extremes

watermelon, so pink it's almost red

Granny smith -apple green.

blueberry, bright deep blue.

satsuma, saturated juicy orange.

we're almost ready - for the little deers!

Countdown - yarn colours

here are the colours I'm offering for the first round of kits

The yarn is "Biba" a blend of wool, bamboo and silk, very soft and cushy!

my research suggested that people wanted a softer than usual pink, but a brighter than usual blue and some colours not usually available for babies.

Here are my basics:

cotton pink
sky blue
just olive

mercury grey

the winter dapple you have met before

the summer dapple - bright blues, yellow and greens

a small range to start, I'd rather react to client's requests to develop further colourways.

It's all coming together, patterns are written, bags printed, supplies ordered.

and these special colourways are for starter kits - tiny projects for tiny people

ready, steady...

the kits are not quite "go" yet - but the pieces are coming together, here is a teaser.

There is still a lot to do, so to keep you occupied in the meantime - go listen to my mouse-like ravings on Crafternoon Tea with GrannyG, I was her first (read: experimental)guest, and although I hate listening to myself it was fun chatting with her. I'm looking forward to Genny posting the 4th episode tonight - it sounds like a smasher, I think we have anew Kiwi star in our midst.

Now, back to my list...next "start Ravelry group" see you there!

Tea Time

When I returned to Auckland from Sydney I quickly set to organising a knitting group as I missed SSK in Newtown so much.

The Knitrangers have grown and evolved into a wonderful, diverse, lovable group of friends - and I am always delighted to think of how we have all changed and become more proficient in our chosen craft (s)

One knitranger has put her money where her mouth is and has launched a fantastic podcast - Genny is smart, capable and a lot of fun to be around, she tells it like it is and has a heart the size of Texas, she is only starting out - so be gentle - we have already hauled her over the coals critiquing her first episode, so she doesn't need any more advice - just go and listen, spend some time with GrannyG - she is giving craft a taste of kiwi. It's fun, tongue in cheek and interesting and I'm glad she had the guts to go for it - take some time out for Crafternoon Tea with Grannyg!

Life keeps on slipping, slipping into the future

bad blogger!

I have had good reasons - spring has sprung in New Zealand - so full of renewed excitement for life, Flash and I sat down and did our 1yr/5 yr plan - this one is a lot tamer than the past couple - looks like we will be staying put for a while. We have chosen to be more grounded - to focus on family and home, we will still travel - but a overseas postings are way down on the list.

I sat in my studio and had a good think about who I am and where I am heading...and then sold 2 of the knitting machines and put the rest in storage, cleared out the yarn I will never use and the books I will never read and put them on Trademe too...from the proceeds I bought a very nice couch (on Trademe) for which the cat will be eternally grateful in that "thank you for buying me such a comfy bed" way, and cleared the clutter (and it isn't just hidden...it is gone!) my current wip (a cardiganised adult version of Kikkie) has been put aside while I whip up some cushions (more info soon) and I'm scouting for just the right rug.

Flash kindly moved the wine fridge and antique spirits collection into the dining room where they belong - giving me even more space, but we are still in negotiations about the tv and lazyboy... still it means we can be together in the evenings, while he watches and I potter, and pottering is how I came up with this cute pincushion...which could also be used as an oversize button (very now) if made smaller.

This started with me wondering how to make a flower pincushion in knitting, then realising that my Aviatrix hat provides the perfect leaping off point.

I am not writing a flash pattern for this - think EZ.

Kina Pincushion

Get some feltable wool, preferably 2 or 3ply and 3mm or 3.25mm needles (fabric needs to be reasonably loose)

(you can use any thickness yarn you like - the flower will be larger or smaller - you can also cast on less sts and work to less sts from the ends to make it smaller)

Cast on 34 sts using a provisonal cast on, then work as follows:

Row 1:(right side) slip the 1st st, knit to 5 sts from the end, wrap and turn

Row 2: purl to 5 sts from the end, wrap and turn

Row 3: knit to 10 sts from end, wrap and turn

Row 4: purl to 10 sts from end, wrap and turn

Row 5: knit to 15 sts from end, wrap and turn

Row 6: purl to 15 sts from end, wrap and turn

Row 7: knit to 10 sts from end, wrap and and turn

Row 8: purl to 10 sts from end, wrap and turn

Row 9: knit to 5 sts from end, wrap and turn

Row 10: purl to 5 sts from end, wrap and turn

Row 11: knit to end

Row 12: slip the first st, purl to end.

repeat 9 x

graft these sts to cast on sts, close up one end using a running stitch then pulling it tight. Using polyfill stuff the flower firmly, then close the other end. You now have a flattish ball shaped like a Kina (sea urchin)

Felt using your favourite method.

When dry, use embroidery thread to seperate the "petals" start in the centre, then take the thread over and through to the front centre, pull tightly, then take thread back to the back centre at a 180 degree angle to the first, divide the flower into 8 sections, ensuring the thread is pulled tightly each time, then secure firmly and sew a button into the centre to hide the knot.

Bundles of Joy!

there is a lot going on here - I think it is Spring fever!

I have made the decision to move the knitting machines out of my studio - they haven't seen much use in a long time and are taking up space, I feel the need to de-clutter and rework the studio into a room people feel comfortable and relaxed, with a focus on hand knitting.

Tidying up the website and Ravelry pages, I have listed 2 bundles of patterns (available on the website or directly from Ravelry) one is definitely more "girly" and is called "Sugar and Spice" the other is more unisex but called "For the boys" (to be fair) you get 4 patterns for $12.00 US (usually $5.00 US each) that's a saving of $8.00 US - that's got to be good!

Sugar and Spice contains: Bella, Roaring Meg, Victoria and Spirited

For the Boys contains: Acheron, Liam, Riverstone, Horatio (sweater and vest)

Next target: the vege garden - that's tomorrow's job!

Naming rights

More kit knitting: a cardigan version of the cap sleeved singlet - this time in one my hand dyed colourways - I have finally decided on my sport-weight yarn - it is a blend of merino, bamboo and silk - not really machine wash, but I have washed it on a "handwash"setting and it is fine.

I have not sourced my worsted weight yet, I'll be trying some local contacts in the next few weeksto see if they produce what I am looking for, soft, superwash and sproingy (remind me to look up the technical term for "sproingy")

Neither the yarn nor the colourway nor the garment have a name as yet, I was almost there with the colourway - but then ...no.

The close-up shows the colours slightly better - but still not right, I'm in the middle of reworking my workspace - a permanent light box will be part of the set up as getting the photographs right is vital. The colours here are a speckled range of pale green, pale aqua, cream and a range of greys. This dyeing method does not produce pooling, so even short rows do not differ much from the rest of the fabric. The gorgeous buttons are part of my French haul.

The plan for the kits is this: source yarn, design sport weight and worsted weight patterns, decide on colourways (at present I have: 3 plant dyes, 4 speckled as above, 3 saturated solids and 3 soft solids - I think thats enough!) design packaging and marketing and then - launch!

So far almost everything has been done - except the worsted of course. There is the "garter plain and simple" range which you have seen some of, and the "moving on" range which is for knitters with a bit more experience.

There is no time frame here - I'm just working away at it and it will all come together organically, all in good time.

I can give you bit of a hint about some of the previous secret projects now - go visit my friend Maree's blog to get some hints!

The latest secret knitting has been finished and sent - very exciting also - but there will be a terribly long wait before I can say anymore.