Tonsilitis. That was my first New Year event. It took a whole week for me to recover, so apology for not writing for a while. I am better now though!
I get really frustrated when I am ill because I know I could be doing lots of designing, patterning and knitting! In 2012 I can tell you, there will be loads of great things regarding knitting not just within the world of Cotton & Cloud but also within the whole knitting globe.
For example, Jamieson’s of Shetland have introduced brand new colours for their Heather range (above). From what I know, they hadn’t introduced new colours for Heather for 5 years or so until last year. So It is a very exciting news! Cotton & Cloud, of course, will be stocking some in the coming months.
I, as a knitting pattern designer, will also be creating many more new patterns both here on my site as well as on various publications. You will see a pretty pattern from this Gomitoli angora yarn in few months time as well as a really lovely top from Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend in Spring.
Cotton & Cloud will also start a new project which is called Knit & Sell Scheme. You can now sell anything made from Cotton & Cloud patterns when you join this scheme. It’s so exciting because the aim of this is to empower knitters around the world to sell more hand-knitted items and allow people around the world to enjoy wearing them. At the moment, the scheme is still under review, but hopefully I will be able to introduce it officially in the coming weeks.
Above is the apricot seeds I want to grow. I then realised how metaphoric it is to my work. I hope more people will enjoy Cotton & Cloud in the coming future!
Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I have been finishing off my new shawlette knitting pattern.
There is something about knitting shawls. A smaller shawlette is so fun to knit with less amount of yarn, but still very pretty and practical.
For a long time, I wanted to update on my original Raindrop Shawl which was a large rectangular shape. So I recently updated it, but I updated it so much that it actually became a completely different pattern!! LOL. BUT, I love the result!
So let me introduce you to my new half-circular Raindrop Shawlette pattern
Raindrop Shawlette knitting pattern now available from my shop.
I used 1 skein of Fyberspates Scrumptious 4 ply Sport; water. It is definitely a shawlette-kind of yarn with 45% silk and 55% superwash merino (354m / 100g skein). I loved every stitches I knitted with this yarn!
Patterning this shawlette was truly fun. It features double-eyelets that radiates outward. The pattern then develops into an all-over diamond lace pattern with the size of the diamonds gradually increases as you knit along. The edge has a nice scallop lace motif finished by triple eyelets.
The pattern is definitely suitable for all levels of knitters. I was so amazed how easily and fast I could knit this.
Do also please have fun blocking it…
I didn't have any water spray to do the spray block. So I soaked the shawl in warm water. The yarn is a blend of superwash - so it should be OK!...
and it was perfect: the shawlette soaked up water within 10 min without any problems. After blocking, the remained as beautiful as before.
Children’s foam play mats are so useful to block the shawl. I bought 4 interlocking parts for about £13 on Amazon. To stretch out the shawl as even as possible, I used 72 pins! As you can imagine, my cats would want to walk over it, so I made sure their favourite toys are far away and they are not interested in what I was doing!
Blocking shawlette on a playmat
I put the whole thing against the wall overnight.
So how would you wear a shawlette? Anyways you can with anything!
You can wrap it around yourself like a small shawl or around the neck like a scarf.
You can also tie it. I do like this look.
The pattern is available both from my shop directly or via Ravelry.
I saw something about 10 days ago that surprised me immensely. I think one of my knitting patterns has been copied or at least “adapted” to an extent that it is literally identical. But I won’t say it’s for definite because things like this could truly happen by chance. But thinking again and again about what I saw, it is really quite hard to believe that this happened by chance because it looks exactly the same. I can see some differences but I know why these differences were made. If (that is if) this pattern which is already published, was really an adaptation of my design, it is disappointing that no credit was given to me. Actually this is the second time by different individuals that my designs as been “adapted” to an extent that it is identical. So I decided to voice about it.
I won’t go into detail about this particular case as it is by an individual and not by a large retail giant. If this happens for the second time by the same person, I will take an action. But for now, I would like to talk about my philosophy about this whole situation.
Knitting community is a great pool of people where they are all courteous and give credit to one’s design if a person adapts it – even to an extent that you cannot really see any resemblance to the original design! Knitters are all creative and I love being a part of this community.
Getting an inspiration from other designers, brands, etc is natural. I have my own favourite designers that I admire and I am always inspired by fabulous knitting designs that I see on Ravelry and elsewhere. If you are designing a new pattern, you may adapt a certain shape, a certain stitches on a completely different type of garment. I think that’s fine. But when it becomes, the same style of garment, the very similar detail of designs, very similar stitches on a same style garment – then that is a bit too much.
When you suspect that someone has adapted your design to an extent that it is literally identical, it is a difficult feeling. But one thing I can say is not to let this stop you. It’s a cliche to say that “imitation is the highest form of flattery”. May be it is, but you know, the bottom line is all about THE NEXT NEW DESIGNS. There is no point publishing what has been seen before.
It taks a LONG time for me to create a garment from start to finish. I go into a lot of details (scenery, photos, words, colours, texutres etc), swatches, analysing the ideal fibres. So when someone adapts my design I would expect someone to give some credit for the hard work I did.
Although I won't be able to tell you which one it is, these are some of the images I went through to design a garment.
I don't just go through inspirational images. I knit countless number of swatches. It really does take a long time, but that is the beauty of knitting - TIME.
I would like to “turn lemon into lemonade”. So next time I create my own design (which is going to be soon), I will blog about every step that takes from the beginning to the end of creating the final garment. I want to share my method of how I do it, and may be there is something that we can both learn from each other. Life goes on. I have a loving family and kitties with amazing knitting friends. All I need to concentrate is to create knitting patterns that we can all enjoy.
Time flies when you are having fun. Time also flies when you knit.
Have you been knitting in public? So far, I knitted in a cafe and on a bus (I had to stop because I felt travel sickness LOL). I am currently working on a project which you will see this Autumn, with the yarn I cannot mention.. yet.
..but I can tell you that you will LOVE the yarn!!! The project it self is also a special one. And I thought I would like to share with you a couple of pictures.
This is how I work when I create a garment using a mannequin. It’s a cheap mannequin and I can pin around the body which is so useful when you have an incomplete piece of garment.
An extensive cable work. I just love knitting on my balconies. So what’s on your needles this weekend? The weather is not great over here but this means indoor movie knitting for me!
Hello! Hope you all had a great weekend. I have been very busy knitting. October seem to be the “knitting month” for me. I just haven’t stopped knitting.
Thankfully I have no submitted 1/3 of the design swatches to one of the knitting magazine company. Fingers crossed I hear from them soon.
I am working so hard for this year’s Knitting & Stitching Show. There will be loads of Cotton & Cloud knitting kits available from Jamieson’s of Shetland stall. They are compiling all the yarn required for my patterns into kits. I just can’t wait to meet with them again! I will be taking lots of photos there!
I am nearly done with this. Can't wait to see the finished item and to be shown at the Knitting & Stitching Show! This is knitted with their brandnew colours called Mantilla.
One of the things I need to finish before the show is to complete patterning for the larger sizes of Cable Yoke Jacket. Since sooooo many people asked me for the larger sizes, the pattern will now contain up to 10 years old. I am DETERMINED to finish it so that you can all get the kits from Alexandra Palace.
Another pattern to be finished before the show. This is a surprise. I won't tell you until it's finished
Ooo, I just can’t knit fast enough! Mary and I are going to the Knitting & Stitching Show on Saturday. If you are around, do please let me know. Would love to see ya!
Hello! It’s been just over a week since I last blogged. I can’t believe how fast time passes. I have been super busy in the past couple of weeks so I am sorry if I have been not very good at replying your e-mails and comments quickly. All in all, I think I am nearly up-to-date with my forever-expanding “to-do” list.
I often wonder whether cats ever think they are "busy" or not...
One of my to-do list is to start designing a men’s sweater for autumn and winter 2010. Autumn is just around the corner and I would like to share with you how I design a knitted garment and introduce you to all the steps I take to create a knitting pattern.
So today is the first series of “How to Design a Knitwear”, the “big-bang” of C&C’s knit design (LOL!).
Even before you start making the gauge (tension) swatch, there are various things that need consideration. Basically it is about brainstorming the ideas of the garment. This will essentially become the backbone of your design. For me, this step is very important because I want to make sure that the garment is functional and wearable. I want the recipient as much as myself to be happy with the finished product. Read on… ;D
1.1 Who is going to wear the garment?
Is the garment for a baby / children / woman / man / unisex? This sounds quite obvious but to me it’s essential to decide first who will wear the garment as it would determine the pattern, materials and design I create. For example I am going to pattern a man’s jumper which will be knitted for a boyfriend, husband, son, father or grandfather. It is something that the knitter would want the person, who receives the garment, to love and wear it as often as possible. This essentially means that the pattern has to be a timely achievable project (so that you can actually give it to the person) and it is interesting to knit but also something that a man would wear it.
1.2 What are the specification of this person? – Decide on the structural design.
Fashionable, simple, fussy, sensitive skin, practical etc. This would give you a clear image of the structure of the garment to make (e.g. V-neck, crew neck, cardigan, hooded, long, short etc.). For example a person with sensitive skin may not want to wear a high neck sweater, while someone who is quite fashionable may prefer it. Babies and elderly people may find it easier to wear cardigans, while kids and adults may prefer crew and v-neck sweaters.
In my case, the person who would wear my design (i.e. men’s sweater) would probably:
- wants something simple, but not just a plain stockinette stitch,
- wants a garment with a simple design such as crew neck rather than cardigan or roll-up collar etc,
- wear the garment as an everyday wear,
etc.
Try to think about what this person would say when you ask “what kind of a sweater would you like me to knit for you?.” Usually when I ask this question to Wesley, his answers are not very helpful (it’s more like this video (i.e. the guy on the right is like me and the left is Wesley) – I find it quite funny so do check it out when you have a moment ). Nevertheless it is a good idea to do some research about the person’s specs to design something good.
1.3 Choosing the yarn
I won’t go into detail about the characteristics of different yarns as there are plenty of great information available in books such as Vogue Knitting and online such as Knitter’s Reviews. What I will mention here is more of a practical considerations such as:
- would the garment need frequent washing? (felt, shrink (e.g. denim), colour fastness)
- would you want the garment to last long?
- does it bubble easily?
- what is the colour fastness of the yarn? (does it run with water / fade after some time (e.g. plant dyed yarn).
- does it itch?
etc.
The most important thing is that you knit with the yarn you love.
1.4 Choosing the Pattern
This is the fun part but it can take some time. You can ignore it if you are making a simple stockinette stitch garment.
This section also overlaps with the tension / gauge measurement (in the next series). I usually start making a tension square with stockinette stitch while browsing the treasury of stitch patterns or any other knitting inspirations.
Follow your brain-stormed ideas in section 1.2 when choosing the patterns. For example, as I want to design a men’s crew neck sweater which I want it to be simple but not that simple, I can focus on the patterns which are relatively simple without much deep textures such as thick cable patterns.
A pattern swatch. Making tension gauge and swatch will be in the next series.
It’s always good to jot down your thought. Here is the mine :
Who will wear it?
boyfriend, husband, son, father or grandfather.
the pattern has to be a timely achievable project
it is interesting to knit but also something that a man would wear it
Specification
something simple, but not just a plain stockinette stitch,
a garment with a simple design such as crew neck rather than cardigan or roll-up collar etc,
to wear the garment as an everyday wear,
Yarn
Jamieson’s of Scotland Shetland Heather (who guessed?)
Structural specs.
Crew neck
Armhole shaping (not decided)
Seamless using circular knitting
Edging / trimming specs.
In the next series, I will go through about tension / gauge and how it’s very important to make swatches when you design a garment.
The word “lifestyle” seem to be the current buzz word. Lifestyle this and that… etc.
How I live, craft and eat is all about having a minimum impact on the environment. I guess it comes from the fact that I am a Buddhist. I am a green beginner, but am determined to be good at it and do my best to incorporate much more of the green lifestyle into my living. Sometimes it’s confusing because you see some lovely lifestyles, but if you look carefully you would be asking lots of questions… how are they produced? what are the ingredients? where do they come from?. I want to make sure that my lifestyle functions as efficiently as others but is also environmentally sound.
Anyhow, I have been a huge fan of Ecover for a long time. They are good detergents (love the smell and their cleaning power is not compromised only because they are green) but the only thing is that their smaller packs you find in the local supermarkets are a tad more expensive than some of the other non-eco-cheaper alternatives.
Recently I found out you can buy large packs of Ecover products so I did not hesitate to buy them. This meant I could help save money, plastics and environment! yipppee!
Even Wata likes them (LOL!)
The more I read about them, the more I love Ecover
No phosphate = Does not starve river from oxygen
Fast biodegradable surfactant (makes lather) = Protect frogs and other water-living organisms
Citric acid based limescale remover = Quickly breaks down and non-toxic
Their toilet cleaner needs much less water to neutralize the detergents = save you water
Plant-based chemicals and fragrances = Unlike petrol based chemicals, they are biodegradable, non-toxic and sustainable
No optical whitener and foal booster = No dodgy chemicals that are nothing to do with the cleansing power and cleanliness of things
You can watch a general info about Ecover company here (I liked watching how Ecover products are made in a factory). Below is also a short video clips about their collaborative work with WaterAid in Ethiopia.
I just think it is amazing for a company to do something good for the environment and people AND be profitable. I hope that one day Cotton & Cloud will be like that (fingers and toes crossing big time).
So why am I talking about Ecover? Because I am so happy and want to let you know that we are having a LIMITED ECOVER OFFER. Basically you will receive a 100ml bottle of ECOVER washing up liquid (lemon and aloevera) for FREE with every order (i.e. physically posted orders). I thought I will spread my enthusiasm of eco lifestyle and Ecover products through the world of C&C.
Hope you have a great week ahead It’s been forecasted to be quite warm in London!
…that I am surrounded by so many wonderful people in my life. Families and friends (like all of you who are so kindly reading my blog) and any random people who help me out (like when I get lost!).
Life is too shot (well sometimes it feels long) so I decided that I wanted to live my life fully and do more of good things and spread the happiness as much as possible.
So I thank all my friends and families for always thinking about me and I want to tell you that I am always thinking of you and love you lots!
To reflect my feelings about life in the world of Cotton & Cloud, I will be focusing more on “green knitting and sewing” this year. This may be challenging but I say “where there is a will, there is a way”!
Meeting with my friend Charmaine (left) who I hadn't seen for nearly 10 years!
Mary from Brazil made this tea box for me. Inside there used to be loads of wonderful tea bags. I loved them all. Thank you so much!
A gift from Maria. She said to me that this is the first vintage tin she found with an animal on it I love it! Thank you.
A gift from Mary from the UK and her little daughter. They are so cute. How thoughtful of her daughter to get a little cat-nip stuffed mouse for Kumo and Wata! *big hugs*
Trying out on Kumo...
It's super potent. Kumo and Wata LOVE IT.
Life is full of happiness. The more you search, the more you find it
Hope you all have a good week ahead. On Friday, I will be reviewing the coolest knit kit .
Isn’t the weather so nice in London? Hope it’s nice over where you are too
Firstly, THANK YOU SO MUCH for those who has already sponsored me via JustGiving for the 10K run held on May 31st. When I saw some of you has sponsored me I was over the moon (I still am)! It has really give me so much positive energy. Thank you
Inspired by many of you, I am now starting to bake... can you believe it?
This was a real success. Check out the inside
From this week, I started to look for a new inspiration for C&C 2010 autumn/winter collections. Again, it will have to be connected to some good cause. Currently I am thinking of something to do with the woodland or wild plants.
When I think of woodland, I think of mushroom. May be there is something that is related to mushrooms that is a good cause. I must read up on lots of issues.
Maybe something that used to be abundant but rare to see now. Anything that you have a fond memory of. As I spent my childhood in Japan, I don’t know much about the UK or any other part world… Do you have something that you used to see often in wild plants or in woodland that you don’t see anymore?
Common horsetail used to be abundant in Japan where I grew up, but not anymore. They can be eaten I think... I wonder what they taste like.
It will be really fun to design new garments since there will be brand-new colours from Jamieson’s Shetland Heather.
Absolutely amazing new colours I will be using for this autumn from Jamieson's.
Next Friday, I will be doing a knitting tutorials on frills and introduce you to my new pattern. See you there!
Hope you all had a great weekend! Mine went far too quickly and I would like it to be repeated again especially the part that our friends came over for a lovely tea.
Today I would like to talk about the theme behind the third (and the last) garment of C&C Spring 2010 designs. There are only three in this season because of the limited time I had and I wanted to make sure that every single pattern is well-thought and constructed. So all is good ;D
The concept for this garment is “deep sea”.
Blue fin tuna are over fished for sushi in Japan. Southern blue fin tuna is critically endangered and is on the IUCN red list.
♥ Deep sea is still a very unknown area but it covers the majority of the earth.
♥ What we know is that fish and other marine life grow slowly over many years because of low temperature and lack of sunlight.
♥ The open sea is like fish’ sanctuary because it is illegal to commercially fish here.
♥… however, deep sea is increasingly targeted by commercial fisheries especially in the open seas for rare and endangered fish (e.g. blue fin tuna) and sharks’ fin (really good article by BBC Good Food blog here)
♥ This is also an unexploited area for oil and there is an increasing interest in oil mining in deep sea (I really do hope this will not happen… we must all make effort to recycle and use low petrol-based products as much as possible).
Increasing human interests whether good or bad on unknown deep sea... I wanted to combine a modern and classic look to reflect this in the knit design.
There is a shade called “oceanic” from Jamieson’s of Shetland Heather yarn (aran weight). It is one of the most beautiful colours I have ever seen and I knew I would be using this colour for my project.
You can quickly knit up this cable panels mainly because there are sections of non cable rows.
The ocean is vast, so I made the garment with striking all over cables. The choice of the cable was also tricky because you don’t want to have too many complicated cables for children’s knitwear which they soon grow out of. So I used a relatively simple cable motif pattern (with purl background and not too much cables – the max you would do is C4F or C4B so it won’t stress your fingers). With a little effort on the cable work, you could make an eye catching garment that you can pass down the generation.
Turn the vertical cable to side ways, the cable looks almost like rows of fish
Imagine you are a fish, the vertical cable panel is like moving ocean. You have to travel through it. There are mountains higher than Everest. Some creatures lights up in the dark, others have shapes that you have never seen. It’s all magical.
I think I will be able to release the patterns from Wednesday onwards. It will be so exciting! Hope you all have a great week ahead ;D see you soon!
