Gawd, it's been an age since I blogged, I'm so rubbish lol

BUT now I can announce that stitchology is on Ravelry, and all my patterns are linked there, so hello ravelry people :D
 

I'm also quite excited to have a pattern being published (see picture) later this year in Lark Books' 'Knit and Wrap' - a collection of wraps and capelets for you to knit. I wait with baited breath for my free copy to arrive *squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee*

Happy New Year everyone :D

Here at stitchology HQ I have been hard at work designing new knitwear, YAY! Christmas was really busy but finally I've got some time (and some new yarn) to sit down and think. Think think think. So having thunk, I have come up with some new designs that I'll be adding over January.

Here's a sneaky peek:

Keep your eye out too for new MAN THINGS in the shop :D

Hello :)

Just a quickie to say I've been adding some more knitting patterns, such as this summer shrug, to the shop, and there will be some more to come later this month, so if you fancy making someone a knitted gift, or just want to treat yourself, why not have a look? All patterns are instant download for instant gratification :D

One word of apology though - I'm not able to separate my ready-made items from my patterns, so make sure you scroll right to the bottom of the page.

That's all for now, happy knitting :)

Well yes, I realise it's taken me over 6 weeks to get this done lol. I was BUSY ok? Knitting and stuff.

Anyway, remember the GOW(TM)? It reached it's destination and it even managed to write home - looky!

Here's what Steve said: 'It's brill! It fits..well.. like a glove actually!'

so Hurrah! Stitchology: helping starving (and cold) artists since... er... september.

My name is Siobhan and I am addicted to knitting gloves.

But they're so BEEYOOOODIFUL!!!

The cabled gloves (pink, teal and lime versions above) are currently very popular, and I've got orders for a few pairs of them, which is really not helping my condition. In other news, the GLOVE OF WONDER arrived at it's destination, more on that soon.

 I am also currently receiving treatment for a potential addiction to hats. It's a sickness. You should pity me.

The glove I was knitting for Steve Allender aka Cowisland, aka BritishImpressionist has taken on something of a cult status, so not to disappoint, here it is in all it's single glovey, double fingered, artisty weirdness!

It's on its way RIGHT NOW! YAY!

I will be embarking on a new knitting adventure this week, as I'll be knitting a special glove for my friend Steve aka Cowisland, aka BritishImpressionist, who is a real-life painter. Not only is he a talented impressionist (of the painting variety, not the 'OOH Betty' variety, although maybe he has hidden talents in that direction), he also entertains the masses with his blog about Cow Island, where the cartoon cows live.

Now I don't know what you think, but I think he's rather exceptional at painting water. This picture is entitled 'Henley Regatta 2008', and you can find it, and others, here:

http://www.britishimpressionist.etsy.com

So, the glove. Steve has decided he'd like a glove that stops his two unused-when-painting fingers from getting cold, so he's asked me to make him a glove (yes, just the one) with design features thus:

Long ribbed bit at the wrist, Fingerless finger bits for the thumb, index and middle fingers, and one larger finger for the two littlest fingers to snuggle in together.

The yarn's on order, and I have got my best thinking cap on, so check back here to see how it's getting on!

You can also see Steve's cartoon cows here: http://www.cowisland.etsy.com and on his blog, here: http://cowislandblogspot.blogspot.com/

As promised, here's an update on the huge sweater I was knitting for a customer - it's all finished!

Having discussed the design, and finalised measurements, I basically started with a tension square so that I could get the sizing right, then knitted all the pieces, writing down the pattern as I went along. Back first, then front, then picking up the stitches around the neck to knit the ribbed turtleneck. Those were the easy bits. For anyone who's ever designed a sweater from scratch, you'll know that the sleeves are the most complicated, and set-in sleeves like these particularly so. So I brushed up my pythagoras theorem from school (obvy I've only just left school, being...er.... 19 and everything) and then I did some MATHS. Yes folks, MATHS.

Set-in sleeves, you see, require a bit of working out, because from the armpit upwards they're shaped like a bell, and you need to get the slopes right or the sleeve either puckers up on the shoulder, or ends up all puffy. Not a good look on a bloke, I think you'll agree.

I'll admit I didn't get it right the first time, and had to re-do my calculations, but in the end it worked like a dream, and I think the end result does justice to the amount of work that went into it.

And yes, you may have noticed I snuck a lil picture of myself wearing it in there :) I simply couldn't resist a little snuggle, it's SO gorgoeus!! I'll be offering this jumper for men and women, in cream or black.

I'm hoping I get to make some more, I enjoyed every minute of it. Except maybe the pythagoras stuff. Well, you can't have everything :D 

I've just finished making a custom sweater in kimono style for a lovely customer from Norway - this uses a pure new wool yarn, but it's machine washable - always a bonus in my opinion. I love this design, particularly the contrast in stitch detail between the vertical ribbing round the waist and the horizontal stitch pattern on the body and sleeves.

I noticed when I uploaded this picture that I'm leaning slightly backwards against a wall, and for some reason my hands look MASSIVE lol. They're not that big in real life. Promise.

I'm just about to start adding some new things to the shop - hot water bottle covers being first up. I am still mourning the demise of my own hottie after it sprung a leak in the spring (WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH) I even used it when it wasn't cold, I loved it THAT MUCH.

I also noticed yesterday when I walked round to the post office that there are yellow leaves on the ground - what's that about?? Has summer finished already? I musta blinked and missed it :(

Ah well, it's an excuse to start with the winter woolies eh?

Laterz yo

I am in a hat knitting phase. I've been knitting hats using a sideways technique for a while, mostly berets up till now, but I've now hit on a more unisex design that seems to be all over the shops. I'm really happy with the way they've turned out, and even I look OK in them - a miracle considering I generally look crap in hats :)

Next up - my hats modelled by my obliging male model. He doesn't know this yet, but I shall feed him cookies until he cooperates.

Laterz yo

Hiya, and thanks for stopping by :)

I'll be updating this blog regularly with new things, ideas, news and general gubbins that goes round in my head. If you want to get a sneak preview of what's going on in the old noggin, you'll find it here.

I wanted to say a few things first about made to order items  - mainly because I understand that ordering something from a private website can be a bit daunting - especially if there's no feedback mechanism; but to solve that problem, I've got this blog where I can post pictures of finished items and feedback received. I'd also love to hear from anyone who's bought a knitting pattern from me - why not send me your photos too? That would be fun :D

As my website is new, you won't see any feedback yet, but if you'd like to see some I've received in the past, just contact me and I'll be happy to share. I won't post previous feedback here as it will be out of context, and, of course, I could take out all the negatives. If I had any. Which I don't. Want proof? Just contact me and I'll send you a link.

Hokay! That's the bizznizz stuff out of the way! Let's move on to knitting shall we?

I've started to add downloadable knitting patterns to the shop for the first time - the swing top above is now available. Swing tops are all over the shops at the moment, so this is right on trend. As a bonus, this one is knitted in one piece so there's no sewing! YAY!

In other news I'm about to start making a HUUUUGE chunky cream sweater for a customer - it will be the first full-on men's jumper I've made (for anyone outside of family), and (luckily) he's been very specific about what he wants, so I hope you'll stop by and see how it's coming along - we're both quite excited about it!

I'm also just finishing off an article on knitting for beginners, which will be in the next edition of the online magazine from UKHandmade (you can find it here http://ukhandmade.co.uk/main/ )

And I think that's it! For now anyway. I'll be back, hope you will be too.

Laterz yo