Arrival!

The books are here! Well, except all the ones that were pre-ordered - they've all gone out in the post. There have been arrivals as far away as Canada! (I was surprised by now quickly they got to other countries, I was expecting them to be a bit slower) If you didn't pre-order you can buy the print version here and I'll send it right out!



The eBook has gone live too, you can or visit the Ravelry page here.

We're kicking off the KAL in the Coop Knits Group with Willowherb and Saltburn in May and June - you can knit one or both pairs, there will be prizes and chatting, come and join in! I've chosen this Sheila Sock from Fyberspates in Pink Ginger for a pair of Willowherb, a non-sample pair that I can wear, just the thought of this is very exciting!



I'll be at Wonderwool Wales this weekend, selling and signing books on the Fyberspates stand - come and see me (and all the beautiful yarn). One of the best things there are the fancy scotch eggs, I was looking forward to them so much yesterday I went to the farm shop and bought one for my lunch - think of it as pre-wonderwool training...

Run, Jim, Run!

My friend Jim is running the London Marathon on Sunday, I'll be cheering him on from the comfort of my sofa with my knitting and a large cup of tea - I know, he's going to be exerting *slightly* more energy than me but only just....

He's running to raise money for Refuge, a charity that do such important work and despite his alter-ego Veuf Tricot (you might know him as the man behind the column in Simply Knitting magazine) 'running away from knitters' he has actually become not only a knitter, but a designer. He has designed a collection of 3 accessories that are being sold in aid of Refuge; the Ready, Steady, Go collection:

Ready Mitts



Steady Hat



Go Scarf



I know Jim wore the mitts (or a very similar pair) when he was training in the winter, the photographer who took the photos for my book also wore some on that very cold day in February, keeping his hands warm but his fingers free to work his camera.

The hat is a rather lovely shade of yellow with a textured double thickness brim to protect ears from cold winds.

The GREEN scarf has a pretty lace chevron pattern, it is knitted with Babylonglegs Semi-Precious which is very special yarn, soft and lustrous - perfect for a special scarf.

Please think about supporting Jim if you can, either by buying the pattern collection or by donating to his Just Giving page.

Like I said, I'll be an armchair supporter this Sunday, but that won't stop me cheering him on AT THE TOP OF MY VOICE!

Coop Knits Socks - The Book!

My first book is currently at the printers so I've opened pre-orders - you can order a copy of the book here, every book will come with a code so you can download the eBook free of charge.



I've entered all the patterns in to the Ravelry database, you can see them all here.



I will post about all the patterns individually, I'll talk about my inspiration and the yarn I used and all that good stuff.



I'll talk about the people who worked on the book with me, the people who made all this possible.



A BOOK!!!

Cover

I was going to title this post 'Don't judge a book by it's cover' or another play on words/cover related pun.

But sometimes you just need to say what it is.

This is it. The Cover. Of my book.



Pre-orders are imminent.

Calla Socks

I've got a pattern in the latest issue of Pom Pom Quarterly - one of my favourite publications.





I love the way this magazine is put together; the design and the styling, I love the yarn they gave me and I love the way the magazine is wrapped up like a little present when it arrives:





These are my socks:





Lace and twisted stitches, petals and clean lines.





The yarn is Shalimar Yarns Breathless, it's merino with some cashmere and silk and it is delightful, really - it's full of delight. I used it in my Coesite hat and cowl and last week some more arrived on my doorstep, I am very happy about this. It gives beautiful stitch definition and it's soft and bouncy, the colour used for these socks is oyster - delicate and subtle (wait until you see the colours of the aforementioned latest arrival, not delicate and subtle but equally beautiful)


The back of the issue is also very pretty:





And there are lots of lovely patterns - look here, I've got a few summer dresses that would look pretty with a Lobelia cardigan over them.

One hat, many heads...

I was going to blog every week day in April. Then I went to Wales for a little holiday and there was no access to internet and no phone signal. So I'm going to blog every week day left in April from now.

My book is about to be published, it is imminent, I'm so excited for everyone to see it. We took some of the photos on a cold day in February in Lyme Regis. I love Lyme Regis, I went there when I was a child and my first holiday with my then-boyfriend-now-husband was there.

I love it there but it was COLD. Really COLD. Several people in the planning stages said something along the lines of 'Wrap up warm', good advice but ever the idiot, when I arrived at Jen's the day before the shoot I had to admit I'd forgotten to bring my coat. Luckily I had brought a wool cardigan my sister gave me that weighs about 3 stone but has amazing insulating properties.

I also had my trusty yellow Puffin Apple hat, my most loved and most worn hat. It started the day on my head, here's me and Jen, both in our Puffin Apples:

I was still wearing it (and my amazing wool cardi) when I had to forcibly remove a blanket from around Jeni who had kindly agreed to model for me:



Part of my job was to try to stop my models from developing hypothermia in the summery dresses I had chosen for the shoot, so I donated my hat to the cause here:



And here:



We had a great day, got some fantastic shots, not long before I can show the world!!