Whoop whoop, it’s time to CAST ON for the #knitsonikmittsalong!!!
#knitsonikmittsalong factfile
Cast On date: 24/09/2016
Bind Off date: 24/10/2016
Brief: knit a pair of KNITSONIK Fingerless Mitts. Use the mitts as a canvas on which to develop your own stranded colourwork motifs and shading schemes using a shared inspiration source.
Inspiration source: there are two shared inspiration sources for this #knitsonikmittsalong and these are 1. the collection of Knitting Sheaths held in the Shetland Museum and Archives and 2. the Shetland Croft House Museum.
Where to find the pattern: a basic template + pattern for KNITSONIK Fingerless Mitts is provided in the KNITSONIK Stranded Colourwork Sourcebook. However, this pattern has also been redesigned to reflect each of the two Shetland themed inspiration sources. Patterns and books are stocked by Purlescence UK and Jamieson & Smith. You can buy the pattern as a standalone product, or in a kit along with 8 suggested shades of 2ply Jumper Weight Yarn, RRP £26.00.
Yarn: if you would like some help picking out your shades, the 8 shades recommended in the kits are as follow:
Option 1: SHETLAND KNITTING SHEATHS; J&S 2 ply Jumper Weight Yarn in shades: FC43, 77, 5, 9113, 1403, 93, FC47 and 142.
Option 2: SHETLAND CROFT HOUSE MUSEUM; J&S 2 ply Jumper Weight Yarn in shades: FC61, FC62, 121, FC45, 202, 29, 77 and 81.
However, you are OF COURSE free to work from stash with whatever yarn you prefer!
Share your work: the beauty of doing a #knitsonikmittsalong is that you can see other people’s progress in the KNITSONIK Ravelry Forum and on Twitter and instagram, using the hashtag #knitsonikmittsalong. This enables us to see each others’ work, to encourage one another, and to learn together about palettes, patterns and shading.
Shetland: Shetland is an amazing place with a rich, knitterly history. Knitting together from Shetland-based inspiration sources enables us to celebrate this place together in the most apposite medium of wool from its wondrous sheep.
Some trail blazers to inspire you!
Some comrades have already made a start; you can see their progress (and share your own) using the #knitsonikmittsalong hashtag. I don’t know about you, but I just love seeing the different ways in which people organise their creative process.
Pro-Tips for joining the #knitsonikmittsalong
If you are at Yarndale this weekend and would like a kit, you can pick one up from Purlescence. Please say hello to Sarah and Jonathan for me if you see them; they are on stand 110.
There is no exact hour for casting on as everyone is in different time zones, but let’s keep checking in on Ravelry, Twitter and Instagram, and sharing our progress as we go. Because I know some of you will ask, of course it’s totally fine to Cast On later; the deadlines are there to motivate and help and not to exclude anyone.
I confess that, though I am not normally excited about colouring in my charts with coloured pencils, the new book – A Shetlander’s Fair Isle Graph Book – released earlier this week by the Shetland Guild of Spinners, Knitters, Weavers and Dyers, has got me all inspired to use a lot of colouring pencils for this #knitsonikmittsalong.
I have been preparing accordingly…
I hope to see some of you soon online, and I’ll be back tomorrow with a special sound piece created to celebrate the opening ceremony of Shetland Wool Week!
YOURS IN SHETLAND WOOL WEEK INSPIRATIONS, WOOL, KNITTING & SOUNDS,
FX
Ha, I ordered that book, too! Couldn’t resist… Wish I could wear the cardigan I bought at Jamieson’s last year but I suspect I’d boil in it. We’re still at 20/22 ° C. If I get up around 6 am I might get away with wearing it for half an hour…:-)