My new website!

After several weeks of pondering the issue, this weekend I finally decided to move all my knitting content over to a new site: www.vikkibirddesigns.com There I'll be posting all the information about pattern launches as I have been here, but I'll also be adding lots of new content including reviews, tips and tricks, tutorials and interviews. I hope you all enjoy the new site.

And here, bakedaywednesday.blogspot.com might become a little quieter, but will be focused on baking, (which makes much more sense given its title!), and anything else I fancy posting about that is non-knitting related.

Errata: Barley Twist cardigan

Barley Twist baby cardigan
There is an error in the version of this pattern that appears in Knit Now Issue 65.

At the end of the yoke instructions, Rows 1 and 2 should be worked 8 times in total, not 8 more times after the first repeat. This will give you 144 sts and the sleeve separation row will work correctly.

If you find errors in any of my patterns, please email me and I will do my best to rectify the error.

New pattern: Barley Twist baby cardigan (and a competition)

Alongside my Hedgehogs and Hoglets baby blanket, the latest issue of Knit Now magazine (issue 65) also features my Barley Twist baby cardigan. The cardigan is a top-down raglan, with simple four stitch cables running between the yoke increases. The pattern is written in one size (0-3 months), but with 5 cm negative ease, it should fit beyond 3 months (and is modelled on a slightly older baby), and can be knitted with just 100g of the beautiful Milla Mia Naturally Soft Aran (100% merino, and it's machine washable), which is wonderful to work with.


Barley Twist cardigan. Image copyright Practical Publishing

I'm giving readers of my blog the opportunity to win a copy of Knit Now issue 65, two balls of Milla Mia Naturally Soft Aran in Cherry Red, and 7 wooden apple shaped buttons (6 should be enough, but a spare button is always welcome!). If you'd like to enter, just leave a comment below, telling me what's currently on your needles; make sure you leave some way for me to contact you (e.g. Ravelry or Instagram username).*

Here's what you could win!

*Entries need to be in by 23.59 GMT on Sunday 25th September 2016 and the winner will be selected by random number generator from all entries submitted. By commenting you confirm that you are over 18. I will pay for the prize to be shipped to the winner (including internationally), but any customs fees and associated charges are the responsibility of the winner.

New pattern: Hedgehog and Hoglets baby blanket

Autumn is very definitely on its way, the mornings are starting to feel crisp (Tuesday was an exception, with the hottest weather of the year so far, but today it's cooled down again), the leaves are starting to turn brown round the edges and the nights are drawing in. My latest pattern has a very autumnal feel: a little hedgehog family on a beige background.

Hedgehog and Hoglets. Image copyright Practical Publishing

Hedgehog and Hoglets is knitted from the bottom up, with the hedgehogs knitted in to a stocking stitch background using the intarsia technique, and a moss stitch border knitted as you go. The blanket is knitted in aran weight yarn, and with the two large stocking stitch sections shouldn't take too long to knit.

Not only would the blanket be the perfect gift for an autumn baby, it would also work in a woodland themed nursery, and make a nice change from the ubiquitous owl!

The blanket is knitted in King Cole Fashion Aran, a wool/acrylic blend. As with all my blankets, you don't have to use the recommended yarn, and can use any wool, wool/acrylic, acrylic yarn that knits to the correct tension. Remember though that babies have delicate skin, so you'll want to go for something soft; I used a tweedy yarn to add extra texture to the hedgehogs prickles.

Hedgehogs and Hoglets appears in Issue 65 of Knit Now magazine, which is available in the UK now, or can be purchased digitally via the More Mags website. The issue also features another of my designs, which I will tell you about tomorrow (and there'll be a chance to win a copy of the magazine and a few other goodies, so you'll definitely want to come back for that!).

New pattern: Harvest's Bounty

Summer has sped by, and suddenly it's autumn again! While I've been busy looking after my children since the summer holidays started, I have managed to fit in a bit of knitting work, including *finally* writing up the pattern for the pumpkin hat I debuted on this blog a couple of years ago.

Harvest's Bounty is pretty simple, knitted in the round from the bottom up and features a leaf and tendril details that are knitted then stitched in place. The leaf is unique to this design and is knitted in the round to allow it to lie perfectly flat. The pattern is written in five sizes from baby to man and would make an excellent novelty hat for any age group.

The pattern is avaliable now in my Ravelry store and can be purchased for just £1.50 until September 10th 2016 (end of the day, BST), after which it will be £2.40.

Here are a few of the hats knitted by my lovely team of testers:

A toddler version by Sharon (coffeecrazycrocheter on Instagram)

A sophisticated version by Sarah (sarahsh123 on Ravelry)

A baby version by Elise (eliseandlife on Instagram and Ravelry)

Jenny's adorable version (Jennystitches on Ravelry and Instagram)

Ling's alternative colour version, worn as a slouchy hat (ftmhling on Ravelry)

 The copyright of the testers' images remains with the testers; all images were used with permission.

Have you created your own pumpkin hat from Harvest's Bounty? I'd love to see, comment below, or find me on Ravelry.

Shake it up mitts

It's the summer holidays and things are crazy busy, but I have just managed to add my Shake It Up mitts pattern to my Ravelry store. And until August 18th 2016 it's available at the bargain price of £2, including VAT, where applicable.*

The original sample (above) was knitted in Aretsano yarns alpaca blend DK, a lovely cozy yarn that came in a beautiful selection of handpaiinted colourways. Unfortunately Artesano recently went into recievership, so I have knitted a second sample in Patons Extrafine Merino DK Colour (below), which has beautiful stitch definition.

This pattern will work in any DK weight yarn, and is especially good for hand dyed variegated colourways. My testers knitted some beautiful examples (below), I am espeically excited by Aleximmie's bright yellow mitts, aren't they cheerful!

Mitts in Madelinetosh DK Twist, knitted by Aleximmie. Image copyright Aleximmie.

Adina (RainFallGirl on Ravelry) knitted her test mitts in record quick time (I think she was done within 24 hours of my posting the test notice!). I really like the colours in her yarn choice (Skeino Splendid in Peacock; below).

Adina knitted her mitts in Skeino Splendid in Peacock. Image copyright RainFallGirl.

Hope you enjoy knitting your mitts. I would love to see what your finished projects, either here or on Ravelry - just link your project to the pattern page. Happy knitting!

*After this the price will increase to £3.60.

New pattern: Flying High

The school holidays have started! And it feels like summer might finally be here, woo hoo! And I have a new pattern out: Flying High baby blanket.

This blanket is a quick and easy. It's knitted in chunky weight yarn, so knits up quickly, and the intarsia only covers a quarter of the blanket with only two colour changes per row; the tail is added with duplicate stitch at the end. The ribbons are knitted separetly and sewn on, and stitches are picked up round the edges to add the border. The first half of the blanket is also good car knitting, if you have a long journey planned where you get to be the passenger!

This blanket has been in my head for a long time - I sketched it for a submission in late-2013 - but I only got round to knitting it when a friend announced that she was pregnant, and I knew the design was a good match for her and her husband. I love anything rainbow coloured, so making this blanket was a lot of fun; if you prefer something a little more subtle, you can easily substitute the bright colours for more subtle options.

If you want to knit your own kite baby blanket, the pattern can be found here. Happy knitting!

New pattern: Busy Buzzy Bumble Bee

Last autumn my friend had a baby. I have been friends with her since I was two, so it was only right that I knitted something really special for her newborn. I had already knitted a large blanket (my Nature's Way blanket) for her first child, and decided that I wanted to knit a smaller blanket that had something in common with the first, so went for a bright bumble bee knitted on a bright green background.

Busy Buzzy Bumble Bee

I loved knitting this pattern. The chunky weight yarn means it knits up quickly, and the intarsia is straightforward, which large blocks of colour. I stitched the trail on at the end using duplicate stitch, which is a great technique for very small blocks of colour, or lines of single stitches, and saves a few ends!

Running on a theme: Nature's Way was given to the new baby's older brother when he was born

The pattern (Busy Buzzy Bumble Bee) is available now in my Ravelry store, and is included in my storewide sale - all patterns have 30% off until the end of June. Happy knitting!

Hello!

Hello! I am back!

I haven't blogged in ages as I have been working hard on my PhD thesis, but it is now done and submitted. Woo hoo!

To celebrate I am offering 30% off ALL the patterns in my Ravelry store until the end of June.* No code needed.

Right, I am off to enjoy the sunshine, but I will be back soon, promise.

*I'll be having a pricing resturcture at the start of July, so get a bargain before any price increases.

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.

Indie Design GAL: FO: Twit Twoo Owl Flip Top Mitts

We're now into the final hours of the Indie Design GAL 2015, so it's probably about time that I showed you the other GAL project I finished a week or two ago.

This pattern was designed by me: the Twit Twoo Owl Flip Top mitts. I wasn't planning on making these during the GAL, but when I saw my mum in November she asked if I could make her a pair. And as she never requests anything for birthdays or Christmas I immediately ordered the yarn she requested (Bergere de France Ideal - the same yarn I used for the original sample, my pair have worn really well) and got knitting. The mitts didn't take long, and make a really pleasing happy finished object. And my mum is really pleased with them, which is even better!

No modelled photos as my mum's hands are smaller than mine

The Indie Design GAL finishes at 11.59 pm EST tonight, so you really only have hours to join in the fun. If you have finished anything during the GAL, remember to post it in the FO thread in the Indie Design GAL group on Ravelry* to be in with a chance of winning a prize.

*You must be logged into Ravelry for this post to work.

My favourite indie dyers of 2015

For the month of December, I've been joining in with fellow designer Louise Tilbrook over on Instagram in a month of random acts of kindness, the aim being to spread a little love during the festive season. Louise has provided a list of suggestions for each day, alongside encouragement to do your own thing if some of the items don't work for you.

On day one, I posted a review for the yarn shop Ringarosie. For day two I travelled all the way to London to join my brother for the launch of his new book (very exciting! Attending was very much a last minute decision, but definitely the right one.) On the third, I sent six people who had it in their queue a copy of my Twit Twoo mitts pattern. And on Friday I gave my office mate a bag of numbered sweets to unwrap before Christmas as she'd not managed to get an advent calendar before the shops sold out.

So far the decisions have been pretty easy. Either I've gone with Louise's suggestion, or subbed it for something that worked for that day. Today is day five, and the suggestion is to write a review for a podcast. For whatever reason I've never got into podcasts. So instead I am going to bring you a round up of my favourite indie dyers I've discovered in the past twelve months.

Before January, I hadn't used yarn from indie dyers. Most of my knitting was done in relatively inexpensive yarns, unless they came in the form of yarn support for magazine submissions. This year something changed; I started knitting socks, and a skein of sock yarn is really goof value - even when knitting fast, it takes me at least a week to knit a pair of socks. So my Facebook and Instagram feeds have become very yarn heavy, and hand-dyed yarn has become a big part of my knitting life. I've now amassed quite a collection; here are four of my favourites.

1. Devon Sun Yarns
Devon Sun Yarns was my first foray into buying yarn from an independent dyer. I think I first came across her as a result of a competition she was running on Facebook, and could not resist this beautiful skein of jewel splashed white yarn; it made an excellent hat.

Since that first skein I have bought several more skeins from Daisy, and a couple of sock blanks (not that they've yet been knitted, but part of the joy of pretty yarn is that it looks amazing without you actually having to do anything with it!), and I'm sure there will be many more purchases. Daisy has an excellent eye for colour, and always has a good selection of yarn weights and bases available. She's recently moved her shop to its own website, where you can also find kits for dyeing your own yarn.

2. Mothy and the Squid
Mothy and the Squid is an indie dyer based in Scotland. Her business is named after her two sons favourite things, and from her Instagram feed you can see that it's very much a family business. I had been eyeing Jillian's yarns for ages, and was delighted when I won one of her (frequent) competitions on Instagram. Her yarn is beautiful, often inspired by rainbows, whether little flashes or full stripes. It is also packaged beautifully, with hand stamped labels and a little extra inside every package - I've ordered from her twice now and have had moth and squid stitch markers and a 17g sample of some lovely fuchsia and pink yarn. She also let me have an extra large (120 g) ball of yarn so I would have enough to make socks for my husband, and didn't charge me for the extra!

3. Cuddlebums
Another dyer specialising in rainbows, Jodi makes stunning yarn. My sister bought me some for my birthday and Jodi made sure to include a little birthday note in the package, as well as some cake soaps as a little birthday extra. The socks I knitted in Twilight Rainbow Donegal Nep are my favourites, and when I went to Yarndale I specifically sought out her stall to get another skein of something wonderful, coming home with sparkly cornflower blue rainbow yarn.

 

4. Hand Dyed by Kate
Kate is based in Wales and dyes a lot of striped yarn (a hugely labour intensive process!). Her colour choices are amazing, and every month she has a self-striping yarn club, which I am very, very tempted by! I went to Kate when I wanted some watermelon striped yarn for a friend's birthday, and she was really helpful with my request. When Amy had finished her socks, she sent me the spare and my daughter got a pair of matching socks. I've ordered Kate's Snowflake self-striping yarn box for myself for Christmas and am very excited about it.

I love supporting small and local businesses, and shall continue to do so in the new year. Who are your favourite indie dyers? And if you fancy joining in with the random acts of kindness, it's not too late!

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.

New pattern: Shake it up mitts

I love hand-painted yarns, so was very excited when Knit Now wanted designs for Artesano 's hand-painted alpaca/wool blend double knitting yarn. Hand dyed yarns can sometimes be hard to work with, creating unwanted or unexpected pooling when knitted in straight stocking stitch, and cables and lace are often lost. To make the most of the yarn's colours, I designed my Shake It Up mitts. They feature a slipped stitch pattern that break up stretches of knitting, shuffling the colours in the yarn as you knit. To reduce the chances of pooling even further, I alternated skeins every couple of rows while I was knitting, a technique that can be really useful with multi-coloured yarns.

I'm really pleased with the finished mitts. They're lovely and cosy - alpaca is well known for its warmth, and the slipped stitch pattern makes for a thicker fabric, so these mitts are properly snuggly. The yarn comes in lots of lovely colourways: my mitts are knitted in Grape Harvest, but I also love Sea Serpent and Peacock Feather, and might even make a second pair in one of these colourways.

I meant to photograph these mitts before they got sent off for their official photoshoot, but in my rush to get them dried (we'd had several days of rain when I knitted these, which is not the best weather for blocking things; so much for summer) I totally forgot, so you'll have to make do with a photo of the photo of them in the magazine. Should you wish to knit a pair, the pattern is available in this month's issue of Knit Now, which is available from today.

Knit Now is available in supermarkets, newsagents and craft stores across the UK. 

Alternatively, you can buy it online here: http://www.moremags.com/knitting/knit-now 

Digital editions are also available here: http://www.moremags.com/digital-editions.

New pattern: The Knitbots

So finally here it is, my The Knitbots baby blanket. I knitted this blanket earlier in the year for my friend Sam for her new baby. Sam said she wanted something boyish, but otherwise I had free-rein. I decided I wanted to base my design around bright colours and robots, so had a hunt through my Hayfield Bonus DK stash to see if I could find enough yarn to make a rainbow-based blanket (I was on a yarn-purchasing ban at the time). I then set about sketching an assortment of robots based on basic geometric shapes, using a google image search as inspiration.
 

Designing the robots was really satisfying. I limited myself to a six-colour pallette, plus black and white, and used only three colours per robot. I thought this might feel a bit limiting, but I think it made the blanket nicely balanced in the end. I almost made the whole blanket out of stash yarn too, but ran out of yellow before I had cast on a yellow robot, so had to order another ball.

This blanket is great for beginners, as the intarsia is pretty straightforward, and you can make the whole thing using oddments of yarn if you like, so it's a great stashbuster. My test knitters did a great job at reinventing the design, with different stripe sequences and altered expressions. I really like the two-colour stripe approach - it's a great way of toning the whole design down.

Canuckeh's colourful robots knitted in Manos del Uruguay Cotton Stria, a cotton yarn. Image copyright Canuckeh.

SaniDolphin's two-colour stripe version, with modified eyes. Image copyright SandiDolphin.

Slmwhr's bright two-colour striped blanket; only two of these robots have smiles. Can you spot them? Image copyright Slmwhr.

Another way to use the pattern is to select a chart and knit it into something other than a blanket - maybe a washcloth, or a motif for a jumper or pullover.

The pattern is available now on Ravelry, and when you buy it you can get my intarsia tutorial Ronnie the Robot for free, just add them both to your basket and the discount will come off automatically. And remember, I love to see people's finished projects, so if you knit any of my patterns, send a photo my way, I'd love to see.

New pattern: Rose Garden cowl

Every few months, Knit Now magazine has a call for submissions with a difference. Rather than the standard series of mood boards and theme suggestions, these calls give you some specifics about a yarn (a yarn weight, an amount of yarn, sometimes a combination of colours) and a weekend to come up with an idea. Yes, one weekend. Every time one of these calls comes up, I submit at least one or two designs, usually based on a stitch pattern that has been stuck in my head with nowhere to go. My Codebreaker cowl was a response to one of these calls, and here is another: the Rose Garden cowl, published in issue 49 of Knit Now, which is available today.

The Rose Garden cowl is based on a two colour slipped stitch pattern that I loved the texture of when I first saw it when I was browsing Pinterest one rainy afternoon (and here I discovered one massive disadvantage of Pinterest: every pattern for this stitch was in Russian, with no charts! I figured it out in the end!). When I knitted the swatch and sent it in to Knit Now, I was calling the pattern the Thistle cowl as I knitted the swatch in purple (my favourite colour), but when the yarn arrived, I had two fantastic shades of blue. I named the pattern the Rose Garden as the spikes in the stitch pattern remind me of Rose thorns.

Some patterns jump straight from the swatch to the final design with no further thought. This was not one of them! The design started off with a rolled stocking stitch edge, but when I started knitting the sample I realised that the yardage wasn't going to stretch to the original plan, so I had to make some modifications. The edging became ribbed and the tension loosened a little to make the yarn go a little further. And after knitting a third of a second sample I decided the rib I'd chosen didn't work with the rest of the design, so the whole thing had to be unravelled again, argh! But I got there in the end (with a bit of frantic 2am election night knitting thrown in for good measure as the deadline drew closer), and I hope you all like the finished result.

 

Need another reason to buy the magazine? It comes with this free gift: a rather cute little tin