Knit Nation is Today!

Just a very quick post to say that Susan, Gavin and I will both be at Knit Nation today. Knitonthenet doesn't have a stand, but Susan will be signing copies of Vintage Gifts to Knit on the Loop stand from 3pm-4pm both today and tomorrow.
Hope to see you there!
Ingrid x

Knit Camp

This entry is cross-posted from Susan's own blog, Just call me Ruby. Sadly she has had to pull out of Knit Camp in August.

In her own words:
I am writing this post to express my sincere apologies to anyone who is booked onto any of my classes at Knit Camp, Stirling in August. Unfortunately, despite my best efforts to resolve several issues with the organisers this was not to be and I have therefore been left with no alternative but to withdraw from the event. Again I cannot apologise enough, and the thought of having to take the action I have has made me physically ill, however with no contract and various other issues I felt I had to take the decision that I did.

I have spoken to some participants on ravelry and I hope this message reaches other students. I sincerely hope that everyone attending Knit Camp has a wonderful time and hope to meet some of you in the future. The demand for vintage themed knitting workshops weekends seems to be building so maybe that is the way forward.

I don't know what else to say. I feel absolutely terrible about this but you just have to do what is right.

For now
Ruby xx

What's on at knitonthenet Towers

There's lots going on for us at knitonthenet this month.

Our editor, Susan Crawford has a great article out in this months issue of The Knitter all about vintage knitwear from the 1950s. It is well worth a look and gives a really interesting insight to the fashions of the period.

If you're UK-based, Simply Knitting also has a lovely write up of the tea party at The Jelly in Reading where Vintage Gifts to Knit was launched in May.

Are you going to Knit Nation in London this week?
If so, Susan will be on the Loop knitting shop stand between 3pm and 4pm on Friday and Saturday, signing copies of her latest book Vintage Gifts to Knit. Both Susan and I will be at Knit Nation on Friday, so if you happen to see us, please do say hello!

I'm the one on the left and Susan is the one in the middle, for identification purposes (that's John Arbon on the right who produces wonderful yarns).

As well as all othis we are working away behind the scenes on the next issue of knitonthenet which will be out soon. Look out for it!

Ingrid x

You're Never too Old to Learn a Lesson

A couple of days ago I was rooting through my freezer for something to defrost for yesterday's lunch. I fancied some soup and after looking for a little while found what I was sure was a little container full of yummy miso soup with mushrooms and sweetcorn.

So, yesterday, at lunchtime I was all set to eat said soup (with the addition of some fresh beansprouts - yum). Well. Except what I thought was the lovely miso soup was actually some kind of vegetable and unrecognisable meat stew combo. Really not what I was expecting.

I bet you're wondering why I'm telling you this, aren't you?
Well, I did somewhat the same thing with a UFO a little while ago. 'Yes', I thought, having stashed away this particular cardigan for a year because I found more new and exciting things to knit, 'this cardi is just the thing and I have lots of the yarn left, so let's get on with it.'

That bit there, the 'I have lots of the yarn left' part... well, I had lots of yarn left that looked like the same yarn. In the semi-darkness. While I was watching TV and not paying a huge amount of attention.

Image copyright, Ingrid Murnane

You can't see it so well from this picture, but the bottom half and part of the arms are a rather different shade of red. Not just a different dyelot, but an entirely different colourway. To add insult to injury, I realised that I'd knitted another cardigan for my Mum in the yarn left from this one, instead of the newer, differently-shaded yarn that I had bought especially for it. The upshot of it was that my red cardigan was frogged.

This is the point where you say, '...but Ingrid, you seem like a quite well organised person. Don't you keep a little notebook with all the details of each project, or do the same on Ravelry?' Er, well I do now! Quite obviously I didn't before, but the Red Cardigan of Doom has taught me a lesson. It is one that I'll be extending to my cooking life as well now.

Without sounding like a public information advert, if this is a problem that you have yourself, Ravelry has great options on their project pages to add in the yarn and needles you are using and even the shade and dyelot. Brenda Dayne also gave some great advice on how she keeps record cards for each project she makes a while back on Cast On (I'm really sorry that I can't find the actual episode).

Another extra, but really useful thing that you could do alongside keeping 'real life' notes in a book or card system is to keep some of the yarn that you used for mending. Even better (and to follow a wartime tradition) you could make the buttons for your garment by knitting them and stuffing them with the yarn, so there is always some available and it will have been washed to the same extent.*

So, after the fiasco of the miso soup and the frogging of the Red Cardigan of Doom, the moral of the story is: keep proper records of your stuff, people: you won't regret it!

Ingrid x

*Thanks to Jane Waller and Susan Crawford for that great advice!

PS I ended up having a marmite sandwich and a banana, if you were wondering.

Have you noticed anything different about knitonthenet?

If you've visited knitonthenet in the past couple of days, you might have noticed that we have added a 'donate' button.

(This isn't a real one: just an image. Go here for our actual button)

As followers of the blog, some of you are probably aware that there is a little backstory to this, but for those who are new (hello!), here is a link to a former post with a message from Susan and Gavin Crawford explaining a little about what has been going on behind the scences.

There is also a page up on the site explaining why we have added the button.

Editor, Susan says:

By donating you can help keep knitonthenet online. Maintaining the site and providing new content is expensive and despite our best efforts we struggle to keep up with these costs. We need your help! If you have enjoyed using the site or a particular pattern we would be very grateful if you would show your support and appreciation by making a donation.

There is a donate button on the right hand column of each page, which you can click on. We are able to accept debit and credit cards as well as PayPal and any amount, no matter how small, is very gratefully recieved.

So, if you really liked a pattern, thought a particular article was great, or just enjoy the magazine in general, please do show your appreciation!

A very big Thank You

from Susan, Gavin and Ingrid
the knitonthenet team

Hearts and Bunnies Cardigan

In the second of the series from Vintage Gifts to Knit by Susan Crawford, I'm taking a quick look at the very cute Hearts and Bunnies Cardigan.

The very sweet Hearts and Bunnies cardigan was inspired by the character Anouk in the film Chocolat and is reminiscent of children's knitwear of the 1940s. With clever knitted buttons, it really is a stashbusting project which will appeal to all who like to make do and mend.

Knitted in 4 ply, this cardigan is a good introduction to both fair isle and intarsia, which are used in different parts of the cardigan. The garment is knitted in one piece to the underarm and then divided for the back and fronts. Although knitted here in wool, it could also be knitted in cotton for the summer. Although seen here knitted in pink, it will gain a whole new look knitted in a blue or more contemporary colour scheme.

If you do knit one in a different colour, we would love to see it too.

Vintage Gifts to Knit is available in both print and e-book form, costing only £14.00 for the printed version and £10.00 for the ebook. Arbour House Publishers will ship Vintage Gifts to Knit anywhere in the world for the flat rate of £3.00.

Ingrid
assistant editor, knitonthenet

We have Internship Opportunities

Arbour House Publishing is offering two unpaid internships to work independently on fixed term projects this summer. Each 6 week placement will start after 25^th July, and end by 26th September (details to be confirmed).

Location is not important because attendance on site is not required. Virtual interviews will take place by phone or skype on the week beginning 19^th July.

We are looking for enthusiastic entrants into the web design and publishing sectors and are committed to helping them develop valuable skills for their chosen career.

Web Design Intern

Project: Building and populating two/three websites to a specified brief. Existing website construction skills are required and a knowledge of Drupal would be a particular advantage.

Publishing Intern

Project: Book Design. To include production of sample book covers, text editing and manipulation, image correction and replacement, and index creation. Graphic design skills are required for this project.

Requirements for both of the internships are:

Ongoing undergraduate education.
Unlimited computer/broadband access with relevant software.
Availability throughout six week period.
Minimum 15 hours per week.

Please note, these are unpaid positions. Full credit will be given for work undertaken and references provided on completion of projects.

In the first instance, please send a CV and cover letter to Ingrid Murnane at ingrid(at)arbourhousepublishing(dot)com by 15^th July 2010.

End.