Kilkanna & Naturally Slouchy

Today is all about new patterns! Having had a bit of a dry spell whilst working on all the book reformatting and Bambeanies, I'm both relieved and pleased that there are some new designs to share.

Firstly, we have Kilkanna:

The Little Knitting Company approached me a while back about creating some designs with their yarns. When I work with indie yarnies the set up is a little different to the traditional business model of the yarn company buying the design outright, and instead the arrangement allows both of us to sell the design. Being able to keep the rights to my designs is priceless, and the yarn companies have all been happy so far with agreeing to a license - it's a win-win all round.

Kilkanna is another adult adaptation of one of the Wee Woolly Toppers designs. Based on Kilkenny, minus the earflaps and worked in an entirely different yarn and gauge, this version is much more sleek and grown up. When this yarn arrived, I knew straight away that it would work for this design, and am chuffed with the results. The Tebe yarn is a multi-plied super soft merino, with the kind of drape that just loves a bias design. The pattern is available in 3 sizes, and is provided in both written and charted format.

There will be more designs published over the coming works that have been developed with TLKC, and I'll keep you posted as and when. I'd not worked with TLKC before and they've been great; it'll be a pleasure to reveal further designs.

The next new design is Naturally Slouchy:

This pattern has been published with our friends over at Knit On The Net, and that means that yep, they've finished the brand new website and have relaunched with a bunch of new designs! And that in turn means that favourites like Ziggy and Molly that have been unavailable whilst they work on the new site will be relaunched pretty soon too. (and judging by the amount of emails I get about those 2 patterns, that can't come too soon for many!)

Knit On The Net wanted to change the face of the website, and they've posted more information about their decisions in the Editors Letter. Personally, I applaud their reasons for wanting to make big changes, and have been behind them every step of the way. Do go and have a wander around the new site - the new look is great and works a treat.

It was fun working with this Natural Breed's yarn, it really had a life of it's own, and it sets this design off beautifully. Working in almost white is a rarity for me, I avoid white like the plague in real life so this yarn provided a bit of a hurdle at first. But it's not white white, it's natural white, and that's something else entirely.

With this one I wanted to play with an elegant little stitch pattern that I found in one of my vintage stitch dictionaries, and decided it worked really well in concentric circles, which are especially noticeable with the crown decreasing. It's nice to see it live now - the pattern was designed over a year ago and has been patiently waiting for it's moment - I'd say it's been worth the wait. The pattern is, as always, provided in a range of sizes and includes charts as well as written instructions.

So there we have it, two new Woolly Wormhead Hat designs. My publishing schedule reminds me a bit of London buses... none for ages then along come three two together. And now I go back to Bambeanies and a whole other bunch of admin. Tax return, anyone?