Get Knitted Blog

Yarn of the week

2012-02-08T10:18:00.004Z

Hey ho, it's been a busy ole time, what with festivities, workshops and other busyness. Now it's time to revive the Yarn of the Week tradition.
When all 20 shades of Debbie Bliss Rialto Lace turned up we oohed and aahed like never before. She certainly has excelled herself with the colour range and the accompanying book has got something for everyone, from the tentative beginner to the lace master.

Beginner - Skinny Scarf. Just one ball and a simple repeated pattern will get you practising lace and wearing your creation in no time.
Intermediate - Sideways knitted cardigan (pictured on the front of the book) - as the name suggests the main body of this garment is knitted sideways. The construction is very simple but gives the impression of being fitted.
More advanced - Bobble edged shrug - this garment, like the one before it, is knitted on 3mm needles, giving it great drape. Although the stitch is more complex, it's repeated all over and the design is simple, so it's still not too fiendish!

2011-09-29T11:05:00.002+01:00

Quick update on the Yarn of the Week. We're all going a bit gaga over the new Rowan Tweed, which comes in dk and 4 ply weights. Finally, a range with a decent colour spectrum! If you want to knit Fairisle you do need lots of colours to choose from. Catherine had never attempted the technique before but so loved the look of Martin Storey's bag from his Nordic Knits book that she forced herself. Surprise surprise, she found it wasn't nearly as scary as she had feared! Now she's using the two handed method with nary a thought.
So, apart from the bag project, here are our top picks for fairisle nuts from beginner to confident.

Easy - Thora, from Rowan's Nordic Tweed book. It's just a plain sweater with an intarsia placement motif on the left breast. Classic and entirely doable for beginners. If you're really scared, you can Swiss Darn the whole motif on top of the finished garment.
Intermediate - Finna Sweater from Nordic Tweed. This time you're using two colours throughout, in the Nordic style, but at least there's no need to keep changing colours. Again, very classic and wearable.
More advanced - do you fancy a bit of Fairisle and intarsia? If you're up for the challenge, then Birgitta or Geirhild from Nordic Tweed will help you while away those long winter evenings!

YARN OF THE WEEK

2011-08-03T09:21:00.005+01:00

Pictured - the latest free pattern available when you buy Rowan Big Wool. The Eirwen capelet is the easiest ever fashion knit. Using Big Wool and Kid Classic, this piece can be finished in an evening. Come instore to get your free copy and browse our other free patterns.
The new season goodies are coming in thick and fast now - the latest of which is Debbie Bliss. We think that the Riva is the best of the bunch: a lovely heathery range of colours and a soft bouncy texture. It's sure to be a favourite for snuggly winter knits. The new books are full of easy to make garments that'll have you swathed in comfiness in no time.
Our choices for your first projects in this yarn are:
Easy - Generous Shrug from the Simply Glen book. All Glen patterns are suitable for Riva and this book contains nothing but easy peasy knits.
Intermediate - Shoulder Cape from the Riva book. If you only knit one thing this season it must surely be a capelet.
More advanced - Debbie Bliss this season is all about keeping it simple and quick, so even the Lace Edged Dress, from the Riva book is only made more complex buy a traditional Old Shale lace hem and cuffs.

Plus - don't forget that many of our Debbie Bliss yarns (including Glen) are discounted and many others remain at last season's prices, so check out the whole range.

Rico Pom Pon

2011-06-23T13:09:00.002+01:00

Here's one we made earlier...... Now knitters are turning their thoughts to the festive season and craft stalls, here's something that you can make in about an hour! Rico Pom Pon was very popular last year but some knitters are all scarfed-out and wanting to make something new with the yarn. How about a teacosy - functional, decorative, simple and funky! Knitted just like the scarf but cast on 20 stitches and knit 30 rows. Cast off. Make a second one and you will have used up no more than half your ball, so you'll have enough left to make a child's scarf or another cosy!
Place the two pieces together and sew together the tops and bottoms, leaving gaps for the spout and handle. Gather one side (the top of the cosy) and thread some matching ribbon through and tie in a pretty bow. Voila - you've made your first gift knit!

2011-06-10T12:26:00.003+01:00

Yarn of the week time again, and we're following the recent trend of discounting the featured yarn.
Cascade 220 has always sold really well for us, and it's a firm favourite on Ravelry. An aran weight yarn, as the name suggests, one hank goes a very long way, and at the new lower price you get a lot of pure wool for your money. It also felts beautifully and has always been used for the Noni bags.
We have some old patterns still on sale but some lovely new ones as well.

Easy - Cascading Fuschias Market bag. A simple shape and easy peasy if you leave out the flowers.
Intermediate - Crossover bags. More shaping involved but simple stripes or edgings make this very doable, and there's a size to suit every occasion
More advanced - The Bettie Boop. Sure to be a hit this feminine number is sharply shaped but softened by the addition of lots of sweet flowers.

New Sock Yarns instore

2011-05-12T12:59:00.000+01:00

Just a quick one to say our sock island in store has been bolstered by a new and limited addition. Schoeller and Stahl Fortissimo Mexico has been offered to us by our supplier as a one-off. We have a few balls each of 12 colours and it's a great deal at only £6.99 a ball. Grab it while you can!

2011-05-06T09:46:00.002+01:00

We're doing a bit of furniture rearranging in the shop to make room for a couple of visitors tomorrow. Natural Dye Studio are going to set up their trunk show in our big window so don't forget to come along and squish some quality loveliness.

Also making a guest appearance will be the unmissable Green Baskets.
This is a company that we keep bumping into at various fairs and being wowed by. We challenge you to resist these wonderful handmade colourful creations - just right for stashing and displaying your gorgeous new yarn. Plus they're surprisingly well-priced for the quality of craftsmanship.

Yarn of the week is accompanied by a 10% discount - online and instore. It's actually two yarns - Louisa Harding Ondine and Ianthe.
Louisa is well known for her exquisite detailing and use of lace and cabled textures. If this is all too much for you at present then an easy pattern is George, in the Ianthe pattern book. It just has a little lace border on the body and sleeve cuffs but the rest is plain.
Intermediate is very much a favourite with the staff at Get Knitted. In the Athena book is 'Take Five'. This is a lovely lace pattern but as it is a simple shrug or shawl the shaping is limited so you can focus on the stitch pattern.
A bag is the Advanced project. In the Ondine book, the 'Nautilus' bag is a celebration of cables which can be embellished with pearl buttons.

2011-04-28T13:29:00.004+01:00

Treat yourself like Royalty this bank holiday weekend with our special Royal wedding offer of FREE postage and packing for any order, any value and any country.

Celebrate in knitterly style!

2011-04-28T10:33:00.001+01:00

Here's a link to The Knitter magazine's blog. Our Natural Dye Studio Trunk show is mentioned - only a few sleeps to go til May 7th!.

2011-04-06T12:45:00.002+01:00

Sublime have always been great for their pattern book collection but now you can buy individual patterns. A few of the most popular designs are available now with more to follow, hopefully, in the future. If you want any single patterns please phone or email and we can pick them out for you.

Yarn of the week...
Sublime again, as we have our 10% discount offer still running in the shop and online.
The new Baby Silk and Bamboo yarn is well worthy of the Little Vintage Christening Coat, from book no.648 (more advanced). It's actually not as complicated as it looks - most of it is done in stocking stitch after an edging of little bells, and then embroidered afterwards, so it's more a case of practising your chain stitch first.
Intermediate is a cute little gansey inspired sweater for boys that's nice and plain on the body and has ribbed and cabled sleeves. Design no. 6018.
Easy is a classic wrapover Ballerina Cardie from book 649 that'll be lifted to the next level by being knitted in the Silk and Bamboo.

2011-03-24T11:11:00.002Z

Yarn of the week....This week it's Rowan Savannah. With the improved weather (at least in Bristol) we're looking forward to balmy summer days and nights and knitting up quick easy holiday knits. Savannah is perfect for that as you don't need too fancy a pattern to get the look. Patterns have all been chosen from the Savannah Collection.
Easy - Dune - a cool waterfall style cardigan to suit any age - even fussy teenagers!
Intermediate - Harbour - ok, it's crochet, but it's essentially granny squares sewn together, so even a knitter-turned-crocheter can achieve this
More advanced - Oasis (pictured) - a lovely textured yolk and all-over patterning provide a vintage feel to this, the most challenging knit in the collection.

New Sock Patterns

2011-03-17T11:07:00.005Z

Pictured left is one of my latest free sock patterns, 'Mellifera' (which means 'honey-bearing' in latin). If you buy a hank of JillyBean Twinkle Sock yarn the cost of the pattern will be automatically deducted at the Checkout. The lace insert panel is inspired by an Eastern European folk pattern traditionally used to knit stockings, called 'honeybee'. The sock is knitted toe-up by just casting on in waste yarn and grafting in the usual way after the sock is completed and the waste yarn cut away. The pattern can also be bought on its own for £2.05.
Also available free with yarn or bought on its own is a bedsock pattern (above right) in King Cole Baby Alpaca dk. It's also knitted toe-up but I'm working on a top-down version as the mock cable cuff detail works either way up.
YARN OF THE WEEK is our old favourite Rowan Kid Silk Haze. We're doing an offer online and instore of 10% discount until the end of April.
Patterns we can suggest for this yarn are:
Easy - 'Hover' from Rowan Studio 22 - a very simple stocking stitch polo neck sweater
Intermediate - 'Down' from Kim Hargreaves 'Misty' - a clever striped sweater achieved by alternating knitting the yarn single and then double
More advanced - 'Pimpernel' from Rowan 49 - a mesh stitch top in fashionable square shape.

2011-03-03T10:33:00.003Z

Yarn of the week! Colinette Jitterbug has always been a favourite sock yarn here at Getknitted. For a while it was the only sock yarn I would knit with - nothing could beat it for bounce, body and joyful colour. The great softness lends itself well to scarves and shawls as well. Those who want to try laceweight without forking out for expensive laceweight yarns will often turn to this. Then I relented and used other yarns. It's still my favourite, though, and this time the yarn of the week has an added attraction of being on sale at OVER 20% OFF! It's £7.99 a hank while stocks last, and here are some pattern ideas to whet your appetite:

Easy: Fiber Trends AC23 and AC32 - two sets of scarves shawlettes - one straight, one triangular, that have minimal lace stitch detail.

Intermediate - Fiber Trends AC49 - Peak Experience Socks - a gentle feather and fan stitch sock - just right for showing off the colour change wowness of Jitterbug

More advanced - Fiber Trends AC35 - Walking Away Socks - for those not satisfied with pattern stopping at the heel flap, you can take it all the way down.

2011-02-17T12:48:00.002Z

Yarn of the week! It's Calico but Stripey! This yarn is really starting to sell well, and at £3.00 for almost 160 metres, it's easy to see why. Fibre content is 60% cotton and 40% acrylic. Suggested patterns: Easy - Calico 9007 ( knits from 3 balls) Intermediate - Summer Stripes 9418 (easy but with a little full fashioning) More advanced - Summer Stripes 9419 (practise your Old Shale lace stitch first!) All patterns in sizes from 24 to 46 inch chest.
Don't forget that we have many, many Sirdar patterns in the shop - for all the yarns that we have online, and for some others as well. If you'd like a single pattern, please give us a ring on 0117 3005211 or email sales@getknitted.com and we can help you out.

Spring Summer Stuff

2011-02-08T12:59:00.004Z

Well, we're well on our way to being fully stocked up with all our Spring/Summer ranges. Best in Show at the moment seems to be Sirdar Simply Recycled, as it's such good value, and it feels nice and soft, and the colours look great up close.
We've just got a new lot of dishcloth cotton in (bleached and unbleached) so grab that while you can and jump on the dishcloth/facecloth bandwagon.

I'm just getting everything sorted for my next workshop - Saturday 12 Feb is Crochet beginners and improvers. If anyone is interested in workshops but can't make the date set, just contact us and we can discuss alternative dates in the future. I'm already planning next year's classes. I'm on a sock journey at the moment, so I'll do a re-run of my Basic Sock class, and I'll do a more advanced Toe-Up one also.

Yarn of the week, as featured instore....This year it's all about laceweight. Exclusive JillyBean Lovely Lace handdyed by Jill Jones of Get Knitted. At only £18 you get a lot of luxury for your money! Suggested patterns to make with this yarn: Easy - Fiber Trends 'Landscape Shawl' (S2002), Intermediate - Fiber Trends 'Flower Basket Lace Shawl and Scarf' (S2014),
Challenge - Manos del Uruguay 'Jayne'

2011-01-13T11:35:00.003Z

It's that time of year again.... Pop into the shop for special deals that don't apply online, if you're fortunate enough to live within striking distance of us.

Just sent out the second of the Best of British Sock Club yarns to all the members. There are still memberships up for grabs so maybe in the run-up to Valentine's Day this would be a good gift solution.

We're busy in the shop making up new samples for Spring - remember, if you have any requests for small projects, either knitted or crochet, that you'd like to see as a free pattern, do let us know.

Just over a week to go til my first workshop of the year - 22nd January - our first ever 'learn to knit' full day class. If you know of anyone who's keen to learn, let them know, as there are still spaces.
The Saturday after that sees our first ever Sock knitting workshop - 29th January. Again, there are still spaces, so let us know if you'd like to sign up.

The Phenomenon that is JILLYBEAN!

2011-01-05T12:33:00.003Z

In her own words, here's our Jill to introduce you to the lovely and delicious Jillybean yarn experience.
'Hi, I am Jillybean! The name comes from my original venture of making bags from
recycled cotton velvet, which I dyed in as many colours as I could imagine. The bags were
really patched, appliqued and embroidered works of art and I named them Jillybean bags.
Iʼve always been a textile junkie, making almost anything from something else with the aim
that anything, however functional, can be a delight to the senses. I clothed my four
children from jumble sale clothes which I adapted to my own designs. After experimenting
with dyeing and overdyeing my creations I started selling clothes that the children had
grown out of and soon built up a waiting list.
I started knitting and used up odd balls with a similar result. I met a lady who owned a
designer childrens clothes boutique in Bath and started designing and making for the
shop. Once the children had started school I decided to do a degree in Fine Art and was
fortunate enough to win some awards and a scholarship to do an MA in art at UWE.
Drawn back to wool and knitting, I gravitated towards Get Knitted and became a regular
customer. I loved it so much I got a Saturday job helping out at the till and advising
customers! One of the best things about working here (besides the most amazing people)
is being surrounded by colour all day - heaven! So one thing led to another and it dawned
on me that as well as dyeing the yarn for my own designs I could dye a bit more and
supply the shop. So here I am!
My inspiration for colours comes from my surroundings at home, and my art training. I
have always seen the world in colour and tend to see everyday situations as colours.
People have colours, moods are colours and places evoke colour associations. I live in the
heart of the countryside and track all the changing combinations of colours in the hills,
hedgerows, and especially the skies and this daily interaction with constant change and
movement is probably my greatest influence in all my thinking.
I am afflicted with the need to make! My whole life has been a quest to make as many
beautiful things as I can (although I never bettered the children!) and if I can get a smile
when my garments run about on small children or someone handles my yarn then I feel I
have achieved something good. We should all try to extract as much fun from everyday
encounters as possible We should all try to extract as much fun as possible from everyday
encounters. So I hope you enjoy the experience of knitting with my Granny Yarns. X'

Looking forward to 2011

2010-12-30T11:23:00.003Z

Did you all have a great Christmas? Hope so. Here's to a creative and productive New Year.
As I have another Crochet Workshop coming up fairly soon, I've been getting into designing more and more complex things (there are still not enough nice crochet patterns around!) Pictured is the Eleanor Capelet, free pattern available instore when you buy 5 balls of Sirdar Big Softie. It's done on a 10mm hook and worked from the neck down. The fastening is done using the Clover Rose Maker.

SOCK CLUB & SHOP-ONLY SOCK YARNS

2010-12-22T14:35:00.003Z

Last-minute season's greetings and despatches from snowy Bristol!

We've sent out the first of the Best of British Sock Club yarns to customers and already had very positive feedback. Don't forget that you can still join the club and we'll send you the previous yarn/s with your first order.

Sock knitting is more popular than ever and the yarn makes a great gift, either as the finished article, or a sock kit. OPAL sock yarns are back instore, and widely thought of as the best quality. We have handpicked a few shades from the 2010 ranges that give the best Fairisle effect. You won't find them online, so come in, phone or email to get hold of them. As well as that, we have some cute little 10gm hanks on a special 3-for-a fiver deal to hang on your tree or make mini stocking decorations/keyrings with.

2010-12-16T12:05:00.005Z

Festive greetings to all our customers. We've had our seasonal visits from the yarn reps and oohed and aahed over the latest Louisa Harding. Her luscious designs will be making a comeback soon, so watch out for cables, lace and exquisite detailing. We'll be stocking a fresh new spring yarn of hers too.
Sirdar promises much, including a recycled cotton dk at a very low price, along with some very pretty patterns. Baby Bamboo and Calico are both going multicoloured.
Sublime will offer a luxury high-tussah silk content yarn and more irresistible books to add to your collections.
Rowan looks as good as ever with two new yarns for Spring/Summer, one of which (Panama) echoes the very popular Lima. Amy Butler continues her yarn journey with a second pattern book, containing more crochet this time. Why not take advantage of our instore sale on her 'Belle Organic' yarns? Also coming is an adorable pattern book for tots.
A couple of months ago Eirwen from Knitwitches paid us a visit and totally wowed us with her new laceweights. As lace continues to be a growing trend, get ready for her unbelievably soft and luxurious pure cashmeres, silks and camels.
Many of you will have seen instore the phenomenon that is Jillybean! The lovely Jill has been working part time with us, but is mainly an artist. More blogging to come on her.... but for now, be aware that you can't buy her 'Granny Yarn' anywhere else but right here!
Rico is a relative newcomer to our shelves but goes from strength to strength with a new sock yarn with a high bamboo content - just right for those who love a touch of softness around the toes! As for right now (as in, correct at time of blogging) we have shop-only printed shades of Can Can. Get them while they're hot!

2010-09-23T14:58:00.000+01:00

ERRATA for Chunky Cable wrap - Sublime Chunky Merino Tweed free pattern....This affects the smallest size only when knitting the ribbing.

Starting 26cm from cast-on edge, with rs facing, pick up and k 117/125/133 sts evenly around rh edge of cable band. Mark centre st and beg/end of round. Begin working in rounds.

Rnd 1: K1, [p2, k2] to centre 3 sts, p 3, [k2, p2] to last st, k1.

This rnd sets rib patt.

Rep rnd twice more.

Next rnd: rib to centre st. M1, patt1, M1. (119/127/135) sts.

Rep these 4 rnds 5 more times. (129/137/145) sts.

Next rnd: work in rib patt as set, casting off centre st.

***

Working back and forth on 1^st 64/68/72 sts only, rib one row.

2010-09-22T09:19:00.005+01:00

Welcome to the Autumn newsletter. You can pick up a paper copy from the shop, or when you place an order online, you can request a copy to be included via the comments box.

The flower pictured is a detail from one of our many free patterns which you will find instore. Some, like the Escape Chunky Christmas Stocking and the Baby Cash hat, are now available online when you order the relevant yarn. Most, though, are in our free patterns folder instore, so you'll have to come and visit us to browse them!
Talking of flowers, our lovely floral window display is in full bloom and we invite you to come and pick one. Bring it to the till with a cash donation (suggested minimum £1) and we will pass all the proceeds on to PARKINSONS UK, our chosen charity. Each time a flower disappears we'll replace it with a knitted or crocheted Autumn leaf.

The big news instore is our new SHOP LOYALTY SCHEME, which has been running for a few weeks now. It's all very simple and all to your benefit. Just come to the till with a purchase of £10 or more and we'll allocate you an index card, which we keep for you. Each £10 spent earns one point, and when you reach ten points we award you a voucher to be spent next time you come in. There are no time limits on anything and we won't pass any personal details on to anyone else, so there's literally nothing to lose!

Finally, a word about Christmas. Come into the shop now and pick up a competition entry. Completing a simple wordsearch could win you a great Christmas goodie bag, chosen by the Get Knitted team! Leave your completed sheet with us, along with your contact details and we will draw the lucky winner on Saturday 4th December at 12 noon. Good luck!

Excerpts from the Shop Newsletter April-June

2010-04-13T00:07:00.007+01:00

Time for an introduction...Emma Rowlstone will be familiar to many as she has been working in the shop alternate Saturdays. She now joins us full time and one of her first tasks was to come up with a free pattern for April. This should bea real winner! A teacosy (what a great gift idea) that only takes one hank of yarn! Use one hank of each of three shades for the striped version. You can get the pattern free of charge when you buy any Cascade 220 in the shop. All of our previous free patterns are still available too. Do you have any requests for future patterns? Let us know of any (small!) knitting or crochet projects that you would love to tackle but struggle to find patterns for and we’ll see what we can come up with.

In amongst all our other jobs we’re still finding time to knit and crochet flowers for our Summer window display. We’d love for more of you to sign up to make some flower corsages to be added to our arbour and sold at the end of the Summer. It’s all for a great cause - Parkinson’s Uk. If you’re handy with a sewing needle you may prefer to make fabric flowers, which would be equally welcome. Next time you pop into the shop you can pick up a postcard with a free crochet flower pattern, so if you’ve never tried crochet before, why not use this an opportunity to give it a go!

Last word for now.....When you come into the shop in the month of April don’t forget to pick up a voucher at the till and in May you’ll get 10% off yarn instore.

Slipsimple scarf free pattern

2010-03-01T19:46:00.005Z

Stripe it your way with a simple slip stitch rib pattern for a quick finish.

materials
Sirdar Balmoral (125m per 50gm) 2 x A (pink)
1 x B (cream)
1 x C (grey)

tension
24 sts and 28 rows to 10cm on 5mm needles over slip stitch rib pattern

size
22 cm x 180 cm

Note: always slip stitches purlwise. Weave yarn not in use up side of work when changing colour every 2 rows.

Using 5mm needles and shade C, cast on 51 sts and begin slip stitch pattern thus:

Row 1(r side): ybk, sl 2 (p 2, ybk, sl 1) to last st, p 1.

Row 2: sl 1 (p 1, k 2) to last 2 sts, p 1, k 1. These 2 rows form the pattern. Repeat these 2 rows, following the colour sequence thus:

Rows 1 - 6: C Rows 7 - 8: B Rows 9 - 10: C Repeat last 4 rows 10 more times (50 rows). Rows 51 - 56: B Now work 120 rows in A. Rows 177 - 182: B Rows 183 - 184: C Rows 185 - 186: B Repeat last 4 rows 10 more times (226 rows). Rows 227 - 232: C Repeat whole colour sequence once more (464 rows). Cast off in rib pattern.

This scarf is reversible so sew in yarn ends carefully. Dampen piece and pin out (right side down) on blocking surface to given measurements. Leave until flat and dry

Abbreviations: sl: slip st: stitch ybk: yarn back
This pattern is available free of charge when purchasing Sirdar Balmoral dk or other yarn to make scarf.

This pattern is registered to Becky Murray and Get Knitted. Feel free to use for your own personal use but please do not knit or sell the pattern for profit.

SSS/0110/PT

NEWSLETTER JAN - MARCH

2010-02-27T00:00:00.012Z

Welcome to our quarterly newsletter bringing the latest from your favourite yarn shop. Take a look at the must-have new patterns and yarns featuring instore very soon...

Rowan Spring/Summer looks lovely. The three collections, entitled Serenity, Halcyon Days and Jamboree, span vintage elegance and joyful optimism and will enable you to try simple and complex techniques. Kaffe’s Summer House sees Kaffe Fassett use Summer Tweed to its full potential on throws, cushion covers and wall hangings.

Crochet fans will be pleased to learn that the first ever crochet collection Rowan Summer Crochet is launched. 12 simple yet beautiful designs by Marie Wallin (pictured above) featuring Cotton Glace and Siena will tempt the most ardent crochet refusenik to pick up a hook.

The big new yarn this year is Purelife ‘Revive’. It’s not only a beautiful double knit (we’ve had a play with it and been entranced by all the pretty colours within it) but virtuous too, comprising recycled silk, cotton and viscose sourced from used garments. 8 luscious shades in a tweedy finish knit into a luxurious yet hard-wearing garment. In the Purelife Recycled Collection Marie Wallin dedicates 16 designs for men and women to this yarn.

Casual Classics by Martin Storey features 12 designs for women. As it strongly features Rowan Pima Cotton we will introduce this popular and high quality yarn to our range.

Those knitting for children are in for a treat from Rowan. Miniature Classics by Martin Storey for children aged 0 to 3 years, features Handknit dk, Calmer among others and a range of simple and complex vintage-inspired clothes plus toys and accessories.

Rowan Kids for their older siblings (6 to 12 yrs) has 18 designs by Sarah Hatton and Lisa Richardson. Bright and funky designs feature some hand printing and stencil dyeing, using All Seasons Cotton, Siena and other classic Rowan summer yarns.

Please note: many Rowan pattern books are now discontinued but we have permission to provide photocopies of patterns no longer available for those customers buying the yarn. Please ask to view our back-catalogue.

sale time!
Many patterns are now down to 50p so come and have a look. On sale in the shop we have Rowan, Araucania, some Debbie Bliss, all Mirasol and Louisa Harding, among others. Bag a bargain and start next Christmas’ knitting now! More lines will be added to our sale section when we have time to sort through it!

Two very sought-after yarn labels have arrived. Knitwitches features laceweight and 4 ply in nothing but the most luxurious fibres. The Kidsilk is pure heaven in a hank! Also we can’t believe the shades achieved with so gentle a dyeing process in the Natural Dye Studio range. Our new great value Rico sock yarns are selling well. The Santa Fe and Mexico ranges will be added to soon.

More from Sirdar....Snuggly Baby Crofter arrives: 5 shades giving the softness of Snuggly with the Fairisle patterning of Crofter. Our patterns change constantly – there are always far more in shop than we can fit on the website. A recent change is the Eco Wool dk: the popular books are now available as single patterns.

Sublime goes from strength to strength. The new summer yarn Bamboo and Pearls is just that! For those who love to try unusual fibres, how about 70% bamboo and 30% pearl fibre!! 9 lustrous shades and the accompanying book 16 simply elegant designs for women and girls by Sarah Hatton make a real treat for the needles. Add to your collection also both the 2nd Sublime Babies 4 ply book and the 6th dk book

Debbie Bliss news: those of you who loved Stella will love Amalfi – a dk version of the popular yarn. Accompanying it is a book of patterns in her inimitable style. Eco baby is similar to Aran weight Eco cotton but knits up like Baby Cashmerino. There is also a book of patterns for stylish and eco friendly tots.

In other news, Get Knitted staff get creative with free patterns! Following on from Sue Morgan’s ever popular patterns the rest of us thought we’d have a bash. December’s glam gauntlets by the lovely Jill Jones in Noro Silk Garden Lite went very well and the pattern is still available from the shop when purchasing the yarn. January’s design is Becky Murray’s stripy Boden-esque scarf using Sirdar Balmoral dk. Coming up in February Catherine Mitchell makes her debut with lacy heart hand warmers. One more design will be added each month. What will we think of next.....?

Speaking of creative ... we’ve been lent some rather nice props by a local garden centre to make a wonderful window display. Our plan is to make a knitted flower garden. Please can you use any leftover pinks, reds and purples to make flowers, either knitted or crochet. We will lovingly arrange all contributions and grow our garden gradually. When Summer turns to Autumn we aim to sell the flowers and donate all profits to our chosen charity Parkinson's Disease Society

Any questions regarding the contents of this newsletter can be put to the Get Knitted staff in person, by email (sales@getknitted.com), by ‘phone (0117 3005211), or on Ravelry

It has been a while......

2009-09-17T11:33:00.002+01:00

As the end of summer draws ever nearer and the trees start to change colour and lose their leaves, seasonal knitters begin to return to their needles and we return to our blog. I will not repeat the promises made of well over a year ago and commit to daily or weekly postings, but will be happy to say we will do our best !

Over the last few weeks we have established our very own group on Ravelry called 'Get Knitted ~ In Stitches'. We have been thrilled that in a very short space of time we have gained over 90 members worldwide. The group offers an additional means of communication between ourselves and our friends and customers enabling those who live a long way away to feel part of our woolly world!

For those of you more local to the Bristol & Bath area that enjoy a visit to us, it may be worth popping into the diary a couple of forthcoming events :

~ Saturday 7th November 2009 from 10.30am - 5.00pm
The Get Knitted Team will be taking their 'GET KNITTED~GET HOOKED' roadshow to the MISI Makers event at the Paintworks in Bristol.
MISI ('Make It Sell It') is the UK's online craft marketplace. Homecrafters use the website www.misi.co.uk to set up their own online shops and sell their creations. Paintworks is Bristol's creative quarter, and the ideal venue for this launch event. An enjoyable day out and perfect start to Christmas shopping, Get Knitted will be their all day teaching knitting & crochet, offering advice and help and catching the inspired to take up the sticks!! It will be fun and informal and we would love to see you there.

~ Friday 4th December - Saturday 5th December
Get Knitted will be hosting it's very own Christmas Craftacular ! You will have the opportunity not only to enjoy our large store but also meet local artisans and craftspeople selling carefully handcrafted gift items. Inspiration abounds as the store comes to festive life in this Xmas Xtravaganza.

We are also starting to put together our schedule of Workshops for the coming year, so keep an eye on the website, and blog for a full and exciting programme of events.

More details to follow.
Happy Knitting!

Easter Greetings ~ New Things ~ Team Spirit

2008-03-24T15:49:00.002Z

Firstly may I start by wishing you all a Happy Easter....I realise it is a little later than is traditional, but technology, too much chocolate and two very active little girls have conspired against me this weekend.

Now I realise that what happens back of office has a certain enigmatic quality which in some respects should remain a mystery, but some things are worth shouting about. Not to dispell too many myths, the Get Knitted Team do not sit around knitting all day. Admittedly small parts of the day have us standing around a freshly delivered parcel saying 'Ooooooh' and sometimes 'Aaaaah' and this happened only last week when we were treated to new colours from Koigu and a new shipment of Lorna's Laces with new shades and their 'Little Cans of Paint'. Please remember we suffer...so you don't have to !!!! Keep checking out the website for these super new shades.

Most of the time we spend working our little hand knitted socks off dealing with orders, and we only recently recorded in one day, processing and packing 164 parcels to be delivered around the world, answering 221 emails, manning the shop which had customers in it the entire day, collating a further 72 orders for the next days posting and answering 47 phone calls !!! No mean feat for a team of 9

I have to tell you about the latest hair brained plan.....not strictly knitting related but marvellous all the same. Sue, Hannah, Jalea and myself from Get Knitted are in training. We form part of a team that will be running the Bristol Half Marathon in September this year. We will be running for a very worthy cause and something very dear to my heart...The Meningitis Research Foundation. Our team is of mixed abilities, is the kindest way of putting it ! But I cannot tell you all how proud I am of them. Alongside our normal blog we will keep you updated with our progress...the highs and the lows.

Anyway, more to follow in the next few days.....
Happy Easter
Laura

A Welcome to the World !

2008-03-24T15:40:00.002Z

The Get Knitted Team would like to welcome the bonny arrival of Scarlet, and congratulate Jules and James on the birth of their new daughter. Well done and good luck on your onward voyage into parenthood.....it often proves to be a complete mystery, but we muddle through !!!!!

Space...Best Wishes...and a New Season !

2008-02-10T17:19:00.000Z

Well what a hectic time we have been having here at Get Knitted.......we won't dwell on the gremlins from the previous post but take a deep breath and bring you the latest updates.

The first of which, is the issue of space. With all of the fantastic new season stock arriving, we had to look about the place and see where we could gain some space....we looked.....and there she was in all her blooming glory.....Jules ! She had been growing for some time, bless her, but it finally got to the stage that we couldn't convince her that her feet were still there anymore ! Watching her look at the things on the lower shelves knowing that they had become unobtainable was too much to bear ! She now moves on to a new and exciting phase in her life. We miss her already and wish her and James the absolute best on their voyage of discovery as parents.

We have all checked out the new season shapes, designs and yarns, have looked through the books and have oooohed and aaaahed. Colours seem to be bright and bold which is refreshing and seems to add a little hope for a better spring/summer than last year.

Now then if you are stuck for a Mothers Day gift idea, you may wish to keep checking out the website, as we are hoping to bring you magazine subscriptions fairly shortly, among other things......we will keep you posted.

As the weather is improving and our thoughts are turning to summer holidays and adventures both home and abroad. We would like you to consider sending us your pictures of 'Get Knitted' in the extreme ! There is however, a criteria....we would like to see the Get Knitted pen in the oddest, most famous or downright weirdest places in the world.....on board a pirate ship for example ! We would like to create a gallery of knitterly fun.

We know you are an intrepid lot...but please bear in mind that this is a bit of harmless fun.......do not take any unnecessary risks with your pens!

Okay then...that's me done for now....I will be back shortly with an exclusive interview with one of the Get Knitted team.....see what makes them knit, what gets them in a spin and what gets them in a knot !!!

Take care
Laura

Email problems and apologies

2008-01-30T11:30:00.000Z

Jalea here, hoping that our faithful readers will spread the word and apologize to those we can't get to.

We've started losing a lot of emails recently, which on top of everyone being ill at some point since Christmas has put us horribly behind. This week, for the first time, everyone is healthy, and even better, I've finally found what's been happening to all those lost emails!

I also discovered that we've been losing them for ages, so it must have seemed that we were ignoring you, sorry :(

This means the hopefully the email problem is fixed, but we have a huuuuge backlog of mails to get through (when we can find them for spam) so it's going to take a while!
The orders are also rather backlogged, but we seem to now be lurgy free (finally) so are working as hard as we can to catch up.

We can only offer our apologies to all our patient customers, and ask our loyal readers to spread the word that things are slower than usual for a while, but we are trying our very best!

If you want to chase orders, give us a ring (0117 300 5211).

A Resolution begins !

2008-01-24T16:06:00.000Z

We are racing towards the end of January and one of my New Year resolutions was to get my hands on the blog a little more often. Only once last year were my insane babblings unleashed on an unsuspecting public, but on the basis that we have not proved thus far to be the best group of bloggers in the world, I am hoping to bring you more this year !

I am going to try to entice you with new things, news from the GK team and insights into the people who work here and what makes their needles tingle ! We can and we will do better !

To be honest, I would like to succeed with this resolution as it will ease pressure off of the others. Promises to be slimmer, fitter and only eat chocolate on special occassions are fragile from the outset, and often by the middle of January I find myself celebrating the dawn of every new day with a Crunchie !!

Now then...January has been a very busy month. We opened our shop doors last year, 2007, on January 20th so we are now toddling about as a 1 year old store and trying hard to make all of the right noises ! This is a special day for me anyway, as Lexie, my youngest daughter now 5 celebrates her birthday too (Lydia has to wait a whole 9 days efore she is 7, apparently thats ages !).

The atmosphere was fantastic when the Ravelry crowd came for a visit. It was great to see so many happy knitters gathered around the sofas having what can only be described as a right laugh. They came prepared for there adventure.....some even brought chocolate. What a game bunch !! Lovely to see them all.

So that will be all from us here for today......if you haven't checked out our sale section yet........where have you been ? There are some great bargains to be had....though if you have made one of those silly 'stash busting' resolutions, my advice would be don't go there! You had best not look at the gorgeousness from Uruguay either, its too delicious and made Sue & Gail 'yarn broody' !

Bye for now
Laura

Phrase of the week

2008-01-18T14:27:00.000Z

Manos del Uruguay.

'nuff said.

:)

That time of year!

2007-12-18T13:52:00.000Z

Not very good at this blogging lark, are we?
It's been way busier than we expected, even for this time of year.
The harmony Knit Picks are finally in. and out almost as quickly!

Anyway, instead of waffling we'd just like to wish our readers and customers a very Happy Christmas and a knitterly New Year :)

Long overdue update

2007-10-30T14:58:00.000Z

Hi folks,

We are being a bit remiss on updates, but it's all going on, honest! Jules is getting fatter, the rest of us are trying not to. Laura has taken up running, putting us to shame. Hannah is busily organising workshops and re-arranging the shop to fit in all Sue's new purchases. David is a year older, but we try not to mention that!

We have new Amy Butler furnishing fabrics taking up lots of space, so please spread the word. There will also soon be a new range of "Free Spirit" fabric to grace your shopping, as soon as we get a chance to put it on the website...

To finish, a riddle:
Also, whats multi-coloured, eagerly awaited and comes from the other side of the Atlantic?

Okay there are two answers to this, and both are right. One is here now, the other might be here by Christmas (no promises now)...

Byeeee

Jalea

National Knitting Week

2007-10-09T10:02:00.000+01:00

It's crazy round here. Sue and Laura are running around madly trying to get everything ready for the Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace this weekend; everyone else is trying to keep up with your orders; trouble is we are crippled by the postal strike! We are still packing them up, but Royal Mail isn't delivering them :(

Anyway, despite all this, we will be celebrating National Knitting Week next week! We will be holding Knit and Natter every day from 10 till 2, plus a special session on Thursday evening. Knit and Natter with wine from 5 tll 8.
Do introduce yourselves if you come along!

2007-09-26T16:15:00.000+01:00

Well, guess what’s coming in the Spring? It’s very soft, rather pink and you’ll want to cuddle it lots! Yip, the first Get Knitted baby!

So, we’re all oooing and ahhhing over the baby books (even more than normal and even GAIL is oooing and ahhhing in secret!). I particularly like the new Debbie Bliss “Essential Baby” book which has lots of great stuff in it for a teeny tiny boy or girl and has lots of great beginner’s instructions for people like me (who are a bit hit and miss with the making up and seam sewing type stuff!!)

I’m attempting the 4ply cardigan pattern in the one of the Sirdar books “Early Arrivals” in Rowan Cashsoft 4 ply and have managed to make one baby sock from Sue’s “Hat, Socks and Mittens” pattern. As this is all quite scary, I keep slipping into denial, ignoring the baby stuff and picking up the cardigan for myself in Kid Classic or the scarf I’m making in Colinette One Zero!

Sooooo, I’ll keep you posted and will put some piccies of finished bits n bobs on the blog just as soon as they’re finished……hopefully before the baby comes in March!!!

See you all soon!

Fairy Jules and Bump x

Update! Update! It's September!

2007-09-09T09:52:00.000+01:00

Hello, this is Gail posting from the 1950s (aka Southwold on the Suffolk coast - if you know the place, you'll know what I mean about the 1950s) - there was going to be a pic of me knitting on the beach in my bikini but I couldn't find a photographer willing to take on the assignment. I also don't have a bikini.

Well, anyway. You remember a while ago we were all doing Shoalwater shawls, and then it all went quiet? I did actually finish mine a few weeks ago, after deciding not to do the picot edging because it would spoil the lovely clean wave edge, and doing the i-cord then undoing because it made the top edge too tight. Then I came to blocking it. And I tried, I really did. But what you need to know is that I have a small messy flat with pet rats, and the shawl is supposed to be 80 inches across the top. So now it's lying in a heap waiting for me to come back to it. If anyone's got some blocking tips for me I'd be really grateful. Or if you want to foster Rita, Mavis and Vera for 48 hours, that might help.

Meanwhile, I'm doing another 'My So Called Scarf' at the moment in Malabrigo Worsted - I'm using the shade called Cuarenta and it's looking really pretty. It's a good thing I persuaded Hannah that what she really needed was a pink and blue scarf in a pattern I really like, huh? I just have to do one of these scarves every now and again - this is my fourth so far.

What I'm really supposed to be doing is Odette from the new Rowan Kid Silk Aura book, and once I get my head around the pattern I will, honest (that's for Sue's benefit - it's supposed to be on display in the shop for Christmas). The yarn is lovely - soft and fluffy and lustrous - and really nice to work with. I'm doing it in erm, red? Quarry Tile, I just checked - Quarry Tile? Hmm.

The cute!

2007-08-17T16:06:00.000+01:00

So, while we wait impatiently for the first Knitpicks shipments to reach our shores, then tap our fingers while they clear customs, what has got the girls of Get Knitted excited this week?
Is it a glorious new yarn? Nope. (Although the Hand Maiden silks do cause us to drool every time we walk past them). Is it maybe an exciting new pattern book? Nope. (Although I wish I had time to knit some of the stuff in Rowan 42).
Is it, perhaps, a new Knitpicks secret? Nope, sorry, not that either!

The object of our desires is, in fact a set of small, coloured zip-up boxes. But they are soooo cute!

I have the crocodile, because I don't have a crocodile.
Sue has a crocodile too, and a frog for her mobile phone.
Hannah bagged a crocodile for her sunglasses, a hippo for makeup brushes (or possibly the other way around), and now a koala for her phone!
Gail is immune, I think (well she claims to be).
Laura has snaffled a Koala and a hippo...
The big ones will fit knitpicks DPNs in (and probably other brands too), with enough yarn for a pair of socks if you ball it right!

Jalea

Get Knitted Workshops!!

2007-08-13T10:03:00.000+01:00

Hello Hannah Here, just a quick one to say the workshops are up and running!! We have workshops scheduled from September onwards so check out our website under the heading workshops (on the top at the left) to see which ones take your fancy! We have many designers coming in including several Rowan consultants and all come highly recommended so book soon to avoid disappointment!!

Hannah x

Super Summer Sale Starts Saturday!

2007-08-10T12:24:00.000+01:00

I'm being shouted at to tell you all about our fantastic sale that starts tomorrow. I would've told you before but I haven't had time to rummage through myself - I don't want you lot getting all the best stuff!

Oh alright then. Get Knitted's biggest ever sale starts on Saturday 11 August at 10am - it's a shop only event, so you've really got to your skates on to grab some bargains - we've got Rowan, SWTC, Koigu, Debbie Bliss, Opal, GGH, FFF, Gedifra...

It's going to be busy, so practise your New Year sale elbowing technique over night and get here early in the morning! We're looking forward to seeing you.

Woohoo!

2007-08-06T11:38:00.000+01:00

Knit Picks are go!

...and the first order came in at 11 minutes and 51 seconds - not that we had a sweepstake on it or anything, but Hannah's a few quid richer now!

Guess What?

2007-07-27T13:26:00.000+01:00

An excited Sue here! We have some really really amazing news for you. Might just keep you guessing until it goes live on the site next week though.

You want some clues? Oh all right then........

- Well, until now its a product only available in the US.

- Ummm, you can knit with it.

- And you'll certainly want to 'pick' this for your cart.

- It will be available exclusively from Get Knitted in the UK.

Oh, did I say I was excited? You guessed what it is yet?

Workshop leaders needed!!

2007-07-19T15:57:00.000+01:00

hello! My name is Hannah and I work for Get Knitted and have done for years as i'm Sues daughter! My new role at work is to create a schedule of workshops in all kinds of crafty things, but mainly knitterly ones!! I am on the look out for professional and experienced workshop demonstrators. If you are one or have been to a workshop you loved and would like to do again or recommend to others please contact me with details!!

Please contact me on hannah.getknitted at googlemail.com

(please substitute the at with an @!)

Thankyou again, I hope you can help as we are really keen to start these workshops and get more of you knitted!!! :-)

Gratuitous FO post

2007-07-17T11:37:00.000+01:00

Hi, Jalea here.
I am notoriously bad at actually finishing things, but I have actually managed to get a shawl finished for a dear friend before she went into hospital.
Here then is the Ilga Leja "Lady of the Forest" shawl knitted in Lorna's Laces Fisherman in colorway "Lakeview". The shawl took officially 2 hanks, but I have I reckon 100g left of the second hank. It will have to sit in my stash till I htink of something for it.

Back view showing the colour effect:

Close up of the way the rows shape:

A happy recipient!

Shoalwater update (finally)

2007-07-12T13:38:00.000+01:00

Sue: Her favourite yarn, kidsilk haze, has turned out to be a huge challenge, and has been abandoned for now. We nag, but she's showing no signs of restarting it in Colinette Cadenza...

Laura: New to lace, she would have finished twice if she didn't have to frog, third time lucky, maybe?

Jalea: Plodding on, half way through the second repeat, keep getting distracted by new shiny
yarn.

Gail: 'Nearly there, nearly there, nearly there' ( To be sung to the tune of 'Here we go'!). Finishing post in sight it would seem.

Becky: Busy knitting monkey jumpers, at last look!

Pics soon promise!

Lornas Laces, Hurrah!

2007-07-11T13:24:00.000+01:00

Our stash of Lorna's Laces was getting a bit low, but finally a big new box has arrived all the way from Chicago Illinois!
There's a couple of new colours of stripy sock yarn, lots of new shades of laceweight, and my absolute favourite, Lion and Lamb, mmmm.
I know, I know, it sounds like a sales pitch, but opening the boxes is one of the best bits of this job!

Jalea

PS The shoalwater shoals will get an update soon, honest. Some of them are having, erm, issues ;)
PPS We can't fit it all on the shelves, so some of the more neglected sections of Lorna's Laces are having to go on sale, how sad :(

PG Tips chimp sweater pattern

2007-07-06T17:48:00.000+01:00

As promised, here is the pattern fer yer monkey jumpers.
I may design a little hoodie next.
*********************************************
Materials: Approx 10g Opal sock yarn (4 ply)
size 2.5mm needles (dpns or circular will do)
safety pins as stitch holders
darning needle

Stitch Pattern: Row 1: k1, p1, *k2, p1* - rep from * to *
Row 2: p1, k1, *p2, k1* - rep from * to *

NB: When casting on/off, leave tails of about 12cm for sewing up.

Back
Cast on 36 sts. Work in patt for 5 rows.
R6: Dec one st at each end (34 sts).
Work straight for 3 rows.
R10: Cast off 2 sts, patt to last 2 sts. Leave these on safety pin (30 sts)
Dec 1 st at each end of next 3 rows (24 sts).
Dec 1 st at each end of rows 15, 18, 20, 22 and 24 (14 sts).
All rows in between, work straight.
Patt one row. Leave these 14 sts on st holder.

Front
Cast on 36 sts. Patt one row.
R2: Patt to last 2 sts. Turn.
R3: Sl next st, patt to last 2 sts. Turn.
R4: Sl next st, patt to last 5 sts. Turn.
R5: As R4.
R6: Sl next st, patt to last 10 sts. Turn.
R7: As R6
R8: Sl next st, patt to end.
Work in patt for next 4 rows.
R13: Dec 1 st at each end (34 sts).
R14: work in patt.
R15: As R13 (32 sts).
Patt 2 rows.

Left Front
R18: Dec 1 st, patt 13 sts. Turn. Leave remaining 18 sts on the needle.
R19: Cast off 2 sts, patt to end (11 sts)
R20: Dec 1 st, patt to last 2 sts. Leave these 2 sts on safety pin. (8sts)
R21: Dec 1 st, patt to end (7 sts)
R22: Patt to last 2 sts, cast off 1 st. (6 sts)
R23: As R22 (5 sts)
R24: As R22 (4 sts)
R25: As R22 (3 sts)
Work in patt for next 2 rows.
R28: Dec 1 st, patt to end (2 sts)
Work next row straight.
R30: Dec 1 st. Cast off last st.

Right Front
Work from side edge of remaining 18 sts. Work as for left front, reversing all shaping.

Right Sleeve
Cast on 24 sts and work in patt for 9 rows.
R10: Cast off 2 sts, patt to last 2 sts, dec 1 st (21 sts).
R11: Patt to last 2 sts, dec 1 st (20 sts).
R12: Dec 1 st at each end (18 sts).
R13: Patt to last 2 sts, dec 1 st (17 sts).
Work 1 row straight.
R15: Dec ! st at each end (15 sts.)
Work 1 row straight.
R17: Dec 1 st, patt to end (14 sts)
R18: As R17, (13 sts)
Work 1 row straight.
R20: Dec 1 st at each end (11 sts)
Work one row straight.
R22: As R20 (9 sts).
R23: Cast off 2 sts, patt to end (7 sts).
R24: Dec 1 st, patt to last 2 sts. Leave these 2 sts on safety pin (4 sts)
R25: Cast off 3 sts, patt last st.
Cast off last st.

Left sleeve

Work as for Right sleeve, reversing all shaping.

Collar
With right sides facing, pick up and knit: 14 sts along back, 8 sts along left sleeve,
13 sts down left front, 4 sts from centre front, 13 sts up right front and 8 sts
along right sleeve (60 sts).
Work in k1, p1 rib for 3 rows.
R4: k
R5: p
If you have enough yarn you can knit another row or two.
Cast off loosely.

Making up

With right sides facing and using cast on/off tails, join edges of collar.
Join both sleeve edges. Join left front/back and right front/back. Join 'raglan' edges.

Property of Becky Murray. Please do not use this for personal profit.

PG Tips Chimp Sweater

2007-06-29T15:56:00.000+01:00

Oi, doppit! I'm not dressed yet.

Right, I'm ready now. You may proceed to admire my smart new sweater, courtesy of Becky.

Did you, like me, buy unnecessary quantities of PG Tips tea bags, just to get your hands on this cute little chimp? If you did, you may find his pristine white t-shirt is now greying and scuzzy. Why not, using only 10g of 4-ply sock yarn, gift him with this specially designed jumper?

So, coming soon to this very blog, will be the free pattern so you can smarten up your own monkey.

Mmmmm

2007-06-20T15:27:00.000+01:00

Hi, Jalea here.

I'm just updating the website with our latest delivery, but here's a taster of everything together.

Glorious yumminess from Fleece Artist:

Also known as new colours of Kiss Curls and Baby Kid.
Laura and myself are eyeing up colours, whilst Sue is already getting Catherine to wind a hank for her, ready for knitting!

I will update you on my Shoalwater shawl soon, honest!

2007-06-12T11:48:00.000+01:00

Well did the Lord Mayor have fun? We think so! He stayed with us for over an hour and really joined in with us. He cheerfully learnt to knit, happily wore his knitted tie and corsage and even let Sunny sit in his car! We really appreciate the time he spent with us and hope we can tempt him back again soon.

Alright? Becky here. ( That's me sat next to the Lord Mayor) Newbie of three weeks standing. I was stationed at the packing table in a frenzy of tape and bubble wrap when I overheard discussions about who'd done the least work on their Shoalwater Shawl, and I thought 'Eyup' (just checked with Sheffield-raised Gail how to spell that.) Always ready to overburden myself I piped up 'Shall I do one in laceweight?'
Here's the yarn:

Chump. BUT - I'm really enjoying it! The Helen's lace (Icehouse shade) is great to work with and I'm using the Addi lace needles, which aid fiddly work greatly. I'm working from the chart, which is a bit.....different. But as long as you read carefully how to follow the lines, you're away. Also I changed the 'ssk' to a 'k2togtbl', which I find quicker to do and gives you the same effect of a mirror-image 'k2tog'.

Progess so far:

World Wide Knit in Public Day

2007-06-07T11:19:00.000+01:00

Did we mention this coming Saturday (9 June) is Worldwide Knit in Public Day? Oops. We'd love to see you at Get Knitted, where we hope to have our sticks in action in the lovely sunny weather outside the shop between 10 am and 3 pm.

The event is supported by Rowan, who are in turn supporting innocent's (those people who make the lovely fruit smoothies) campaign to raise money for Age Concern and have designed a little knitted hat to go on top of the smoothie bottles. And the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of Bristol are coming along between 1.45 and 2.15 pm - we're hoping his Lordship is going to learn to knit - if you know anyone who wants to learn as well, please send them along, I'm sure he'd like some company!

2007-06-04T14:05:00.000+01:00

Hiya....Laura here.....finally I get let loose on you all !!
It wasn't enough that I got talked into making a ludicrously purple hen or that I threw myself out of the loft for the sake of a felted flamingo...how I've suffered for my art !! No, I had to get talked into this Shoalwater experiment before finally becoming worthy.
Now from Gail's verbal jousting you may have been under the impression that the 'hare' had got a little further with the project than the picture indicates, and in truth I have little in the way of excuses. The Artesano Alpacca Hummingbird is lovely to work with and on 6.5mm needles it grows quite quickly. This is my first shawl project, and although it has occassionally felt like an extreme sport, I can honestly say I am enjoying it. I feel sure that concentration is the key to success for this project, so during daylight hours, when the kids are about, I have reverted to sock knitting for comfort. During a wet and windy weekend camping in Padstow, I completed a lovely pair of kids socks in Lornas Laces Happy Valley.
Bye for now.

The Frogging Queen strikes back

2007-05-30T23:19:00.000+01:00

Gail here - I've got this reputation, see. The Frogging Queen. The perfectionist who never finishes anything. Some of them wonder if I can even knit at all. Then they said let's do a knitalong, let's do the Shoalwater Shawl. So we all chose our yarn and were under starter's orders - Laura was first out of the blocks and was racing ahead, hare-style, but now she's reading 'Tinking for Beginners'. Sue started and started and started and threw it into a corner. Jalea was sensible and finished other things first.

Some time later, guess who's just started her second repeat? Who's got 265 stitches on her needles? Me, that's who! Now they're calling me competitive! Hmpf.

Postcard from Jules

2007-05-25T07:38:00.000+01:00

Hello All,

Just a quickie to let you all know that the Rowan 4 Ply Soft is a lovely yarn for pool knitting! It's especially beautiful in Wink as the sun catches the deep pink colour (which matches the lovely flower border around the pool actually!!!!)

This week I am knocking up a quick bookmark in Wink (to mark the pages of my holiday read!) and have just knitted moss stitch across 12 stitches which keeps the bookmark nice and firm :)

Still no progress on the Lorna's Laces socks....BUT have finished the elephant which went down a storm with the nephew :)

Anyhoo, must dash, lots of swimming between knits to do before I get back to the UK for Carols leaving party tonight and to start sorting and packing all your orders again ;)

With love from my "knitting retreat" (http://www.les-hirondelles.moonfruit.com/) in the South of France,

Fairy Jules
x

The end of an era

2007-05-20T22:53:00.000+01:00

Have you ever 'phoned Get Knitted with a query about a pattern from the 1950s that you really want to knit but you need a yarn that knits to a tension of 25 stitches and 19 rows to 10 cm? Or maybe you've got two balls of some rare and exotic yarn but you don't know what to do with it and do we have a pattern? Chances are, if you have and we've come up with an answer, it's been Carol who worked it out for you. For the last two and a half years she's manned the 'phone, kept the website up to date and been the fount of all knowledge for the rest of us here at Get Knitted, but now she's leaving and I don't think we've even begun to realise how much we're going to miss her. She's going off to manage her husband Ralph's (Ralph's been our IT help-desk, so we're losing him too) business, or at least that's what she says – I'm not convinced that she's not really going to spend her time crocheting amigurumi and eating grapes myself.
It's not just the amazing breadth of knowledge she has that we're going to miss, but her instant recall – tension, meterage and substitutes are all on the tip of her tongue as if she already knew you were going to ask. I daresay we'll manage to pool our knitterly resources and come up with answers to most questions, but please forgive us if we're not faster than lightning straight away!
I'm sure you'll want to join us in wishing Carol the best of luck in the future and hoping she'll stay in touch – maybe she should set up a knitting hotline in her spare time?

Shoal Water Shawl Experiment

2007-05-14T14:42:00.000+01:00

We are always happy to experiment here at Get Knitted and willing volunteers are never hard to find. Four of us are going to knit the Shoal Water shawl by Fiber Trends in 4 different yarns.

Gail is going to try it in Colinette Jitterbug, Jalea is knitting it in the new Hand maiden Sea Wool, Laura has opted for the Artesano Hummingbird and Sue has chosen Rowan Kid Silk Haze.

We will be posting pics of our progress and how we are coping. Any hints and tips from you would be welcome too!

Didn't get done but did get Dom

2007-05-13T15:35:00.000+01:00

Hi David here, just wanted to pass on a little tale of fun we had in the shop the other day.

It was about 2.50pm and Sue and I were in the office, we could here hear a fuss in the shop, it was two men talking loudly and it just didn't sound right. Our first thought was that it was distraction tactics, one man keeps Jalea talking as the other nicks goods or the till. Sue and both went out to see what they were upto but Sue had to go and get our daughter Sunny from school. I stayed by the till and watched as one man talked to Jalea over by the Debbie Bliss yarn, the other man was loitering several feet away from the guy doing all the talking. Eventually he came over to me and asked if I was the "boss" he then went on to ask if I would give a discount if he purchased 6 or 7 balls of Debbie Bliss yarn. "No" I replied, " We don't offer discounts, sorry." He continued to pursue the issue but I stood my ground, the whole thing was very odd and just didn't seem right. They both left the shop and I returned to the office, wondering what it was all about.

About half an hour later I went back into the shop and looked out the window to see the man who did all the talking standing on the step of a shop further down the road being filmed, ????????? what is he all about?

When the film crew left I went down to ask other traders what was going on, apparently his name was Dominic Littlewood (pictured above in case you thought it was me!!!!) and he hosts consumer programs. His catch phrase is "Don't get done get Dom'.

I think I was supposed to give him a discount and then be filmed showing how easy it is to get a price cut, all you need to do is ask.

Well thats a day in the life of Dave @ getknitted.

Ps I am still available to do some filming for Julia Roberts new film ' The Friday Night Knitting Club.'

Lazy Days

2007-05-11T11:11:00.000+01:00

Fifi and Talulla are the best of friends. They work hard in the city by day but love to let their hair down and party by night. Both have the day off today and are relaxing ready for this evening's night out. Obviously they haven't got dressed up yet and are planning on some preening later today. They are on the look out for elaborate partners to share their fun life with a sense of humour being essential.

Both 'birds' were made from the Fiber Trends Felted Flamingo pattern (FT221x).

Fifi (on the left) was made by Sue using Cascade 220 with needle felted motifs added after the felting process. Talulla was made by Laura also using Cascade 220 but Laura switched colour whenever she felt like a change! The addition of feathers has also added to her colourful character.

We both enjoyed the project and found the pattern very easy to follow and it was a quick knit. Both were put through the wash once and are different sizes, which just goes to show how different washing machines can be!

It has to be said that Laura is now not so keen on her bird as she managed to fall out of her loft whilst seaching for a small chair for the girls to relax on! She manged to knock herself out, bite her tongue as well as chip a bone in her back. Is she in pain? Yes a lot.

2007-05-08T10:44:00.000+01:00

Well, Jules here from the GK Team.....I'm just one of our lovely lil team that takes your phone calls, collates your orders and packs your lovely parcels. I work here two days a week and I love it lots!

Right...what have I been up to knitting-wise....well, having just finished my LUSH new cream double chunky knit bag from Sirdar I am back onto my beautiful Lornas Laces purple sock...the first sock is nearly at the "turning the heel" stage - urk!
Having only knitted scarfs and a dragon (dont ask!) before, I am the "baby" of the GK knitting gang in terms of ability so the sock knitting is a little ambitious.

Ooooh.....and after many tantrums and lots and lots of help from the gals (and a few encouraging comments from David!) Ive FINALLY managed to finish my first garment - a Rowan jumper in biggy print - just in time for June. Hmmmmmm......Anyway, back to the socks. Oh, and an baby blue elephant in Sirdar too for my lovely 1 year old nephew!

Have a lovely day and see you all soon in store!

Love from Fairy Jules :)

2007-05-01T15:49:00.000+01:00

Ooooooh! What have we here?

2007-04-25T15:12:00.000+01:00

Welcome to our shop blog! We have wanted a blog for soooo long and have finally done it. I would love to take the credit for getting it up and running but Jalea has to be given the gold star for it really : )

We have Laura, Gail, Jalea, Jules, Carol, Hannah, David and myself to keep you entertained......although we may not let David loose on you until we feel it's safe.

Everyone here at Get Knitted will be posting regularly giving you an insight into our knitterly world here in Bristol. What's happening in the shop, sneak peeks at new knitterly things and all the fun goings on with the shop and online store. Possibly some competitions too. Any ideas welcome...

Hopefully you will keep popping back to see what we are all making too.Laura can't wait to finish her felted bird of paradise. Ok it's meant to be a Flamingo but Laura has never been one to follow a pattern to the letter!

Off to unpack our beautiful new kits from the USA....pics coming soon.

See you soon.
Sue.