at midnight.. and beyond

..at midnight.. I am writing about "at midnight.." at the eleventh hour and the irony is not lost on me.

"at midnight.." is the name of the Old Maiden Aunt/Karie Bookish collaboration I may have mentioned before. It is a three months yarn club still open for sign-ups but at time of writing there are only a few spaces still left. It is my own fault for not mentioning it here before now - I have been so busy with work and life that blogging just did not happened.

"at midnight.." is inspired by the mood and era of the Sherlock Holmes novels by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Both Lilith and I are avid readers - and we both happen to love classic British mystery novels. I set out to design three accessories that drew upon late Victoriana but would still be very wearable today - and I ended up with three designs are that very feminine, elegant and subtle. The picture above shows you some of the props I have gathered for the photo shoot we are having later this month: it is going to be lavish, sumptuous and mysterious. I am really looking forward to hearing what people think - I have had a blast designing for this club and Lilith has come up with some really beautiful, decadent colours.

".. a Victorian heroine trapped in an Edinburgh close at the turn of midnight whilst footsteps come ever closer.." was one of the many small clues we sent back and forth between us. Yes, we had a lot of fun plotting this one!

If you are unlucky enough not to get into the yarn club, the patterns will be made available in an e-book in 2013. I originally thought I'd reknit the patterns in commercial yarn, but as I am really running short on knitting time these days I am not so sure I'll be able to do that.

Phew.

September 2012 326I did find time to design and knit a one-off shawl this summer, but I forgot to take any photos before I gifted it. Ironic, huh?

My darling friend, Paula, had a big birthday this past week. I started plotting her birthday present earlier this year and spent ages searching the net for the perfect yarn. I wanted something semi-solid, something blue-grey-purple and I wanted it to be British.

Juno Fibre arts came up trumps with their amazing "Belle" 4ply which is a mix of alpaca and BFL. The colourway was called "Breathe" - a subtle pastel mix of pale blues and purples with an undertone of grey. I really like working with the yarn - though I should warn you about it shedding - and it was really fun to work with a colourway so different to my usual tastes. Sometimes it's good to push your boundaries!

I just cannot believe I did not remember to take a photo - I shall have to show you later. I will say one thing: working on this shawl back in May/June certainly paved the way for some of my designs coming your way later this year. I learned a lot about going outside my comfort zone and trying out something new.

What's next? Well, I am currently knitting something using a very popular yarn - a design which you will get to see in print(!) early next year.. again in a colourway completely outside my comfort zone. I am also trying to knit a few rows on my Bute cardigan here and there - and then I am also working away on my Doggerland collection when I find time to breathe. I need more hours in the day.

Or sample knitters.

Hmmm.