Tag: design

Inspiration

Posted on by Alice Neal

Longer ago than I can remember – a few years at least – I decided to try not to buy anything new for a year. No new shoes or clothes. The only exception was undies (for obvious reasons). And it became second nature. It stuck. Even better, it has become very much the go-to position in our household, and I am very grateful for that. Clothes are generally bought in local charity shops, on online auction sites, and wherever we can find them. Or they are made. Sewn (my husband’s forte) or knitted (mine).

There were a couple of reasons for making the switch; the first being a burgeoning sense of horror at the waste in our society. I’m generally and genuinely shocked by the throw-away mindset actively encouraged by consumerism. And the second, hand-in-hand with the first, was a growing disillusionment with the poor quality of what was on offer in the shops, not to my mind reflected in the ridiculous cost. Expensive crap, not to put too fine a point on it, and mostly plastic-based (which we all know is the bane of our environment, right?)

This isn’t remotely an attempt at evangelism, just an explanation for my own journey into the preloved, upcycled and handmade. Though if it happens to inspire similar in anyone else, I shall consider myself doubly blessed.

Long before this particular turning point came knitting. And as I learnt to knit, I realised that I had very particular ideas about what I wanted to wear / create. I began with modifying patterns that were almost what I wanted, and ended as you see me now: designing my own. My designs are seldom terribly complicated – I like things to be quick and easy to make, and to design pieces that relatively inexperienced knitters feel moved to have a crack at. And they don’t always make it to published pattern stage. I have a life full of demands on my time and I have to be quite focused and decisive about what I will or will not follow up on.

The result of this is that along with a gazillion WIPs, I have a LOT of one-off pieces. Some I will keep, but I simply cannot justify keeping them all. So there will be, in due course, occasional items of clothing and accessories appearing in my shop here. I will put out a warning that they’re coming on my social media before going live, to give anyone who would like to snap something up a chance to get there in time for a browse.

And here is a picture for today’s inspiration. The preloved Boden skirt I bought on eBay, and I am about to start one of my striped cardigans to match it – aren’t the colours perfect?! The striped cardigan, incidentally, is a pattern that WILL be coming, in time for Spring.

If you can’t find it, make it. And if you can’t make it, pay a knitter what they’re worth, (or understand how much you’re loved if someone knits it for you for free…) 😉

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(All arranged on a coffee table covered with a decade of Teddy’s scribbling off the edge of the paper, and a mug of turmeric and cumin tea in one of my most prized possessions – a beautiful coppery mug covered with mountains and trees, made by Dwyryd Ceramics, in case you were wondering.)

Have a glorious week, and happy knitting.

Two Chaotic Weeks

Posted on by Alice Neal

Well, hello my long-neglected blog. Perhaps it’s time we got reacquainted.

Tomorrow marks two weeks since my quiet little world went a bit bonkers. Two weeks ago tomorrow, I woke up to my phone blowing up, to hundreds of new Instagram followers appearing by the minute, out of the blue. Through my 6am -bleary eyes, it was baffling. And the timing was just impossible. Knee-deep in half-packed boxes, as I prepared to move with my husband and five sons 300 miles south to Lowestoft, from the sleepy ex-mining village that had been my home for 9 years, I fielded a call from a gentleman reporter at The Times.

“Tom” I nearly said, “stop doing a silly voice,” so convinced was I that it must be my brother winding me up.

“Did you know?” Mr Malvern asked me. “How has it affected you?”

Erm, I’ve had moments to process this! Plus, not to put too fine a point on it, my head was a little thick with the late night last hurrah I had just spent with the ladies I call friends, before I was due to leave them all behind.

I had by this stage, of course, twigged though. That Tom Daley, that diving legend, had been photographed, a picture globally distributed the night before, knitting my pattern at the Olympics.

And he had tagged me.

The debate was hot: what was he knitting? Some confidently professed it a hat.

But no. It was my little Juno’s jumper.

I had had a couple of brief exchanges with Mr Daley, who had told me he had used my pattern to knit a few dog jumpers for friends already, and thanking me for “such a great pattern”. As if that wasn’t amazing enough!

It’s always been my most popular pattern. And I don’t think it’s hard to see why. The photograph of my feisty little princess looking like butter wouldn’t melt is kind of irresistible, especially in such a rich and beautiful coloured jumper. (Those in the know are fully aware she’s waiting for the treat just off camera…) And it’s a speedy knit, without being complicated.

But I certainly didn’t expect it to become news.

Sure enough, the next morning an article appeared in The Times online. “Alice Neal, 50” Come on, Mr Malvern! I’ve only just turned 50. Give me a chance to process that, too! But sure, perhaps that’s not the bit to be focusing on. And besides, it gave my friends something to rib me about.

That same day, I had an email from the Sun, a message from someone at the Daily Mail (the less said about that particular experience the better. Let’s just say: lesson learned) and an email from the Mirror. I’ve never had a faster, more precipitous lesson in the crazy world of ‘strike while the iron’s hot’ journalism. And all the while, those boxes weren’t packing themselves.

I managed to squeeze a pattern for an Olympic-themed scarf between packing up the sitting room and the last of the kitchen (“I literally have nothing to sit on”) and it appeared in the Mirror that Sunday.

I am more grateful than you can know for the outpouring of enthusiasm for my designs, the pattern sales, and the little messages of encouragement from fellow knitters around the world.

Now that the dust is settling the other side of the move, now that I’m only ankle-deep in boxes, and they’re being tipped out rather than filled up, now that I can walk regularly along the seafront, breathing it all in as deeply as my lungs allow, I am looking forward to an autumn of new patterns, old favourites, and getting to know a little bit more about all the people who have come to share in my good fortune.

With love, gratitude, and bundles of yarn,

Alice x

In pictures, in progress… (updated with pattern links)

Posted on by Alice Neal

Last year, I designed a sweater I called the Vintage Chic sweater, in Paintbox yarns super chunky.

This year, I’ve reworked it for their 100% wool worsted range.

And I’m loving how it’s coming out.

Pattern to follow ❤️

Update:

I finished the adult version and then made a couple of little ones. The pattern is available in many sizes, from baby to adult. Here are some more pictures and links to the corresponding patterns.

You can find the adult version of the pattern, pictured below, here,

the child’s version, pictured below, here,

and the ‘Mummy and Me’ version, which includes both patterns as pictured below, here.

Happy knitting! x

Embracing my lockdown

Posted on by Alice Neal

He says, every morning, unprompted and without fail, “I love those chickens” which is in itself quite remarkable for one with such limited speech.

Dots and Stripes. Dotty Stripes.

Posted on by Alice Neal

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No. This post is not about socks.

Although, I have to confess, I could gaze upon the beauty of the beauteous boot socks in perpetuity. I enjoy looking at them almost as much as I enjoy wearing them. And this very frosty northern morning, they are peeping above the tops of my boots and keeping my toes toasty. Over tights, no less. Yes. That’s how I roll.

Oh, and I enjoy wearing them almost as much as I enjoy knitting them.

But I digress.

There is of course a limit as to the number of boot socks you can possess (although as previous posts have explained – teenaged boys + washing machine + wool socks = unmitigated disaster) and I still have quite a lot of scraps of the various yarns I used for creating them.

Added to which, my wardrobe of preloved goodness has expanded this winter, and my colours are all rather autumnal.

I  needed a hat to match.

So I made one.

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After which, beloved son number 2 requested one (he has a very chilly wait at the bus stop on his way to college in the mornings).

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And I really love the colours he chose (and banana cake. And coffee).

After which, I made another one just because I could.

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(I also made the lebkuchen because they’re my favourite and the blooming shops have stopped selling them now that Christmas is over. If you love them too, go and check out this recipe. It’s really simple and they’re bloody delicious).

If you have 100g or so of aran weight wool in a few colours and fancy a spotted, dotted, striped hat of your own, you can find the pattern here. And if you do make it, give me a tag? I do love to see it!

Happy Hump Day <3

Scraps

Posted on by Alice Neal

I never really understood scrap yarn until I started knitting socks. Anything I had left over ended up in a big bag of many-weighted mis-matched colours, which usually ended up going to a knitting group, being used for holding the sleeve stitches in top-down sweaters, or being stuffed out of sight at the back of my stash.

Until I started knitting socks. And, more specifically, until I discovered the insanely beautiful yarns available for socks. And the fact that a 100g skein would usually leave enough yarn to make a substantial contribution to another project.

Enter this oh-so-simple triangle shawl-in-the-making.

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Each stripe is identifiable as a sock that I have created, and each colour brings me deep joy. I especially love the little glittery flashes from the two Fondant Fibre glitter sock yarns, which give it a whole extra aspect of beauty. To me, that is.

It’s taking an age, but that is largely because of the (as mentioned on Insta) 48,000 other WIPs I have, incapable as I am of sticking to one at a time. I have great admiration for people who can start one, work on it, finish it, and start the next. But that’s just not how I roll.

Anyway, I can’t wait to finish it.

And as I know I have also mentioned before, in a bid to make my own small difference to the consumer overwhelm, these days I refuse to buy any new clothes, so everything (other than my smalls, obviously) that enters my wardrobe these days is either pre-loved, or created stitch by stitch by my own fair hand.

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This picture is a case in point.

I was particularly smug to discover that my new socks, and my old-favourite sweater matched my ‘new’ eBay skirt perfectly.

And on I go, with plans for more woolly delights to match my preloved wardrobe.

It feels good <3

Tumbling Vines Sock Pattern

Posted on by Alice Neal

Good morning!

Monday.

Awfully windy out there, up here in the North-East. Today is a day for ALL the knits. And there’s very little that brings me more gentle pleasure than knowing that the majority of what I’m wearing was fashioned with my own fingers.

Today, it’ll be boot socks, sweater, hat, mittens, cowl… The works.

And I’ve found myself thinking… it might be time to knit a skirt? Does that work? Any experiences you’ve had with successes or failures would be greatly appreciated. Will you spur me on to try it? Or will you tell me I’m a madwoman for even thinking of it? I can’t decide if it’d be a neat thing to have, or end up looking like a baggy nappy (or diaper for our friends across the Pond)…

Anyway, enough ramblings and to the point of being here today (I haven’t had my coffee yet, and last night was not the greatest in terms of unbroken sleep, so forgive me if I seem to meander into side-roads with little regard for having lost my way). If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you’ll know I’ve recently come up with a new sock pattern, which I have now created both in Drops Nord yarn, and in Fondant Fibre glittery sock yarn. I’m littering this post with pictures so you can see how they came out, and if you fancy giving them a go yourself, you can find the pattern over here. Or from Yarn Canada here.

So feast yer eyes on the lacy creations.

Now.

Kids at school.

Coffee and time to finish writing up my Stashbusting Hats (which most definitely need a new name).

Have a glorious week. Once you’ve got over the fact that Monday has rolled around way too fast.

<3

New beginnings…

Posted on by Alice Neal

As we hurtle towards the end of the year with ever-increasing, head-spinning, brain-curdling speed, and prepare to enter not just a new year but a new decade, I had a little epiphany.

Ok, epiphany may be over-egging the pudding. But the germ of an idea which I just couldn’t budge.

It’s time for me to shake things up a little, to rejig, to shift the focus of what I do, how I spend my time and how I go about things in life in general, but with no small regard to the woolly arts.

I have a Patreon account, which a few people have been kind enough to contribute to, in exchange for free access to patterns. I am giving it a bit of a rejig, so that the minimum contribution is the lowest tier of $5 a month and instead of publishing patterns, I shall put all the details up here, on my blog, of what I am making, how I have made it, the materials I have used, and the lessons I have learned along the way (all my existing patterns will, of course, still be for sale here). Naturally, I hope it goes without saying that nobody is obliged to contribute, but those who do will also receive for free all the existing patterns uploaded there, and occasional exclusive information / patterns / offers 🙂

To start us off, here is a little tea cozy I whipped up in about half an hour the other night. My husband is quite particular about his cuppa, and has a small white porcelain teapot which, until now, has been kept warm with one of the myriad knitted hats my now teenaged sons wouldn’t be caught dead in (Sigh… such is the lot of a knitting mum’s life). So he requested a tea cosy a while ago and a quiet night at the kitchen table afforded me the perfect opportunity to honour said request.

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Yarn: Paintbox wool mix super chunky.
Method (for a small teapot):

9mm circulars, magic loop method.

Cast on 32 stitches.
Knit 3 rounds of K1P1 rib, then knit around twice.
On one side of 16 stitches, knit back and forth in stocking stitch for 4 rows. Cut yarn and attach to other side and repeat 4 rows of stocking stitch on that side, then continue knitting around so you are back to knitting in the round.
Knit around 5 times.
Then decrease round 1) *knit 6, k2tog* around
2) *knit 5, k2tog* around
3) *knit 4, k2tog* around
4) *knit 3, k2tog* around
5) *knit 2, k2tog* around
6) *knit1, k2tog* around
7) *k2tog* around
Bind off and sew in ends.

Obviously, if your teapot is larger than our rather delicate, squat little thing, add a few more rounds, or a few more cast on stitches, to fit.

Happy teatime!

Next: I shall be sharing how I made this gorgeous little jumper and the hat that I am currently finishing to match it.

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Notes:

  • You can also, should you so wish, receive alerts to new posts / projects underway  etc by following me on Instagram or my Facebook page.
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Variations on a theme…

Posted on by Alice Neal

I may have come to the end of my playing with my Vintage Chic pattern until the autumn, but I have had so much fun with it (and plan to have more and, and, and I might also quite like to try it in a chunky cotton for cool summer nights).

When I first conceived of this design, I was quite excited by its sweet simplicity. Colour was going to do the work for me, and the motif would provide the cherry on the cake. And when it was finished, I became impossibly giddy. I swear, when I wear it people smile. It’s the yellow. It’s SO sunny. And I’ve thrown it on again and again at the merest excuse of a chill in the air.

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Then I found some heavily discounted Mirasol Yaya, which is the softest squishiest stuff and the colours to die for:

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I followed the pattern exactly, so with smaller needles and gauge I now have a more form-fitting jumper in muted cornflower, jewelled greens, pearly whites and gentle pinks.

And THEN I returned to my old favourite, Drops Andes, and made a cropped short sleeved version to wear over long shirts again following the pattern but stopping short of the full length in body and sleeve, finishing with seed stitch. And again, the smaller needle and gauge means I have a body conscious tank-top shape that I absolutely love.

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(I also have a teeny tiny aran version in yellow cotton on my needles, and if I ever finish it amongst my myriad other intentions, I’ll let you know! 😉 )

Happy knitting, lovelies <3