blue

The colour blue has been a bit of an obcession for me this year. I am head over heels in love with it. Not just any old blue mind you.....it has to be a rich electric/indigo/cobalt blue.
Photo thanks to Ian
However I am a bit of a colour floozy....I don't just stick to one colour favourite - EMERALD green is working it's way up to my top 5 colours. I got this hat from crafty Oma on Etsy. My eye is now being attracted to anything emerald green. I know that 'blue and green should never been seen' but in my opinion emerald green and electric/indigo/cobalt blue go fantastically well together - especially with an accent of bright poppy red :) I'm making a garment at college at the moment with these very colours - watch this space.

Knitwit on the road

I am taking part in a craft fair next weekend with my knitting group Outcast. Come and find us and say hello. We'll be easy to spot. Look for us at stand 40 in the Wilde theatre which will be a riot of scrumptous knits and papermache manned by crafty colourful Outcast members in beautiful floral aprons (made for us by our friend Me Make.)

Also check out fellow Outcastian Jo Quinn on stand 62.

Tell your friends!!

Orkney - Man Made Nature.UK

My current work at college is a knitted interior project and is based on my own photographs and found images of Orkney. Orkney captured my imagination earlier this year during a work experience trip to the island during the summer. In this project I am interested in the juxtaposition of man made objects and natural materials and the colours and patterns found within a Orcadian seaside setting. I was inspired by the natural colours found in sea weather beaten wood and particallary curriosive rust colours caused by the natural deterioration of a man made metal objects in contrast with the indigo blues and scarlet red of plastic binsand buckets used by fishermen.



I attended a Spinner's Guild meeting I was saddened to learn that many british sheep farmers were burning their fleeces due to lack of demand from the British textile industry. Further research told me that approximately 80% of wool imported into the UK travels from Austrailia and New Zealand. This led me to think about the 'carbon footprint' of a product and decide that in this project I would only use yarn produced in the UK. This would not only reduce my carbon footprint but also (if this was to be manufactured) would support the local wool trade.

During a trip to the 'knitting and Stitching Show' in October I was able to source yarn from a company in Yorkshirewho specialise in Wensleydale Longwool sheep. From them I bought beautiful natural black combed tops which I hand spun into yarn and natural white non carded ringlets of fleece. Also in October I visited a lady in Oxfordshire (see previous blog) who breeds alpacas and from her I was able to obtain natural alpaca yarn. In this project I am also using yarn from Shetland.

It is difficult in the textile industry to produce 100% green/eco friendly products. I felt a compromise was required in order to produce a visually appealing item with a strong optimistic message of celebrating locally 'home spun' knits for interiors.

Alpacas

hello, originally uploaded by Knitwit..

For my latest college project I am sourcing yarns from the UK. Today I visited a lady who breeds alpacas and spins their fleeces to make the most beautiful yarn. The yarn is so soft and silky .

Alpaca facts:

* Young alpacas are called 'Cria' and adult males are called 'Machos'.

* Alpacas like to hang out with other family members. Young alpacas can get stressed if separated from their mothers.

* They live for 15 to 20 years

* Alpaca dung is good for the garden.

* There are two different breeds 'Huacaya' and 'Suri'. Suri alpacas have long silky dreadlocks and Huacayas look a bit like teddy bears.

* There are 22 different colours of alpaca fleece.

* They are amazingly super cute and if you look into their beautiful big dreamy eyes you are bound to fall in love with them - I know I did.

Clay Play Sunday

, originally uploaded by iant °.

Today was a very creative day. I had a wonderful Sunday afternoon at my friends house messing about with clay. The idea was to make clay heads of each other. It's much more difficult than you first imagine. I was struggling with the eyes and lips. How are you supposed to keep it simple whist trying to keep a likeness of the persons head you are modelling? I enjoyed myself so much that I want to learn more.

I am now thinking about working in the style of another artist. I have decided on Picasso...watch this space.

I went to the Origin London Craft fair at Somerset House today. We had a lovely time and saw lots of exciting things.

Here are a few of my favourites:

Claire Cole Designs

Florrie

Louise Gardiner

Reny Van Der Kamp

Ruth Martin

Laura McCafferty

If I owned a magazine

If I owned a magazine, originally uploaded by Knitwit..

I made this today on Flickr. I messed about with it but can't seem to get the right size font and colour so it is a bit difficult to read...but you get the idea. My magazine would be like Heat but for knitters and feature articles such as:

All the leaves are brown....
....what to wear when the skies are grey

EXCLUSIVE How to Drop a Needle Size in 10 Days

SHOCK Maureen drops a stitch

Boys who knit FREE poster inside.

Any other ideas on what this mag could include would be gratefully received.

Preparation....

In November myself and members of my knitting group Outcast are taking part in a Craft Fair/Christmas market at South Hill Park in Bracknell on the 17th and 18th November. During my long Summer holiday I have been knitting madly on my knitting machine to get enough stock ready to sell at the Market.

The picture above shows a handwarmer in progress and my favourite book of the moment. I keep borrowing this book from the library. I love it so much. It has provided so much inspiration and keeps me entertained as I loving look at the wonderful pages and plan out future projects. Just not enough time in the day :(

Who am I as a designer and why do I choose the things I do...

I'm a student just about to go into my 3rd and final year - eek. During my studies my college has always asked us to reflect on what inspires us and why. I am still experimenting and trying out new ways of approaching my work but after looking at my flickr favourites there seems to be a theme running through the images I like such as bright colours, nostalgia, domesticity, pattern, traditional costume, Eastern European Folk, Fair Isle knitwear etc. So perhaps this is who I am as a designer?

7 random facts about me.

I have been 'tagged' by IanT who was 'tagged' by Alabamawhirly to take part in a tagging game of passing on 7 random facts about yourself.


So here are the rules of the game, copied verbatim from IanT and Alabamawhirly's blogs;

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself: some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).
4. Let them know they've been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.

I am going to have trouble tagging people as I don't know anyone other than the above names on blogger. I am new to this. Once I become more established with the sites I'll get tagging...promise. In the meantime...lets talk about ME.....

7 Random Facts about me:

1. I LOVE Mayonaise. It is by my side most meal times. I put it on everything (except cake and curry)

2. I have a thing for men in tight leather trousers and long hair. eg. David Bowie in Labyrinth, Justin Hawkins from the Darkness and Jon Bon Jovi (oh the shame - now I'm blushing)

3. I love singing loudly when I'm at home alone to 'The Carpenters'.

4. My best creative ideas come to me when I'm in the bathroom.....either on the loo or in the bath.

5. I love the colour purple - really deep plum purple is my faveourite. I normally wear one item of clothing which is purple everyday.

6. I have a phobia of banks, post offices and doctors (I don't know why)

7. T and I once travelled from Salamanca (Spain)to Oxford on a band tour bus. We had the bus to ourselves. It was awesome. We watched DVD's and did crosswords whilst sat in oppulent green and purple leather chairs.

I am Knitwit

I set up this blogspot a few months ago but have been a bit shy to actually write on it. I am not very good at writing so that puts me off a bit BUT I had a great idea the other night and after chatting it over with my mate IanT down the pub I have decided to write more on my blog.

NOW....message to Ian - I absolutely PROMISE I didn't copy your blog name - like I set this blog up months ago before I knew your blog name.

So...my idea....I am a student. I am studying for a degree in Knitted Textiles. Instead of writing a dissertation we have to create a Reflective Journal. In our Reflective Journal we have to comment on our creative practice and reflect on our creative processes and discuss the who, the what and the why I as a designer do the things I do. Confused yet?

My firend alabamawhirly has joined a group on Flickr called 'crafting 365'. Everyday you post a photo of something you are making or have created that day and make a comment about it. The group rules say:

"Craft a little every day, take a photo and add it to your Flickr! Blog about it too if you want to :)
It's a great way to make sure devote a bit of time to your arts and crafts everyday, and it's always fun to track your work-in-progress, workspace mess and finished projects...
Everyone is welcome to join, no more than one photo per day, please tag them "crafting 365". Spread the crafty love!"

So I thought I could do a simular thing but make it about my college work and keep a blog diary/online reflective journal. My aim is to take regular photos of something that has inspired me, ideas and sucesses and/or failures of work I have created that day. Also it would be great if readers of this blog could comment on my work and give me 'constructive' feedback :)

Apologies for BAD spelling BAD Grammar and BAD punucation throughout this blog.