The Book of Haps - Uncia

Today I can finally reveal to you my design for Kate Davies' The Book of Haps... Uncia is an unusually shaped shawl, based on a 1/12th arc shape and inspired by Gothic and Romanesque cathedral architecture.

The pictures for the book were taken on Calton Hill, Edinburgh (not far from where I live, in fact!)

I developed the cable and lace patterns based on cathedrals I visited last summer whilst travelling around France and Germany (in particular: Koln, Mont Saint-Michel and Carcassonne). It was a very fun challenge to try to capture the essence of these buildings in knitted stitches, and it’s probably something I’ll come back to in the future.

Here's a few pictures of Uncia that I took myself, to show a little of the detail in the lace edging...

• Read more about my inspiration for this design on Jen A-C's blog!
• Read more on Kate Davies' blog
• ... and you can check out the rest of the designs in the book as they're being gradually released here on Ravelry!

It was a real honour to be asked to contribute to this book, and to be featured amongst such a wonderfully varied and illustrious group of designers. Thanks to Kate and Jen, and all the team involved in bringing this book to life!

We'll be having a book launch at Kathy's Knits, Edinburgh, on Saturday June 11th (which coincides with the Indie Burgh Yarn Crawl!). Kate, Jen and myself will be there, along with some of the hap samples, and we'll be signing copies of the book, so if you're in/near Edinburgh, please do come along!

Nennir written instructions

5th October 2016: A corrected version of the written instructions has now been attached and can be downloaded here - Nennir-written-instructions-v2-0.pdf

After getting a few requests for the written instructions to my free pattern Nennir (originally published in the Winter 2012 issue of Knitty), I've decided to post the file here so that it's available to all!

Please note that this is a fairly basic text file, generated straight from my charting program, and as such does not include any explanation of the abbreviations, etc. - you need to refer to the page on Knitty for all the info on how to knit the cowl. This is simply a text version of the charts 'Cable Pattern Part 1' and 'Cable Pattern Part 2' (you will need to work out the edging chart yourself as it isn't included in the text file!).

Ishneich pattern release + update on Celtic Cable Shawls book

It's been rather quiet on this blog for a while - but I'm very happy to announce the release of the 7th (and final!) shawl pattern in my Celtic Cable Shawls collection: Ishneich!

Ishneich is a top down triangular shawl pattern, designed to work well with a variegated yarn and a contrasting semi-solid (or solid) yarn. The variegated yarn is used in the body, and broken up with stripes of the semi-solid, which is also used for a cable border. I used two gorgeous shades of Malabrigo Sock, which I picked up on a lovely trip to The Yarn Cake in Glasgow, the day before my birthday (back in March). When I picked the shades originally, I wasn't planning on using them together, as I didn't think they would match, but once I tried some stripes, I was surprised by how well the colours worked together - it's funny how that can happen sometimes!

I wanted to take this opportunity to also give an update on the progress of the book. Celtic Cable Shawls is going to be released in print format (together with an update to the e-book version - so if you already have the e-book, you will also receive the PDF version of the print book, once it's ready).

I have had many queries asking me about a publication date, and I'm really sorry to say that at the moment, I can't give an exact date. I am self-publishing the book myself, and doing most of the work myself too, including layout and photography. I'm also working with a graphic designer to produce some tutorial diagrams, as well as with a couple of freelance tech and copy editors.

At the moment, all the photography for the book has been completed, and all the pattern are finished too. The diagrams are in the process of being completed. The main work left to do is all of the layout, all of the final editing, and also some introductory text that I need to write. So, it's close to finished, but I'm reluctant to give an exact date, because co-ordinating a major project lik this is a bit of learning curve for me - I'm working with Lightning Source to print the book, and I'm not exactly sure how long everythinig will take to get ready once I submit the final file to them.

I will update this blog as soon as I'm able to give an exact date of release (you can also sign up to my newsletter, if you would like to be the first to hear about any news!).

I know a lot of you have been waiting patiently for the print book for quite some time, and I'm really sorry to not be able to give you an exact date yet - thank you so much for your patience, and for your interest in the book too. It's really very much appreciated!

Kyna shawl + Celtic Cable Shawls - a rather exciting announcement!

I've just released a new shawl pattern - Kyna, a sideways triangular shawl with a twisted-stitch cable edging.

Now for the exciting announcement bit - this design is actually the second design in a collection of shawl patterns that I will be releasing in e-book format - and print too! Yep, I'm doing a book!

The e-book version is currently available for pre-order on Ravelry - when you pre-order it, you will get all the patterns currently released (at the moment this includes Taliesin and Kyna), and then you will receive the rest of the patterns as they're released. There'll be a total of 7 designs in the completed book.

Because Taliesin was released way before I announced the collection, I have set things up so that if you purchased Taliesin on Ravelry, the full cost of this pattern will be deducted from the cost of the e-book (note that you need to be signed in to your Ravelry account, and click 'add to cart' on the e-book source page for this to be applied automatically!).

If you'd rather get this book in print, then stay tuned - I will announce details of the print pre-order soon, and a complementary copy of the e-book will be included with every print book pre-order.

Lots more information here on my website!