DEC 31 NEW YEAR KNITTING RESOLUTIONS!

Well this is the plan…..

DE CLUTTER & ECONOMISE! – That is I must not start a new project till I have finished the last one!!!

This way I will always have the correct needles to hand; as one won’t always be stuck in an unfinished bit of knitting and I won’t have to go and buy new ones!

BE ORGANISED -Plan my gifts well in advance, not knitting through a very long and well intentioned list of last minute hats, scarves, socks, sweaters and pom poms ON Xmas eve, while wrapping presents, decorating tree, cancelling friends and missing out on drinky-poo get togethers and general merriment!

SO check here for 'planning ahead' new baby gifts, pals birthday pressy ideas, Mothers day specials and Easter offerings. Berate me loudly if I break this one!!!

GET MORE EXERCISE, a usual New Year cry, but mine is to get off my fat bum and walk over to the table and measure my knitting project properly on a flat surface and not to bite the yarn off with my teeth as I cant be bothered to get up to find the scissors.

ps I Could write a book on the short cuts and excuses I find to remain tethered to the couch!

Oh! And on that note! NOT to be seduced by the cosy Slouchs, this years ultimate Xmas gift, basically a sofa throw with sleeves so I can carry on knitting!]

Am returning this gift!!

QUICK KNIT GIFT, ONE NIGHT, ONE BALL OF YARN

Even Bella can do it!!!

Quick to knit! Knit it tonight, One ball of Big wool [Rowan] and Big needles.

Great last minute gift!

www.erikaknight.co.uk

DUVET DAYS

Not sure why I am thinking about blankets today! Pause for hilarity! Only minus 4 outside and we don't do snow in Brighton, Maybe post traumatic trip from yorkshire last night, cold slow and dark! So got to thinking that if we got everyone knitting on the train, and believe me theres time on each trip at the moment, we each knitted a square, not only will we keep warm, and occupied, we can produce about 20 cosy blankets per trip....... to be handed out to hapless returning commuters as we disembark?

Or else stay home and knit!!!!!! Cosy up and knit cushions, socks, hats, scarfs, and throws to comfort, cossett and caress our little frozen selves.

TOASTED HANDS & TEA

Have been waiting for the weather to turn to be able to justify wearing these mittens at long last! However with utility prices soaring fear will be wearing them a lot more!

Gonna have to make another pair, probably in my other fave colour, 'somethin' else' from my 'jazz colours' collection for Regia.

http://www.erikaknight.co.uk/yarns_details.aspx?ProductID=656

HERE'S ONE I MADE EARLIER!

A variation on a theme..... 'Kirstie box' in parcel string, cheap as chips to make, make it in an evening and fill with goodies.... especially thrifty and thoughtful giftbox ....download the pattern for free on the website. http://www.erikaknight.co.uk/patterns.aspx

AS ADMIRED BY MS ALLSOP

This is the crochet necklace that I am wearing and admired by Kirstie on 'Kirsties Handmade Home". It's made in natural hemp, which i love as it is so matt, but works in any yarn or fibre , sooooooooo simple to make in basic crochet motifs adorned with diamantes and tied with satin ribbon. Make in black on black for seasonal Gothic fabulousness.

Pattern available on website www.erikaknight.co.uk

CROCHETING WITH KIRSTIE

Kirstie returns to our TV's on Tuesday 2nd November for the third series of Channel 4's popular "Kirsties Handmade Home".

It was great to be invited to teach Kirstie to crochet in this the first programme.

So way back last December while Kirstie was in the midst of filming her 'Kirsties Homemade Christmas' shows, Sally and I adorned a top room at the Paradise Pub in Kensal Green, [fab gastro pub] to look like my studio. In practise that meant re-creating yarn covering and hanging from every conceivable corner, surface and crevice. This we did with great aplomb the final effect is not dissimilar to Miss Havisham in a creative frenzy. [So obviously felt immediately more at home.]

The programme project is a crochet box or container, made in inexpensive and readily available string.The stitch is basic double crochet and we cover, holding the hook, [Kirstie is left handed] and the yarn, making a slip knot, making a chain, and double crochet stitch. Turning chains and a little technique as we go and finally fastening off!

Much chat, coffee, delightful gossiping and witty banter is enjoyed along the way, as one can imagine, and the segment is soon 'wrapped,' as the 'twittering' Ms Allsop, [and I mean that in its most current vernacular form], rushes off to bedeck Christmas trees in Oxford Street and leaves us to untangle our hooks and hanks!

Kirstie is creative and dextrous and skilfully mastered the basics of crochet.

The finished project she made is a small box or container, made of five squares of double crochet, finished with an edge of contrast colour. A perfect and practical house gift, to fill with stylish little kitchen aids, a teacloth, scourer, wooden spoon, candles etc, a house plant, or make a shallow tray for the bathroom for sponges, soaps, and oils as a relaxing gift for the house-moving weary.

Experiment with all sorts of fibres, yarns and fabrics- that's the beauty of crochet, so versatile, you can crochet with almost any continuous thread!

Watch this space for more ideas...and check out Kirstie's at

http://www.channel4.com/4homes/on-tv/kirstie-s-homemade-home/

ROSY MITTS TO KEEP YOU COSY

I keep being requested for pattern for my rose chintz fingerless mittens which I am wearing in my profile pic. They are from Rowan Magazine 48, Tamara gloves and scarf. And are knitted in double knit yarn. See..... I do wear knitwear!

I'M WEARING KNITWEAR!

I'm actually wearing this piece from Rowan Mag 48,

but in black of course! LOVE IT !

FOLLOW THE NEW ME!

The New Me!!! Well, if it's good enough for Prince.....

The blog, facebook and twitter formerly known as knightkraft....

will be now known as erika knight.

CHIC SHEEP IN SAVILE ROW

WOOL WEEK kicks off today. The Campaign for Wools' latest campaign for focusing our attention to this great British ORIGINAL resource! An initiative founded by Prince Charles and supported by Condé Nast's managing director Nicholas Coleridge.

Nearly 400 retailers and 68 fashion labels across the country will be promoting the British wool industry over the next week. Yesterday Selfridges sent two flocks of yellow sheep down Oxford Street, while today Savile Row closes as sheep graze in a specially laid pasture, tended to by two farmers clad in Anderson & Sheppard bespoke wool suits.

Liberty, House of Fraser, Temperley of London, Aquascutum, Pringle of Scotland and Debenhams will all deck their store windows with a wool-themed tribute, while 40 top decorators from the London Design Centre at Chelsea Harbour are creating special installations and displays. Jigsaw will hold in-store knitting classes and Jaeger will mark the event with a permanent exhibition at its flagship Regent Street shop dedicated to the importance of wool and its rich history.

Outside of London, Harvey Nichols in Leeds will hold a designer knitwear auction, while further south J.E.M.S in Canterbury, Kent will stage a mini farmyard scene accompanied by sheep and hay bales.

ME!!! I will be doing my bit by speaking and presenting prizes to the fantastic winners of the ROWAN/Royal College of Art, knitwear competition, featuring Natural sheep breeds yarn!
Check out the windows and in store for the awe-inspiring knitwear pieces! AND Wednesday night you'll find me in wools heartland, Leeds, in store at Harvey Nichols, as part of their 'The Usual Suspects' promotion, where I have been invited to talk to and THANK just some of the farmers, spinners, weavers , manufacturers and fashionistas for working with this amazing fibre which contributes to a £ 2 billion export industry!

OFF TO I KNIT

Off to support the boys of I Knit, loads of knitty mates to catch up with, knitty stuff to buy, knitty stuff to do, knitty workshop on Saturday!!!!

Novice Knits and a Little Know-How

Join me every Weds for a night of knitting fun

from 7-10 pm

From the absolute beginner to those looking to learn new skills and techniques.

This Wednesday 5^th May

KNIT A HAT tonight!

Girls n’ Guys come and have a go!

Top quality yarn included!

Bring size 4.5mm knitting needles [if you have some]

Price £10

inspiration, bits and books to buy, yarn swaps, drop in sessions, and more.

The Farm Tavern 13 Farm Road, Hove BN2 1FB [Just off Western Road] [number 1 bus]

Novice Knitting & a little Know How Night

Well thank you all for the fantastic turn up!!!!

It was great to have would be knitters, new knitters, vastly experienced knitters, knitting mates, mates that couldn't knit and now do and the editors of Knitting Magazine no less, all together!

Never has finger knitting and finger food worked so well!

Its a great atmosphere at 'The Farm Tavern' and it didn't take long for us to get to know one another. I presented some ideas for our Wednesday Knight knitting nights and I will reveal the new theme every Saturday in advance of us meeting up on the following Wednesday!! Love to see you there!

Meanwhile check out knitting magazines blog for a fantastic review of the night!

http://www.nationalknittingweek.co.uk/

Launch party of knitting nights.

Every Flavour of Yarn

I have just returned from London and a great event for the Craft Council. Their brilliant initiative Craft Club held a training day where myself and other craft designers including Katie Bevan, Lindsay Chalfont Brown and Betson Corkhill all taught craft skills to volunteers. They will in turn take this knowledge and pass it on through teachers and workshops in schools to get craft back on the curriculum. It was a wonderfully successful day with lots of people turning up which bodes well for the project.


As you can see I decide to do a culinary theme with my apprentices! We had such a wonderful time, people got really creative with the dishes, you can see the great carbonara above with peas and ham and of course a glass of red wine to wash it down. Two amazing cooked breakfasts were put together by group effort with fried and scrambled eggs and some lovely detail pieces such as the big slab of bacon and a gorgeous little mushroom. I also had some people putting together a very beautiful salad, which if you were working in schools, could easily be used to initiate conversation about health as well as creativity.
As you can imagine after such a long day, I went home put my feet up and had a nice cup of tea and a biscuit.

Urban Crochet

For my first Found Object I am posting this photograph I took in Melbourne, Australia (Burke Street for those that know) of some wonderful urban crochet. It has been heralded as the most beautiful form of street art and I can understand why, someone has chosen to decorate a tree with something soft and tactile which will not cause it harm, or damage the neighborhood aesthetically. I love graffiti murals and any public art that can make one smile just by walking down a certain street

Other great examples here:
http://yarnbombing.com/

Country Crochet

Chanel's 2010 barn yard conceived collection had me very excited about summer crochet patterns.

I was particularly taken with the detailing on the dresses and of course the handbags!

Perhaps it is just having done the shoot for my part on Kirstie's Homemade Home (will blog on such later) but crochet seems to be everywhere I turn at the moment.

I know there is a crochet handbag I made a while ago and I think I'll go and find it and use it to make a bright beautiful new one to carry around as my summer must-have accessory!

Vancouver Olympics 2010

I had the great pleasure to design the Parade Wear for the British team at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. I used the Union Jack colors for inspiration as you can see in my design board, I wanted something clean and classic with a degree of comfort for their hardworking inhabitants! I met up with Shelley Rudman, at the British Airways HQ for a photo shoot and fitting, it was a real honor to meet such an amazing athlete. Here is a picture of Shelley wearing my new designs, we were able to catch her just before she left for Vancouver where she will be competing over the coming weeks. I send her my best wishes and the best of luck for her extraordinary effort in the Skeleton event.

http://www.shelleyrudman.com/
http://www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-skeleton/

Be Inspired

Inspiration for patterns often comes from arranging threads and samples together to get a feel for a new design and the colors I intend to use

How to Crochet

Slip Knot

Make a circle with the tail end of the yarn, crossing the tail end over the ball end. Let the tail end drop down behind the loop, then use the crochet hook to catch the tail end and pull it through the circle. Holding the tail end and the ball end in your left hand, pull the hook in the opposite direction to create the first loop on the hook. There will be a tight knot under it.

Foundation Chain

After you have made the slip knot on your hook, the next step is to create the foundation chain for the crochet fabric. The project instructions will tell you how many chain stitches to make to start. The abbreviation for chain is ‘ch’.

Step 1

With the slip knot on the hook, grip the tail end of the yarn between thumb and forefinger of your left hand. Holding the working yarn taut in your left hand, pass the tip of the hook in front of the yarn, then under and around it. Catch the yarn in the lip of the hook.

Step 2

Draw the yarn through the loop on the hook. This completes the first chain and leaves one loop on the hook.

Step 3

To make the next chain, pull a new loop through the loop on the hook. Make the number of chains required, keeping the stitches slightly loose so you can work into them easily on your first row.

Slip Stitch Crochet

After making a foundation chain of the required number of chains. Insert the tip of the hook through the second chain from the hook, then catch the yarn with the hook (called ‘wrap the yarn around the hook’) and draw it through both the chain and the loop on the hook. This completes the first slip stitch and leaves one loop on the hook. Work the next slip stitch into the next chain in the same way. Continue as required.

How to Knit

Step 1

With the cast-on stitches on the needle in your left hand, insert the right-hand needle from left to right and from front to back through the first cast-on stitch.

Step 2

Take the yarn from the ball on your forefinger (the working yarn) around the point of the right-hand needle.

Step 3

Draw the right-hand needle and yarn through the stitch, thus forming a new stitch on the right-hand needle, and at the same time slip the original stitch off the left-hand needle. Repeat these steps until all the stitches from the left-hand needle have been worked. One knit row has now been completed.