Blog

 RSS Feed

Category: KAL

  1. 'Bring Me Sunshine' Knitalong Prizes!

    Posted on

    It's been a week since the launch of the Bring Me Sunshine shawl and knitalong and I've been blown away with how many knitters have downloaded it already and are joining in the KAL. I'm loving seeing all of the yarn choices and progress pics being posted on Instagram and in the Facebook Group!

    Bring Me Sunshine - FB Prompt

    Knitalong Prizes!

    There are some wonderful prizes up for grabs in the KAL.

    Here's a video in which I show you the prizes, and you can find out more about the lovely people behind them them! Or take a look below for all the details.

    Camilla - Lunar Lane Yarn

    1

    A Skein of 'The Brightest Dinosaur' Sparkle Yarn and an Emma Ball Tin.

    Lunar Lane Yarn is an Etsy shop shipping within the United Kingdom that sells yarn - crystals - machine knitted & hand knitted items and home sewn bunting.Created out of a love of yarn and the creative mindfulness of craft.

    Visit Lunar Lane Yarn on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/lunarlaneyarn

    Helen - Woolly Chic Yarn

    2
    A Skein of Woolly Chic's Heartspun Yarn

    Heartspun by Woolly Chic is an award winning luxurious British environmentally friendly HeartSpun 4ply, which is a blend of 70% British Bluefaced Leicester wool and 30% Tencel, made from wood pulp grown in sustainable forests. This eco yarn won the British Knitting and Crochet Eco/Sustainable Product of the Year award in 2020!

    Visit the Woolly Chic Website: https://www.woollychicdesigns.co.uk/

    Shannon - Bluefern Yarns

    3
    A Skein of 'Shoreline' Sock Yarn

    Blue Fern Yarns is a small hand dyed yarn business based in Norwich, Norfolk, UK. Shannon, the dyer and designer behind Blue Fern Yarns, has always been into crafts and started dyeing yarns as a creative outlet after a few years break from crafting. Realising this was the thing missing from her life, she built Blue Fern Yarns alongside a full-time job, which she left in May 2023 to work Blue Fern Yarns full time. Shannon creates a large variety of yarn colours on a number of different yarn bases, taking a lot of her inspiration from the landscapes around her, including the beaches, broads and landscapes.

    Visit the Bluefern Yarns website: https://www.bluefernyarns.co.uk/

    David - Arrowsmith Woodturning

    4

    A Hand-Turned Bowl in Ash and Sapele Wood

    David is my husband and often when I'm busy knitting or dyeing yarn he will take himself off to his 'lathe cave' to make all sorts of wooden wonders. David has always enjoyed woodwork and discovering new techniques to make practical as well as beautiful things. He sometimes sells his creations in his Etsy shop.

    Follow David on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dave_and_his_lathe/

    Erin - Erineen Designs

    5

    An Erineen Designs Pattern

    2 lucky winners will win a free knitting pattern of their choice from Erineen Designs.

    Erin Clayton is the designer behind Erineen Designs. She creates patterns that are easy to knit, engaging, and oh-so-wearable! Erin is very passionate about her patterns being easy to follow and uses her background in graphic design to achieve that. She grew up in suburban New York but now resides on the seacoast of New Hampshire with her amazing daughter.

    Visit Erineen Designs Website: https://erineendesigns.com/shop

    Jem - Under the Olive Tree

    6

    A £25 voucher to spend online at Under the Olive Tree Knits. Choose from hand-dyed yarns, patterns, knitting kits, stitch markers, and much more!


    I'm sure you will agree they are all fantastic prizes. THANK YOU to Camilla, Helen, Shannon, Erin and David.

    The KAL is running on Instagram, in the Under the Olive Tree Knitters Facebook Group and on e-mail. To be in with a chance of winning simply post a picture of your finished shawl on either:

    Instagram @olivetreejem - use #bringmesunshinekal
    Facebook - in the Under the Olive Tree Knitters Facebook Group
    E-mail a picture of your finished shawl to [email protected]

    The KAL will run until 31st August 2023 and the pattern will be available as a free download for the duration. The prize draw will take place on 1st September. Good luck!

  2. Free Pattern and Summer Knitalong!

    Posted on

    Download the Free 'Bring me Sunshine' Shawl Pattern and Join the Knitalong this Summer!

    It's here! The Bring Me Sunshine shawl is now available as a free download from the website and Ravelry or by using the links below.

    Bring Me Sunshine - FB Prompt

    About the Pattern

    Named after the famous Morecambe and Wise Song, Bring Me Sunshine is a simple shawl that has been designed to make the most of a pretty skein of yarn (or two!). The joy of this pattern is that it has easy-to-memorize stitches which quickly fall into smooth rhythm, and you can very easily adapt it to make a larger two skein version if you like your shawls a bit bigger.

    An asymmetric triangle pattern in shape, as you knit your shawl, parallel tracks of stockinette stitch and a simple ‘yo, k2tog’ lace stitch grow side-by-side to create ‘rays’ of colourful stitches, allowing your yarn to truly shine! The pull of the lace pattern also distorts the angle of the stitches so you end up with an almost zig-zag effect of colours which works brilliantly for colourful, variegated yarns.

    If you are new to knitting lace, this shawl would be the perfect opportunity to give it a try. Using just yarnover and k2tog stitches to create the lace, each section is worked between markers so you can easily keep count of your stitches. A video tutorial on how to work the ‘yo, k2tog’ stitch combination can be found here https://www.undertheolivetreeknits.com/lace-stitches.html. And there are also some handy hints and tips included in the pattern that will help you ‘read’ your stitches and stay on track!

    There is a Knitalong happening with prizes too! Read on for more details...

    Pattern Information

    Stitches Used – Sl1 wyif, knit, purl, kfb, yo, k2tog, ‘yo, k2tog’ lace stitches

    Sizes – One size

    Measurements – The finished, blocked item has a wingspan of 77.5” (196cm) and a depth of 18” (45.5cm)

    Materials

    • 437-464yd / 400-425m, 3.5 oz / 100g 4 ply, sock or fingering weight yarn. The yarn used in the pattern pictures is Under the Olive Tree Knits Chora sock yarn, 75% merino / 25% nylon in the Arizona Sundown colourway

    • US size 5 (3.75mm) 32” (80cm) circular needle

    • 8 stitch markers (extra stitch markers will be required if you make a larger shawl)

    • 1 tapestry needle for weaving in the ends

    Gauge: 22 stitches and 33 rows to 4” (10cm) in stockinette stitch after blocking


     

    Thank you Test Knitters!

    BMS Tests

    The pattern has been professionally tech edited by Julia Targett and was tested by a fantastic group of test knitters too!

    Thank you Barb, Doug, Fiona, Lisa, Naomi and Nicola!

    Want to go large?

    This pattern is really simple to adapt to make a 2, or even 3 skein version if you wish! Fiona did just that with a 2 skein version which you can see here. Details are provided in the pattern.

    Fiona

     


    Need Some Yarn Inspiration?

    This pattern will work with any skein of 4ply sock yarn at 400+ metres. There plenty to choose from on the website including the 2 colourways used for the sample shawls. Click on the photos to find out more.

    Arizona Sundown

    Shawl knitting pattern for hand dyed yarn

    A pretty mix of Sunset reds and pinks with sandy yellows and dusky greys

    Summer Nights

    Knitting pattern for hand dyed yarn

    A vibrant mix of sunshine yellows, sky blues and pops of purple on a shimmering sparkle base

    'Choose Your Colour' Kits are available too! You can choose your favourite sock or sparkle yarn from any available in the shop and add a printed pattern, a needle and stitch markers too!

    Create a Bring Me Sunshine Shawl Kit

     


     

    Join the Bring me Sunshine Knitalong this Summer!

    The KAL will run until 31st August 2023 and the pattern will be available as a free download for the duration.

    There are some fantastic prizes waiting to be won including:

    • Hand dyed yarns from Lunar Lane Yarn, Bluefern Yarns and Woolly Chic
    • A £25 voucher for Under the Olive Tree
    • Patterns from Erineen Designs
    • A hand turned yarn bowl from Arrowsmith Woodturning
    • One more prize to be announced!

    Full details of the prizes and the talented creators behind them will follow in the next newsletter.

    The Knitalong will run on Instagram, The Under the Olive Tree Knitters Facebook Group and via Email. To be in with a chance of winning make sure you post a picture of your finished shawl either on:

    Instagram - tag @olivetreejem and use #bringmesunshinekal
    Facebook - Post a photo in the Under the Olive Tree Knitters Facebook Group
    Email - send a photo of your finished shawl to [email protected]

    Each post of a finished shawl will count as an entry so if you post on all 3 platforms then you will have 3 entries in the prize draw! The draw will take place on 1st September

    Finally, here's a little video about the shawl and the Knitalong!

     

    I hope you enjoy this free pattern and I look forward to seeing your Bring me Sunshine Shawl in the KAL :)