Thursday 20 October 2011

Knit Now Magazine

Hey guys, just thought I'd let you know about this new magazine.



Knit Now has hit shelves today, and what a fantastic first issue it is!

First off, let's look at the cover. It's full, but not crowded, nothing is fighting for your attention and it has a complementary colour scheme. The photographs are wonderful and clear, plus you can easily tell what they patterns are.

The magazine itself is wonderfully laid out. Nothing seems crammed in. After the 'info pages' we're treated to a Debbie Bliss interview straight away. Again these pages are wonderfully laid out, the writing is clear, the font is just the right size so that I don't have to put my glasses on. As it's black text on a white background it's wonderfully clear.

Onto the patterns now. I've established that the text is clear, but what about the charts? Well, they're as clear as a blue sky. Big enough to see, and the Key is clear too. I've gotten very confused in the past when this wasn't made clear. The patterns themselves are easy to follow and as simplistic as possible.

It's nice to see that they've estimated the time and cost of making the project. It gives knitters a chance to see if it's worth the cost, or looking for an alternative yarn. I can't say how many times I've nearly had a heart attack at the cost of the suggested yarns to make a product, for example: £160 for a man's jumper, are you kidding me?

I really enjoyed the Inspiration page, I felt that was a nice touch.

I've seen thing I adore on the Wish List double page too.

The hints and tips at the bottom of nearly every page are useful and not condescending, and showing you the basics clearly.

I'll talk about the freebies, you get a 4.5mm circular needle and a Beginner's Guide to Knitting booklet. The booklet is practically magazine sized and laid out wonderfully. I wish I'd had this when I started knitting as DPN's wouldn't have seemed so scary. There's patterns in it too, so you can try out your new methods. Actually, I think this is a good booklet for refreshing your memory too, I haven't used DPN's in a while and there's a great sock tutorial in there. The back page has a useful Abbreviations list, but also has a U.S translation for terms. It's beautifully designed too, the pages have a wonderful border pattern, which makes it seem purchase worthy in it's own right.

I can honestly say that I've never wanted to knit everything in a knitting magazine before. Non of the patterns seem frumpy or down right ridiculous.

Thank you Knit Now Magazine for a fab first issue!

Knit Now costs £4.99

Sunday 16 October 2011

16/10/2011

Hello!

Just thought I'd do a quick update, so here it is.

I'm working on a Goblin doll for my brother, I may have mentioned this before, I took a photo of it at a basic stage, but we have progressed since it was taken. I kind of felt like a mad scientist when sewing his leg onto his body.
My brother asked for him, and he's given me a nice looking design, though there are no patterns for goblins on the net! I'm serious, I spent a good couple of hours looking. So I'm adapting a pattern and making in up, so I may have to publish it myself.
So, here is a very basic Spikey Norman.



Also, my Mom bought me these super cute stitch markers for when I'm knitting socks! I love them, look how cute they are.



I'm working on the Mrs Christmas doll pattern by Alan Dart from the latest issue of Simply Knitting. She's looking great! It was the first time I'd done hair on a doll, or used a cardboard base.
I only need to knit the plate, pudding, thumbs and feet then embroider her face and she's done. Though I am wondering if I should do the boots because I like her with the long skirt.

Still knitting the mother in law project, and I might just start a pair of socks over Christmas.

But I have a scarf, hoodie and jumper to knit.

The jumper is from the Dalesmen book from Rowan, really intricate cables. The hoody will be quick because it's a chunky yarn/needle combo (hopefully) and the scarf is braided.

Well that's all for now, speak soon!

Monday 3 October 2011

Round up

Hiya!

We're in the run up to Christmas now,I've got my shopping out of the way so I can concentrate on my knitting. I have various projects lines up to finish and start!

Hell,Craig has shocked me by wanting something with intarsia and cables! I never thought I'd see the day. So hopefully this isn't a fad.

I have to knit a goblin for my brother, of all the things he'd want, he was going to get a Boba Fett phone case but now he has a different phone to me so at least it wont have to be a guesstimate project. Of this, I have at least knitted the head, so now I have to figure out the face.

Also, I've just read an interview with Jared Flood and thought "Oh, his designs are really cool." Then I was sorting through the patterns I've downloaded and amassed for a while, I discovered a Jared Flood pattern! I have a new yarn crush.

That's all I can think of right now. Ciao.