I have been bursting with excitement about this project for a LONG time, so without further ado, I present to you Cross-Country Knitting Volume 1.
Kate Davies and I have been knitting friends and colleagues for a few years now. We work at opposite ends of the country, but through the wonder of the internet, we have bonded over our joint love of knitting, cake, birds, TV shows and many other things. In fact there is really only one topic that we won't ever see eye to eye on... She's a tea lover, and I can't function without coffee. These are the differences that cement a friendship, I'm sure you will agree!
We decided that it would be fun to do a design project together. Something to work on together, where we could showcase our different, but complementary, design styles. We set ourselves the brief of designing a men's garment (Tom and Jim both being fans of knitwear!) that we would want to knit and that they would want to wear. These are not always compatible desires, are they?
This pair of garments is what we have come up with. Kate has designed a magnificent Fair Isle Tank Top, with a contemporary sleek shape, and beautiful traditional OXO motifs: Machrihanish
And I designed Bruton Hoody, knitted using the delicious Excelana Luxury DK (more on that in a day or two...). Jim has a few well-worn zipped cardigans, and I wanted to design something slightly more interesting, but still wearable. I've long had a love affair with Maria Erlbacher's beautiful Bavarian twisted stitch patterns (more on that soon too...), so I settled on a panel running up the front, with the cable just below the shoulder. The construction of this hoody uses some cunning picking up stitches to avoid having too many ends to weave in! It's knitted in one piece from start to finish, with the pockets and sleeve stitches picked up as you go. Tricky to explain, but very, very simple to do! I've named my hoody Bruton, after the Somerset town where Jim was at school.
© Jesse Wild
Many thanks to Corben Storey for modelling my hoody, Kim Hobley for knitting the sample, Susan Crawford and John Arbon Textiles for providing the Excelana DK for the sample hoody, and Jesse Wild for photography!
In Cross-Country Knitting Volume 1 you will find patterns for both hoody and vest, plus a feature article by Jim (aka, the inimitable Veuf Tricot) on the perils of giving and receiving hand-knits, and a cut-out-and-keep Cross-Country Knitting gift tag to attach to your finished work (if you can bear to part with it!). The eBook is now available for £5.95 via Ravelry 
, and the print booklet will very shortly be available via MagCloud.
Kate and I will be blogging in further detail about our designs tomorrow (or thereabouts), and if you come back at the end of the week, there will be an interview with Kate for your enjoyment! To keep track of our Cross-Country Knitting journey, you can also bookmark our website: www.crosscountryknitting.com
New Patterns: Cutcombe and Alcombe Socks & a SALE
Where has this sudden burst of productivity come from, I hear you ask? Well frankly I have no idea, but these patterns have been in the works since this time last year, so it's been brewing for a while. It has just taken me until now to get them laid out and tech edited (thanks again Rachel Atkinson!). Keep reading for details of a pattern sale and random gifts!
The first design is called Cutcombe, and is a top-down sock pattern featuring a clever helical stripe pattern with slip stitch spirals. An afterthought heel is worked, allowing you to keep the spiralling stitch pattern consistent right to the end of the foot.
The two socks are mirrored, and the stitch pattern works best when you use a solid colour paired with a more colourful variegated or self-striping yarn. Both Cutcombe and Alcombe use one ball of Schoppel Wolle Crazy Zauberball combined with a ball of Lang Yarns Jawoll, but you could of course use any combination of suitable sock yarn that you fancy.
I first used this stitch pattern in a spiralling sock pattern that I designed while working on The Knitter. Since that toe-up pattern is no longer available online, I'm delighted to have given it a whole new lease of life with these two top-down designs. It was another of those ideas which just arrived in my head with very little warning. I had enjoyed discovering helical stripes, thanks to a post on Grumperina's blog, and before I knew it the first pair just emerged from my needles. Sometimes it's hard to explain where design inspiration comes from, isn't it?
I bought 100g of each yarn which gave me enough to work 2 pairs of Cutcombe socks - reversing the colours for the second pair. The helical stripe technique is explained in detail, but is actually addictively simple to work. It's one of those things that when you read it through looks like it might be tricky, but as soon as you try it you wonder why you hadn't thought of it before!
The second design is called Alcombe and is also a top-down sock, this time with a standard heel-flap construction and plain stocking stitch foot. The legs feature the same helical stripe pattern with slip-stitch spirals.
I know that many sock knitters love socks as they can almost work on auto-pilot once they have established the pattern on the leg, so I thought that it would be handy to have a pattern using a heel-flap, since that is the most popular sock construction out there. The only "downside" to using this is that you lose the consistency in the colour gradation from leg to foot, and can get quite a step in colour at that point. I don't particularly mind this feature in these socks, but if it bothers you, then the Cutcombe Socks might be more your cup of tea!
Many thanks again to Jesse Wild for brilliant photography - all the pictures in the blog post are © Jesse Wild. Thanks also to Kim again for awesome sample knitting and helping me to get to the bottom of the perfect yarn/shade combinations. Both patterns were expertly tech edited by Rachel Atkinson - thank you!
As a celebration of this surge in productivity, I'm running a buy one, get one free promotion on all of my self-published patterns and eBooks. Simply add two patterns to your Ravelry cart, and it will automatically give you the cheaper pattern for free! The discount is applied before you go and pay at PayPal, so don't proceed to PayPal unless you can see the discount has worked! You can see all of the eligible patterns and eBooks in the Jen Arnall-Culliford Designs Ravelry Shop (the Cloudy Apples eBook is not eligible as it was published jointly). This promotion will run until the end of the day on Monday 17th March 2014 (GMT - London). Go and enjoy!
New Pattern: Lullington Hat
Do you remember that ball of Toft Ulysses that I bought at Unravel the other week?
Well it had some pretty clear ideas about how it wanted to be knitted up...
I cast on this hat at the start of last week, and it had the ends woven in on Thursday morning. Not a single rip back. Not a tinked stitch. Designing never happens like that for me. This is a yarn with a personality and opinion!
I've been wanting to get my hands on a ball of Toft Ulysses for a while. My lovely knitting friends Kate Davies and Rachel Coopey have both been singing its praises to me, and I find myself in total agreement with them. I can't speak highly enough of the yarn. It is sturdy and firm, but OH so soft! The stitch definition is outstanding, and it really does make a fantastic squishy hat. I think it would look brilliant with the addition of one of Toft's fabulous alpaca pompoms as well...
It wouldn't be a post-shoot blog entry if I didn't include an amusing shot of me pulling a face for the camera! Thank you Jesse for always making me giggle in front of the camera. You really are a brilliant photographer.
I love the spirals of decreases on a hat crown.
My heartfelt thanks go to Rachel Atkinson (technical editing) and Jesse Wild (photography - all shots of me are © Jesse Wild), both of whom fitted me in to their busy schedules, and were happy to work around the school run!
It has been a week full of knitting-related activity, so keep your eyes peeled for more patterns in the next few days! Along with an EXTREMELY exciting collaboration, which has been a long time in the works. Happy knitting all!
New Pattern: Redlynch Shawl
I'm delighted to launch the first of my autumn knitting patterns - the Redlynch Shawl.
Inspired by the need for something to layer with long-sleeved T-shirts, or blouses, but not too heavy, Redlynch is named after a very pretty Somerset village. It's technically a cape or capelet, but I find that a rather off-putting description for a garment that I wear heaps and heaps. I tend to think of it more as a large shawl that doesn't need wrapping around your neck. You just slip it on and it stays put!
Redlynch is knitted in SMC Select Highland Alpaca Fino, which is a blend of 50% alpaca and 50% wool single ply yarn. I would describe it as a light 4ply weight yarn (it has 250m per 50g), but Ravelry has it down as a sport weight. It blooms nicely, so is a versatile yarn. You could certainly substitute anything between a 3ply and sport weight yarn, depending on how light you would like your Redlynch Shawl to be.
The shawl is knitted in a wide rectangle, before dividing into two halves to create the neck opening. Each half is worked on separately, and then joined together either by grafting (which gives the neatest finish) or by casting off and sewing the two ends. The neck and body edgings are then picked up and an i-cord is knitted on. The lace has patterning on both RS and WS rows, and the finished repeat reminds me of pairs of wings.
© Jesse Wild
We took these photos back in April on a fun shoot with Jesse, and some help from my great friend Maz. She never stopped making me giggle, so thank you for ensuring that I had genuine smiles all day long Maz! Many thanks also to Kim Hobley and Rachel Atkinson for sample knitting for me. You are stars!
Here is all the technical information you might need:
This design was first published in The Knitter, Issue 45 under the name Vita, but the rights have now reverted to me, and I'm now releasing it for the first time as a single pattern download.
New pattern: Batcombe Hat
Thank you all for the kind, kind comments on yesterday's post. I wasn't really expecting that, so it made me smile all day long. Thank you! Onwards...
I'm continuing in the theme of Somerset villages for the names of my updated patterns. Today's offering is called Batcombe, which I chose, because a hat with two balls, clearly needs to be BATcombe... Well it made me giggle anyway! :)
This is another hat which would be perfect for a Christmas gift (although you'd have to prise this one out of my cold dead hands, I love it so much!).
Jim and I had great fun on Saturday morning, taking photos out in the fields behind our house. Well I had fun anyway - I was thoroughly silly! And Jim... well, he blogged about being a photographer over on his pages: Snapper for Hire.
Pompoms seem to be undergoing something of a renaissance, and have been the subject of a great deal of twittering of late, so it seemed only right that this should be the next pattern to get the once over and release!
(This is a slightly more sensible pose...) The Batcombe Hat is knitted in a long rectangle, and then seamed up each side. This makes it a brilliant new-knitter project, or just a fun pattern to make at knitting night, or in front of a good film. Wearing it just makes me smile! How can you not smile when you have a pair of pompoms on your head?!
There are just two cables to master, and the pdf pattern includes a link to a good cable tutorial if you've not tried cables before. There's also a link to a pompom tutorial, on the off-chance that you've forgotten how to make them the old-fashioned way. You could of course equally use a spangly new pompom maker.
I've done both a chart and written pattern for the cable, so both sides of that debate are fully catered for. It's not a complex cable, but I really liked the effect on the finished fabric.
My sample was made using Laughing Yaffle's Fledgling Sock yarn, which is a lovely 4ply yarn made from a blend of alpaca, merino and nylon. Alison hand-dyes the yarn in small batches, so availability is variable. It's worth looking out for an update, but if you want to get going straight away, you could easily use an alternative 4ply yarn - just pick one with reasonably good stitch definition, so not too much fluff! You want to be able to see the cables once you've worked them.
Shetland Heritage Pattern Release
Well it's all go around here at the moment! Kate's book (Colours of Shetland) is now on sale (scroll to the bottom of this post to purchase a copy), and at some point next week, I shall tell you all about how much I enjoyed working on it! But today I'm delighted to share with you some work that I did over the summer...
Jamieson & Smith approached me earlier in the year to work with them on some patterns for their new Shetland Heritage yarn. I blogged about how much I liked the new yarn when it first went on sale, but now I'm delighted to be able to show you one of the patterns I've written for it.
© Jamieson & Smith
This is the Fair Isle V-Necked Jumper (it is not my own design!). I was asked to study some garments held in the collection of the Shetland Museum and Archives, and to create knitting patterns for them. So the design is the work of the unnamed knitter who created the original pieces. I've not changed the colourway, or the construction; I've just tried to recreate the design as closely as possible. This is thought to be a fashionable men's jumper from the early 1920s (rather than a fisherman's jumper).
While we were in Lerwick in July, I spent a day happily transcribing the patterns, and Jim even joined me to help out in the afternoon! There was such detail in the original pieces!
The V-Necked Fair Isle jumper from which this pattern comes wasn't in the best condition. It had been worn and loved to pieces! Above you can see what remained of the sleeves.
Even the body had been cut into pieces! In fact, when it was first laid out in front of me, it had appeared to be a cardigan...
It wasn't until we laid the piece flat that it was clear that actually it was a jumper that had been cut open up the side seam.
Then began the meticulous task of transcribing the stitch patterns. The motifs appear in a fairly random arrangement, with many of them being knitted "incorrectly" in the lower portions of the body, and later repeated with the mistakes ironed out. Jim noticed that in the band of patterns where the neck split occurs, new motifs are introduced, and the gauge changed somewhat. So we speculated that perhaps more than one person was involved in making this sweater? Or perhaps it was put to one side for a while, and the knitter returned to it having improved their skills on other projects. It was fascinating how much you could guess from just looking at the remains of a jumper!
It was quite a task to decide how best to recreate the design - I took the rib pattern from the cuff fragment and used it at the welt, neck and sleeve cuffs, since the original garment had just a few rows of two-colour stocking stitch and it was curling badly.
In the interests of keeping the pattern to a manageable number of pages I felt it was best to repeat the design on front and back, so the arrangement of OXO motifs that you see on the front in the picture above is repeated on the back. I have tried to keep the feel of a sampler piece however, and resisted the temptation to cut down the number of different O designs. If you wanted to, you could easily adjust the pattern to use just one or two designs, or go the whole way and mix them up with your own patterns, making each one different!
The jumper has been sized to fit chests from 32 to 48 inches (81-122cm), and is only available as a kit directly from Jamieson & Smith: V-Necked Fair Isle Jumper
© Jamieson & Smith
I'm immensely grateful to Dr Carol Christiansen at the Shetland Museum & Archives for her assistance, as well as to Grace Williamson who did an amazing job of knitting up this jumper. Thank you both!
New pattern: Penselwood Hat
If you're short of ideas for a quick gift knit then this hat could be just what you're after! I've got the rights back to many of the designs I originally did for Simply Knitting and The Knitter, so I'm working through and getting them ready for release as single pattern downloads.
I've renamed this beanie Penselwood, after a pretty village not far from here. This hat is knitted back and forth, with an interesting lace pattern at the start, ending with a plain stocking stitch top. The decreases form a satisfying spiral and before you know it, you'll be sewing up the seam and wrapping up the finished hat for a friend.
I chose Louisa Harding's Ianthe yarn for this design, although any smooth DK yarn would work brilliantly I'm sure. Ianthe is a lovely blend of 50% merino and 50% cotton, and I really enjoyed knitting with it.
The lace pattern features a clever wrap stitch pattern that's really simple to work, but looks lovely. Full instructions are included in the pattern download, and the lace pattern is given in both written and charted formats.