Category: General

For the intolerant…

Posted on by Alice Neal

… well, for those who struggle to wear wool, to be more precise.

Like my ma.

She loves jumpers and cardis of all descriptions, but wool sends her horribly itchy. Which, as you can imagine, is massively frustrating for her. And for ME! When I want to make her pretty things but so little acts with as much versatility as wool.

However… All is not lost.

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Following hot on the heels of my Dolly Socks, designed and knitted with Debbie Bliss Toast in mind (oh, *hello* cashmere!), I was determined to make her a birthday present of similar intricacy and beauty.

 

 

 

So imagine my delight when this bundle of squishiness appeared on my doorstep (and I say appeared because that it precisely what happened. This particular delivery company doesn’t bother knocking. They just try your door and stick it on your doormat if it’s open. Which is both a lovely surprise and somewhat alarming).

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The yarn is by Knit One Crochet Too and is called Cozette. It is 62% silk, 30% cotton and 8% polyamide and it just OOZES that luxurious raw silk feel.

If I tell you I started this pair of lacy socks two days before her birthday, I don’t think you’ll need informing that they didn’t get there on time. They should, in fact, be arriving today – 11 days late. But since I also owe her a jumper from her birthday 2 years ago, with this one I’m already winning, right??

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You can see how beautifully the texture of the raw silk holds and emphasises the stitches, and makes the lace pattern stand out.

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But best of all, the colourway is called ‘Seaglass’, which is most beautifully synchronous since it combines my two most favourite things: knitting, and making jewellery with the seaglass I comb the beaches up here in the North-East for (click the pics below if you are interested in more information).

 

I think they came out rather beautifully, but we’ll let mum be the judge of that 😉

The Dolly Socks pattern is available by clicking the link above, but it is also one of February’s Patreon subscriber patterns – for more information on instant access to all those patterns, click the link or look at the Patreon pages above).

Happy knitting, fellow yarnies <3

Sandra Dee Socks

Posted on by Alice Neal

Some time ago, I bought some beautiful Blue Faced Leicester superwash sock yarn from The Knitting Gift Shop. They’re a hop, skip and a jump from me and run by a truly lovely couple dedicated to producing as locally as possible.

But it’s taken me this long to drum up the dedication to commit to knitting and designing lacy socks and, following the success of my Dolly Socks, I decided it was time to put this beautiful stuff to work.

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(I have another skein of it waiting for me, and am currently working up the courage to try dyeing it myself, for a truly unique project – any tips or pointers for yarn-dyeing gratefully received!!)

So here they are, anyway. My Sandra Dee Socks (click the name for a link to the pattern, or check out the patreon links up at the top, for info on instant access to this, to February’s patterns, and to all future patterns):

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Happy knitting, lovelies! <3

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February Finished.

Posted on by Alice Neal

February was wonderfully productive, I’m delighted to say. I feel like 2019 has brought me back my design mojo, which was waning a little at the end of 2018.

Clockwise from top left (click links for patterns, where available):

  1. My Dolly Socks, in wool and cashmere superwash – the perfect prettiness for Spring.
  2. My first pair of gloves, knitted exclusively for me. I haven’t bothered with the pattern as they were my first pair, but I’m already looking forward to designing some beauties, now that I have these ones under my belt. Motto? Feel the fear and do it anyway 😉
  3. Aphrodite’s new jumper: the Juno’s Friend Jumper. And apparently we’re to expect a late blast of snow in a few days’ time, so that will come in handy. My beloved husband tells me I need to make her a pink spotty one next. Watch this space…
  4. My Lilac and Lime Bobble Socks, in a not-at-all lilac and lime colourway, which I love to bits with my Duckfeet.
  5. My husband’s woodland jumper, already tried and tested in the woods, and the pattern for which I have yet to write up, but WILL. I promise <3

I’m already excited to see what March will bring.

Happy knitting, lovelies! <3

Lace, we’re gonna need more lace…

Posted on by Alice Neal

Just a little update.

High on the beauty of my Dolly Socks, I cast on a new pair immediately.

These ones are being knitted with Blue Faced Leicester washable sock yarn I bought from The Knitting Gift Shop.

I’m casting the second on tonight, and I’m already a bit too excited about how they look.

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Image may contain: one or more people

What’s on YOUR needles this week?

Happy Knitting, lovelies <3

 

Dolly Socks ftw

Posted on by Alice Neal

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Anyone who follows me on Instagram will know I’ve been playing a lot with socks, chunky and fine, of late.

And one of my newest discoveries is Toast, a washable sock yarn with cashmere by Debbie Bliss.

My first foray with them produced these

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(which I will write up next 🙂 )

But before I do, I got a bit excited about this yarn’s squishy softness and the way it holds the integrity of each stitch: it was clearly a contender for a bit of lace…

So I picked up the needles and a gorgeous ball of silver yarn, and

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I didn’t need to get beyond this to know these were going to be beautiful.

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And they’re NOT boot socks. These babies deserve to be seen.

So slip them on, dig out your mary janes (my chestnut beauties are Duckfeet. You may have heard me singing their praises before), and BRING ON THE SPRING!

If you fancy knitting a pair yourself, you can find the pattern here (or check out the patreon page up at the top, for info on instant access to all future patterns).

Happy Knitting, Lovelies <3

Weekend WIPs

Posted on by Alice Neal

I’m not sure I’ll ever fall out of love with grey…

This weekend, I’m working on the fluffiest tee in the whole wide world, made on 7mm circulars from a cloudy ball of wool and alpaca:

And I’ve turned the heel on my second lacy sock, on 3.25mm needles in Debbie Bliss Toast 😊

Next up… A pair of yoga socks, I think.

Happy knitting, lovelies ❤️

Oh, a couple more, then…

Posted on by Alice Neal

Aphrodite has been wearing her sweater since yesterday. It’s not especially cold, but she seems rather taken with it and objects when I try to take it off.

So today I coaxed her to a spot in the house with a little more light, so you could see it in all its glory. Or her. See her in all her glory.

I give you Aphy, in her Juno’s Friend Jumper.

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A Canine Round-Up and Introducing…

Posted on by Alice Neal

… Aphrodite’s Jumper (also known as The Juno’s Friend Jumper).

I thought it might be time for a round-up of all the little jumpers I have so far designed for the hairier 4-legged people in our family. It’s been a while since I did, and the woolly family has grown since then, so let’s gallop down Memory Lane with a quick refresher of the story so far. (I’ll add links to the patterns in case you fancy a go yourself).

It started with the Juno Jumper. Don’t let her looks fool you – she’s a) a princess and b) feisty as all hell. But butter wouldn’t melt in this shot, huh?

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Then I was asked by Loveknitting to design and knit some little sweaters for Simon Cowell’s pups for a Christmas ITV special, which is where the Yorkie Christmas Jumper came in. (Have the pic of the man ‘imself, just to maximise my 15 seconds of fame 😉 )

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And then, of course, I felt that Juno also needed a Christmas sweater, and the Juno Christmas Jumper was conceived.

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And look, I’d kind of got the bug, ok? But I had guilt. After all, Juno isn’t our only furbaby. We have an enormous, gentle, but seriously-terribly-not-very-bright chocolate Lab called Aphrodite, or Aphy for short.

As a speedy aside, I recall one visit to the vet when I mentioned her, ahem, shall we say, slight deficit in the brains department? And the vet said “Yes. That’s chocolate labs, for you: heads full of fluffy pink balls”. At which point I decided it was best to just accept that she would never be graceful, would always fall over her own feet, would never learn that Juno doesn’t ever want to be her best friend, and that anything edible in the house that wasn’t under lock and key would be consumed. And some things that aren’t edible, too. Like Jenga. Most expensive dog chews I ever bought…

But I digress! It was Aphy’s turn, and she got The Lab Coat. Complete with buttons because I was worried about small holes and gangly legs:

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And… because I had some of the yarn left, and because I felt a bit matchy-matchy, Juno needed one, too. But in reverse, of course. So… And Juno Too!

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AND FINALLY!

Since the original one – the Juno Jumper right at the top – has proved to be my best-selling pattern so far and is the simplest of them all, I thought it was time a bigger version, modified for bigger legs and chests, was available. And the Juno’s Friend Jumper is now published. This one is made in Paintbox wool-mix super-chunky.
Me: What colour do you think will best suit Aphy? I’ve already used a lovely yellow…
Husband: Orange.
I think we can all agree, we’re not going to lose her in the dark! 🙂

 

 

 

So: if you share pictures of your Alice in Knittingland dog sweaters on instagram or Facebook  (links at the top) and tag me or the sweaters – e.g. #thejunojumper –  they will appear in my stories and go into my highlights. I just LOVE seeing your furry friends in their new threads.

Happy knitting, lovelies <3

PS If you are interested in receiving all the patterns, tutorials or ebooks I create as soon as they are created, you might consider becoming a Patron. You can find more information over here. Aphrodite’s Juno’s Friend Jumper pattern is already there and available for download as soon as you sign up, and here is a sneak peak at two patterns which will be appearing there in the very near future:

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Aphrodite

Posted on by Alice Neal

* Drumroll please *

Aphrodite has a new jumper.

All will be revealed once I’ve taken some rather more glamorous shots of her somewhere a  bit prettier, so watch this space…

But for now, have a picture of Aphrodite in Paintbox Wool-Mix Chunky, in Seville Orange (you’ll need 2 – 3 balls, if you’re thinking of buying in anticipation of the pattern release 😉 )

The rather larger, lanky-leg friendly version of the Juno Jumper is just around the corner <3

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A Socking Success

Posted on by Alice Neal

Could it really be my third (is it third, or is it fourth??) post on the same pattern? I guess it could. But the thing is, you see, once you’ve designed it, knitted it, written it up… then the pressure’s off and you get to play.

So, as you saw in my last post, I’ve been playing with some bold and striking combos. This grey-black gradient, with the red-orange-brown has produced something I think is rather spectacular…

You saw the first sock, last time:

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but before I post the next picture, check out the colours on those balls of wool – the point I’d got to before casting on the next.

What I think is rather spectacularly beautiful is that as striking as the first sock is, the second looks like its long-lost brother – left on a windowsill for a decade until its rediscovering has reunited it with its counterpart, still as fresh as a daisy. Whilst our windowsill sock looks like a sepia photograph of the original.

So, now that I’m done with the waxing lyrical, take a peek:

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Also, gasp in wonder at how wonderfully well they match my kitchen table. 😉

Of course, they still look awesome with my Duckfeet boots

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So… which are your favourites? I have to confess, I’m pretty hard-pushed to decide:

And, as always, if you fancy a pop at them yourself, the pattern is here.

And the yarn is here. I used colours 5 and 68 for mine.

Happy knitting! <3