And on the Second Day of 2015 She Did A Podcast & Stuff

The last FO of 2014 showcased on the second day of 2015. I knitted the Coffee Bean cardigan for my youngest nephew as an Christmas present. I've used the pattern before and it's a great little project that looks contemporary, knits up a treat, and has a lot of scope for customisation. I used two balls of (the now sadly discontinued) Rowan Pure Wool Aran and used a remnant of a third colour in PWA to knit the buttonband trim. I just wanted to add a little pop of colour to a neutral-looking cardigan. I rather like the end result. Buttons are coconut shell buttons from an old, old eBay haul - this is the third project that uses these buttons and I still have many left!

But this is 2015, so let's not talk anymore of Christmas. Happy new year, everyone!In Scotland, we celebrate Hogmanay which makes the advent of a new year seem extra special. This time my partner and I actually went to a small party where we danced the night away and tried our hand at karaoke (good grief). I even wore a new frock which helped chase away all the clouds left behind by 2014. The bells were celebrated with a wee dram and we enjoyed a healthy serving of Stovies too. Dear reader, I appear to have gone native.

However, to kick off the new year in a suitably knitterly fashion, I sat down for a chat with the lovely Louise Scollay. You can hear a full hour of Louise & I chatting about our year in knitting, what plans we have for 2015 and how much we are looking forward to the Edinburgh Yarn Fest. When we did the interview, my head was full of the cold. Apologies for that! Our chat also include what my post-Doggerland plans are .. the first pattern from the new venture will be released later this month, actually. I really, really enjoy chatting with Louise - I think the podcast clocks in at 70 minutes ..  but actually we talked for like 2.5 hours. See if you can spot when I started coughing my lungs out so Louise had to do some super-clever editing!

One of the things Louise & I spend some time discussing is the idea of choosing a word that will keep you company throughout the coming year. It is a concept I have shamelessly stolen from Joanne Scrace - we discussed our mutual loathing of New Year's resolutions one evening and Joanne mentioned the ONE WORD thing. I like words, so obviously I love this idea. Surprisingly, I found it difficult to come up with a word that worked for me but I settled on this:

What would your word be?

So. It is the second day of 2015 and I am cautiously optimistic. Not bad for this glass half-empty girl.

Changes to Pattern-Selling & Ebooks

Due to law changes, 2015 sees a few changes to how customers within the EU can buy my patterns. Please understand that a) these changes are not my decision and b) some of these changes may be temporary as various platforms work out how best to respond to the new laws. Are you in the UK or live outside the EU?

Move on. Nothing will change for you.

Are you in an EU member state other than the UK?

Read on.

Single patterns:

Whether you buy my patterns through my website or via Ravelry, you will now be redirected to LoveKnitting to complete your purchase. Ravelry and LoveKnitting have entered into a partnership to make the law changes easy and transparent for you as a consumer. LoveKnitting will handle the financial transaction while Ravelry will add your new pattern to your library. Important: when you buy a pattern now, you will see the pattern price plus your local VAT rate displayed. LoveKnitting will collect the VAT and hand it over to your local government. If you do not already have a LoveKnitting account, you will need to register with them.

Please note that my previously announced price changes will go into effect in 2015, but I am trying very hard to keep prices as low as I possibly can. Depending upon where you live, the added VAT on top may make it look like a very dramatic price hike but the VAT rate is decided by your local government (who also collects it).

Promotions:

There is currently no way of offering special discounts or promotions via the LoveKnitting/Ravelry integration, so unfortunately any future promotions will not be available to EU citizens outside the UK. I am very sorry.

E-books/pattern collections:

There is currently no way of selling e-books or pattern collections via the LoveKnitting/Ravelry integration. This means you won't be able to buy At Midnight or Doggerland via the LoveKnitting checkout. However, if you want to buy either collection, please get in touch with me using the contact form on this page. There may be a few ways we can work around this issue but I want to discuss them with you on an individual basis.

E-book pricing will be reviewed mid-summer 2015 and currently remains unchanged.

Please note: I view all this as temporary measures as marketplaces adjust to the new laws. I am looking into other distribution options as well, so do keep an eye on this website.

Phew. What a way to end 2014. Thank you so, so much for all your support in 2014. Despite all the upheaval, I hope we'll continue to have all sorts of fun in 2015.

x

Book Review: Kate Atherley's Pattern Writing for Knit Designers

I get a lot of emails. Some deal with my own work, but a surprising amount of messages comes from people wanting to write patterns. Maybe my epic Twitter rants about poorly written patterns are to blame; maybe it is because when I teach I go on about things like gauge and chart symbols. Who knows? What do you do if you didn't fluke a background in technical writing? Up to now you had to rely upon your knowledge of others' pattern writing skills and try to imitate their way of writing instructions. I understand why people do this, but it does not allow for reflection upon your own style and you may fall into adopting other people's bad habits without realising there are other options. Or you asked people like me who does have a background in technical writing (and who is horrifically busy) or you ask in Ravelry fora with somewhat mixed results.

Anyway, it's been really frustrating for me that I have had nowhere to send all these lovely people. There are some great pattern design books in the world (like Maggie Righetti's Sweater Design in Plain English) but no pattern writing books out there. With Kate Atherley's book, Pattern Writing for Knit Designers, that drought is now at an end. It is not a knitting book filled with patterns; it is a book telling designers how to write patterns that are clear, concise and easy to follow. Kate Atherley is one of the most highly regarded technical editors in the business and her wealth of experience shows.

The book is a master-class in how to think about pattern writing. She discusses everything from how to structure a pattern (and provides a pattern template), which abbreviations to use, how to think about communicating cables and deciding upon formatting to why a designer's relationship with their technical editor is so important, working with and defining style sheets, how to self-publish, how to work with publications (and what they expect of you as a designer) and how to making easy-to-follow charts.  It is an incredibly comprehensive book.

Kate's voice is authoritative, but never condescending. She assumes the reader is clever, resourceful and able to think for themselves. Look at the excerpt above: the three examples of a repeat within a row have an identical outcome (in terms of how many stitches you have at the end) but Kate goes through the examples one by one, and lets the reader work out why some formats are more effective than others.

And she makes you think about how writing patterns means communicating to someone who is not you. I find this is a pitfall for many designers who assume knitters work in the same way as themselves and find it hard to write for others. Writing for an audience is a real skill - and writing technical instructions for others to follow is even harder. I really like the way Kate makes you consider your audience before you begin writing.

In short, this book is a marvel. It is a technical and dry in places (which I obviously love), but after a dense paragraph about the taxonomy of cable stitches, Kate shows why you need to wrap your head about how to classify and name cable stitches - and she does so in a wonderfully down-to-earth manner. More importantly, she makes sure you will enjoy writing that cabled hat pattern of yours. Most importantly, Kate makes sure that your cabled hat pattern will make an enjoyable knit for knitters who will talk about your well-written pattern to others and keep coming back for more. Huzzah!

I should point out (in the name of full disclosure) that I am cited in the book and that I was asked to read an early draft of this book, but that does not alter my praise of this book. Whether you are an aspiring designer or an experienced designer/tech editor, this book will instruct and help you. I keep a copy next to me on my desk as it comes in handy on a daily basis. The book is full of great advice from other designers and technical editors - and has a great deal of links to useful resources. As Kate says, the book won't help you come up with designs but it will teach you how to write great patterns people will want to make again and again.

And happy knitters make for a happy knitting world.

You can buy the book here and it costs CAD$25. A real bargain for what you'll learn.

Test-Driving A Few Knitting Needles

Quite often I get asked which are the best needles out there. It's never a straightforward answer because different types of needles do different kinds of jobs. Some knitting needles are versatile workhorses, whilst others excel at taming temperamental yarns. I'm a big believer in keeping my toolbox well-stocked, but I cannot always keep up with what's on the market. So, when the lovely folks at KnitPro asked if I wanted to test-drive any of their needles, I asked if I could trial three of their more recent types of needles: the Karbonz, the Symphonie Cubics, and the Nova Cubics.

I tested the needles on a) lace knitting, b) magic loop, c) garment knitting (to see how the cables reacted to weight), d) very fine yarn, e) slippery yarn, and f) sticky double-knitting yarn. It was interesting to see how the needles behaved.

KnitPro Karbonz - as the name suggests, they are made from carbon fibre and have nickle-plated brass tips. They are very lightweight and while some people might need to adjust to the relative weightlessness, I enjoyed working with them. The carbon makes the needles feel warm and smooth in my hands, but the surface has a good amount of stickiness.

When working with them, I liked the long, pointy tip and the carbon's intriguing mix of smoothness & grip. They did not perform as well as the other needles when I tried very fine yarn on them - the yarn kept catching on the transition between the carbon and the metal tips - but they worked a treat with regular yarns.

Verdict: The Karbonz are very good workhorse needles that will serve knitters well for most jobs (except working with cob web or laceweight). If you are not a specialised knitter, you can do much worse than invest in these.

KnitPro Symphonie Cubics - these needles are a variant upon the wooden, multi-coloured needles that made KnitPro so famous among knitters.  I was happy to see KnitPro had improved the cable as that was always the weakest point of the earliest Symphonie needles (I am hard on my needles, it should be said).  However, the most intriguing thing was the shape of the needles. They reminded me of the triangular pencils I used in school when I first learned to write - and yes, the needles were designed to aid a more ergonomic grip. I enjoyed working with them and quickly forgot all about shapes. They just felt good in my hands.

Verdict: The Symphonie Cubics were my favourites of the three needles, simply because I enjoy working with wooden needles. I am not sure I'd buy the Cubics over the regular Symphonies but I really appreciate KnitPro trying to deliver a product for people with arthritics.

KnitPro Nova Cubics: these are made from hollow brass pipes that have been coated with nickel. Out of the three needles, these took me the longest to adjust to using simply because of the disconnect between their solid appearance and their very light weight.

Again, great long tip that worked really well for lace knitting (these needles performed best at lace knitting out of all three) and a very smooth surface that worked equally well with fine/slippery yarns and rustic double-knitting yarn.The square shape seems more noticeable with these metal needles than with the wooden ones.

Verdict: I tested a 5mm needle, but will be buying a few smaller sizes as they are good alternatives to other metal needles in my toolbox. Definitely a 'try before you buy' needle but while not my favourite in this test, I'll probably use these more than the Symphonie ones.

I do think it's important to note what kind of knitter you are and realise that what works for one person isn't necessarily what works for others. I like to have a wide range of needles in my own toolbox because I knit a lot of different things with different fibres. You may find that you are best off just buying one set of interchangeable needles or straight needles. I urge you to try friends' needles (maybe set up a knit night with needle tasting?) to see what you enjoy.

PS. Photos? You try to photograph things in the middle of a Scottish winter!

Noblesse Oblige - Pattern & Brief Thoughts on Language

I have been collaborating with my good friend, the marvellous Susan Crawford, and Noblesse Oblige is my contribution to her "Knits in a Cold Climate" collection.

When I was given the design brief by Susan, I knew I wanted to use the wonderful colour range in Susan Crawford Fenella. Inspired by my recent forays into knitting archives, I began sketching Fair Isle bands but it was not until I uncovered a photo of a 1930s knitting pattern that I decided upon the colour scheme. The jumper is charming, but I fell in love with the red/green/yellow motif. Could I use these colours in a more traditional setting?

After several attempts, I hit upon a 1930s inspired hat and scarf using that red/green/yellow combination, but also tempered by a soft porcelain blue and a delightful creamy white. The jaunty beret features two Fair Isle bands that counteract each other to create a sense of dynamism.

The scarf comes in three sizes - you can make it a neckerchief, a small scarf or a full-sized shawl. To optimise knitting pleasure, the scarf does not use Fair Isle bands but features narrow stripes in a colour sequence that calls back to the beret. After much discussion, Susan and I agreed that small, felted pompoms would add a delightful finishing touch.

Naming the pattern was harder. I wanted to use one of Nancy Mitford's book titles, but neither Christmas Pudding nor Pigeon Pie seemed appropriate! Finally, Noblesse Oblige seemed to suggest itself - it is a collection of essays and I rather enjoyed Nancy Mitford's essay on the English language. So, Noblesse Oblige. A lovely hat and scarf set. I hope you will enjoy knitting it.

But let's talk about Nancy Mitford's essay briefly.

Found in Noblesse Oblige, "The English Aristocracy" is her most famous essay. Nancy Mitford had recently read an academic article by a British linguist and was inspired to write her own examination of how the British upper class ("U") and the middle class ("non-U") spoke. The essay is very much of its time - apparently only non-U people would speak of telephones! - but that is also part of its appeal. It is a snapshot of a world in transition where old notions of class and importance are slowly eroding. It is particularly interesting to compare Mitford's essay to Grayson Perry's TV documentaries about Class in Britain. The economic barriers between the classes may have eroded, but cultural markers such as language and taste have not.

"The English Aristocracy" is an early example of what we know today as sociolinguistics. A "sociolect" is a type of language associated with one socioeconomic class, age group or gender. The British 1990s sit-com Keeping Up Appearances uses Mitford's little U vs non-U markers and sociolects to great comic effect. The main protagonist, Hyacinth Bucket, insists her surname is pronounced Bouquet, and she keeps grasping at big, fancy words in her attempt to sound more refined (something Mitford notes is the true mark of a social climber - why use the word "lavatory" when "loo" is perfectly adequate?). The underlying class anxiety so evident in Mitford's 1950s essay is very much visible even forty and fifty years on.

If you have half an hour to spare, I suggest you read Mitford's little essay in Noblesse Oblige - I assure you that you will notice amusing little things about how you and the people around you speak.

Now for the important pattern details: you can buy the pattern from Ravelry here. It is £4 and the pattern uses five shades of Fenella. Susan is planning on offering a kit which you will be able to buy from her shop.

It has been marvellous working with Susan on this pattern - she understands my shorthand descriptions so very, very well and has an incredible eye for details, style, and colour. I also really enjoyed working with Fenella which has a such lovely bounce in its step.

See you there?