The Power of Knitting

 

So happy to have been gifted a copy of 'The Power of Knitting' by Loretta Napoleoni, published by Tarcher Perigee, October 2020.

The title grabbed my attention followed by a curiosity to find out what could this Italian journalist, economist and political analyst have to say about the gentle craft of knitting.

"In a fractured world plagued by anxiety and loneliness, knitting is coming to the rescue of people from all walks of life. Economist and lifelong knitter Loretta Napoleoni unveils the hidden power of the purl and stitch mantra: an essential tool for the survival of our species, a means for women to influence history, a soothing activity to calm us, and a powerful metaphor of life". (Extract from the publishers)

Loretta takes you on a personal journey through her life. Along the way she describes historical, social and political changes with knitting an unlikely and influencing feature. Family, friends and strangers feature in this story of how knitting has influenced Loretta and the people around her.

In a particularly interesting section (Chapter 7 Knitting in the Age of Neuroscience) the author describes discoveries in neuroscience which explain how knitting can be helpful for mental health and wellbeing. She describes the way she coped with personal challenges and over came them with the help of knitting.

There are also 10 knitting patterns included in the book.  As remembrance day is fast approaching the poppy pattern caught my eye. It’s a quick and easy project.

The book is an inspirational, positive read and I recommend it to anyone wishing to learn more about the gentle craft of knitting told from a different, interesting perspective.

Dovestone Smallholding Knitted Shetland Pony

This knitted character is "Shetland Pony" from Dovestone Smallholding by Ella Austin. The pattern book is available from Ravelry as a digital eBook or as a printed edition from Baa Ram Ewe. The collection features 7 toy patterns and a play mat made with Titus DK Dovestone yarn from Baa Ram Ewe in Leeds, West Yorkshire.

After receiving a copy of the eBook from Ella and browsing the designs I knew I'd have to make at least one of the cute and irresistible characters. As I'm a fan of most things "Shetland" it became obvious  it had to be the "Shetland Pony". The other toys are Lucy Doll, Dabbling Duck, Fancy Hen, Plum Pudding Pig, Wensleydale Lamb, Moggy the cat and the Hedgerow play mat.

Dovestone Smallholding Image copyright Baa Ram Ewe used with permission

Dovestone Smallholding Image copyright Baa Ram Ewe used with permission

Dovestone Smallholding Shetland Pony Image copyright Baa Ram Ewe used with permission

The pony pattern uses two colours. In the book it's grey for the main colour and a contrast of blue for the mane and pattern detail. Checking my stock of yarn I had just enough Debbie Bliss Bluefaced Leicester DK, in Grey and Burnt Orange and decided to put this to good use. The recommended needles are 3mm long dpn's. 

The instructions are very detailed, nicely laid out with lots of close up images of the finished items. I found the knitting relatively easy. There are a few technical skills required for the pony such as working with two colours of yarn, also grafting stitches and the book includes details. A 'cable cast on' was recommended for the pony legs. A new one for me and it has nothing to do with cables. The instructions are not in the book but a quick search online brought up a number of tutorials including a video. It's a very useful technique for creating a cast on edge which is not too tight and stretches. You start with a slip knot and use the working yarn to make the stitches, avoiding the need to measure out yarn in advance to cast on as in the long tail method.

Pony turned out slightly larger than I thought but that was probably more to do with my knitting than anything else. The best part was completing the knitting stage and putting him together. I found some heart shaped wooden buttons for the eyes. Wasn't too sure these would work but once I had them in position he really came to life, so to speak. 

Just for the photos I made a "stable" for him but in reality he'll be sitting inside on the sofa....

Seven Skeins - Buachaille Yarn

When I heard Kate Davies was developing her own yarn range, I was interested to find out more about it and decided to sign up for the Seven Skeins club. It included the yarn, a book of patterns along with a project tote bag.

The new yarn range is called Buachaille, the wool is sourced from Scottish sheep and then spun in a mill in Yorkshire. The yarn selection that arrived in the post included three natural colours and four dyed shades. The yarn and patterns all have a Scottish name theme such as Haar, Squall and Highland Coo. I especially like the name "Between Weathers" (mid blue, second from the left in the picture).

The book includes 12 patterns for knitted accessories, 5 traditional Scottish food recipes and a detailed description of a walk around the West Highland mountain Buachaille Etive Mor.

Recently completed  were the "Pawkies" stranded mittens in the "Between Weathers" and "Ptarmigan" colours, I'm pleased with the way these turned out. The yarn is a pleasure to work with, it has a rustic look without feeling coarse, in fact it is very soft.

 

Enjoyed making these gloves and they fit well. I might be making another pair in a different colour combination.

Adventures in Yarn Farming

 

As a relative newcomer to the world of sheep keeping I was looking forward to reading Adventures in Yarn Farming (which I received as a gift at Christmas). Barbara Parry describes her transition into farming life in New England and how she converts sheep fleece into high quality knitting yarn. The book is hardback and beautifully presented with lots of photographs.

The story starts with the wool clip and follows the year of the sheep through the seasons. I found it interesting and reassuring that the story sounded familiar and that I'm at least doing some of the same things. There were some differences in timings in the year for certain activities. The most striking difference though is the effort she goes to keeping the sheep fleeces clean and succeeding (whilst still on the back of the sheep). My Shetland sheep usually look as though they just emerged from a rummage in the bottom of the compost heap, so there's some work to do. 

Here's a video taster of the book...

There are 8 knitting patterns and other projects for spinning, weaving and dyeing in the book. But I really enjoyed this book more for it's description of lifestyle changes and it's honest look at the hard work that goes into producing yarn from sheep fleeces. 

Enjoy!

Good Reads

Some of the books which have distracted me from knitting last year have piled up on the shelves. I'm trying to keep track of the books I've read this year using Good Reads. Recently I was browsing Penny's blog and came across her post 'My Year of Books'. Which lead me to this link on Circle of Pine Trees. Which in turn lead me to Good Reads. As well as keeping track of books I've read I'm hoping to pick up some good recommendations too.

Fair Isle Style Book Review

Image  used with permission © Chris Vaccaro

Fair Isle Style - Mary Jane Mucklestone

This is a book of hand knitting patterns combining the traditional colour work technique using two colours on a row with an added modern twist. Mary Jane Mucklestone is well-known for her colourful knitwear and is the author of 200 Fair Isle Motifs and 150 Scandinavian Knitting Designs. For Fair Isle Style she has brought together 20 designs from established and upcoming names in the world of knitting.

The designs range in difficulty providing something for a first time Fair Isle project such as the Kulli Cowl by Ysolda Teague to the more complex Mirry-Dancers Yoked Pullover by Cheryl Burke (shown above and also featuring on the front cover of the book).

© Chris Vaccaro

Kulli Cowl by Ysolda Teague

I had to include an image of the these cute Peeri Weeri Booties by Carrie Bostick Hoge. Judging by the comments on the Ravelry projects page they are proving to be a popular gift and user up of spare yarn.

© Chris Vaccaro

Peeri Weeri Booties by Carrie Bostick Hoge

 

I love knitting mittens. There are four patterns for gloves including the fingerless ones by SpillyJane a.k.a. Jane Dupuis called Mushroom Kellimuffs which I chose to knit in Jamieson's of Shetland DK yarn.

 SpillyJane a.k.a. Jane Dupuis called Mushroom Kellimuffs

Towards the back of the book is a detailed section called 'Design Notebook' with information about: how to knit in the Fair Isle tradition, yarn choice, how to read charts, gauge and swatching, steeks, colour choice and an extensive glossary of terms. Basically everything you need to know to complete a project from the book.

The section on 'Colour Choice' and how to combine colours was useful to me. For my 'Mushroom Kelliemuffs' I had decided to use up some spare Jamieson's of Shetland yarn but had a limited colour palette to choose from. The information helped me decide which colours to use from those I had available.

For my next project, I'd like to make the Morroless Socks by Mary Jane Mucklestone. I like the natural grey main colour with the bright contrasts on the striking star design.

© Chris Vaccaro

Morroless Socks by Mary Jane Mucklestone

Information about each of the patterns is available from the Ravelry Fair Isle Style book page.

Enjoy!

Colours of Shetland by Kate Davies - Book Review

I first came across the Edinburgh based designer Kate Davies via the knitting website Ravelry and then started following her blog.  When her book 'Colours of Shetland' was published I was drawn to it immediately. Since I started keeping Shetland sheep anything to do with 'Shetland' catches my eye. Published in 2012 the book features 10 signature hand-knits inspired by the Shetland Islands.

 

Patterns include:
Stevenson Sweater
Stevenson Gauntlets
Puffin Sweater
Puffin Mantle
Ursula Cardigan
Ursula Mittens
Northmavine Hoody
Northmavine Hap
Scatness Tunis
Scatness Tam

All of the patterns in the book are also available to purchase individually via Ravelry.

What I like most about this book is the combination of pattern instructions with details about how the design was inspired. These include pieces about the Shetland Islands history, colours and textures of the landscape and wildlife all illustrated with wonderful photography and graphics.

Instructions are very clear and detailed along with 'how to' knit swatches for each project to ensure correct size and fit.

Many of the garments have a smaller project in the same design for example a hat or a pair of gloves. You can try out the smaller project before making a commitment to the larger one. I love the Scatness tunic at the end of the book. So I might try the Scatness hat featured on the front cover to try out the pattern design.

So far I've completed the Ursula Mittens. This pattern was inspired by the writer Ursula Venables who lived and worked on the Islands documenting the wildlife, landscape and crofting life during the 1940's. I altered the mitten pattern into a fingerless mit version just because I find this style more practical for me. I love the simple Fair Isle design in the three colour combination.

The other larger project using this design is the Ursula cardigan. It's a classic shape and very much fits in with the vintage styling that is so popular just now.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book featuring traditional knits combined with a modern twist, presented against background information about the Shetland Islands. As if I wasn't already inspired to make a trip to the Islands this certainly has added to my interest to go there one day...

Comfort Knitting and Crochet...

...is the title of this new book by Nora Gaughan which I can highly recommend as pure "eye candy" for the fibre enthusiast. The weather forecast for the Easter weekend is traditional "British Bank Holiday" so I'll be spending some time turning the pages of this book. I've made a start practicing a crochet motif for a bed cover. (Yes, I know, I already have lots of other projects to finish!) Here's a link to the book with more details - click here.