You wait ages for a new design, then three come along at once!

For someone who is currently taking a hiatus from designing knitted items, this is a pretty busy blog post. But as anyone who has ever had anything to do with publishing knows, these designs were finished months ago, and I’ve had to keep them a secret.

First up we have two designs in a new-to-me magazine: I Like Knitting, an e-zine based in the States. It’s a subscription model, so if you want to knit up these patterns you’ll have to head to their website, http://www.ilikeknitting.com/

Bobbled Chevron Cowl, image copyright ILikeKnitting.com

Bobbled Chevron Cowl is designed as a quick knit – it’s knitted in Rico Essentials Big, which is a lovely round yarn with excellent stitch definition – and can be knitted in a couple of hours. It features a pattern entirely made up of simple knits and purls, and is inspired by the Gansey jerseys worn by fisherman, which have the associated myth that each fishing village along the coast had its own design, so that sailors lost at sea could be identified easily and returned to their home port.

Scalloped edge cowl, image copyright ILikeKnitting.com

Scalloped edge cowl is wonderfully luxurious. It’s made from two skeins of Fyberspates Scrumptious DK, which is made up of 55% soft merino and 45% silk. The yarn has a beautiful sheen, and feels really decadent to work with – big thanks to my sister in law for buying if for me a couple of years ago as a Christmas gift! I’ve tried my hardest to make the scalloped cast on and cast off edges look the same, this required inventing a whole new stitch pattern, and I’m really pleased with how it turned out.

Painting the Roses Red, image copyright Practical Publishing

And for seconds (or thirds), Knit Now magazine have published my first ever shawl design, Painting the Roses Red.* Knitting a lace shawl was on my 32 things list, and I thought I’d go the whole hog and design my own! The shawl is a deep crescent shape, with a plain stocking stitch body and a simple lace border featuring delicate heart details. It was my first lace shawl, and would be a good choice for anyone else wishing to knit their first ever lace shawl. The sample is knitted in Artesano Alpaca 4 Ply, which is as soft as a kitten, and a bargain at only £5.25 a skein** [you’ll need two for the small size of this shawl (shown) and four for the larger size] when bought direct from Artesano. And if you want to know where the name came from, it’s inspired by the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland, as the heart motif reminded me of a fancy dress costume I wore when I was about 7!

*This pattern is in Issue 56 of Knit Now magazine, which comes off sale on Wednesday 3^rd February 2016, so if you want this pattern you’ll have to be quick, or order a back issue or digital copy direct from Knit Now.

**Price correct at time of publication.