Autumnal Yellows

I've done quite a bit of knitting with Kowhai lately. It's so lovely and warm - nothing like a bit of golden yellow to warm that slight chill in the air.

This morning I noticed that the backyard was covered in leaves...so the camera came out...

I hope that where ever you are at the moment, you are enjoying some sunshine!

PS - on the subject of trees, the patterns for it's a tree are up. I'm knitting a leafy storm!

I heart Wellington

I do, really.

I love how these Para Matchitt poles stand against the sky on the City to Sea bridge. Inspiration for a colour, perhaps?

One of those days...

The laptop got cranky. The car got cranky.

So off for a walk for coffee and some time out.

Some days, you just have to leave the knitting alone.

It's a tree!

Knitsch, OutdoorKnit, Craft2.0 and the New Dowse are excited to reveal:

It's a tree!

This is a collaborative community project, which means we need you.


The idea is this:

there are a few very tall lamp posts outside the New Dowse in Lower Hutt, and OutdoorKnit decided it would be a pretty fun idea to turn them into something different...trees!

What OutdoorKnit needs is lots of knitted, crochet or even sewn flowers, leaves and native birds to cover these 'trees'. The best medium for this is acrylic - it wears better when the weather gets a bit grotty.

I've been knitting away over the past few weeks to get my pile of leaves and flowers ready. Watch this space for suggested patterns, installation dates and how to get your contribution added to the tree.

For the love of Endpaper Mitts

Because they're pretty. My endpaper mitts don't match - one is in Silver lining and Chelsea, the other in Silver Lining and Kowhai. They're a tad small for me so will probably just be used as samples. I love how Silver Lining complements each colour, and the single colour stitches bring out the slight changes in tone.


For those who think fair isle is tricky - it really isn't. It's all about finding how to hold two colours that is comfortable for you. I started out with a colour in each hand, but couldn't quite get the rhythm down. Holding both in one hand, with silver lining held normally, and the second colour sitting just below it to be picked up when needed, worked for me. The good thing with the Endpaper Mitts pattern is that you don't need to worry too much about twisting at the back to carry a colour across, so it's a good project to learn on. 


And it's pretty. 


Did I mention it's pretty?

Cinque Terre - Part 2

As Cafe Chick asked in the previous Cinque Terre post, 'What does it look like?'


Well, here is my Jekyll and Hyde in Cinque Terre:

It's a pretty full-on colour, which is why Jekyll and Hyde was kind of the perfect pattern - i'm in two minds about this colour way. Somedays I love it, the way the pinks, blues, yellows, greens mingle with each other. Somedays, I find it much less appealing. Check out the heel and how the colours match up, compared with in the pattern stitch how it gets all mushed together. 


If I were to knit with it again, I'd probably go for a less 'busy' stitch. But hey, i'm still pretty pleased with how it turned out. For today, anyway.

Shop Update!

A few days ago there was a shop update (yes, i'm a little tardy in blogging it).


There are some scrumptious new colours, my faves being Beauregarde (as in, 'You're turning violet, Violet!'), and Harvey Wallbanger.

Dyeing new colours has got to be one of my favourite things about this wool business. I'm already plotting more - it simply never ends. But I'm curious - do you prefer more, or less choice when it comes to colours? Are there any colours you are lusting after in sock weight but I haven't dyed it yet? Let me know!