Hebden Gilet Jacket update

 

We travel a lot during the summer, principally to Sweden so we can spend the gloriously long summer days with our daughter and her lovely family. However, this also means we have lots of time to explore the wonderful countryside around here. We recently took a road-trip to Denmark and Germany so we could catch up with an old school friend of mine. We visited many interesting places along the way including Aabenraa in southern Denmark, which you can see in Tim’s photo above. Of interest, the town not only boasts some wonderful architecture and amazingly friendly people, but also claims to be the world’s leading entry in an alphabetical list of towns! However, travelling always poses a dilemma: what projects to work on while we are away? and perhaps more importantly: how much yarn to pack? Yes, I know there is yarn in Sweden… In fact there is some absolutely wonderful yarn over here. However, if you’re in the middle of creating a set of items as I was here and here, then it gets a bit more complicated. So one of the things I have taken to doing is to have projects on-going in both locations. Then I can stop work on one set of things back in Florida and pick up where I left off last year in Sweden. However, another strategy that works well for me is to use rainy days to update old patterns. [It rains a lot during a Swedish summer!] This gives me the chance to make any changes needed, check all the links still work, add in new improved stitch charts and so on. ​ So the latest pattern for my updating magical wand is the Hebden Gilet Jacket. I made this for one of our grandsons in the USA some years back now and he wore it all winter long! However, I only wrote the pattern up to age 8 originally so I thought I would add some additional sizes. So now there are 6 different sizes for toddlers aged 2 all the way up to bigger kiddies aged 12! The gilet features a large scale design from our Reversible Knitting Stitches book. This is a really interesting stitch called Imitation Lattice which features large central diamonds bounded by a regular criss-cross of purls. The diamond centres puff out slightly as the work progresses and form pockets of air which keep you super cozy during the winter. If you work the design reasonably tightly and with two ends of a wool yarn held together, then you get a super warm design which can take you from “Brrrr” to “Oh it’s not as cold as I thought” in a matter of moments! ​ I’m a great fan of using two ends of yarn for extra warmth and you can read all about that in my earlier blogpost series: Seeing Double, so please make sure to check that out. I have just uploaded the newly-expanded Hebden Gilet Jacket pattern onto my website here, so please go and have a look there for all the new information. The pattern is available for immediate download so you can get a head-start on your autumn knitting! If you have already purchased the pattern and would like an updated copy, then please let me know & I’ll send it on to you. I am now going to turn my attention to some of my cushion patterns. Cushion covers are a great idea for summer knitting as they are easy projects to carry around and new cushions make an impact in any room. I'll post here as soon as those are ready. Until then – Happy Jacket Knitting! Moira ​Last Blogpost: Brunch under the blossoms Our book: Reversible Knitting Stitches My website: www.wyndlestrawdesigns.com Many thanks to my husband Tim for his photo of Aabenraa in Denmark. To see more of his photos, please see his Flickr site.

Brunch under the blossoms

  

It has been so warm recently here in Sweden and we have been loving all the wonderful displays of blossom in the area. We don’t see Spring blossom in Florida, so we have been enjoying seeing the succession of flowering trees here.
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The cherry blossoms I featured last time have gone of course, but after they finished we were treated to the sight of an absolutely magnificent apple tree in our daughter’s back garden. There weren’t many flowers last year, but this year it was covered in blossom.

I love apple blossom. The flowers start as such tight red buds but then they transition to the palest of pink puffs before bursting open to reveal snowy white petals. It really is quite a sight when you see a whole orchard full of trees isn’t it, but even one large tree in full bloom is beautiful.
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Then came the flowering May and now the amazingly perfumed lilacs. One of the houses near us has a wonderful display of large purple and white lilac trees and their scent is so heady. I think that would be a wonderful spot for a morning coffee with freshly-baked scones - yum!

So at this time of year, my thoughts often stray to making a new set of placemats ready for picnics out of doors. Of course, the ones I made last year are still lovely, but there are such wonderful new colours in the yarn stores right now so it’s a fun project to make new ones ready for some al fresco dining.

The photo above shows the set of placemats and coasters we use most of the time in Sweden. These are the Somertide Placemats and are worked in KnitPicks Cotlin, which is a wonderfully crisp cotton/linen mixture. The soft, gentle colours really suit white tables and sunny days eating outside.

The pattern features a lovely dual-sided reversible stitch so you can have two different looks from the same set of mats. When people think about reversible knitting stitches they often think of a pattern where both sides look exactly the same. However, there is another category of reversible stitch patterns where the front and the back look quite different and these are called “dual-sided” or “double-sided” stitches.

In the case of the stitch I have used here, Double-Banded Rib, one side features a striking pattern with horizontal bars crossing raised columns of stitches. However, turn the fabric over and the back is much smoother with tight columns of knit stitches separated by narrow dotted lines.

And that’s the beauty of a dual-sided stitch! The two sides are so different but compliment each other perfectly. I just love the flexibility that brings to a design. Our Reversible Knitting Stitches book has quite a number of these double-sided patterns and they are such a great choice for items where you see both sides such as scarves, shawls, table runners and placemats.

The Somertide Placemat pattern has four different sizes so you can make larger or smaller placemats to suit your setting, and there is also a set of matching coasters. You can work them in bright summery shades or choose more neutral colours as a perfect match for a wooden picnic table. Add a cup of tea and some of those afore-mentioned scones and you have the perfect recipe for a gentle afternoon chatting and knitting in the garden!

If you would like more information about the Somertide Placemat pattern, then please click here, and for more details about our Reversible Knitting Stitches book, then please click here.

Until next time – Happy Knitting!

Moira

Next Up: Hebden Gilet Jacket Update Last Blogpost: Knitting for the Spring Our book: Reversible Knitting Stitches My website: www.wyndlestrawdesigns.com​

Knitting for the Spring

  

I have two weather apps, one of which shows the weather in our Florida house and the other in our Sweden home and they both said the temperature was 26 degrees this morning! Of course, I soon saw that one app was in Celsius while the other one was in Fahrenheit and really it was -3ºC outside here in Sweden – quite a difference.

However, it was beautifully warm last week so we really can’t complain and it is wonderful to see the cherry trees breaking into flower. Spring is here at last!

But what to wear…. the perennial problem for this time of year. In the end, layering really is the key and one of the things I always like to have on hand is a lightweight scarf. Warm enough to keep any lingering chills away but still light enough to carry around if it’s not needed for the moment.

Last time, I mentioned a scarf I had just knitted using the Petersfield Scarf pattern. This is a reversible scarf using Granite Stitch from our Reversible Knitting Stitches book. I have used this stitch a lot recently and love the feel and texture it brings to such a range of garments.

I worked the original Petersfield Scarf with two ends of a sportweight yarn to give extra warmth and insulation for a cozy winter scarf. However, for this new version I followed the same basic design but using only a single strand for a lighter-weight result.

For the yarns, I selected Quince & Co Chickadee Sportweight in Colour #105 Glacier for the main pale blue colour, and the marginally thicker Phoebe DK in Colour #82 Nova for the contrasting white stripes. 

I worked a good-sized tension square to start, then did some quick maths to calculate the number of stitches to cast on. I wanted to keep it nice and wide so made this 25cm/10 ins wide like the large size in the original pattern. I find this a pleasing width, as you can scrunch it up to give extra warmth when you need it, but it can also be spread over your shoulders for a light extra layer.

I really love the way this has knitted up and I have used it lots already. I can see me using this all the time until the warmer weather settles in for good.
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It certainly shows how you can easily modify a pattern for a thinner version for the next season. Have a look in your patterns and see which ones you could try in a different weight of yarn. You might be surprised at how different the finished result can be!

I also made a warm beanie hat with the yarns held double for a wonderfully co-ordinated set.  That’s the beauty of using thinner yarns – they can be so easily worked alone or doubled up to make a range of items. Have a look here for more ideas for working with doubled yarns. This is such a great technique for this time of year and well worth trying if you haven’t done so before.

I am now knitting a rib sweater, also in blue and white but with a slightly stronger palette and in a DK weight. That is going to be another good transitional piece I think. It certainly looks as though it’s going to be chilly here for a few more weeks yet.
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Until next time – Happy Spring Knitting!

Moira

Last Blogpost: Introducing the Petersfield Beanie Hat Next Up: Brunch under the blossoms Our book: Reversible Knitting Stitches My website: www.wyndlestrawdesigns.com Many thanks to my husband Tim for his photo of the first cherry blossoms appearing in our local town square in Sweden. To see more of his photos, please see his Flickr site.

Introducing the Petersfield Beanie Hat

It's the start of February and places as far afield as Maine in the north-east of the USA to Texas in the south are experiencing amazingly cold temperatures right now. Our eldest who lives in the Boston area of Massachusetts tells us the wind chill is going to be an incredible -42ºC on Saturday morning... brrrr. I reckon that sounds as good an excuse as any to stay indoors and knit an extra winter hat!

So here's the brand new beanie hat which I chatted about in my last blogpost. This is the Petersfield Beanie Hat which co-ordinates perfectly with the Petersfield Scarf that I introduced at the end of last year.

Both the scarf and the hat have been worked in Granite Stitch from our Reversible Knitting Stitches book. This is a deeply textured reversible stitch with a very modern graphical look. The texture captures lots of extra warmth which is just what you need in these arctic conditions.​

The hat features a contrast-coloured ribbed brim which can either be worn down for a slouchy ski hat or turned up for extra insulation around your ears. I know a lot of people find it's their ears which really feel these cold conditions, so a cuffed hat is a good choice for that extra degree of warmth.
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The top of the hat has a snug beanie fit and the instructions include details for three different sizes.

The pattern for the Petersfield Beanie Hat is available on its own or as a bundled set together with the Petersfield Scarf. Both the scarf and the hat can be worked using a single strand of a worsted-weight yarn or two strands of a lighter sportweight wool for extra warmth.

I have written before about the delights of working with two ends of yarn at the same time and it is fast becoming my preferred technique for chunkier items.

I worked the scarf and the first of the hats in a wonderfully soft dark grey heather wool yarn teamed with a deep wine red. I then made a second hat using a denim blue for the main shade and a deep navy for the accent stripes on the brim – but of course you can choose any colours you like for your hat-and-scarf set.

Please click here for more information about the Petersfield Collection and also to see a video which my husband Tim very kindly put together for me.

I wrote this hat and scarf set with men’s patterns in mind, but I actually used the Petersfield Scarf pattern for a lovely pale blue and white scarf for myself to join the set of items I was talking about here. I’ll rustle up some photos and post these next time.

Until then, keep warm if you can! 

Moira

​Last Blogpost: Hats off to 2023! Next Up: Knitting for the Spring Our book: Reversible Knitting Stitches My Website: www.wyndlestrawdesigns.com

Hats off to 2023!

  

Happy New Year! I hope that your holiday season went particularly well and that 2023 will be a happy and successful year for you. Mind you, it’s been a chilly start to the year, hasn’t it… Even here in sunny Florida, we have been reaching for our winter woollies and hats when heading out of doors.
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Unfortunately, I made the mistake of leaving a number of my hats in Sweden when we left at the end of the summer. So I decided that it would be a fun project to make a few more – and I have been really enjoying it.

There’s something very satisfying about making a hat, isn’t there. For a start, they’re small so they’re finished in double-quick time. And for a second thing, the knitting speeds up as you get towards the top! That’s always a nice feeling – “Oooh, I might finish this tonight!”

However, when I started with this project I realised that I don’t actually have many hats in my pattern store. I have lots of different scarves but only a few hats, so I thought that I might try to put that right this year and add a few more hat patterns.

I also want to make some more items that co-ordinate with each other so you could make a hat and a scarf set, for example. I enjoyed knitting a co-ordinated collection for myself last year as you can see in my last blogpost, so I am going to see if I can add a few more sets of items to add to my website. 

The hat I am currently working on is going to be the Petersfield Beanie Hat, to co-ordinate with the Petersfield Scarf which you can see in the photo above. This is a super-warm scarf which is worked using two ends of a Sportweight yarn held together.

I like using doubled yarns as they really do seem to make warmer items, as I wrote about here. So I have used the same approach with this new beanie hat and I am loving how this is coming out.

I hope to finish that this weekend, and then I will add the pattern to my website. I’ll post more details as soon as I have that ready.

Until then – Happy New Year Knitting!

Moira

​​Last Blogpost: Knitting in Nordic White ​Next Up: Introducing the Petersfield Beanie Hat Our book: Reversible Knitting Stitches My Website: www.wyndlestrawdesigns.com