Spring has finally arrived....

We have finally had a couple of weeks of warmer weather and what a difference that has made. The spring blossom is looking beautiful, the birds are singing and people's moods seem lifted - well, I for one certainly feel more cheerful. It is lovely to be back out on the golf course enjoying the scenery and the walk even if the golf could be better.

On the knitting front, as usual, there are just so many projects I want to do but not enough hours in the day. There are some really lovely summer yarns to enjoy: Erika Knight's classic patterns in her Studio Linen or Gossypium Cotton are always a worthwhile knit and I have worn my Porcelain sweater a lot over the past couple of weeks. It is on my list to knit another in a different colour. Another really useful garment for this time of year is Ravello a linen tunic which is easy to wear and adds the finishing touch to many outfits.

Alice wearing Ravello designed by Erika Knight in her Studio Linen 

Whilst the sun is shining here in North Yorkshire, it is extremely rare for me to be without some sort of cover up. On that basis I am currently knitting a version of Ziana from Rowan's Book No. 63. This is a mixture of their Creative Linen and Kidsilk Haze. I am changing the pattern slightly to make it a more 'boxy' look but it is all knitted in seed stitch which, although it is one of my favourite stitches to look at, it can be a pain to knit because it is quite hard to get into any rhythm whilst working. Anyway, at the moment that is my go-to piece in between other knits so hopefully it might be ready for the Autumn!

Ziana from Rowan Magazine No. 63 

I am just finishing off a little camisole top in Rowan Summerlite 4ply which has been lovely to work with. Some cottons can be quite rough to knit but I found this really nice and smooth. It took less than 3 balls of yarn and Summerlite is available in a wide range of colours so there should be something to suit everyone. I will be writing up the pattern and uploading to the website in the next week as a kit for anyone interested. It has a simple cable rib, the front and back are knitted the same with the addition of a small cable at the neck of the front.

Camisole top knitted in Rowan Summerlite 4ply 

As I have mentioned in the past, I knit because I find it very hard to sit still and do nothing. Knitting is a great way to keep the hands busy whilst producing something useful. It is also the only time when I sit and switch off watching TV. I recently watched the series 'Big Little Lies' with Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon which I really enjoyed. It is based on the premise that everyone has issues to deal with and whilst everything on the surface may appear fantastic, the 'perfect' life rarely exists. If you haven't already seen the series then I strongly recommend it as a worthwhile view - with knitting in tow, of course!

We have a Professional Finishing course organised for Monday June 4th. I attended a similar Rowan class a few years back and, as a result, I now have a better understanding of what I should be doing so that hopefully, my garments now have a more professional touch. If you are interested please book as soon as possible because numbers are limited. 

Finally, I am sure that, like me, you have been inundated with emails asking you to sign up to confirm that you still wish to hear from various companies. The introduction of the new GDPR laws from May 25th will hopefully provide us all with better protection and control over the use of data collected from many sources. Everyone who receives this newsletter has had to actively confirm that they wish to join our mailing list and we use MailChimp to send out emails. At the bottom of each and every newsletter there is a link to UNSUBSCRIBE if at anytime you no longer wish to hear from us. You can also unsubscribe by emailing us at info@theknittersyarn.com at any time. 

As many of you know, we have an Instagram account and we would love to use images of your projects completed with our yarns. If you would like us to use your images then please send these to us at info@theknittersyarn.com with any information you would like us to include.

I hope you are all enjoying some fabulous weather and hopefully, your needles are still busy with some of the lovely spring/summer projects available.

Happy Knitting!