Indie Design GAL 2015: What to knit? Shawls

I'm running a little behind schedule on showing you my Indie Design GAL favourites, so here's a second post for the evening; this one is all about the shawls. 

Phi by Jennifer Dassau

I have a thing for striped shawls, especially triangualr ones. And grey and yellow. So this one is a winner.

Phi, image copyright Jennifer Dassau

Sailing by Meg Gadsbey
A simple shawl with texture added through eyelets.

Sailing by Meg Gadsbey

Robin by Lee Meredith
More stripes!

Robin, image copyright Lee Meredith

Havasu Falls by Allison LoCicero
As a general rule, I don't knit with laceweight, but this is beautiful.
 

Havasu Falls, image copyright Allison LoCicero

Piet On Point by Nancy Whitman
A real statement piece, this Mondrian-inspired shawl is really striking.

Piet On Point, image copyright Nancy Whitman

All these patterns are available with 25% off by using the code giftalong2015 until 23.59 (EST) on Friday 27th November 2015. Should you wish to check out all the patterns in the sale and join in the knit and crochet-a-long portion of the GAL, head to the Indie Design Gift-A-Long group on Ravelry.*

*You need to be logged into Ravelry for this link to work.

Indie Design GAL 2015: What to knit? Toys and home

The Indie Design GAL is in full swing over on Ravelry, and today I'm going to give you my round up of the toy and home patterns that are definitely worth a second look.

Garden slug by cheezombie
Totally silly, but I love this! There's also a crochet version.

Garden slug, image copyright cheezombie

Persian Dreams Worsted by Jenise Hope
This is absolutely beautiful, definitely worth the effort.

Persian Dreams Worsted, image copyright Jenise Hope

Orbital Ornaments by Laura Chau
A really cute set of toys, these would make a lovely mobile.

Orbital Ornaments, image copyright Laura Chau

Ribbon Weed by Kate Bostwick
Really big cables, this blanket looks sumptuous.

Ribbon Weed, image copyright Kate Bostwick

Hobby Horse for Little Knights by Aurelie Colas
Every child needs one of these. I am hiding this picture from my four year old or he will be demanding one!

Hobby Horse for Little Knights, image copyright Aurelie Colas

Woolbringer: a Knitted Sword by Emily Ringleman
To go with the hobby horse...

Woolbringer, image copyright Emily Ringleman

Swimming Hippo Lovey by Justyna Kacprzak
I'm not normally a fan of lovies, but this one is really cute.

Swimming Hippo Lovey, image copyright Justyna Kacprzak

Penguin Amigurumi by Amanda Michelle
I think this would make a lovely Christmas tree decoration, or festive desk ornament. Amanda's unicorn is also awesome!

Penguin amigurumi, image copyright Amanda Michelle

And rememeber that all my blanket patterns are included in the sale part of the gift-a-long. You can see all my patterns, including my favourite, Fluffy White Clouds, here.

Fluffy White Clouds

All these patterns are available with 25% off by using the code giftalong2015 until 23.59 (EST) on Friday 27th November 2015. Should you wish to check out all the patterns in the sale, head to the Indie Design Gift-A-Long group on Ravelry.*

*You need to be logged into Ravelry for this link to work.

Indie Design GAL 2015: What to knit? Socks

Last year I wouldn't even have looked at the sock patterns on offer in the Indie Design GAL, but having spent much of the past ten months knitting socks, I was more than happy to look through them all this time round. Here are six of my favourites.

Bleaberry Tarn by Louise Tilbrook
Simple socks with a pretty cable design.

Bleaberry Tarn, image copyright Louise Tilbrook

Solar Vortex by Dana Gervais
I'm a big fan of socks with a spiral element, and socks that work well with self-striping yarns, and these fit the bill perfectly.

Solar Vortex, image copyright Dana Gervais

Crosshaven by Rich Ensor
Again, a diagonal element has drawn me in!

Crosshaven, image copyright Rich Ensor

Fish in the sea by Elizabeth Sullivan
Cute fish on sea-themed socks? What's not to love!

Fish in the sea, image copyright Sweet Paprika Designs

Candy Shop Socks by Beverly S.
These caught my eye before I had even considered knitting socks. They are definitely on my 'to knit one day' list.

Candy Shop Socks, image copyright Beverly S.

If you're interested in checking out the other designs in the Indie Design GAL 2015 head over to the Indie Design GAL group on Ravelry.* There you will find details about the knit/crochet along portion of the GAL, as well as being able to browse all the other patterns in the sale. All the patterns featured here are available with 25% off when you use the code giftalong2015 before 23.59 (EST) on Friday 27th November 2015.

*You will have to be logged into Ravelry for this link to work.

Indie Design GAL 2015: What to knit? Mitts

Here's my round up of my favourite knits for hands from the Indie Design GAL 2015. Lots of lovely things to knit!

Ballydesmond by Irish Girlie Knits
Long, warm cabled mitts. These are really appealing to me. If I find the time, I will definitely be knitting a pair of these.

Ballydesmond, image copyright Irish Girlie Knits Designs

No, Your Other Left by Kirsten McTeer
I love these. I am one of those people who cannot tell their left from their right. Just can't. No more questions please.

No, Your Other Left, image copyright Kirsten McTeer

Frankenfingers by Elizabeth Green Musselman
I love self-striping sock yarns, and showing them off as mitts sounds like a good use for them.

Frankenfingers, image copyright Elizabeth Green Musselman

Beeswax Mitts by Amy van de Laar
A pretty stitch pattern, and look at the photography styling!

Beeswax mitts, image copyright Amy van de Laar

Fission by Annika Barranti
Beautiful elegant long mitts, these are properly ladylike.

Fission, image copyright Vivian Aubrey

First snow mittens by Aet Terasmaa
Pretty stranded mitts. These will be lovely and cosy; the snowflakes are very pretty.

First snow mittens, image copyright Aet Terasmaa

Twit Twoo: Owl Flip Top Mitts
Last but not least, I designed these mitts a couple of years ago, and every time my mum sees them she requests a pair. Maybe this year is her lucky year!

Has anyone cast anything on for the GAL yet? All the patterns featured here are available with 25% off using the code giftalong2015 until Friday 27th November 2015, 23.59 EST. For more information or to join in the fun, head to the Indie Design Gift-A-Long group on Ravelry.*

*You must be signed into Ravelry for this link to work.

 

Indie Design GAL 2015: What to knit? Hats

I spent a bit of today looking through all the designs in the sale portion of the Indie Design GAL 2015. There are over 5000, and every one of them has 25% off with the code giftalong2015. If you want to do the same, they're all in one handy bundle that can be found here.*

After my first look through the bundle, I found 161 patterns that I really like. Which is rather more than I actually have time to blog about, let alone make! Over the next few days I'll be showing you a selection from my favourites (if you want to look at all my favourites, they can be found here). Today I'm going to focus on 7 of my favourite hats...

Dancing Trees by Elitza Chernaeva
I'm not the best at crochet, but I certainly think this is worth a go - the textures are amazing!

Dancing Trees, image copyright Elitza Chernaeva

Peppermint Leaves by Clare Devine
I love the crown on this hat. This hat is part of Clare's Tea Collection, which features lots of other beautiful hats too.

Peppermint Leaves, image copyright Clare Devine

Manila by Christina Ghirlanda
It probably helps that I am a sucker for this shade of green, but I also love the simplicity of the stitch pattern, it looks really effective.

Manila, image copyright Minimi Knit Design

Tupelo Slouch by Sara Gresbach
I bought this during the GAL last year; this year I might get round to making it!

Tupelo Slouch, image copyright Sara Gresbach

Piccadilly - Wrapped pompom beanie, hood and cowl by Annina Paivarinta
Again, I'm probably swayed by the colour, but this pattern is a super-practical gift, as well as being really fun.

Picadilly, image copyright Annina Paivarinta

Snowflakes in the Air by Cynthia Spencer
I am a sucker for a cute hat, and this one is lovely. I love that the snow is made from beads, so it'll even sparkle a little.

Snowflakes in the Air, image copyright Really Clear Designs

Autumn Grove by Rebecca Newman
Purple, lacy leaves, very pretty.

Autumn Grove, image copyright tinylovely

 Which ones are your favourites? And what are you thinking of knitting? I'm off to think about mitts now... And remember, if you post about your knit in the GAL2015 Ravelry group* and finish it before the end of the year, you could win a prize!

*This link will only work if you're logged into Ravelry.

Indie Design GAL 2015: Ready, steady, knit!

Now in it's third year, today marks the start of the Indie Design Gift A Long over on Ravelry.

The GAL unites 335 independent designers from across the globe in a celebration of independent knitting and crochet design. The event has two main events:

1. The sale: Every designer involved offers 25% off a selection of their patterns using the code giftalong2015 from the start of the event (Thursday, November 19th at 8 pm (US-EST), which was 1am today UK time, so the sale is now on!) until Friday November 27 at 11:59 pm (US-EST). The selection of patterns in the sale is huge, and can be browsed at your leisure on Ravelry.*
2. The GAL itself: A six week knit and crochet along, where every time you make any paid for design from any of the designers involved in the GAL. There are even prizes to be won!

In addition to the sale and KAL/CAL, there are also lots of quizzes and competitions that will run across the six weeks, with chances to win patterns from any of the designers involved in the GAL.

I'm really excited about the GAL this year, and am looking forward to joining in the KAL/CAL. I have a few patterns from last year that I might even get round to knitting this year! I'm also looking forward to seeing whether anyone knits any of my designs - seeing someone make a beautiful finished object from one of my patterns is a sure fire way of getting me to smile.

Some of my designs in my Ravelry store with the code giftalong2015

If you want to join in, head over to the Indie Design Gift-A-Long group on Ravelry* and start chatting and crafting. If you want to join in on social media, use the hashtags #gal2015 and #giftalong2015

Fab GAL2015 infographic made by Ravelry user 80skeins

*You must be logged into Ravelry for these links to work.

Hello?

Hello! I'm aware it's been a while since I last wrote a proper post; I'm now a little over three months from my PhD deadline, so I'm frantically working at that, while getting on with all the other usual life activities.

I haven't completely gone into hiding, and am still posting plenty of knitting and baking pictures on Instagram (new followers are always welcome), as well as enjoying weekends with family and friends. I'll also be getting involved in the Indie Design GAL over on Ravelry (all the information can be found here;* the fun starts on Thursday evening), which you may remember from last year, and will be posting about it here over the next six weeks.

Halloween cupcakes with bat and pumpkin sprinkles

Bonfire cupcakes for Bonfire Night

Chocolate orange cake for a charity raffle (we won a cake, but ate it before it could be photographed!)

Durham's rose window, reproduced in plastic blastic bottles for the Lumiere festival

Frankly enormous knitting. Again for the Lumiere festival, but I liked this one better unlit

The beginning's of my mystery Wyrt socks

We're also gearing up for Christmas in the Bird house. I've made a huge dent in my Christmas shopping this week as I realised it was making me a bit stressed. Many people who I'd planned to make things for now have shop-bought alternatives arranged to ease the pressure a little, and I can pass lots of presents on to friends I'm seeing over the next few weeks, thus saving on postage. I am very much looking forward to my son's first school Christmas - school shows, parties and dressing up; Christmas with small people is so much fun!

Festive knitting. These are for me

Hope everyone is enjoying Autumn. What have you all been up to recently?

*Note that you must be logged into Ravelry for this link to work.