Competition winners & the CWT cover!

Finally, I can share this with you:

Choosing the cover shot was hard. Ridiculously so. There were several photos that were all up to the task, photos that I'm pretty damned chuffed with, yet none were better suited than this. The image sums up the caption perfectly, and this Hat is clearly the one that everyone wants to knit. Infact, I don't think I've ever had a cover fall into place so quickly.

So there we have it - the cover for Classic Woolly Toppers! And furthermore, I worked hard this week getting behind the scenes stuff done, which includes the book's webpage - it's coming together pretty quickly!

And now to reveal the competition winners - thank you all for your suggestions for the unnamed Hats. All of the Hats are now with name, and I thought I'd talk you through them and reveal the winners of the wee competition.

Many of the suggestions for this Hat appealed, yet when I dug a little further, all of the names that I'd liked to have used had already been nabbed for some other design (I like to check a name on the Ravelry pattern database for uniqueness) and so with this one, I followed a little path.

DaisyF left a comment suggesting 'Tunisia' for this Hat, and from there, I found 'Taboosh'. Taboosh is the Arabic word for a Fez Hat, which is, I believe, what they would call this style of Hat in Tunisia.

And so 'Taboosh' it is, and DaisyF, there'll be a gifted copy of CWT coming your way when the pre-orders go live! Congrats and thank you :)

This one has a very distinctive feel, and proved tricky to name because of that - it needs something that packs the same kind of punch.

Anne1962 suggested 'Karenina' for this Hat, which is a name I love, yet it's so widely used as a pattern name that this would get lost if folks on Rav tried to magic link or refer to it in some other way. Yet drop the 'A' off the end (which still makes it perfectly valid in the literature sense, or at least it does according to Penquin Books) and you are left with a unique name for a Hat! 'Karenin' it is.

Thank you Anne1962, a gifted copy will also be making it's way to you in the coming weeks!

Even at this point, with so many fantastic suggestions, this one remained the hardest to name! I loved so many of the comments left for this one, yet finding something unique that suited this Hat just so proved more challenging than I expected. 

Gis left a comment suggesting 'Fissure'. I liked this name; it was different and made good reference to the Brim construction but wasn't sure if it clicked with the Hat... so I followed that path that Gis had set me on, and the right name presented itself - 'Ravine'. Fissure and Ravine have similar meanings, and both were appropriate for this Hat, given the construction. Ravines are generally found amongst greenery (which fits so well with the Lichen/Moss Stitch aspect of the Hat)

Thank you Gis for your suggestion, and for getting me thinking on a different tangent! And a gifted download link will also be heading your way within the next few weeks.

Thank you again for all of your interesting suggestions! 

And now, it's back to work for me. This weekend we've been building my TNNA display (I'm exhibiting there this year, and have whole 10ft x 10ft booth to myself! And all of my display will be coming across the pond in 2 x 23kg suitcases!) and with that mostly done, it's time to plough on and finish the book. I love this stage of a project, where the end is finally in sight!

Yet more Classic Woolly Toppers Hats revealed & a 'Name That Hat' competition

(that's a bit of a mouthful of a blog title...)

Now that we've had all of the photoshoots and the mammoth task of photo editing and collating can be begin, I can finally reveal to you the last of the CWT Hats. There are also a couple of unnamed Hats, and I figured, that as pre-orders are a only a month away, if that, why not open the naming game out? Folks here have helped out brilliantly before when the right name has eluded me!

The first of the last Hats to be revealed isn't a stranger.

This is Bobba Hat, modelled by the lovely Charlie. I haven't updated the main pattern page photos yet, or the pattern itself with these new shots, but it will be done in the next couple of days. Photos that made me happy eluded me for some time with this, yet we got there this last week. I also have some of Roberta to share which I think are up to scratch - one of my missions with the photoshoots is to capture each Hat on at least 2 different models, to demonstrate how different styles suit different faces.

Now, before anyone is concerned that a pattern they've previously purchased will be appearing in a new book, everyone who's bought the PDF will receive a coupon to the value of the price of the pattern that they can use towards the cost of CWT. Does that seem fair enough? This all applies to the digital versions only, as Bobba Hat hasn't made it into print distribution yet as it really needed better photos, and at the moment it isn't possible to use the coupon with the print version of the book (but I'm working on it)

These next 2 Hats also proved particularly tricky on the photography front. Mostly because they're red, and unusual styles that took some working with to get right.

I love, love, love the structure of this Hat but I don't expect everyone to agree with me. It's striking and elegant and really not so difficult to knit, and it's a style that won't suit everyone. We tried it on 3 of the 4 models and really, it only suited 2 of them.

It is a pillbox come fez kinda shape, which is unusual in a knitting pattern that isn't felted. Felting (or to be technically correct, fulling) would give this Hat a good firm structure, and instead of that, it's knit at a tighter than average gauge. It has a deep doubled brim which helps support the Hat at the base, and it gently tapers towards a flat crown. This sample was knit in KnitPicks Gloss DK.

This is the first Hat in need of a name! Any suggestions?

The next difficult-to-photograph Hat  is this one, and it begged to be modelled by Silvia - this Hat takes a particular style and attitude to carry it off well.

It's a trapper style Hat, and instead of regular earflaps, it has a panel shaped with short rows that hug the neck and frame the face. You could say it has 'angles' instead of flaps! This sample is knit in The Natural Dye Studios' Dazzle Aran - a stable and soft hand dyed yarn.

This is the second Hat in need of a name! Any suggestions?

The final Hat in need of some help is one of the first revealed a month or so go. This asymmetrical cloche can be worn in a number of ways, to suit different hairstyles and face shapes and moods, and is surprisingly versatile. Knit in DK with it's main panel shaped by short rows (I did mention that a few patterns use short rows in CWT, yes?) this one has been a  challenge to my test knitters and tech editors alike... short rows and moss stitch are a surprisingly tricky combination. The kinks are now ironed out, and this will be one of the first published as a single pattern.

This is the third and final Hat in need of a name! Any suggestions?

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And here's the deal: make a suggestion for Hat names in the comments (not on Ravelry or Facebook or Twitter please :) and if I use your suggestion, you will be gifted a digital copy of Classic Woolly Toppers as soon as the pre-order goes on sale.

If you're unsure of the type of name I'm looking for, have a look through the other posts featuring the CWT Hats (which can be found by clicking the CWT category tag at the end of this post) and you can see that, on the whole, their name has been influenced by their construction. That isn't always the case, but as structure features heavily in this book, names along those lines would be welcomed. That said, if you have a suggestion that feels just so, I'd love to hear it!

I'll leave this competition open for the next week and review the suggestions in a weeks time. Don't forget, please leave your suggestions here, on this blog post, so I can keep track of everything. Oh, and please leave your email address in the relevant field (no-one will see it except me, I promise) so I can have some way of getting in touch!

Good luck!

ps/ thought you'd like to know that I got my biopsy results today, and I've been given the all clear :D After an intensive year of tests, that included them looking for the Big C in my bowel, uterus and ovaries, my head can finally let go of that particular worry.

pps/ you might want to check out the CWT gallery in the Portfolio section, as one photo of each Hat has already been uploaded, and the various different photos of the Hats on different models will be added over the coming weeks.

More Classic Woolly Toppers Hats revealed

Classic Woolly Toppers is coming along! All of the samples are ready, photoshoots are underway and I've a pile of tech edits to check over as we work our way through the first round of tech editing. It'll be ready before we know it; I'll certainly have all the samples and promo stuff ready for TNNA!

Roberta is a singer/actress/performer; I'd asked before if she'd model for me but wasn't too sure when she'd be back to the Yard. We learnt on wednesday that she was here, and yesterday afternoon we popped out for a quick photoshoot - it had been raining all morning (in Italy in May!) and was very cloudy, providing the perfect weather for an afternoon shoot.

Here are a few quick shots - there's a mountain of photos waiting for editing, and these are fresh off the camera.

This Hat is 'Alternato', and is one of the simpler Hats in the book. It's gentle style is both comfy and flattering and it's knit in Sparkleduck's 'Genie' sports/DK. Liz @ Knitting On The Green gifted me this skein of yarn with instructions to make something for myself, yet these colours begged to be part of the book, it works so well with the rest of the Hats. (so that'll be a 'make something for yourself' fail then - sorry Liz!)

Introducing the 'Camden Cap' knit in Malabrigo's Rios superwash worsted. Who doesn't like a peaked cap like this? And it even has a little knitted button at the crown for detail. The Hat is knitted all in one, and unlike many knitted Hats of this type, the Brim isn't worked as an add on - it's knitted first and is an integral part of the Hat.

This textured beanie is 'Sumner', knit in Babylongleg's Semi~Precious 4ply. Those rings are created by knitted tucks, and with it's deep doubled brim it's no quick knit, but it's oh so worth the extra effort. I think I want to rephotograph this one; the background isn't really working, and grey can be such an awkward colour to photograph just right. Thankfully the luscious silk in the Semi~Precious gives it just the right amount of lustre.

And this is 'Annular', a deep slouchy beret knitted with Alisha Goes Around's Bevy of Swans DK. This is one Hat that really loves a lot of hair! It's crown shaping is worked concentrically, rather than the more regular mitred or balanced crown shaping methods, and the stitch pattern really highlights the shape.

Kinda goes without saying that Roberta is a natural in front of the camera! I hope I'll get the chance to work with her again, she's good fun. On saturday the lovely lovely Charlie arrives, daughter of my good friend Susan Crawford and model of the Meret. Having worked with Charlie before I know we're going to have a great photoshoot or two, and I know she's super excited about a visit to Italy! We're pulling out all the stops for this book; I do hope you like it when it's published.

That's all for now, more will be revealed soon enough. It's back to that pile of tech edits for me!

Meet the new Hats..

Yesterday saw us out and about on the first photo shoot for Classic Woolly Toppers. 

I've not spoken much yet about this collection, and thought I'd share a couple of photos to give you a flavour of what it's all about. I'm super chuffed with these shots - we had an amazing photographic day and Alyx was such a star! The sense of achievement yesterday was overwhelming, and the feeling of all that creativity flowing has been sorely missed.

The 'Imagiro' Hat, knit with Shibui Knits Baby Alpaca DK.

Everyone seems to be loving this Hat! I won't reveal just yet how it's constructed, but I will say that it's a clever little Hat that can be worn in different ways. I think we had the most fun photographing this one and the surroundings couldn't have been more perfect.

A yet unnamed bucket style Hat, only finished in the 11th hour, knit with Malabrigo Arroyo. There's some interesting shaping going on at the crown too, adding to it's graphic look.

A yet unnamed asymmetrical cloche style Hat, knit with KnitPicks City Tweed DK. The brim on this one is of interest, and can be worn at different angles to enhance various looks.

Classic Woolly Toppers, like all the previous Woolly Toppers books in the series, is a collection of 10 designs based around a theme. Wee Woolly Toppers was all about baby Hats and Twisted Woolly Toppers bought us cables, bias and twist techniques. Classic Woolly Toppers is a fresh look at classic and favourite Hat styles. I've been having fun working through a whole bunch of Hat styles, and adding little details or unusual construction techniques where you might not usually find them. Infact, there may have to be a 2nd volume to this collection as I've had more ideas than there are spaces for Hats, and the ideas are still coming!

The Hats are all still at the writing, testing or editing phase, and we'll be looking at a late summer come early autumn release, just in time for the woolly Hat season. The patterns will be available individually, and when the book is ready for pre-order I'll be sure to let you know.

There's so much going on here, and it feels very exciting! I'm mindful to keep to a slower pace, so there's room for a wobble here and there to stop the stress piling up. But it is oh so good to be back in book mode and designing so many gorgeous Hats!

I'm so, so proud of these photos, too. Isn't it amazing how the creative juices pour after a dark period?