Highland Hats !

Posted on April 15, 2014 by Jen

Hats were the occasion this morning.

We opened the cedar trunk with knitted hats, scarves, gloves, and sweaters . . .

jenjoycedesign©Vineyard Rows2

Niece Who Is Fourteen did a stellar job of giving new life to the rows of vines with deep red clusters of California Cabernet Sauvignon grapes . . .

and a fresh perspective to my Vineyard Rows California Highland Bonnet !

(( In case you haven’t yet seen, you can find details of Vineyard Rows on the pattern page HERE ))

Then,

modelled by youngest niece ,

we have a new look for Dicey Highland Bonnet too . . .

Something about the charm of an Eleven Year Old . . .

(( and you can find details about Dicey HERE ))

Oh, but that’s not all ! Last-not-least, a hat made by Lizzi from the actual Scottish Borders !

(( I’ve not yet found occasion to bring out and photograph, until this very morning ))

. . . just adorable isn’t it Lizzi ? A treasured gift for certain, which I think is just as ‘cute as eggs’ ! xx

We also got some great shots for the new & improved design of Penny Candy Socks, too, but I won’t show you until the pattern is all ready to go . So watch this space !

Taking Yarn Stock : Hebridean 2ply

Posted on July 22, 2013 by Jen

Yarn. I have more yarn than I need, but still far less than many. Here is Virtual Yarns Hebridean 2ply fanned out on the table. I love this yarn, so now I’ve got all the colors, ordered over a couple of years , beginning back in 2009 when I fell in love with color work after buying Alice Starmore’s Book of Fair Isle Knitting. I will replenish as used, so there will always be enough of any one color to snatch up in the throes of creative impulse. As you can see, some have already gotten knit up…

The camera never can give a totally color neutral eye, it always seems to favor one tone over others, and the greens & neutrals to the left are not very vivid. You can certainly see better representations of the colors on the Hebridean 2ply yarns page of their website.

Virtual Yarns sources premium quality pure, new British wool, then it is dyed in the wool and combined into the unique blends inspired by the natural environment of the Hebrides. I love that !

Here is all the thirty-five colors , attached to their original labels, in one-yard lengths, optimal in versatility as far as shade card archives go.

* * *

Note about the photo at the top of the page : It is the new table we just moved into the house from the workshop over the weekend! A project Jeff has been laboring over for months, the post & beam table, that which has made me seriously proud of him, he’s such an amazing artisan with wood!

((And yes, in case you’re wondering, that *is* Emma’s yellow football and water dish.))

Tartan & Tweed Fair Isle Mitts Pattern !

Posted on February 20, 2013 by Jen

Thirty-Six hours ago I went into my little pattern-writing cave, bid good-bye to the world, barely noticed the light snowfall we had yesterday, let the house turn to squalor (happens fast with a German Shedder for a housemate, who by the way, was giving me the sad-eye the whole time as we didn’t walk one bit), the clouds rolled on by, the wind blew, earth circled the sun, and I drank colossal amount of tea, and lavishing my appetite with mostly shortbread (which I bake regularly!) So, well friends, I just crawled out of my cave. Two. Days. Later.

Wrestling with technically precise words is not my sport of choice nor talent forte, but I’ll tell you , if it weren’t for Morrie at the other end of the chitty-chatty box in gmail and even the phone numerous amounts of times ~~~ I never would have lasted in that dark & scary cave. So first of all, thank you Morrie, for your abundant editing genius, and your effervescent good humor.

Second of all, I want to thank Lizzi, for her convincing me I could be a real knitter, write a real pattern, and even be a real designer. Liz, you’re right, I can be as self-doubting as I am use to being, but then I’ll just go ahead and do it anyway, and be proud about it too. So Lizzi ~~ ” well done you ! ”

Now I’ll mention lastly, that the first ever paid-for pattern for 2 bux is for sale on Ravelry. Hmm… I feel a little old-fashioned asking two dollars for a pattern which took me (and lets not forget Morrie) two days to write. But hey ! I am good with that !

So here she is, shyly sitting in the shadows like a wallflower among great designers and pattern-writers ~ over yonder in Ravelry ~ the pattern for sale.

(Oh, and yes, that is my Really Red Fair Isle cardigan & tam the mitts are cozied up to !)

Refining

Posted on February 8, 2013 by Jen

I took a dive into my stash of Scottish yarns .

Virtual Yarns, Jamiesons Spindrift and Elemental Effects !

A bit like a wild fox diving nose first into the snow

after a mouse in a wintery landscape !

. . . and up I came, with these three skeins !

“Mountain Hare”, “Red Deer” , and “Sun Dew”

of the Hebridean 2-ply from Virtual Yarns.

A little thicker & fluffier than Jamiesons. I mean to refine things a little , from DK to Fingering, from Superwash to Virtual Yarns… all of a mitty sort of persuasion.

Fair Isle Waistcoat Revisited

Posted on October 22, 2011 by Jen

Oh yes, and this one too, brought forth from the back burner, from the beginning of May.

I have since sorted out the pattern improvisation disaster from the beginning, in this post of several months back ~ here . I’m really enjoying how the colors are working, and how the pattern borders are beginning to contrast from the previous border. So fun!