Henry

A bright spot in an otherwise dark week has been the release of my Henry pattern (only on Ravelry at present) this great sweater knits up quickly in worsted/ aran weight yarn, has minimal shaping but uses rib and cable to give a great fit. It's nice to design something a bit more tweenage boy friendly, although it is just as nice on girls (think horseriding and hiking)

Last  week has us visitng my Grandad in hospital after a massive heart attack and now  follow up complications mean that he is back there for a while...Flash has the 'flu...and Holly and Nick live in Christchurch...they came through the initial quake on saturday morning  intact and started feeling survivor guilt very quickly as their house was fine, yet the in-laws (Nick's parents)  house has a huge crack running through it, the driveway ended up in the road and the backyard disappeared - they have no power and no water.

Yesterday morning's 5.1 aftershock was literally under Holly's street - and now Holly and Nick have no chimneys, and were sleeping in the dining room to stay safe. I feel so bad for them, they say it is the aftershocks that are doing them in - the lack of sleep and the constant state of alertness is taking it's toll.

It's the big things - the old buildings being demolished, the shattered lives of friends and relatives and the little things - the lists that need to be made for insurance - for wedding dress fabric bought and paid for but still at the shop - which may no longer exist, the cats who have started peeing in the house out  of fear.

I sent a big box of love yesterday - cookies baked by Blaise, treats, things to do and watch and enjoy, things to take their mind off the neverending aftershocks and relax for a moment, and wool...of course.

My friends in Christchurch our love and thoughts are with you.

and the winner is...

Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to think of names and enter, there were so many fantastic ideas, the thoughts and feelings attached to the word brought up so many emotions and further ideas.
I made a (long) short list which I then checked on Ravelry to see if there were any duplicates, unfortunately losing some more names in the process, 6 of us then sat and brainstormed and yelled and laughed at one another for a couple of hours until we had a result.

* suddenexpression with "Mr Man"!

 I'm definitely going to use this method of naming my patterns in the future  - so keep an eye out and come back and try again.

here is a photo of the cover of the pattern - and this is why the name worked so well...a percentage of sales from this pattern will be donated to the Movember campaign (this is a link to last year's campaign - the next starts up in September) - raising funds for prostate cancer research, see how we put a wee mo' on Cody? (don't worry, the other photos of him are au natural) the name just seemed right, we had a consensus.


I'm not sure when the pattern will be launched  - it still needs a bit of tweaking - but it won't be long.

*please email me with your email address justine@justjussi.com

Contest!

I have finally finished writing this pattern in 20 sizes!!! yes it will fit your new baby right through to his Big Daddy!

To celebrate I have decided to run a contest - the prize being 1 skein of the extremely nummy Fleece Artist Somoko in the Ebony colourway which I used on both of the vests in the photo.

What do you have to do??

Come up with a name for this vest pattern - something memorable, catchy, geeky whatever - I will know it when I see it, if more than one person comes up with the same winning name there will be a draw.

Winner will be announced in 2 weeks time - by which time the tech editing will be finished and the pattern will be ready to go!

Leave your answer in the comments section with your email address or blog address, or include your Ravelry id.

Specs: fingering weight yarn, simple 4 row cable pattern, v-neck, sleeveless, designed for use with handpainted yarns - to make the most of the colour changes.

Grace

The past 2 weeks have been difficult ones for our family.

My Father-in-law Les (Pop) passed away last monday.

Flash was in Wellington on one of his regular business trips and had planned to fly to Dunedin and spend a night catching up with his Dad on the Wednesday as he had a meeting there on thursday.

 Flash couldn't get an earlier flight to Dunedin, the first flight they could get him on was the one he was booked on, there was a brass band convention and hairdresser and netball competitions in Dunedin - the flights and hotels were heavily booked - I felt terrible that I couldn't be with my husband and that he couldn't be where he needed to be, but eventually we managed to find ways to get everyone there and find them places to stay.

Dunedin is cold, Mosgiel - where Pop lived and was buried is even colder.
I couldn't find a decent hat to wear to the cemetary and decided that knitting one was the best idea, I chose the Grace beret pattern I had made for Blaise, and paired it with Naturally Harmony 10ply wool in charcoal. I worked the first few rows the night before my flight, then while waiting for flights and to keep my hands busy while we sat in Pop's kitchen and talked about what needed to be done, while Flash wrote the words that needed saying, while we had an extended breakfast as family members arrived and were appraised of plans (thank you so much to the staff at Nectar in Princes st who were kind and lovely and made great coffee and food.)

I tinked and re-knitted rows that had gone off course and an hour before the service I put it on my head and called it done, Flash loved it, I loved it.

Pop has died peacefully in his sleep, at his home of 52 years. He was seen off with a fantastic service put together by his 3 children, over a hundred people attended to celebrate his long and active life, when you have to go you can't ask for much better can you?

 Knitting the Grace beret had kept me graceful during times when I wanted to react to comments made in grief, when I needed something to concentrate on, counting to do in order to keep tears at bay, something concrete to hang on to, to keep me centred for Flash and the girls.

Unfortunately it didn't stop me from catching cold! so since I have been home I have spent my quiet (Flash is returning today after settling his Dad's affairs) evenings knitting on my versions of Shelley Kang's Sock yarn  blanket it's another one of the baby blankets I am knitting to get a head start on the flood of grandchildren we expect in the next 10 years - and I'm glad I got a head start because Flash's son Michael let slip that his partner is 5 weeks pregnant - so here we go again!

I love this blankie, it is so addictive because each square is complete, so you get lot's of finishing success. I am making this one 8 squares by 8 squares - perfect size for a cot - so thats 15 rows of little mitred squares - and I'm a 1/4 done after 2 nights! I'm using the pinker shades of my sample dyed organic merino superwash, and bits and pieces of DK from other projects. I don't know if I will ever have the patience to knit this in 4 ply - but it would be a great way to use up the box full of sock yarn ends I have...we will see.

Work in progress

I have no "baby in knits" photo for you yet, so you will have to make do with another wip - my studio.

I'm in a lucky position - the combination of living in a big family home which now contains a small family and having a darling husband who is happy to give up most of our upstairs lounge for my knitting pleasure (note the TV and Lazyboy - my concession to his comfort) so that we can still be together while I am working - when we moved in we shared this room as an office, but when the girls started moving out he took over one of their rooms as an office, and he does monopolise the garage - so technically he still has much more room than I do!

this is where I actually draw and design the garments - looking out over the hillside of kauri forest

we still have loads to do in here...the lighting is shocking (the replacements are stacked behind the couch for...one day) the "things that cover the tops of the curtains" need to be ripped out so that shutters can be fitted, and the whole thing re-painted and re-carpeted, we have chosen a new white couch to replace the chairs, and a coffee table (for crafternoon teas!) which is waiting to be whitewashed...time, time, time!

the view from my desk

the units full of yarn...

I love that this room is so light, I love the fireplace which warms it up so quickly and I love the way the view of the bush changes every day.

the other desk where the rest of the work is done

and Frasier's bed

it is comfortable, easy-going and friendly (and when Blaise moves out - and her room becomes a home theatre...this room will be mine all mine!)

Expanding

Our large family is now larger!

Flash's youngest daughter Maria delivered Cody on friday 11 June.

here is a peek, excuse the quality, it was dark and we didn't want to frighten him with a flash.

Hopefully I will be able to get some photos of him dressed in wool soon!

oops sorry for the edit - found some more photos:
Cody with Grandad (otherwise known as Big Daddy!) and Cody's father

sweet baby

Ember

so that pattern which I designed in a frenzy 2 days before being admitted to hospital and leaving my poor test knitters unattended (they pulled together and did me proud!) is now for sale on Ravelry and my ETSY page (where you can also purchase a cottage licence if you so desire)

I tried to stay away from licences in the past, however the custom knitting contingent is large and well organised - so after a few emails I have relented.
The cottage licence style I have decided to run with is very simple - no follow ups, nothing more to pay, and a lifetime of use and looks like this:

- you have a lifetime license to use the pattern/ebook  to produce garments for sale, so long as they are handmade and not commercially produced (i.e. not made by outworkers or in a factory)

- you will never have to pay any additional charges or fees in relation to this license

- this license is for garments only – you may not sell the patterns.

- you may use my name when you sell these garments (e.g. “as designed by Justine Turner of JustJussi”) or not at your discretion, however the garments are not to be marketed as your own design

- this license also gives you the right to produce garments for sale (under these same conditions) using any of my previously published patterns (published prior to 01 May 2010) that you purchase or download – yes even the free ones!
Who knows what I will be doing in the next few years, I am not interested in chasing licensees with a multitude of rules - I sum this up as a "play nice" ethic.
 
Anyway - back to my darling Ember - very quick, not absolutely simple - but once you have knitted one and understand the construction they become addictive - I made my latest one in 4 hours! The pattern works well with the Aviatrix hat - with it's garter ridges, so leftover yarn can be put to good use. I used Cleckheaton Folklore which is a thick/thin yarn which knits up as a bulky - however it is listed on Rav as a super bulky - which I just don't agree with, I got the same gauge with Cleckheaton kaleidoscope and Malabrigo worsted which are both singles yarns and work beautifully with this design.
 
Thank you to everyone who commented and emailed me about my illness, I'm on the mend and determined not to let it happen again, sometimes we just have to slow down and listen to our bodies (ok, I have to slow down and lsiten!) I'm back at work, and oh so lucky that I work part time, I couldn't have managed otherwise. Flash and Blaise are doing most of the housework, I just pop dinner into the crockpot while I am active in the morning, so that I can just fall into my chair and knit or read when I get home in the afternoon - the daggy old crockpot is an absolute lifesaver!
 
Baby update: due on saturday  5th June - saw Maria yesterday, she looks as though if you poked her she would pop! unfortunately his head is still not engaged - so I ordered her to squat while watching tv and to take lots of long walks, here's hoping this child arrives this week as Grandad is off to China next monday!