Love At First Stitch...

Work-wise, one of the most delicious projects that occupied my time over the winter was editing the delightful Tilly's first book, Love At First Stitch.

Available from all good bookshops...

Tilly was a real pleasure to work with; professional, hard-working, passionate and creative – what more can an editor ask for in an author? Nothing, I tell you; nothing.

We had the fabulously talented Arielle Gamble as the book designer – and she and Tilly did all the step photos between them – and the result is a book that's as hugely good-looking as it is splendidly practical; always a winning combination.

There was a launch party at Drink Shop Do in London and I whizzed along to join in the congratulations to Tilly on her book. I had a fan-moment meeting Karen of Did You Make That (definitely need to go the The-Man–Outside–Sainsbury's soonest: have you SEEN the sequinned fabric Karen bought there?) and drank some deeeelicious gin and elderflower cocktails. Sadly, I had to scoot before the speeches, but I'm reliably informed that Tilly said nice things about me: thank you Tilly!

And in the post to day was this from Tilly:

The most creative Thank You I've ever had...

It's a box of marshmallows printed with images from the book: how extraordinary is that? I'm not sure that I can bring myself to eat them, they look so lovely.

Thank you, again, Tilly!

Me and More...

In my catching up on the things I've been doing, I have one thing that I'm not as late with as I might be; though to be truthful, that's because it was delayed from last November to this February. So I'm only two-months-ish late rather than six-months-ish late... Shameful: particularly as it's something I'm happy about...

 

The UK cover model with the fabulous smile is the lovely Molly Small...

Me and More Sewing is the follow-up to a book I did in 2010: Me and My Sewing Machine. That first book was a beginner's guide to sewing by machine, and this one is full of next steps, including some hand-sewing techniques, and couture techniques that I've found useful rather than just complicated.

These days, horsehair braid is made from nylon...

Horsehair braid makes a fabulous, stiff, full hem, perfect for circle skirts, though I like it in A-line skirts as well as I love a voluminous look.

Not just for vintage makes...

 This is a retro technique, but it's perfect if you're putting a zip into a fine fabric, such as thin silk – which can be a challenge with a sewing machine. Doing it by hand can be just as quick as by machine, and a lot less nerve-wracking.

One of my great loves...

Piping isn't just for cushions: it looks fantastic on clothes, too. Piped side-seams on a wool skirt; a slash of accent colour between cuff and sleeve; a detail across the back yoke of a coat... And getting piping to sit neatly and smoothly around curves and corners is easy: it really is.

These are called Suffolk puffs in the UK (and in the UK edition of this book: these pages have the US text)...

I am a huge fan of these simple-to-make embellishments, and have added them to all sorts of things, from bags to cushions to skirts. The version with a contrast centre literally makes my mouth water: it looks just like a delicious little cake or sweetie.

I'm an atheist, but something is in the detail...

It's not always the details that matter, but when they are as lovely as this, why would you skip them? This is an easy-to-add touch that'll show in glimpses, and you'll know it's there, which is what matters most.

My favourite form of patchwork...

There are half-a-dozen things to make, ideas to get you started using some of the new skills you've mastered.

Just delicious...

 Including a project using my beloved puffs. And I revel in the contrast between the textures of the stiff silk and soft velvet used here.

The US cover...

C&T are publishing this book in the US (they published the first one, too), but it has a different title and a different cover: I don't have an answer as to why...

New book sneak peek + giveaway

Contrary to what you might think if you read this blog, I have spent a good deal of this year making things.

So how come I've shown so few photos of 'things'?

Because they have mainly been made for books, and the publishers – not unreasonably – prefer one not to wave the makes about on the web before they've been in the book.

But there comes a time when publication is due and one is off the hook, and that's now for The Knitted Alphabet.

I've done this book with knit guru and generally wonderful woman, Sarah Hazell (who needs to get a move on putting her website together so I can link to it...), and it really does do what it says on the tin: 250ish pages of charted letters and numbers in 26 different styles, plus punctuation and dingbats for emoticons, plus knitted samples, plus projects, plus techniques.

Everything you need to say it with knitting...

Self-striping yarn makes for excellent knitterish spray paint...

We had help knitting the samples (about 300 of them...), and the projects, from some wonderfully talented peeps: thank you Fiona, Jools, Luise, Sophia and Amanda. Without you we would still be knitting now...

Some of the alphabets have uppercase and lowercase letters. These impeccable samples were knitted by the lovely Luise.

There are ten knitted swatches with every alphabet – made using a variety of techniques including beading and embroidery as well as colour knitting – with (hopefully) helpful captions giving you ideas and tips on how you might work the letters for your own projects.
 

Fiona's staggeringly perfect knitting, plus captions telling you how the samples were made.

There's lots of variety of letter styles: retro, classic, modern, quirky, handwritten, typewritten... in different scales and, because Sarah and I are knitters, the charts are done on rectangular knitter's grid – not squares – so you can see what they will really look like when knitted up.

The charts are done on knitter's grid, not unrepresentative square grid...

Samples use different techniques and yarn combinations for lots of knitting choice...

Some of the alphabets have matching numerals...

And there are ten projects, each with notes on how you can adapt them to feature your own letter choices (so you don't have to be called Lucas, Ingrid, Max, Elvis... to knit one of them).

Bribed with Marmite, Vincent agreed to model with this scarf, even if it did have someone else's name on it... And isn't my new bedroom floor lovely?

I know that I would say this, wouldn't I, but I honestly think that The Knitted Alphabet is a really useful knitting resource: you can add a letter, a name, a motto, something obnoxious... to any project with enough stitches in it (the smallest letters are 11 stitches tall, the largest 57 stitches).

However, I have to confess that at the moment the book isn't available in the UK... There's a US edition (published by Barron's) and an Australian edition (published by Sally Milner), so I'm chuffed to have a copy to give away to a UK knitter. Follow me (via the little photos on the right – I like those – or Bloglovin) and leave me a comment on this post, and I'll pick a name out of something hattish and send a book to you on 21 October.

Podcast!!! + giveaway!!!

I was deeply flattered when Kelley Petkun of Knit Picks contacted me to say that she was enjoying my book The Knitter's Palette, and would I participate in a podcast with her.

A bit confusingly, in the UK this book is called Knit 400, but the insides are the same, apart from spellings...

 Yes! Of course! Always on for a new thing (well, almost always...).

So a phone time was booked, we chatted at some length, Kelley was lovely, I was excitable...

And now the podcast is up on the Knit Picks website: if you so desire, you can listen to my alarmingly deep, decidedly London accent enthusing about colour and knitting.

Although in speaking to Kelley, I was rather preaching to the converted: this is a lady who takes her knitting with her when going out to dinner, who gets knitting care packages sent to her when she's away, who really LOVES yarn.

It was a real pleasure talking to you, Kelley.

And I have a copy of the book, US or UK edition, to give away. If you'd like it, then follow me and leave me a comment telling me which edition you'd like. I'll pick a name out of something hat-shaped on Friday 13, and post the book anywhere in the world.

Knit 400

I knitted, and knitted, and knitted, and knitted, and knitted, and... and was rescued from complete knitting insanity by the lovely LR and scrumptious SH, and the result is this new book.

The UK cover on the left and the US cover on the right. The titles are different, but the insides are the same (apart from some spellings...)

There are 224 packed pages: don't worry, I'm not going to go for a blow-by-blow tour of each one – here are just a few faves.

I'm very pleased with my knitted colour wheel. The lovely LR steered me in the right direction for this, and was very patient with my dimness when it comes to comprehending shaping charts (I'm a words knitter).

A fabulous opportunity to shop for yarns, though sometimes a serious struggle to find the right type of yarn in the right colourway...thank you Mrs Moon for stocking such a fabulous yarn selection: couldn't have done it without you.

Slip stitch was the revelation for me when researching this book. I'd only known it as rather clunky colourwork, and wondered why one would – stranding or intarsia aren't impossible to master. But a limited palette and lots of texture and I was a true convert.

My editor was staggeringly patient with my endless requests for tiny changes to the artworks. I think it was worth it: I hope he's forgotten the pain.

Excellent colour knitting, don't you think? Sadly, not my own work in this instance: thank you LR.

Each chapter (there are nine) deals with a different type of knitting, and each palette in a chapter looks at a different way of influencing that knitting; so here are some thoughts on beads and embroidery with stranded knitting. As always, one has more thoughts than there are space for...

Colour and Aran combos: I really liked doing this palette.

So, there you are, a taster of the new written offspring. I hope you like him.

joining the party rather late...

Finally, having muttered about it for some time, I have got started with this blog. Seriously, the word 'blog' was a delayer for a while for me: such an ugly word. I briefly considered 'journal' – as found on some rather elegant blogs – but a journal is not what I hope to write here. What I do hope to do is record my creative efforts, share some of the practical knowledge that my job as an illustrated craft book editor has given me over the years, and join (and hopefully start) some interesting discussions. I'm aiming for a once-a-week post but I warn you, if I run out of brain I shall resort to cute pet photos: I have a good number of those...

A make to start with I think: for the last three years I have taken a stand at the very excellent Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace in October. I've met some fabulous people, sold lots of my makes, taught some classes, and generally thoroughly enjoyed myself. At the show in 2012 a buyer from Liberty of London saw my china pincushions, contacted me, and now some of those pincushions are on sale in the shop... 

A faun escaped to Liberty...

A quite extraordinary swan...

Lettuce-leaf-head grandma...

A present from Germany...

A Start-Rite pincushion...

A slightly blurry phone-photo of the assembled multitude on sale in Liberty...

And in front the display was a pile of my pincushions book...all very exciting indeed!
I went to visit the pincushions a week later, and some had gone! Be still my beating heart! I really was quite ridiculously excited by the whole thing. I mean, I've sold many pincushions myself, but here they were in a proper shop! And one of my favourite shops!
This has spurred me on to start thinking about new types of pincushions I could make, which I'll share as they transition from the imaginary to reality. That'll be soon, I hope...