................

Finally, we (Tracey again) also rattled up another Debbie Bliss Angel Cowl (100 sts, 5mm circular needle, knit) - this time without the twist.  Lovely summer colour and perfect for thus who hate having a cold neck in a breeze:

Look - blue sky!

Look At These Old Patterns!

Knitwits Yarns knitwitspenzance.co.uk

Owning any kind of business in these difficult economic times can be fraught and difficult at times and a wool shop is no exception.  BUT - how many other businesses very occasionally have joyous moments such as perusing old patterns which came our way courtesy of the charity shop across the road from us.

Undergarments anyone?:

Sadly, this pattern has no date but it's knitted in 3ply WOOL.  Call me sensitive but, surely that's going to itch and scratch a girl's nether regions?!

Here is a second example (from Sirdar, no less):

Included are very strict instructions that "it is essential that you work to the tension stated".  "The one-inch rule at the side of this page indicates the number of stitches to the inch and it is for your guidance.  PLEASE USE IT".  Who would dare not use it?!!

Wool  specified is Sirdar Super Shetland Wool 3ply or Sirdar Coronella (Lingerie shades) - oh, how I would love to see a shade chart for "Lingerie Shades".

Finally, we have another set from Bestway:

which is described as a "Slim-Fitting Set in a Fancy Basket-Stitch".  "The top edge of vest and knee edges of knickers are turned in, as double hems, making a firm finish, with the effect of a shell edging".  All that for garments which, presumably, no-one would see apart from the knitter and wearer.

The really striking thing is the sizing. Each pattern has just one size - the vests finish at about 26" and stretch up to a 34" bust.  The knickers are about 35", stretching to 38".  It's true - ladies really were smaller but, by jingo, I bet they were warm!

I just love these patterns - I have absolutely no idea what to do with them but I'm certainly going to keep them.

Next up - extracts from Woman's Weekly 1st October 1960 in which Twilley's were offering a free book "Handknits for Health" containing 6 patterns of Health Vests for all the family.  Ah - those were the days!

New Kits from Cornish Organic Wool

Knitwits Yarns knitwitspenzance.co.uk

So - the first 4 new kits from Cornish Organic Wool are now knitted up, patterns written (and checked), photographed and kitted up here in the shop.  I love the creative and knitting process - the pattern writing and checking and photography not so much!  These kits are to celebrate our new 50g balls of DK wool, dyed in a wonderful range of new colours too.

All of the new kits (along with our original sheep and teddy bear kits) can be found here.

Fortunately, for this project I had two willing and able sons to help with the modelling.  They have not been paid.  Some may call this child exploitation, I call it helping your parents put food on the table (and boy oh boy do they get through some food - yet remain thin as rails - oh, to be that age again {not that I was ever able to eat just what I wanted and not put on weight - I come from the "look at a cake and put on a pound school"}).

First up is our Cornish man's hat modelled by Tom:

"Cornish" because it is, of course, Cornish Organic Wool but also because it's the Cornish colours of black and white/cream.  Although there is some confusion as the Cornish also wear black and gold and Cornishware (as in the pottery) is blue and cream so there is, also, a blue and cream kit and - to be totally different - a navy and red kit.

Next we have a lady's hat, modelled by yours truly:

This, as you can see, is three colours and comes in an "autumn colour" version too (Copper, Dark Green and Lime Green) and a blue version (Duck Egg, Petrol and Sky).  Because it's in 3 colours there is enough wool left over to make this Feather and Fan Headband as well:

So, in fact, 2 garments for the price of 1!

To give you an idea of the Autumn Colours, we have also made a Man's Scarf using Copper, Dark Green, Lime Green and Ochre in the wonderful Linen Stitch (kindly modelled here by Guy):

and here's a close-up of Linen Stitch:

which I think is just the most amazing stitch and gives a really firm, manly fabric (even if it's a tad slow to knit!).  This kit is also available in an "Autumn Blues" colour palette - a combination of autumn colours with blues - Copper, Dark Green, Navy and Sky Blue.

Finally - to complete the set - we have, of course, a scarf for ladies:

This is knitted in a combination of pinks and blues and is, again, Feather and Fan with lovely long tassells.  This is also available in the autumn colours of Copper, Dark Green, Lime Green and Ochre.

All of our kits come with full instructions but without needles.

Next on my "to do" list are some wrist warmers - probably in red, possibly cabled.  Watch this space!

What We've Been Knitting

Knitwits Yarns knitwitspenzance.co.uk

Owning a wool shop obviously means that I do a lot of knitting - mostly samples for the shop but they are, generally, knitted to my size - which is nice and means I get to wear them.  Although I do knit a lot I do have a lot of help!  Tracey is a whizz - fast, accurate and neat (even if she does sometimes ask me to do the sewing up!!).  This next project turned from a quick little bolero into something of a nightmare which we then resolved to ensure others don't have the same problem.  Little bolero from Adriafil:

which looks pretty straightforward - EXCEPT - the pattern is written in (badly) translated Italian which took the two of us some time to work out and more than once involved ripping back - which in a furry yarn is no fun at all.

SO - to ensure our customers didn't suffer the same fate as us, we re-wrote the pattern - in proper, easy to understand English and printed it on the back of the Italian/English version.  So, if you would like to knit this very pretty (and warm) little bolero it'll be an absolute cinch for you!  And you can thank us with every stitch that you knit!  Here is our version:

Also knitted up (by me) is this lovely lacey scarf in Galaxy Chunky (the one with the sequins):

this hat and wrist warmers in Stylecraft's Harlequin using fisherman's rib:

and this little cowl in Debbie Bliss's Angel Prints:

And now I'm knitting up another little summer top in the vain hope that the weather will get warmer sometime soon!

My next post will be about some new Cornish Organic Wool kits, which we've also been designing, knitting up and - finally - photographing.  Never let it be said that we have a dull moment or rest on our laurels!!

Margarita from Adriafil

Knitwits Yarns knitwitspenzance.co.uk

During the last few tumultuous weeks (2 funerals in the last 2 weeks and 1 more on Friday - and, no, sadly I am not joking) knitting has been a source of calm and peace.  What do people who don't knit do in these circumstances?  There is increasing research into the calming effects of the repetitive nature of activities such as knitting but all of us who knit know that no research is required - we simply know that we'd go insane without it!

So yesterday morning the sun came out briefly and we rushed out and photographed some of the things we've been knitting here at Knit Wits.  I'm not going to write about them all at once because that would make a very long entry so, for today, I'll just talk about Margarita from Adriafil.  You may remember that, when I last wrote about it, I said it reminded me of colours on the sand so, inevitably, a garment had to be made.

The tension is not quite a standard Aran - not critical for some garments but I wanted to knit a little summer top for an impending (hot) holiday.  After some research I found that it very closely matched Rowan's now discontinued All Seasons Cotton.  For those of you who haven't discovered this yet, you can visit Rowan's website and become a member (for free) and, suddenly, a whole heap of FREE patterns are available to you - some old and some new.  Amongst them are All Seasons Cotton patterns and, lo, there was the perfect pattern for me - Pagan - which comes in both a crew neck, v neck and cap sleeved version - perfect!

I needed to change the needle sizes to get the right tension so knitted on 4mm and 4.5mm instead of the 4.5 and 5.00mm on the pattern and I went up a size and it worked perfectly and knitted up in no time at all.  Please excuse my post-winter scarily white arms in this photo (!):

and here is the stitch detail so you can see what I mean about grains of sand:

I used 6 balls of Margarita knitting the medium size v-neck vest - which is exactly the same quantity as All Seasons Cotton.

Now I just need a beach and some sun and to be as slim and young as the Rowan model!!

New Patterns!!

Knitwits Yarns knitwitspenzance.co.uk

Two posts in as many days - this could be some kind of record.  As promised, I have spent a large part of today uploading new patterns to go with some of our new glorious yarns (and some to go with some of our older glorious yarns). 

To start, we had a bunch in Bamboo Cotton.  As I might have said before, this is one of our most popular yarns - in winter and summer - so we can never have too many patterns (although it is a standard DK so will knit to any DK patterns).  I won't show them all but one or two caught my eye to go into the "favourites" or "ooh, must knit that" category.  I think this is a very pretty summer sweater:

and Tracey is currently knitting me up this in bright, vibrant, cheery colours:

I think the colours on the pattern itself are gorgeous but we thought we'd play around for a different look.  Tracey has promised me she'll sew it up tonight (what fun with all those stripes!) so photography will take place just as soon as it's warm enough!

Then we had a bunch of new patterns in Galaxy DK (the one with sequins, remember?).  Some patterns are shown on a lady and some on a child but all the patterns are sized up for both.  It can be hard, sometimes, to imagine a garment shown on a child on an adult but Tracey has her eye on this one:

and I really, really like this one:

There's also a really simple scarf pattern, which has sizings for both Galaxy DK and Chunky.  The DK uses just 1 ball and the chunky uses 2.  It's shown being worn 6 different ways and with beads sewn on the ends too - clever - and inspirational:

 

Who couldn't use a scarf like that? - especially as we have another cold snap forecast.

Next we have some Galaxy Chunky patterns and, again, all patterns are sized from child to adult:

And, finally, we have 2 patterns in Riot Chunky (as with all King Cole patterns you actually get 2 patterns on each sheet so, in fact, it's 4 new patterns).  Unlike the others, these are just for girls:

When I put it like that it really doesn't seem like a lot of patterns but, trust me, it is - and there are more on each of the pages (patterns are shown down the left hand side of the yarn pages).

Tomorrow I have a "paperwork" day which will bring me unbridled joy but, with a fair wind, I may get some more patterns on here on Saturday.

Then, unbelievably, I have to go to Oxford for the second funeral/memorial service this week but, never fear, Marie and Tracey will take good care of you.  I credit my sanity throughout this ghastly period of our lives entirely to the fact that I knit - far healthier (and less fattening) than booze (or cake)!

New Yarns from Adriafil (and others)!

Knitwits Yarns knitwitspenzance.co.uk

Sincere apologies for radio/blog silence over the past month. 

Without going into too many distressing details, we've had a pretty torrid time and grief on a scale never before experienced by our boys, let alone us, has not left me inclined to blog about the wonders of yarn - although I think we'd all agree that knitting can be a restful, soothing rhythm when life goes off kilter in a searingly, shocking way. 

Our eldest boy has returned home (early) from his gap year and, whilst it's truly wonderful to have him back home, I only wish it had not had to be so and he could currently be enjoying the joys that Australia has to give - which is where he ought to be.  In time, as some kind of peace returns to our lives, he will re-launch his gap year in Asia and poor Tom will have to undertake some seriously grueling exams.  In the meantime, we are all trying to soothe ourselves into that kind of peace.  Our lives will never be the same but the one we have loved and lost will remain in our hearts for ever.

And so, finally, the new yarn that has been piling up in our office has been collated and photographed and - at last - uploaded onto the site.  There is a lot of it so I make no apology for brevity of words - let the pictures speak!  To brighten our lives we had a big and glorious delivery from Adriafil (wondrous Italian yarns of which one can never have too much).

We needed a pure wool Aran weight yarn - and now we have one.  Stella Alpina (and it's machine washable!):

We didn't need Margarita but, boy, did we want it!  Cotton, aran weight, which reminds me of glistening colours in the sand:

Strictly speaking, we didn't need new colours in our fabulously soft and luscious pure alpaca 4ply, Sierra Andina, either (but how could we resist adding these colours to one of our best selling yarns?):

And as for DK pure cotton - who could resist Poema?:

And, finally from Adriafil, one new glorious colour in our Egyptian cotton, Memphis - simply the best, crispest cotton you could ever want - how about this for a terracotta orange?:

From King Cole we had 5 delicious new colours in the always incredibly popular Bamboo Cotton:

(Do you know that we currently have 27 colours of Bamboo Cotton in stock?  It's one of our most popular yarns - even through long, wet, cold, dark winters!).

King Cole have also introduced 4 new, fabulous, striping colours of Galaxy DK (that's the one with sequins in it in case you don't know - if you don't know, where have you been and why haven't you knitted with it yet?!):

We have 2 new colours in Rico's Reflection:

and last, but by no means least, one new Zig Zag sock yarn colour:

Actually, that isn't all - we had a delivery in from Rico in Germany today and that wool has gone back to the office at home to be photographed in due course.

Many of these new yarns have patterns and poor old FB has scanned and formatted them today (no mean task) so the uploading of them will begin tomorrow.  I'll keep you updated and I'll do my best but, hey, if it's a choice between uploading a pattern and giving a strapping 19 year old lad a much needed hug - you know which way I'll be going ..............