Grannies Inc Catwalks & Knitting Circle

As you may already be aware; I recently entered Grannies Inc 'Design a Vest' competition and have been lucky enough to be selected as one of the finalists! 

Last week they hosted a couple of catwalks to showcase the chosen designs and gain further opinions as to which vest should be crowned as winning knitting...

 Here is a photo I managed to snap of my vest on the runway in Brixton Village, Thursday evening.  What a treasure trove that place is - I can't wait to go back!  So many kool and adorable shops, places to eat (I had some tasty Japanese food) and local DJ's & bands filling the air.  Great atmosphere there and it was so good to see all the knitwear in real life!  There's some great finalist designs in the competion.

The second catwalk took place on Sunday in London Fields. 

 Not only was there the catwalk taking place, but a knitting circle stitching away throughout the day, which you can see in the background here:

 I actually designed this vest to be worn the other way round to how it is shown on the model; but think it looks good this way too! I guess it could be rotated depending on day / evening wear...

I really love the hand knitted sign Grannies Inc had made for the occassion:

 Not too mention all the free wool that they provided and their signature 'granny' on her rocking chair!

How lovely!

I took the opportunity to teach my good friend (and sewing extraordinaire) Nina how to knit:

She picked it up quick!

Here is some of the swatches we made that afternoon:

So all in all a great couple of days; I loved seeing the designs up close and especially to see how mine looked on another person.

I find it fascinating how differnet they all are; what all the different knitters came up with given the brief to knit a vest that was 'long and loose'.  Everyone has done well to get this far and I feel I've gotten so much out of becoming a finalist I couldn't have wished for more!

Many thanks to Grannies Inc for organising the competition & the catwalks and for giving me this opportunity to be involved in it all!  Also a thankyou to everyone who has voted for me and all the kind words & responses I have recieved.

The winner is announced on 17th July and until then you can still vote for your favourite design(s) on the website right here and go straight to my design here

Knitted Bikini

I recently had the dilema of what to make for a friend who is off to Australia for a year. It's got to be handmade, obviously and preferably knitted (to remind her of me!), yet remain practical for her adventure...

The answer, of course, was a knitted bikini:

I found a free pattern called the BVI Bikini on Ravelry.

I followed it true to word, until it came to adding the straps (I'm still getting used to crochet patterns; so sometimes it's easier to freestyle it still).

The ties were a row of chain stitch which I then worked dch (double chain stitch) into.

It was nice and quick to knit up, I think I'll have to make one for myself too.

 The best tip I picked up fron this pattern, is after the cups have been knitted, you should hand sew elastic around the edges of them.  This will make them stay in place and give them the hold that commerical bikinis made from synthetic fabrics have.

I'm happy to say that my friend absolutely loved it ("The best present ever!") and it fitted her perfectly!

Just a special something for those cooler, nightime beach parties perhaps?

All the best, Saz!

xxx

Spontaneous Lace Pattern Top

A reversable garment, with an irregular pattern.

I started with a simple, square, shape.

Then created lace holes at whim in front of my knitting machine.

Just a bit of fun I had testing out my skills after being away from a knitting machine for a few years.

I enjoyed it.

I want to do more.

MY KNITWEAR IS A FINALIST FOR GRANNIES INC - Please Vote!

I recently designed & knitted a vest for a competition that was being run by eco knitwear label Grannies Inc and have been so lucky to have been selected as one of the ten finalists!

All the chosen designs are currently online for the public to vote on;

you can see mine & vote for it here 

and view the other contestants here

I am absolutely elated to have been chosen as a finalist! It really is a wonderful feeling.  There are some great other designs on the website; so let's see what happens!

All the vests will be appearing in two pop-up catwalks next week (details below).  

However; possibly the most exciting part of the competition is that once the winner has been chosen, Grannies Inc are going to be attending a meeting to pitch the design to

the buyers of London's famous Liberty's store!

Here are some photographs I took myself of the vest before I entered it.  They don't show the shade of the top off to it's true potential which is a shame; however the image on Grannies Inc website is perfect and they will also be adding some higer-quality photography of all the finalists' vests very soon!

 So please; if you can spare a minute to rate my knitting; you never know where you may be seeing it for sale in the future...!

 

For now though, come along to the catwalks on Thursday 30th June, Brixton Village from 7pm (catwalks at 7.30 & 9pm) and also on Sunday 3rd July, London Fields from noon (catwalk shows on the hour, every hour).

Many thanks from a very, very, ecstatic Laura!

Machine Knit Skirt

Some photos of my first completed product I have made using my Brother KH-881 knitting machine:

I was able to produce a really lightweight fabric on the machine by using a fine yarn and high tension. Having only used one colour kept it simple (which was the idea, what with it being my first attempt and all). The combination makes a floaty but not-too-fussy skirt to wear:I wanted a minimal fuss skirt to produce as well as wear, so the two sheets of fabric I made I machine sewed at the sides then added an elasticated waist and matching lining to finish.
I'm loving it with my new patterned leggings I purchased last weekend from a fellow trader at the Backyard Market; there's a few different colour options and patterns to choose from and they're only a tenner!

Already got an abundance of ideas for my next skrit; I'm going to experiment a lot more with stitch patterns and colours next time and perhaps move onto a more sophisticated garment shape too.

Going Loopy Socks

I have just completed my first pair of sock from my new book 'Knitted Sock Sensations' (Louise Butt & Kirstie McLeod). There's lots of great patterns in there and I couldn't wait to make a pair of the 'Going Loopy Socks'
Unfortunately I ran out of yarn towards the end of the second sock... I did see it coming but couldn't help but keep on knitting anyways! People won't see the toes when I'm wearing shoes anyway... Right?

The cuff is created using loop stitch, which I found quite time consuming (possibly as it is the first time I have ever used it) but definitely worth the patience as the result is fantastic

Here you can see the basic sock method and how the heel and toe decreases knit up.

Buy the book here:

I'll keep posting up more sock sensations as I knit them; there's so many great patterns in there, I'm not too sure which ones I'm going to start next...