Knitting holidays on the horizon

Arena Travel Arctic Circle knitting cruiseThis time of year always makes us start daydreaming about holidays – blue skies, sunshine and lots of time to knit! Last November Juliet’s blog entries from the Arctic Circle courtesy of Arena Travel made us realise how easily knitting and holidaying can be combined. Fortunately there are plenty for you to choose from in 2012!

It’s a way off, but in November 2012 you can take the same trip Juliet went on last autumn, and join Jane Crowfoot on an Arctic Circle cruise.  Arena Travel are also running knitting holidays in Florence with Debbie Abrahams and Jane Crowfoot in June, as well as to the Shetland Isles - the perfect place to brush up on your knitting skills while enjoying the islands' scenery.

Juliet’s blog – Nuts about felting

Juliet's felted nuts bowlJuliet Bernard, editor of The Knitter, confesses all about her growing obsession with felting.

I am becoming increasingly obsessed by felting.  I mean the deliberate kind rather than the terrible accident that shrinks your favourite jumper to the size of a teddy bear garment – very upsetting.

You need to choose a yarn with animal fibres in because it is the combination of hot water and agitation that causes the fibres to swell up and catch on each other to make felt. 

Save up to 40% with The Knitter's January sale!

Daun Daemon reader picThere are still a few days of January left, and with this being the toughest month of the year, why not brighten up someone’s day with a gift subscription to The Knitter?

Alternatively get one for yourself and get your New Year’s Knitting Resolutions off to a fab start!

Whether you live in the UK or overseas you can take advantage of our fab January sale.

You can buy a subscription for as little as £11.69 (taken by quarterly Direct Debit) – that’s a 40% saving! You just need to go to our website http://www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk/stitch-craft and quote offer code TKNW16.

The Knitter Issue 41 – on sale till 21 Feb 2012

The Knitter issue 41 coverIssue 41 of The Knitter is out today, crammed with innovative patterns and useful advice to help you build on your creative knitting skills.

It’s a big commitment to knit a garment in a yarn you are unfamiliar with, so if you are a little unsure, then hopefully this issue – which is full of accessories and smaller projects – will give you the opportunity to try something new. For example, the little ‘Blyth’ shawl by Kitman Figueroa has already found its way on to editor Juliet’s needles: “She is a designer we have been eager to work with, and I’m excited to be knitting one of her patterns.”

Book review – Keep Calm and Cast On by Erika Knight

Keep Calm and Cast On book coverErika Knight’s new book, Keep Calm and Cast On, is the perfect knitter’s gift – subtitled ‘Good advice for knitters’.

it’s a collection of knitterly advice and musings, with quotes from Elizabeth Zimmermann, Jared Flood and Kaffe Fassett, among others. Other entries range from tips on blocking and cast-ons to information on the therapeutic effects of knitting. There’s even an old Irish Proverb, which made us smile: “If the knitter is weary, the baby will have no new bonnet."

The result is an intriguing mix of content, lovely to dip into between stitches. The small size makes it ideal for popping into a pocket or project bag, while leaving plenty of room for yarn. We think it would make a sweet Mother’s Day present for a knitty mum!

Your chance to appear in The Knitter!

Reader GalleryHave you knitted a garment or accessory that you are particularly proud of? Over at The Knitter we’ve been admiring the many  gorgeous knitted items appearing on our readers’ Ravelry profiles and in our knitting groups, and we would love to share them with other readers by publishing the pictures in our magazine.

Whether it’s a design from one of our issues, from your favourite designer’s latest book, or a download from Ravelry, we’d love to print one of your photos in our ‘In The Loop’ reader gallery, along with a few lines from you about your experience of knitting and wearing the piece, as reader Janki Cunnington (pictured left) did.

The Knitter Errata issue 39 – the Bardon cardigan

This errata is for the Bardon cardigan in the supplement that came with The Knitter Issue 39.

The chart for the back is 104 sts, but the pattern refers to a 105 st chart.

Cast on one fewer stitch than pattern says for back and work K1, P1 rib. Then just centre the 104-stich chart.

If you have already knitted the rib for the Back,  decrease 1 stitch at the end of the last row of rib, or else at the beginning of the first chart row.

Deramores guest blog post: WIN Signed Debbie Bliss Books!

The Knitter's Year by Debbie BlissAmy Last from Deramores shares news of the online yarn store’s exciting competition.

Deramores has caught up with renowned knitwear designer Debbie Bliss to give three lucky winners a chance to win a signed copy of one of her popular books, such as The Knitter's Year. Autographed by the renowned knitwear designer herself, this is a prize to truly treasure!

As huge fans of the Debbie Bliss range, staff at Deramores were excited to have the chance to ask the talented designer where she finds her inspiration, as well as a whole host of other questions. Debbie’s answers can be found on Deramores' social media pages throughout this week.

Juliet's blog – fibre-filled me-time and knitting apps

Knit Companion knitting appJuliet Bernard, editor of The Knitter, enjoys some quiet, stress-free knitting time with her newest knitting app.

After all the hectic christmas knitting, which probably starts somewhere around September, I always look forward to the January lull. There is no pressure to knit anything for anyone but yourself so I usually try to make this the moment to reach for a wonderful cashmere or a luxurious merino silk.

I also love to try a pattern that is a little more challenging and needs me to focus - in other words some deeply fibre-filled me-time.    

The appeal of wrestling with pages and pages of a pattern, trying to piece together charts soon wears thin and I have even been known to chop up a pattern to put the bits I need in a more sensible order at works for me.

The Knitter Errata issue 40 - The Sweater Sally Made Instead & Bridgeport Men's Cardigan

The Sweater Sally Made Instead

There is errata in the chart key for The Sweater Sally Made Instead, from The Knitter issue 40. In addition, some of the words in the key were cut off due to a printing error. Appologies about that! Here is the new key:

TK40 errata - The Swater Sally Made

Bridgeport Men's Cardigan

 

There is an error on the chart for this pattern. The first stitch of Rows 7, 8 and 9 should be in Yarn A.