Knitting Magazine- Zig Zag Cushion pattern giveaway amendment

Well we all slip up occasionally.......this month its the turn of Knitting Magazine who in their feature on my book The Knitted Home have misprinted the featured pattern......Oops! 

But dont panic- its very simple to sort out- they have simply missed a line of text- instead of just 'repeat rows 3-12' it should read;

'Row 3-16 is one repeat. Do 3 more full repeats. Then repeat rows 3-12'

Phew! And apologies to all the baffled knitters out there- one of whom was Janet- who after a quick email to me whizzed up this lovely example- Well done Janet!

The Knitted Home- Cabled Bolster Cushion Success!

So this morning I found a lovely email from Jane who bought The Knitted Home and has not only created her own version of the cabled bolster cushion but is spinning her own yarn and will be adapting more patterns for her own yarn- Go Jane! This is exactly what I hoped people would be able to do with the book- Huzzah!

Hi Ruth,

Well this is my first attempt at a cushion inspired by yours.

I tried to just look at the designs you had created in your book to figure out what you must have done to achieve each cable effect as I didn’t want to simply ‘copy’ your pattern if I could help it.

This cushion was knitted with hand spun wool I had purchased from a lady who was retiring from her homespun wool business. (I was too impatient to start right away and didn’t have enough of my own yarn spun ready to start that quickly) !
I have ‘found’ some off white Merino wool that I had forgotten I had so that will be cushion # 2 with perhaps a few modifications to my initial design.

I also can’t thank you enough for the section in your book about finishing with steam. What a difference that makes !

Thanks again for everything Ruth.
You have inspired me so much to explore and design my own style of knitting, which I didn’t feel confident enough to do beforehand.

If I manage to go from strength to strength I’ll keep you posted.

Jane.

To order your own copy go to www.amazon.co.uk (The Knitted Home- English/ Australian title) or www.amazon.com (Knits At Home- North American title). It is also available in French, Finnish and German.

The Knitted Home; Geometric Cable Blanket- not as hard as it looks?

I was absolutely the most thrilled girl in the world to get back from holiday and find the most lovely email (see below) in my inbox....... it's so great to have inspired someone to crack on with their knitting! 

Go Gabrielle!!

Dear Ruth,

You kind advice and geometric throw instructions from your new book inspired me to knit this sample. 
Can't wait to get started on the larger project.

Being a beginning knitter, this was a fun project.  Learned  how to do cables.

Warmest Regards,

Gabrielle

Rhubarb at the Royal Albert Hall- cosy tableware- Done!

The lovely people at Rhubarb- the new Royal Albert Hall restaurant are getting their shipment of cosy tableware today ahead of opening night on Thursday! Good luck everyone!

Thankyou Linda Bloomfield for arranging this and making fabulous tableware once again xxx

The Knitted Home- X pattern cushion/ pillow help and advice!

So- all is going well with the book with lots of lovely reviews popping up around the place, however I have had a few baffled e-mails from knitters regarding the X pattern cushion/ pillow and I assume by default the zig zag one is also causing confusion.....!

Both of these rely entirely on the Knit/ Purl Basket technique so getting this right is essential to cracking the pattern....and I wasn't kidding the X pattern is a lot harder (because of the swap over in the middle) than the Zig Zag so do the Zig Zag first!!!

First things first is double check your basic knit and purl stitches against how I do them- some of the patterns it makes no  difference how you knit and purl but this one it really does. 

Knitting: Make absolutely sure you are inserting your right needle through the centre of the stitch you are knitting and out the back. Then take your yarn (behind the work) from right to left around the outside of the right needle then back between the needles before pulling it through as a stitch. 

Purling: Insert your right needle through the centre of the stitch and out the front. Take your yarn towards you around the outside of the needles and back between the two.

With any luck the pictures at the back of the book should help a bit to double check this!

So......

Knit basket: you need to knit the second stitch then the first and slip both off together. To do this take your right needle around the back of the work and insert it from right to left under the back of the second stitch- take the yarn round and pull the stitch through as described above. Then before you pull it off the needle do the same with the first stitch- slip both off together.

Purl Basket: Do the exact opposite of the Knit basket- so insert your right needle from right to left under the front of the second stitch- take yarn round and pull stitch through as described above, then do the first stitch and pull them off together.

And then......

Some people seem to have a bit of bother with reading the pattern. A knit basket is KB and purl basket PB. These abbreviations refer to the whole technique using both stitches as described above, so K1 KB uses 3 stitches. For the X Pattern one I would also put a stitch marker in over the central stitch as once you get going with your baskets it's quite easy to do too many!

I'm going to try and work out how to do a little film of my hands doing this and upload it- in the meantime please don't hesitate to email me if it's still baffling!

xxxx

PS any successful ones please send pictures!!!!!

Finally! A long awaited blog update and images from The Knitted Home!

I've finally been able to emerge from the baby haze (lovely Beatrix was 3 months on Friday!) long enough to update my blog which is in dire need of attention. I have a list of things to add as long as my arm but to start with here are some images from The Knitted Home- my first book of which I'm very proud x

This is the cover used on the English and Finnish editions (above).

This is the cover used on the Australian edition and the same image is used for the North American edition but the title is Knits At Home- so each country's is slightly different!

You can buy the book at www.amazon.com or ask at your local bookstore.....

LAST MINUTE SALE!

Click here for Accessories SALE!

Because there are only a few days until the last posting date for overseas people we're having a 25% sale on the last few accessories we have left in stock!

Pick up a quick bargain before Midnight Friday (UK time) for your loved ones this year.......

Merino shell wrap, Putty- one left. £88- USUALLY £118

Long Cabled Mittens, Almond- One pair left. £35- USUALLY £47

2 Button Hat, Flannel- Two left. £41- USUALLY £55

Click here for Accessories SALE!

Perfectly Warm Hands!

Our latest November mailout!

Last date for international 'Made To Order' online orders is midnight (British time) Thursday 22nd November so if you don't live in the UK and want something that we don't have in stock get your skates on and order or it won't be knitted in time for the last post!!!!!

Click here to see what we have in stock!

Procured Design Loves Ruth Cross Bedsocks!

Thankyou Jake of Procured Design for featuring our lovely cosy Hand Knitted Cabled Bedsocks!

According to the lovely Jake who clearly has great taste (and yes- he does shop for his girlfriend with us!) our bedsocks are a Winter Essential for the ladies in your life.........

Below are our slouch socks - another duvet day must and in stock now!

Still not flattering- come on High Street get your own designers.....

And again- a couple of years ago it was strikingly similar mug cosies popping up everywhere and this year it's knit effect Deer / Stag Heads...... 

So the competition is on- 5 points to anyone who can find any other (than the two we've spotted already) retailers who have a version of the below for sale this year.... Also- 5 points to any designer who can prove they had created a white knit covered stag/ deer head (like the old school taxidermy ones) which was published online or in the press earlier than February 2011....... the more similar the better!

Above- mine

Below- the most recent company to sell this strikingly similar item who is maybe not that 'Proud to back British' when it comes to British design!  Another 5 points if you can work out who it is....

New Stockist/ Bertie has a girlfriend

I am pleased to announce we have a new stockist 'Provenance' who will be showing at the Selvedge Christmas Fair today in London!

Apart from clearly having great taste in knitwear we have realised that the lovely Jessica who owns Provenance also owns 'Edith' a dachsund remarkably similar to our very own 'Bertie'! So when we inadvertantly shrunk a pair of black slouch socks (you could now use them to prop up a table they're so solid!) we knew exactly who would love them- Edith!

Here she is along with a very polite (and for someone with such short legs well written) e-mail!

Dear Ruth and Bertie

 I love socks and pants and I was helping unpack the box - and thinking what fun Christmas is going to be .. and when we opened the box, there on top was MY PRESENT... clever clever Bertie & Ruth for knowing.  I LOVE IT.  Thank you.

Edith

My lovely customers who make my day....

This is an e-mail I got today from the lovely Jennifer........

Ruth,

I went down to the post office, stood in line and got my gloves. Just

in time for NY to get tons of snow when 30% of NY still has no power.

These are gorgeous gloves!

Thank you so much,

Jennifer

....I'm thinking of everyone affected by Sandy and wish you all the best and hope life gets back to normal soon xxx

Feeling Glam?

Thankyou Glamour- another fan of the cosy! 

Perfect for those days when you're feeling closer to cosy than glamour-puss (I say that like it's an anomaly for me and not just a regular day!)......

Thankyou Linda Bloomfield for being the best cosy promoter with your lovely ceramics!!!

It's a start!

For my Woolmark commission (for their London showroom piece) I've recently been knitting lots of stripy blobs.....it's a glamourous life.....Anyway I have finally started sewing them on so here's a quick snap of the centre of what now seems like an absolutely enormous canvas. 

On the downside I definitely need a lot more blobs (possibly fuelled by a box set or two), on the upside my eternally picky husband likes it so much that he wants one for the house! Now this is important as generally we have a surprising lack of my work at home (despite me sneaking in bits every now and again)- so to actually ask for one from the pickiest man/ man with the best taste ever is really a big deal! I must be doing something right....

Flattering?

The never ending question for all us little designers is- 'How close is close when it comes to design similarity and is (possible) copying the sincerest form of flattery or basically a bit annoying'.......

For instance...

 

Above and below are images of one of three stag heads that I designed 18 months ago and were in stock a year ago (not to mention up online)...... 

 

Now- I know there are a lot of hand knitted covered things for the home out there- I've been doing it since 2005 after all, but I did feel like I'd seen the below version (cast complete with embossed knitting pattern) somewhere before when I spotted it in a well known high street store on Saturday- 

 

Luckily I've been around the block a few times and know chances are it's probably not a direct copy and not to let it bother me- but really it would be good for the whole of the craft and design world if the hours we put into original ideas were recognised rather than just 'flattered'.......I'll leave it to you to decide which you prefer!

Thankyou Good Homes...!

.......and lovely Seek and Adore and Dote! Yet more cosies in the press so thankyou everyone! The tea cosy and mug cosy are mine, made in conjunction with lovely Linda Bloomfield

You can buy just the cosy on it's own direct from my website here they make lovely gifts for awkward/ tea obsessed people!

And again! This time it's Good Housekeeping!

Yet more fans of the cosy mug.......

Buy your mug cosy here! perfect gifts for people who have everything!

Country Homes and Interiors Love Cosy Mugs..!

.....on a day like today surely hot chocolate and a cosy mug is the only way forwards?

To order your own cosy which will fit almost any mug click here or if you'd like some with Linda Bloomfield's Ceramics (as shown here) then she'll happily send some direct from her site!!!

Woolmark strike again!

I am so excited to have been commissioned to make a 1m square knitted piece for the shiny new Woolmark London showroom! Just think of all those woolly people who'll get to enjoy it! These are the rough sketches I submitted and the colourway will be off white, greys and dirty lime.......watch this space for progress updates and to see which one they chose......!

Knitted, washed, dried- now where's the buttons.....

So thats what 175 mug cosies look like (or some of)! My whole office is now filled with mug cosies drying for Linda Bloomfield .... if only the buttons had turned up- although at about 20 per hour that is a lot of sewing.........maybe they'll come tomorrow....

Who said this wasn't mass production again- well done my lovely knitting ladies you zoomed through these!