My Advanced Kitchener workshop had it's first airing at Edinburgh Yarn Festival this March. It wasn't an easy workshop to describe, or deliver for that matter. Whilst some students may have felt daunted and many students would have had the penny drop some time later, there were a number of students who 'clicked' within the 3hrs and absolutely loved it. It isn't an easy subject, but it's not difficult, either.

Let me go into a little more detail, in response to some feedback I received, and to help demystify this oh so favourite subject of mine.

 
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I asked for feedback at the end of my class at EYF, and the one thing that rang through was the wish for an intermediate level. I completely appreciate that a jump from regular Kitchener (or my beginners class) may seem a jump too far. I do see that, I promise. But there isn't an intermediate level.

Once you want to move beyond grafting stocking stitch, reverse stocking stitch, garter stitch and reverse garter stitch (all things I cover in my Kitchener Stitch - an Introduction class) then you have to make the leap - there's no other way to do it. Why? Well, because we have to change how we see grafting. And that's no bad thing.

When I was writing my first book, Going Straight, I knew how difficult it might be for some to get their heads around the sideways construction. Even my tech editor wanted some breathing space around other projects. That 90 degree shift in thinking is subtle, and it seemingly turns everything upside down (which of course, it doesn't... it's a mere shift...) and it can take a little getting used to. But once your brain has adjusted, it's pretty much plain sailing.

It's no different with grafting.

What you know about grafting now - working the two selvedge stitches then launching into a routine of working two stitches on the front needle then two on the back - subtly changes. It's a minor change. And if you think about it, you're still doing the same thing except you're starting the routine at a different point. Instead of working two stitches on the front needle, two on the back.. you start to work one stitch on the front needle, two on the back, then one on the front. In a nutshell, that's it (there's a little bit more, which I explain in the class) but that really is it.

It's all very well for me to say it's not rocket science as the one who's teaching it, so I won't. But it isn't beyond anyone. To some extent it's easier with less understanding of the common Kitchener stitches, mostly because there's less habit to be undone. The class is a fresh perspective on a subject that many find daunting. And that fresh perspective describes the whys and wherefores, the engineering behind your stitches. It's eye opening.

And I'm kinda thinking that maybe calling it an Advanced class needs to change...

I'm teaching this class at Woollinn, Dublin, in a few weeks. As I've mentioned before, due to my health and stuff I'm take a long break from travelling to shows and teaching workshops, so I'd grab this chance while you can to come and pick my brains in person.

This blog post was bought to you from my new studio with the support of a new wrist brace. More about the new studio shortly.

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AuthorWoolly Wormhead

This is the last new release for this month!

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Clearly when I designed and knitted these Hats last year I was enjoying the subtlety of simple stitch patterns. The stitch pattern in Shuttered as a super easy to memorise 2-round pattern, and it's framed perfectly by the horizontal chains.

The featured yarn is a merino DK from Live or Dye yarn, based here in Italy. You may remember that I used Lorena's yarn for my Contoura pattern last summer. Well, Shuttered has also been translated into Italian and that version will be available on Ravelry (I've only English patterns on this website at the moment)

There are a bumper 5 sizes included in the pattern, as well as the illustrated tutorials for the techniques used. Round it off with a pompom and we have an instant winner.

Members of The Woolly Hat Society will want to check their inboxes today for details of the new releases and current promotions, as well as the two new free patterns. I did mention that it was a bumper issue this month, yes?

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AuthorWoolly Wormhead

I've two new premium patterns due to be published this thursday, and there's the first of them: Ponderosa.

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This is one of my favourite new designs! I love the subtle and striking stitch pattern, and I'm really pleased with how it works with the yarn within this design. It's simple yet oh so satisfying.

The featured yarn is Delice DK from The Mulberry Dyer and it's a delicious blend of alpaca and silk. The colours within the yarn softly shimmer and it is just beautiful.

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There are 4 sizes included within the pattern, covering 17in to 23in heads. The Hat is worked bottom up and in the round. As always, illustrated tutorials are included to help you through the techniques.

I'm also really chuffed with these photos. dark and moody is my default setting yet it's really hard to achieve here, where the natural daylight is so harsh. We're currently planning a sort of mini photographic studio to be built within my new studio (more about that another time) so that we don't have to wait for the narrow window that the light affords us at dusk.

And there we have Ponderosa

Not only does the pattern remind us of pine cones, but ponderosa also means "thoughtful woman" in Italian, and it sums up both the Hat and the mood of the photographs perfectly.

I've one more new release to share tomorrow :)

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AuthorWoolly Wormhead

It's become a bit of a thing that for Aran's birthday, I publish a new free pattern.

As I was going through my hard-drives recently I found these photos that we took when Aran was ill with chronic kidney disease and I realised that I'd not published this pattern yet! So I've dusted it off and got it ready to go on 13th March.

Members of The Woolly Hat Society get exclusive early access to free patterns, and as the next newsletter is going out this coming thursday (2nd March) you may want to sign up if you haven't already. It's going to be a bumper issue this month!

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Can't believe these were 4 years ago - he's grown so much, and is so much better. He'll be 10 this year :s

Gotta love a nicely fitted crown, no?

The Hat comes in 3 sizes and is the sample used about 2/3 of a skein of Malabrigo Merino Worsted.

There's another freebie to come - details tomorrow!

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AuthorWoolly Wormhead

I've put together two very special prizes for #wwmkal2017 participants. Each prize has a skein of Sparkleduck Genie & a skein hand-dyed by me.

You'll all know that we lost Heather of SparkleDuck this year & knowing that she'd want to see these skeins knitted & used, I thought the most apt thing for me to do would be to buy them from Michael at Fibre East for our 10th MHAL.

The skeins hand-dyed by me were created during my time with the brilliant Daisy at her Devon Sun Yarns retreat in Lyme Regis. These are special weekends & I can't recommend them highly enough. As well as guest tutor weekends there's also dyeing weekends & if I were you, I'd think about booking.

10 years is a long time to be running the Mystery Hat-a-longs & this is my way of saying thank you for all your support!

Simply tag your Ravelry projects with 'wwmkal2017' & I'll select 2 random winners next week, one for each Hat.

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AuthorWoolly Wormhead
CategoriesKnitting