City Knitty

Yarn swapping!

2010-11-18T09:54:00.003Z

Oops, I knew I'd been neglecting the blog, but I'd forgotten I still haven't blogged KiP2!

Anyway, yesterday at our regular meeting we held a yarn swap, which went fantastically well, with much yarn given, much yarn received, and even more yarn stroked! Thanks to everyone who took part, particularly our generous yarn-donators -- your yarn has gone to a better place :o)
We're planning to hold the second phase of yarn swapping at this Sunday's Double Dutch meeting, so if you missed the first one there's another chance to swap yarn! I'll bring along the leftover yarn from last night too so you can see if you want any of that.
And thanks to Alana, whose idea all of this was!

We had lots of cool crafting too -- there was a resurgence of crochet, with a very cozy hat being decorated and a couple of lacy scarves underway. We got to see some needle-felting too, complete with terrifying pointy needles!
On the knitting front there was plenty going on too, including socks being knit two at a time, a beautiful cabled baby jacket, and we got to see a finished stripy scarf, a beautiful lace top and an awesome dead fish hat!

I've also been meaning to mention Woolrush yarns, where you can buy yarns (among other things) hand spun and plied by one of our own City Knitters!

Fun times!
Hugh.

Knitting in Public (part 1)

2010-06-13T21:57:00.005+01:00

Hi folks! Today was the first day of our annual Worldwide Knitting in Public celebration, and since it was raining we headed over to Costa's in Bruntsfield for our exhibitionism.

Knitting-wise, projects included an Ishbel shawl, a lacy (and extremely purple) cardigan, and some absolutely adorable stripy baby dungarees. We also saw a top with very cool frilly edging.

We also got to see some Mongolian cashmere yarn from Fyberspates, some extremely purple Noro yarn, and some hand-painted yarn from a local store in San Fransisco. I got to show off some Yarn Yard yarn too.

We had some crochet too! There was an ongoing granny square blanket made in many, many pieces, and a giant (and apparently very cat-friendly) blanket being made all in one piece.

Also, Alana made us cake*!There will be more Knitting in Public on Wednesday (at Caffe Lucano), and next Sunday (at St. Andrew's Square), so if you couldn't make it today there are still plenty more chances!

Hugh.

(I'd also like to mention that at one (brief) stage, the boys outnumbered the girls! Woo!)

Knitting in Public 2010

2010-06-11T14:58:00.003+01:00

Hi folks! Here are those details for Knitting in Public 2010:

Sunday June 13th:
Bruntsfield links, 1 – 5pm,
Weather permitting, we'll spend the afternoon knitting on the Links. If you can bring picnic blankets, that would be great. Also bring chairs if you want them. There are plenty of food places nearby, but if you want to bring your own food/drink/cake you could do that too.
If it rains, we'll go to Costa's, which is just across the road.

Wednesday June 16th:
Caffe Lucano, 7.30 – 10pm
We'll meet as usual on wednesday too, and everyone is welcome there as always! (The other regular meetings should be on throughout the week as usual too, so there are plenty of opportunities to knit in public!)

Sunday June 20th:
St. Andrew's Square, 1 - 5pm
Also weather permitting, we'll meet at St. Andrew's Square for some more outdoor knitting. As for the previous sunday, picnic blankets would be helpful. There are more places to sit here, but again do bring chairs if you want to. Umbrellas may also be a good plan for this one.
If it rains we'll head over to Double Dutch, our usual weekend venue. This is quite a way, so hopefully we'll be able to decide quite early on if it looks like it's going to rain. I'll post my mobile number on the mailing list in case people want to check ahead before they set out.

As always, despite saying "knitting" all the time we welcome crafts of all kinds, so feel free to crochet, cross-stitch, embroider, or whatever your craft of choice is. Bonus points to anyone who brings spinning!

If you're not sure what to knit, we recommend the awesome reversible-duck-bunny:
http://www.spudandchloe.com/blog/2010/03/mini-reversible-duck-to-bunny-free-pattern/

Is that everything? Let me know if I've missed anything out.
Hugh.

Have you ever knit an octopus?

2010-05-20T09:04:00.000+01:00

Well, I thought that was totally going to be an original opener, until I looked back at the last post and found out someone was actually in the process of putting one together! City Knitty has been particularly animal themed lately, with a lantern fish project, and the appearance of a super cute penguin and a bunny for a baby in progress. It seems the season for sweaters and socks is over. Also on the go tonight was a summer top in the brightest blue, a tunic, and a lightweight shawl. Although winter is not done for one member whose pretty pink alpaca sweater sheds over everything (well, mainly me). While all this is going on, we also chatted about a wide range of topics such as matter vs anti-matter and whether there is any object that cannot be improved by the addition of googly eyes.

Onto serious matters, there was some discussion around Knit in Public week (12 - 20 June), and where City Knitty should go to knit in public - the suggestion of Bruntsfield links was well received. Everyone was also keen that we move outside for the Wednesday knitting of that week as well if the weather is nice. There is a discussion on both Ravelry and the Yahoo group if you want to join in.

Happy taking-some-form-of-yarn-and-making-it-into-something in public!

Cynthia

안녕하세요, City Knitters!

2010-02-15T08:23:00.004Z

Hey folks!
It's been a while since I last blogged, but City Knitty continues apace. This week we had a number of lace projects on the go, including a black cardigan and a shawl whose colour I've totally forgotten. We saw a pair of socks being knit in Fyberspates K1 yarn, which was an amazing deep purple colour, and heard about a learn-to-knit group for children at a local library. We also found that a really quite amazing proportion of the CKers know how to say hello in Korean!
Oh, and we saw an amigurumi octopus being put together! That was actually last week, but it was awesome so it needs mentioning anyway.

Happy knitting, and see you all soon!
Hugh.

Getting hooked

2009-12-07T14:17:00.002Z

Hi folks!

We had lots of new people this week, and had fun taking over half of Caffe Lucano.
We saw some an awesome multi-coloured crochet baby blanket with some very cool texture and layering effects, and some very cool hand-dyed yarn being made into a very cool pair of socks. We also saw a big christmassy jumper nearing completion, and had some extremely high-brow geographical discussions. Oh, and I gave away some organ donation awareness hearts, as part of the Remembering Juliana project. (Yep, it has capital letters now).
We had quite a cohort of crocheters, which reminds me that I need to be a little more careful about describing CK as a 'knitting' group -- what is the best term for this? Crafters? Stitchers?

Happy taking-some-form-of-yarn-and-making-it-into-something!
Hugh.

Only 40 shopping days left…

2009-11-14T09:06:00.001Z

Christmas means holidays. Holidays mean exactly that. Much of the discussion this Wednesday was around who was going where for the holidays. Not everyone will be back though, and we said au revoir to a City-Knitter who is returning to the US. Knitting socks to mini-socks, a hallowig to lovely soft cowl, and entertaining us with travel stories, she is always part of our Wednesday fun. Can’t we convince you to come back - we’ll miss you!!

With winter weather definitely settling in, socks are reigning supreme at the moment.Continuing progress was being made on a set of lovely mulberry-coloured coasters, a blue cabled jumper and a fluffy, ruffly scarf. There was also some firsts for some people this week: a brave knitter venturing into the world of crochet amigurumi, and a foray into land of sock-making (the joys of 4 dpns!).

If you’re thinking of coming along to a knitting session, please do! There will still be Edinburgian knitters around over the next couple of months so come along and keep them company. Weekends at Double Dutch are still on the list as well, check the Yahoo group calendar for which day each week, and maybe post a message to say you’re going along. Happy knitting!

Cynthia.

Get your hallowig on!

2009-10-31T22:27:00.002Z

This week we took over (no, really) Caffé Lucano which is proving to be a popular venue – maybe something to do with the milkshakes and cake? The most unique project of the evening was the Hallowig (as spied on knitty.com) being crafted in purple for a halloween costume – can’t wait to see how that turned out! There were all the usual suspects, plus we welcomed back the tapestry weaver as well, with the geologic feature progressing nicely upwards. With christmas coming up, there are a lot of gifts in the making, and it seems scarves and socks are the order of the season, being winter and all. I hope your loved ones appreciate their handmade gifts. The other standout feature of the evening was the small hearts being knitted by one of our illustrious leaders, as part of a charity drive to honour a City Knitter who passed away recently.

For now I think the group is happy with Lucano, so we shall be there for the foreseeable future, so please do come along and join the knitting (crocheting, weaving etc) fun.

Cynthia, via Hugh (who prefers to think of himself as more of an 'email monkey').

Metropolitan knitting

2009-10-22T14:11:00.002+01:00

Well, yesterday evening we all went to give Metropole a visit, down Newington way. We did some impromptu furniture rearranging, drank some rather elaborate hot chocolate, and did some knitting, some crochet, and even some weaving!
Projects included the beginnings of a very cool lacy shawl, an alpaca hat knit perfect for highland-visiting, and some awesome geological weaving been done on a little hand-loom. I'm also still excited that my mint tea was made with real mint, and also discovered that the library is open right up to knitting-time on wednesday evenings!

We also decided that next week we'll go back to Caffe Lucano for a second visit, so I'll make sure everyone gets reminded of that before then.

Hugh.

Bloggy, come back

2009-10-13T12:45:00.003+01:00

Hi folks! The City Knitty blog has been away for quite a while now, but I think it's high time it made a comeback.

This week (well, last week now) City Knitty went adventuring to Caffe Lucano, in search of lighter and less cramped knitting opportunities.
Knitting projects included a very complicated pair of stranded mittens, and some first steps into crochet! I'm told there was a greeeeen shawl around too, though I missed that one myself. We also ate cake, admired shiny electronics, and heard disturbing things about Cthulhu toys.

Next week, back to the Elephant House, then possibly on to visit a few more places. We also have an upcoming City Knitty birthday, which we should really think of some way to celebrate.
Happy knitting!
Hugh.

WWKiPday 2008

2008-06-14T23:01:00.010+01:00

We all headed over to Treefest at Inverleith Park for Worldwide Knitting in Public Day 2008. There was some sun, there were some light touches of rain and there was a downpour after we had all packed up. I don't think we did too badly on the weather front. We also had a good group of knitters and interested passers by.

We snagged a table with a gazebo covering it in the seating area near the food stalls. There was an ever changing cast of knitters from young to old and everywhere inbetween as people came and went to wander round the festival. There were baby projects with oh-so-soft yarn and charity hats, technical knitting and simple relaxing projects, and a whole rainbow of colours from bright to gentle to sparkly.

As promised there were also crafts including felting workshops and spinning. For more photos head over to the city knitty flickr group

Facebook group

2008-06-13T20:07:00.004+01:00

City Knitty has finally become web 2.0 and added a facebook group to our networking and communications empire! It's open to anyone and you can invite friends to join as well. Just search for City Knitty under groups and there we will be. Please do invite other Edinburgh knitters, crocheters and crafty types.

Don't forget. Tomorrow (June 14th) is Worldwide Knit in Public Day 2008 and we'll be meeting at Treefest. Treefest starts at 11am at Inverleith Park, Arboretum Place, Edinburgh (opposite the Botanic Gardens). We'll be gathering 2-4pm at the seating area by the catering section. It's a very family friendly event, but there's plenty of stalls, crafts and demos for everyone. Plus, axe throwing!

Knitting with rocks in

2007-12-11T10:44:00.000Z

Hey people!
Rather overdue blogging this time- this entry is for the meeting two weeks ago(28/11?), so let's see how good my memory is!
In preparation for the cold weather we had a number of scarves being knit, including a blue scarf in blue Wendy Fusion yarn, and green and white scarves being knit is garter stitch by keen new knitters. We also had a shawl being knit up in merino wool, which hopefully will be good and cozy!
Carrying on the cold weather theme, we had a pair of Sanquhar gloves being knit to a SWRI pattern. These are a black and white stranded design, and apparently are quite traditional.
We had some christmas-y knitting too, with some cute snowball toys being knit to go up on a christmas tree. These were made to a pattern by Jean Greenhowe, and looking through her books I think we were all suprised how many of them we all remembered from our childhoods.

There were a couple of other projects I particularly wanted to mention too:
We had a cute baby-beanie and scarf being crocheted in autumnal brown and green colours for 1-day-old Ben- so congratulations to Ben's family!
There was also an extremely educational scarf, which had been used to teach lots of different people to knit, using different yarns, colours and stitches, and even random pieces of other materials. So not only is the scarf educational, but it has nice stories behind it's pieces too.
And finally, actually from a slightly earlier meeting(but well worth a mention) we have knitted rock-cosies, being made as part of an art project investigating how different materials affect how people react to everyday objects. I'm told these may be appearing around town at some point, so keep an eye out!

Hugh.

Tea, knitting and cake

2007-10-29T15:20:00.000Z

Hey people!

We haven't seen much blog-action for a while, so here we go!
Last week saw a good deal of experimental and unconventional knitting. We had a sock being knit in pink and green Maizy yarn, made from corn fibre- vegan-tastic! We also had a pair of purple and green socks being knit(simultaneously) in special hand-dyed only-one-of-it's-kind 'Prom queen' yarn. We also saw Sirdar's town and country sock yarn being used to make a sideways-knit self-patterning waistcoat, following a pattern from the Not just socks book, which is full of funky non-sock-based things to do with sock yarn.

We also saw the finishing touches being put to a Mobius scarf with a delicate crocheted edging being added using a modified fan stitch. Continuing the scarf theme, there were also some experiments with a motif for a shadow knit scarf.

Finally(and perhaps most unconventionally of all), we saw a cupcake hat taking shape, with purple icing being added to a brown cake base, and plans for sprinkles and a cherry on top as it progresses.

Thanks people, and hope to see you next week!
Hugh.

Sunny lunchtime knitting

2007-10-01T14:51:00.000+01:00

What a beautiful day! The KB knitters spent a lovely lunchtime in the sun around a picnic table at SAC. We had a good range of projects - a purple snail toy, socks made with a pretty opal yarn, a bright pink feather and fan lace scarf, an intricate sweater and the never-ending black cardigan (yep, it's still in progress folks!).

One particularly interested observer (who wondered if we all had a "knitting virus" and wanted to know who started it!) suggested a novel use for the knitted snail's shell... ask us if you want to know what it is!

If you work at King's buildings, or if you just fancy popping along to join us, we meet on Mondays from 12.30-1.30 in the Glass Arcade at the Scottish Agricultural College.

On the road

2007-09-06T11:44:00.000+01:00

Hey people!
There was some excitement this week, it turns out Chai is closed for renovations this week and next, so City Knitty took an impromptu road trip to the Oz bar on the other side of the street.
Knitting-wise, I'm afraid I didn't take proper notes so I'm going to miss a lot of people's projects: We saw Stitch'n'B*tch's Beehive hat and Knitty's Shedir cap both nearing completion, as well as admiring a finished hat with an interesting folding design, which looked extremely warm. We also had a pair of socks with a diagonal cabled pattern and a lacey crochet cardigan to patterns being improvised by intrepid crafters. There was also the start of a baby jacket just beginning to take shape.

We also said goodbye to a couple of our regular knitters, who are off to a better place - more precisely, to sea, and to a beach in Philadelphia. Thanks for knitting with us, and best wishes on your travels!

Thanks too to everyone who came along for a happy and fun evening :).
Hugh.

Festival knitting

2007-08-22T17:20:00.000+01:00

Hi folks!
The blog is back after a short absence, but we've been knitting away all through the festival! We've gotten to see Chai busier, and we've had the chance to see some live music while we knit, although with somewhat mixed reviews.

We seemed to have a rather sock-tastic week this week, including socks knit from bamboo yarn, socks knit from 'Artesano hummingbird' alpaca yarn(with a nifty "bull's eye" heel), socks knit from with yarn from the Yarn Yard in (colours which I'm told are) sky blue, lilac and purple, and there was an attempt to modify a sock heel pattern for toy-making purposes.

We had a goodly number of scarves under way too, with a lacey scarf in Kidsilk spray yarn, a continuing Moebius strip scarf, and a big warm scarf with interesting ribbed patterns.

We also had Knitty's Shedir hat being knitted for breast cancer patients, Ysolda's Posie being modified into children's size, and we saw the completion of an oatmeal-coloured shrug, which despite what it's maker might say, I thought was really quite exciting :o).

Thanks to people for a fun and friendly evening, and I hope I'll see you again this week!
Hugh.

Knowing when to knit

2007-07-25T13:49:00.000+01:00

Hey people! We had a bigger meeting this week, and some fresh new faces too. We also had a big variety of different projects on display:

We had a fuzzy scarf being knit with multicoloured stripes, and Knitty's Binary scarf being made in support of engineers.
We had a very impressive looking self-patterning sock made from Lana Grossa "Meilenweit fantasy" yarn, as well as the return of the mediaeval hose, now with some experimental heels.
We had a lace shrug, based on a design in the Lace style book, being remodelled with new shaping, and a stripy cardigan for a small child in very nice pink and purple colours.
We also saw a beanie knit it cashsoft yarn in white and baby blue, a pair of transformer mittens in progess, and what I'm assured will become a cat blanket in orange bamboo yarn.
And I got to show off my toy lions \o/.

Hope you're all having a good week, and see you soon!
Hugh.

Blogging - the "just in time" method

2007-07-18T12:51:00.000+01:00

Hi people! We had a smaller meeting this week, but we still got a see a nice range of projects.

We had a cream coloured scarf being used to experiment with different textures and stitch
patterns. We also had a shrug knitting in pink "cotton jeans" yarn, to a pattern from the
lace style book. We got to see the medieval hose, now awaiting heels. We saw the beginnings of a cardigan being knitted in cotton tape yarn to the 'Stevie' pattern from Rowan's bamboo tape book. There was a scarf being made as a first foray into the world of cables, and the beginnings of the "Mystery stole 3", knit in extremely fine yarn. And we saw some stuffed lions being given manes.

Sorry for the late blogging this week, I'm just getting forgetful in my old age.
Hopefully will see you all later on!
Hugh.

Alkaline

2007-07-01T14:12:00.000+01:00

Hi people!

We had an exciting meeting this week, with even more crafts than last week, and a big crowd of visitors came to see us knit!
The un-summery weather seems to have impacted the choice of projects this week, we saw a diagonal garter stitch scarf, as well as the completion of a diagonally ribbed scarf, a seed stitch scarf knitted in a beige-y pure wool, fluffy scarves in both blue and a mixture of colours. We also had a very cool shadow knit scarf with blue stripes, back after a bit rest.
We also had a multicolour sock being knit as a test, in super-small size for a tiger toy, a completed first pair of socks, and some first attempts towards a stuffed toy lion.

We had a range of crochet projects too, including granny squares being crocheted in bright colours with a view to making a wall hanging, more of the super-delicate lacy doilies, and golden crochet roses.

We also saw a cross stitch celtic knot keyring, and got to watch some (possibly) 16th century finger loop braiding. In a blatant attempt to bribe the blogger I got to try it out, and can report that it's very fun :).

Happy crafting!
Hugh.

Craft-work

2007-06-23T11:28:00.000+01:00

Hi everyone!

We had another busy evening this week, with a nice mix of long-standing city knitters and newcomers. We also had a nice mix a knit and crochet projects on the go - it's really nice to see a mix of crafts coming together!
We saw a range of cardigans underway, including Knitty's Serrano pattern knitted in black and an elegant design in cram Rowan summer tweed yarn, and the finishing touches being put to an extremely pink crochet cardigan from the Stitch'n'B*tch book. We also had a new trim being added to purple cardigan which made it's first appearance at the first ever "City Knitty in the daytime" meeting!
We had a range of socks, including a toe-up sock being knit in shades of orange, a bright multicoloured sock, and a first pair of socks in autumny colours.
We also saw a diagonally striped scarf nearing completion, and experiments with crochet and knitted cable patterns. We saw some new developments in the field of recycled carrier bag knitting too, with a collection of carrier bag hats!
Finally, we saw one big unfinished object getting quite near to completion now!

Happy knitting, and see you all soon!
Hugh.

Oh, innocence has passed you by...

2007-06-17T19:57:00.000+01:00

Hi everyone!

We has a really big crowd this week, and once again took over half of the Chai teahouse.

Following on from the Knitting in Public event last week, we had lots of knitters working on Innocent smoothie hats. People seem to be having lots of fun with them and enjoying experimenting with lots of different designs.
We also saw a range of scarves underway, including one lacy design, a diagonal rib pattern, and a Mobius strip, as well as a purple 'Kashmir' shawl in Sirdar silk yarn and a 'Diamond fantasy' shawl in dark blue.
We had several crochet projects, including a green handbag and a pink cardigan from the Stitch'n'B*tch "Happy hooker" book. We also got to see some amazingly fine crocheted doilies.
We saw the return of the medieval hose, a hat in multicoloured chunky yarn, the sleeves of a blue cardigan slowly approaching completion, the beginnings of a stuffed snail toy, a baby blanket in pastel shades.

We also saw a cool book of mathematically inspired cushion designs!

Hope you're all having a good week, and happy knitting!
Hugh.

Let them eat cake!

2007-06-10T15:05:00.000+01:00

Our picnic on Saturday for world wide knit in public day was very successful. We ate a ridiculous amount of cakes, a few more savoury things and drank lots of smoothies that were generously provided by Innocent.

Despite a gloomy start to the day it turned out warm and sunny and felt like the first proper summer day. It was so warm that we had to go and find an ice bucket to try and keep the smoothies cool - after someone started talking about how they had been known to ferment and explode! Sun screen was also a necessity, although even with it my arms are kind of burnt.

There were lots of knitters coming and going throughout the afternoon. Some familiar city knitty faces, some from Rachel Henderson's knitting group and others who we have hopefully now recruited. Rachel even brought along her own film crew, who were rather bemused by the whole knitting in public thing, but happy to help eat our cakes. I think they were making a documentary about Rachel and her knitting group.

HandKnit had put together adorable kits with yarn and pattern to make hats for the Innocent smoothie hat campaign. Aren't they cute?

More photos of the day gathered together in our shiny new flickr group. You are of course welcome to join and add any photos you have of city knitty events.

It became pretty apparent on Saturday that there are lots of knitters in Edinburgh who have no idea this group exists. Several showed up because they'd heard about it from HandKnit but didn't know about us, while I've also had some comments on my own blog from people who wished they had known we were meeting sooner. It seems like we need to do some publicity and let knitters know what we're doing.

Hopefully I'll see you tomorrow and if you didn't make it on Saturday I think someone will be bringing some leftover smoothie hat kits along.

An ever expanding circle

2007-06-06T23:08:00.000+01:00

Tonight was one of those nice nights where more and more people keep turning up and we slowly expand out further and further. There was plenty to look at too. One knitter came with a marvellous golden-burnished patterned bag which they had made themselves and then proceded to pull out of it a book of elegant Louisa Harding patterns and some deliciously soft Sirdar Baby Bamboo for a skinny lace scarf. She wasn't the only one with eye-catching yarn though. A multi-coloured bulky yarn in nice deep colours was on the way to becoming a pair of really cosy socks or slippers and a nice soft fuzzy green-turquoise-blue Gedifra yarn was cast on to become a Stich'n'B*tch Sparkly hat with reflective disc beads.

There were a couple of Rowan patterns on the needles this week with a simple elegant cardigan from the new Cotton Jeans yarn and the Kashmir lace shawl design in a cashmere merino silk yarn. There was more lace to be found in the Flacon doilie pattern knit in a subdued pink yarn and more cashmere was present in a diagonal rib scarf from a teal cashmere and wool blend. An old favourite, Cotton Tape, was becoming the second sleeve of an appealing bright blue cardigan.

There were plenty of innovative and unusual traditional skills present. Carrier bags were cut into long spiralling strips for knitting into scarves and two person 15th Century fingerbraiding made its first appearance at City Knitty. Following instructions from a manuscript written by a 15th century englishwoman a chevron and then a broad cross and eyelet pattern were created. These were the techniques used for the bookmarks in books of that time. It looked really good fun.

Have a good week and please come and join City Knitty and HK as we knit and picnic on the Bruntsfield Links for World Wide Knitting in Public day this Saturday (June 9th) from noon onwards. We shall be knitting for the Innocent Smoothie Help the Aged campaign among other things.

See you there,

Clare

Tales of a knitted earth

2007-06-02T10:44:00.000+01:00

Hi people!

We had a big group this week, a good mix of projects and the return of some knitters we haven't seen for a while!
Cardigans seem to be a firm favourite at the moment, we saw two heading towards completion, with sleeves in purple and blue underway, as well as a child-sized cardigan with some very nice coloured stripes, and a Bolero(which I'm reliably informed is a kind of cardigan).
Another favourite just now seem to be socks, and while I didn't note down many details, there was a whole range of them in progress.
We also had a good few scarves, including a colourful garter stitch scarf, a complicated-looking lace one(who's pattern is now being spread around the world by our globetrotting visitors), continuing moss stitch embellishments to a green garter stitch scarf, as well as the return of the recycled carrier bag scarves. We also saw a black shawl knit from ribbon yarn with a cool fluffy trim.
We had the finishing touchs being put to a toy snail too, and I got helped with crochet edgings for a lacy doilie - thank you to people for helping with that!

Thanks to everyone for coming along, it was a really fun night and I hope to knit with you all again soon!
Hugh.

Last Wednesday

2007-05-29T22:00:00.000+01:00

Oh dear, this might be the last time anyone suggests I write the blog! Sorry it took so long.
I do have pictures of some projects and their knitters though (does mixed media blogging cancel out the late blogging?)

Anyhow last Wednesday Chai was a bit livlier than it was the week before, and some knitting snuck in while we chatted. There were a few new knitters, one practicing with impressive patience and another figuring out how to purl in order to add moss stitch ends to a scarf. This was a great way to turn the problem of mismatched dyelots into a design feature and a learning experience. A first sock was also being worked on, along with several very diverse scarves.

Some yarns made from interesting fibres, like banana and soy were passed around - and petted - while we tried to figure out how they made such silky yarn from soy beans. From what I can find online it's a by-product of making tofu and is made from the protein, rather than plant fibres, but how exactly it's made is still a bit of a mystery.

Hopefully I shall see you tomorrow :)

p.s. we also talked about plans for June the 9th - worldwide knit in public day. I think the current idea is for a picnic (of a relaxed potluck sort) on Bruntsfield Links. How does that sound? Given that this is Edinburgh we might want to cross our fingers (not while knitting) that it doesn't rain and make a back up plan in case it does. Can anyone think of a sheltered but public venue?

Quiet evening

2007-05-16T23:33:00.000+01:00

Chai Teahouse was quite quiet this evening outside of the group of knitters sharing projects and ideas. As fits the recent change in the weather, there were lots of wintery projects on the needles. Four scarves were in progress: a scarf knit from soft, fluffy grey monster yarn; a zany explosion of blue, purple and gold fuzz and ribbon yarn; random prime number stripes in red, brown and green; a shadow knitting illusion scarf in blue and light blue; and a cyan-greeny scarf with a rib neck and garter stitch ends for the New York City Mission. A watchcap in blue yarn was started and a new knitter relearned how to cast on and knit 1x1 rib. Finally, the second of a pair of light blue thigh high woolen stockings was well underway complete with a recently mastered cuban heel.

Knit on, friends.

Clare

Sunny Sunday Knitting

2007-04-30T10:38:00.000+01:00

As an addition to the more frequently blogged Wednesday sessions we also have weekend meetups. We alternate between Saturdays and Sundays in an attempt to make sure no one has an excuse not to make it at least once in a while.

We meet at Double Dutch, which is lovely all the time but really comes into its own on a sunny day.

We were a small group yesterday but we still managed to scare up 2 sock projects and the finishing of a baby jumper between us. The irrational fear of finishing was discussed and it was agreed this was an advantage of socks - very little finishing required. However, after some false starts the sleeves were safely attached and the jumper looked adorable. As well as all this excitement your intrepid reporter managed to eat two cakes and they were amazing.

Next week Double Dutch is on a Saturday. I may only have one cake next time.

Wednesday again!

2007-04-26T16:02:00.000+01:00

Usually we don't seem to see photos posted too often, but I decided this is a special one! One of our knitting men, this one , showed up with an awesome little family! Just more proof that knitting men are a seriously wonderful addition to any knitting group!
We where a small but comfy group and two husbands made it along. Both non knitters, but fun nevertheless... Projects this time included some Stripy Mittens, potentially inspired by the book "Shadow Knitting" by Vivian Hoxbro, a Lacy Cardigan in a very nice blue, two Striped Shawls of different kinds by different personalities, and a pair of Toe Up Socks. I also think a Baby Cardigan joined us a little later on, but I am not 100% sure...
We did have a very good time! So come along and join us!

Knitting on a sunny afternoon

2007-04-11T12:23:00.000+01:00

Hi people.

Just a few of us turned up this week, but we had a nice relaxing evening nonetheless.
Projects on display were Knitty's pretty sideways-knit Haiku cardigan, a little baby cardigan with intricate scalloped edges, adventures in basketweave(possibly as part of a scarf), and a stuffed snail toy.

I also notice that with our reduced numbers, this week we had as many male as female knitters :).
Man-with-pointy-sticks Hugh.

My favourite game

2007-03-30T22:09:00.000+01:00

Hi people!

We had a nice little meet-up this week, and we saw lots of long-running projects coming along nicely.
We saw the beginnings of another stuffed torus toy, this time in the form of a snail. We saw a pair of socks with a very intricate-looking texture beginning to take shape. We saw a whole range of cardigans - we had a small-person cardigan, a baby cardigan with pretty scalloped edges, and the finishing touches being put to a wraparound cardigan. We also got to see some more of the recycled carrier bag scarfs, which apparently are attracting lots of attention in fashion circles down in london!

Hope you're all having a good week, and look forward to knitting with you again
soon :o)
Hugh.

Knit, don't freeze

2007-03-11T17:53:00.000Z

Hey people :o)

We had a cozy little knitting session this week, and a good mix of new people and regulars.
We also had a range of projects, including a (slightly) lacy baby cardigan, a moss- and rib-stitched jumper, a continuing pair of socks, a funky fluffy scarf made from a mixture of yarns, a pair of fingerless gloves, and a pair of shawls, one looking delicate and green, the other bright and multicoloured.
Stranger projects included a scarf knitted from carrier bags, a horse grooming mit knitted from baling twine and a cushion cover made up of crochet and leather patches.

Hope you all had a good time, and see you all soon :o)
Hugh.

Valentine's Knitting

2007-02-14T17:35:00.000Z

Hi, people!

This week saw new appearances by several old favourite projects, including medieval hose, a moss stitch baby blanket, a super-foldable shopping bag, a grey jumper with nifty pink highlights, and a scarf with funky diagonal stripes.

We had a selection of adventurous new knitters too, with first attempts at scarves and socks, and an exciting collection of projects entering second iterations, including scarves with a variety of stitch patterns and sparkly yarns, an extremely cute stuffed cat(soon to be joined by more cat-friends), and an ever-expanding empire of chunky variegated scarves.

Keeping alive the spirit of experimentation, we saw experiments in basketweave stitch and a hat being knit from first principles, without any pattern at all.

We also got to play with some shadow knitting, which seems like a great way to spread subliminal knitting propoganda.

Happy Valentines day to everyone, and see you all soon
Man-with-pointy-sticks Hugh.

Sunny Saturday Knitting

2007-02-03T20:39:00.000Z

Well, that was nice. We met at Double Dutch, coffee, tea, and the sweetest hot chocolate on the planet was drunk. And some very nice looking food and cakes were seen at the table too.

Projects were pretty varied -

One knitter brought her loopa, so we were able to see it in action - instant gratification was the verdict,

Val was knitting a soon to be finished (provided it stays short) fluffy purple scarf,

Sally was working on her first adult sized sock, and popped out to get the guardian so we could see the Craft supplement in it today,

Sid was making a stripey hottie cover, and had brough along a copy of take back the knit she picked up in HK handknit. pretty interesting articles including one on vegan knitting and the patterns included socks for flip flops.

Jenny was working the ribbing on a hat - and the yarn was pretty amazing, blue grey fluffy stuff with splashes of silver all over. not a silver thread, but literally splashes of silver from what I could see

I was working on the 4th sleeve of the epic pullover - nearly there, just 20 rows to go! and I'd brought along a few copies of Slipknot (no don't google for it) the quarterly journal of the Knitting and Crochet Guild. Some of the pictures in it were edifying, to say the least. if even one city knitty member joins the guild, our meetups can be listed in their journal and webiste. i might just be that member.

Suzie joined us to watch and chat, and we managed to leaflet one of the employees.

We talked about stuff to do at the museum on the 18th - we think that the plastic bag knitting is going to be popular, and it looks like we'll have to draw lots to see who gets to be madame dafarge... the guillotine is going to be popular, who wants to make up the rota?

There was talk of doing the same again next saturday - 2pm, but check the yahoo group, any discussion will be taking place there.

Cheers... Alison

These woollen ideas

2007-02-01T20:24:00.000Z

Hidely-ho, knitterinos!

Another exciting evening of knitting this week, with lots of newcomers and lots of exciting new projects including a variety of scarves, from a nice mottled garter stitch to big and chunky with detours through funky diagonal ribs, and the beginnings of a black hat and a cool purse with an intricate textured pattern.

We also got to see a lovely fluffy baby jacket and a pair of stripy orange socks nearing completion.

Some old favourites made a return too, including a wavy shawl, a jumper knit on a circular needle, and a pair of medieval hose. More unconventional projects included continuing experiments with knitting ties, the beginnings of a glove puppet, a 'Pirate Queen' bag and a pair of socks for cosplay purposes.

We also learnt how to cast on Mobius scarves(special thanks to Jan for repeating the bits I missed!), and got to see the (pretty amazing) completed version of the stranded jumper from last week.

I hope you all had as much fun as I did :o)

Man-with-pointy-sticks Hugh.

In the cold, cold night

2007-01-25T09:12:00.000Z

On a freezing cold tuesday night, an intrepid group of knitters mosied along to the teahouse with a wide variety of projects.

We had a pair of second jumper sleeves taking shape, a wavy shawl, the turning of a sock-heel being made to look easy, and a collection of scarves including a group of first-time knitters making impressive progress.
The baby knitting faction was represented by a moss stitch baby blanket and a cute baby hat.
More unusual projects included a stuffed cat teddy, a pair of ballet-like slippers, a pocket market bag, a pair of mini socks for a teddy, and a snood (I hadn't heard of that before).
We also had some adventures in crochet, with me attempting to understand the geometry behind crocheting flat circles.

Next week Jan is planning to demonstrate how to knit the famous Mobius scarf (http://www.planetshoup.com/easy/knit/scarfmb.shtml), and asks people wanting to give this a try to bring along a long circular needle(~80cm), and if you can cast on 100 stitches(or half the desired length of your scarf) beforehand this will help speed things up. Yarn-wise, she suggests 5mm needles and chunky yarn. Should be fun!

Thanks to everyone, I had a great time and hope to see you all again next week :o)

Man-with-pointy-sticks Hugh.

Tango and Yarn

2007-01-12T14:39:00.000Z

It was a fairly nice evening, and many used the break in the rain to get out and have fun. And this time we had some very nice entertainment at the Chai: a group of people dancing the Tango, and good at that. So we will see if they are coming back again and I could imagine some exchange there: City Knitty people might try a few new steps and the Tango crowd might try a few new loops... one never knows.

As usual there was a lot of nice projects, news and ideas to be admired and shared. A mother came to visit and showed us how fast we could be knitting with the right experience, Baby clothes where knit and lace was tackled. There was a very nice vest being knit, and we had some people crochet as well. A very wild and colorful scarf was also in the mix, and some socks that still needed to be finished for Christmas.

So as usual there was a lot of fun! Come and join us next Wednesday!

Cold, Cold, COLD outside!

2006-12-20T23:03:00.000Z

I arrived on a cold night, to see that I was early enough for a seat on the sofa!

Lis was knitting a mohair lace scarf for her Aunt, I set to on the third sleeve for the epic extra warm cabled pullover. Well, actually I set to a glass of wine first. (The third sleeve is just the first replacement for the other two which were too big, so don't worry too much.)

Linde had just time to show us her knitted bunny, and tell us that next was going to be an aardvark before heading off again.

Nuala was knitting a hat from the very first edition of Knitty. That's Fall02 - 4 years ago.

Liz arrived and proceeded to cast on for a doll's jumper on 1mm needles, with 1 ply yarn. Honestly, Liz, me with my super chunky, you with your *1 ply*.

Ana had no knitting, but she had brought chocolate chip cookes, and she did help Lis & Liz work out a tubular cast on for an ipod cozy. (I had to ask what a tubular cast on is.)

Martin had no knitting with him either, but he does own a hat hand-knitted by Carol Meldrum of HK Hanfknit, so I suppose that's ok. He doesn't knit *yet*. Oh yes.

We took advantage of Chai's "buy two large glasses and get the rest of the bottle" offer, and we need to remember that for future weeks, I know we've talked about Chai being a bit expensive - but if we all decide to drink the same thing a 250ml glass of wine comes down to about £3.15.

Oh and my bus home was early.

Settling in

2006-12-13T22:23:00.000Z

It's our second permanent session in our new home Chai and things are looking nice and cozy as we managed to snag the corner with the nice sofa. There were plenty of knitters and plenty of cool projects to look at and talk about.

New this week were a lot of interesting projects: There was a sweet children's cardigan with a scallop edge and a little stitch pattern detail every 5th row, a green crochet flower, a crochet hat and a mauve and purple crochet flower to be added, a super cute garter stitch dolphin, purple white and dark blue socks and a black and white illusion scarf with a hidden piano keyboard design. An impressively unusual project was the entrelac christmas stocking which used 7 kinds of green 4 ply yarn and stuck out in all directions and in all textures and colours. I can't find a picure online at the moment, so the knitter responsible may be asked to volunteer one of the finished project. There was a swatch for the latest incarnation of the Snow White jumper - http://www.ysolda.me.uk/wordpress/index.php/archives/2006/10/14/snow-white/ and a first stocking stitch swatch. Also, there was a Janosch cross-stitch design complete with Tigerente!!! (Tigerduck!!!) and a childrens cardigan with an arrows design.

Ongoing projects included: a blue cotton wrap cardigan, a kidsilk haze 'something special' scarf, 'fetching fingerless' gloves from knitty.com, a moss green rib scarf and a grey cable vine with flowers. One finished moebius loop scarf made an appearance and another moebius scarf was cast on with a new knitter.

Interesting news for this week was 'Knitting with Balls' the knitting book for men - http://us.dk.com/static/cs/us/11/features/kwb/intro.html It's good to see some knitting patterns and books finally aimed at men and those who want to knit for/with them. More men and their knitting can be found at the Men Knit site - http://www.menknit.net/

Good luck with the festive preparations everyone!

Clare

Healthy Happy Women Day

2006-12-13T13:57:00.000Z

City Knitty was invited to present itself at the "Healthy Happy Women Day" the NUS (more about the NUS here ) held in Edinburgh on 6. December 2006. This event included workshops on Women's Health, on Relaxation (Aroma Therapy) as well as different speakers highlighting the work the NUS does in Scotland.
Alison and I (Juliana) set up a table, highlighting different things we created such as knitted cardigans, hats, scarfs and Alison brought some beautiful crochet shawls and tops. There where flyer's handed out and interest displayed.

We where there from about 11AM to about 2PM. The event itself concluded at 4PM. Other stands included The Food Standard Agency and The Body Shop as well as a stand with Aroma Therapy materials, Oils etc.

A New Home

2006-12-07T22:50:00.000Z

It was a cold, wet night for the first City Knitty at our new permanent venue at Chai teahouse. An impressive turnout managed to spread across a sizeable portion of the room, and brought a wide range of projects.
The cold weather seems to have inspired much warm fuzzy work, include a big cozy white cable scarf, a second iteration of a bright multicoloured chevron scarf, as well as a second test piece for a flowery cable scarf, two pairs of Knitty's very popular 'Fetching' gloves, both plain and stripy, a beautiful pair of mittens with fairisle flowers, a super-soft hat with an interlocking cable pattern in "SoftIce" merino and cashmere yarn, a long-running super-warm jumper, a wintery cardigan from "A season's tale", which has some very cool patterns for the rugged northern winters, and a shrug knitted on huge needles from three yarns(Rowan's 'holiday', Patons's 'splash' and a third merino yarn).
Also on display were a new cross-stitch project with beautiful sunset colours, an ipod cover double knitted as a tube, the continuation of a baby blanket, and a pair of baby mittens with delicate green highlights, and a cute dolphin stuffed toy.

Thanks to everyone who came, I had a really nice time and much enjoyed seeing everyone's projects :o)
Man-with-pointy-sticks Hugh.

We have a Counter for this Site! And more...

2006-12-07T19:29:00.000Z

Hello Everyone,

I just wanted to let you all know (gleefully) that from now on (7. December 2006, 19:30 h) we can keep track of how many people are visiting this wonderful blog! So let's make it known: come, come and see what we are up to! Post, leave comments, enjoy and know how many others enjoy as well!

Another new feature is the option of featuring different groups of links. This is nothing written in stone, feedback would be greatly appreciated! The idea is that we establish a collection of different links which can be of benefit to all of us. So what would you love to add? Your Blog, your local Shop or/and your Favorite Links? Something different? So far we only have a few lonely ones sitting there waiting for more....

Juliana

Farewell City Cafe

2006-12-02T17:45:00.000Z

After a month on tour City Knitty met at the City Café, Blair Street, for the last time and awaited the final results of the vote for our new weekly home which were announced as follows:

CHOICES AND RESULT
- Chai Teahouse, 17 votes, 77.27%
- Double Dutch, 1 votes, 4.55%
- Favorit, 0 votes, 0.00%
- Standing Order, 1 votes, 4.55%
- No preference, 3 votes, 13.64%

Chai was a clear winner so in future we will be meeting there on Wednesday evenings.

Onto the knitting, there were a number of projects make welcome returns, including a wrap cardigan, turquoise-green asymmetric armband and the little bunny whose legs were now complete, work progressing onto the body. There was also a test patch for a cabled scarf, and yet another version of the Debbie Bliss hooded moss-stitch baby blanket, this time in green, a white moss stitch baby hat (also by Debbie Bliss) and bright multi-coloured socks were all making good progress as was a lacy scarf.

Crochet flowers were being attempted in one corner alongside what was described as a “pink mess” and not far away the first attempt at knitting in the round saw the start of a pair of fingerless mittens. Another new start was a dark coloured pill box hat.

In line with the move to our new home at Chai, the City Knitty website will be getting a face lift and a temporary holding page will be unveiled very shortly.

Jan

Daytime City Knitty: Cameo Cinema Bar

2006-11-26T22:57:00.000Z

It was quite a bright and mild day for those who ventured out to the Cameo Cinema at Tollcross to knit and relax in the atmostphere of one of Edinburgh's oldest and most stylish cinemas. Recently saved from plans of being turned into a huge pub with a token small screen at the back, the family run Cameo is throwing itself into community projects and local interests. Keep an eye open for plans of a special knitting screening with the lights up at some point in the future! To the credit of the barstaff, they agreed to turn the lights up in the bar so we could see our work better.

Strangely enough, there seemed to be a predominance of dark coloured knitting projects. (Maybe the winter darkness is slowly having an effect on our colour schemes.) There was a cable scarf with lana grossa yarn in black with grey flecks and a dark shawl loosely knit using black Firefly yarn with sections variegated from blue to lilac through to pink. There were some splashes of colour to be found in the green cable knit vest and the mostly neglected due to work committments garter stitch squares baby blanket. One spouse was modelling a completed red and black stripey jumper while their other half knitted a pair of intricate patterned mittens in the black and grey he'd suggested for her. We also managed to cover the conversation topics of education systems in the UK, the USA, Australia and Germany, New Yorks' infamous Guilliani, health systems, welfare systems, the trouble in Northern Ireland, UK political devolution and learning grammar at school. Quite impressive for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

In the meanwhile, voting for the new Wednesday night meeting venue continues...

Clare

City Knitty @ Double Dutch

2006-11-23T18:27:00.000Z

It was a City Knitty of two halves this week as due to planning permissions (or rather lack of them) Double Dutch closes at 8pm. This didn't dampen the spirits of the die-hard knitters who had an enjoyable half an hour before relocating to Chai. Double Dutch is a very nice venue with a relaxing atmosphere, bright lighting, a wide array of drinks and freshly prepared food. The staff were very friendly and welcoming, showing a great willingness to accommodate us. It is a real pity that local planning regulations mean that this venue is effectively closed to the evening knitters, however, this would make a super venue for a daytime/weekend knitting session.

The second half of the evening was held a short distance away at Chai where the knitters settled down to knitting and socializing around steaming pots of exotic teas. It is also worth noting that this is the first time the blog has been written during a city knitty event itself courtesy of the venue's wifi.

There were several new knitters this week including a first time learner mastering cast on and knit stitch and the others worked on a little bunny from Last Minute Knitted Gifts and a snuggly cream cable knit scarf with little big yarn. We also welcomed back an old regular whose wrists had finally healed enough to allow to knit a mustard cardigan in a wool/acrylic mix intended to deter the attentions of persistent moths who know a good yarn when they eat it. Other recently taught knitters were making good progress with first project scarves, a dark green garter stitch scarf and a chunky cream and blue garter stitch. Some more experimentation was going on in the realm of crochet with single, double, and half triple stitches and tunisian crochet.

Some familiar pieces were scattered around. The cute black cable dog jumper was back (underside this time) and more little garter stitch squares for a baby blanket off-white coloured). There was the light blue child's poncho with pastel coloured bobbles and warm cosy socks from a gently graduating orange-green-red yarn. There were plenty of new projects to admire too: a moss stitch scarf with a diamond pattern in a bright blue soft merino, a warm looking icelandic sweater from Elizabeth Zimmermann's 'The Opinionated Knitter', a white moss stitch baby hat with a light green roll brim from 'Debbie Bliss Baby Knits' and a lace scarf to be made from the little arrow head or the lace in cable stitch patterns.

This was the last of the new venues and now we shall discuss and vote on our favourite. Next Wednesday we will have a last meeting at the City Cafe and discuss the results of our poll...

Clare & Jan

City Knitty @ Favorit

2006-11-15T23:23:00.000Z

The miserable wet and cold weather was no deterrent to the steady stream of knitters who came in to share knitting and hot chocolate. We tucked ourselves away by the bar at the tables by the window with gentle red neon light cast over our knitting. The music wasn't too obtrusive, the overhead lights were good for knitting but the neon light did make distinguishing colours and fine work a bit difficult. It was a fun and lively place to knit though!

There was a good deal of interesting knitting to be found under the neon light. There was a fun knitted handbag using three yarns held together - two chunky yarns and a fuzzy black novelty yarn, a Jaeger baby bootees pattern being customised for premature babies' tiny feet, a pair of rainbow Knucks with a mitten part being incorporated into the original pattern and adorable cable knitted vests for friends' recent and imminent arrivals in a green and a beige 4ply cotton yarn. A simple knitted beanie hat showed off the subtle variations in the brown yarn dyed locally by The Yarn Yard and, indeed, the Yarn Yard artisan herself was present learning to knit toe-up socks using her own sock yarn in electra and purple!

There were plenty of other new patterns and techniques being learned. A new knitter was getting comfortable with garter stitch and the exasperated comments of two knitters trying to teach themselves a tubular cast on struck a chord with many a fellow knitter. A 1x1 rib scarf was being knit with stripes designed using the online random stripe generator ( http://www.kissyourshadow.com/stripe_maker.php ) and a finished moebius loop scarf was much admired for its aesthetic as well as its geeky appeal. A knitted brown bookmark with a celtic plait stitch pattern inspired another knitter to start a rose dk merino scarf with a diamond brocade stitch pattern. Both stitch patterns came from the 'Ultimate Sourcebook of Knitting and Crochet' (Harmony Guides) and there were plenty more attractive stitch patterns to be found in there.

Next week, we will be meeting at Double Dutch, the cafe on Marshall Street.

Keep warm, dry and knitting!

Clare

City Knitty @ Standing Order

2006-11-13T22:45:00.000Z

The tour continues with another sizable meeting at Standing Order. on George Street. The pub is an old bank building converted into a Wetherspoons pub creating a venue with lots of open space and some cosier rooms as well. Our group settled in one of the family area rooms away from the noise and bustle but near a large, impressive vault door. Early arrivals settled into some of the good value meal deals and the rest enjoyed their selection of drinks. There was good bright lighting and plenty of air and atmostphere without too much noise. Another good contender!

Work in progress that was brought to the light this time included: warm red mittens with a green lining, a quill lace pattern scarf made of a 3 ply alpaca yarn, a pair of Knucks fingerless gloves ( http://www.knitty.com/issuesummer06/PATTknucks.html ) in a black sparkly yarn, fair isle socks in cool fuschia and grey colouring, and a diagonal garter stitch scarf in a Twilley's Freedom Spirit yarn in a heather and rainbow colourway. There was also a knitter making her first tentative stitches of crochet and some fun fuzzy bags waiting to be sewn up and used.

Eye candy was provided by the book 'Knitted Flowers' brough to us by Nicky Epstein the lady repsonsible for other favourites 'Knitting on the Edge' and 'Knitting over the Edge'. Sweet, cute and fun!

Ongoing projects from last time were a patchwork garter stitch blanket, a dog jacket with seed stitch and cable design, a creamy blue chunky scarf, and the Lady of Sharon cross stitch which is taking priority in a bid for completion by the new year.

Our next meeting will take place at the cafe Favorit on Teviot Place.

Come along and see what you think!

Clare

City Knitty @ Chai Teahouse

2006-11-07T17:09:00.000Z

This was definitely a good start to the City Knitty tour of Edinburgh venues! Twelve knitters made themselves at home on sofas, stools and chairs around dark wooden tables with steaming pots of tea keeping warm on twinkling tea lights. It was a pretty nice evening. There was plenty of light for knitting, crochet and cross-stitch and plenty of conversation flowing around and across the table - something which can be quite an effort when the City Cafe is in full swing. All in all, a promising contender!

Full advantage was taken of the ample overhead lighting as we got stuck into our latest projects. One lucky Jack Russell Terrier was going to be the recipient of a dog sweater knit in seed stitch with a stylish cable running down the back. Simple but colourful garter stitch squares were being produced for a Debbie Bliss patchwork baby blanket. The glamorous Lady of Sharon cross-stitch piece returned to be better appreciated and worked in better light this time, and there were some warm thick mittens with cables knit with wool fresh off the sheep and spun with the lanolin still in the fibre. More cables were taking shape on the sofa as some experimentation for cable swatch bookmarks was underway. More gloves appeared but knitted fingers were also shunned in favour of a cool fingerless glove pattern from knitty.com in lana grossa Cool 2000 yarn in a pinky-orangey- purple colourway.

Cold feet were not to be neglected either with a pair of creamy, knee high medieval hose following an old traditional pattern, and a simple sock pattern in a cosy burnished orange, red and dark green yarn by Meilenweit. The practical knitting continued in a range of exciting scarf patterns. The colourful chevron scarf returned to be knit from either end and then joined in the middle (for nice shapely chevrons at both ends) and a lovely feather and fern lace pattern in fuschia using Rowan Kidsilk Haze caught a fair few eyes as well. The final scarf was the first ever project for a knitter who just learned that night and was soon well on her way to producing a chunky cream and blue wool garter stitch scarf. Congratulations! Finally, sweet pom-poms made of a light blue, pink and yellow yarn were being created for a young child's poncho. Definitely the thing for these brisk wintery days coming upon us.

There was also a link recommendation: http://www.yarndex.com/
An online index for yarns detailing fibre, gauge and so on. An invaluable tool for yarn substitutions and finding out about discontinued yarns.

Our next meeting will be at the pub Standing Order on George Street over in New Town.

Do come join us!

Clare

We got post!

2006-10-25T23:40:00.000+01:00

So, we settled down to our usual evening of knitting and relaxing only to discover that we had post. There it was. A letter addressed to City Knitty care of City Cafe, 19 Blair St. It was one of those business envelopes with a window and the address was neatly printed on the letter inside. The contents turned out to be a flyer and accompanying letter informing us of the recent publication of 'The History of Knitting Pin Gauges' by Sheila Williams published by Melrose Books. It's the culmination of 2 years research by the author and does seem to cover some other aspects of knitting tools as well. Even though it's a random advert, it is nice to think that we were noticed.

So what was happening knit-wise? There was a soft grey soft toy just starting on the needles following Ysolde's Stuffies pattern. Newly discovered cable techniques were taking bloom in a number of swatches with multi-coloured cables (a really nice idea). A 100% cotton yarn was being knit into a cute chevron scarf in lime, turquoise, yellow and pink. We were also treated to a tantalising glimpse of a cross-stitch project for next week which was a sumptuous image of the Lady of Sharon with incredible colour and detail. Moving to a lighter venue means that we'll be seeing more cross-stitch and other finer projects on Wednesday nights. More rich colours were on display in a knitted sock made from a locally hand-dyed yarn in orange and green hues (called tomato plant. :). If you haven't come across them yet, the Yarn Yard dyes yarns in exquisite colourways, and they're based just outside Edinburgh! - The Yarn Yard: http://www.theyarnyard.co.uk

Oh, and next week's city knitty will be at the Chai Teahouse (on Merchant Street off Candlemaker Row) from 7.30pm onwards: -
http://www.chaiteahouse.co.uk/

Come check it out!

Clare

Good times!

2006-10-19T00:57:00.000+01:00

Maybe it was just me and the fact that I was eating a goodly portion of spicy potato wedges and bruschetta, but tonight seemed like a really satisfying and fun night. There were lots of people sat about talking and lots of interesting people to talk to with varied projects. As suits the season there were two pairs or mittens on the go. One pair, was an elegant brown and black rendition of the Manly Mitts from knitty.com and the other pair was a dark blue and white pair with really interesting colourwork and lots of detail. You could tell that wearing either pair would be a real treat this winter. There were a couple of pullovers including the Viveka pattern from knitty.com. A nice light blue children's beret was just starting today and a moss stitch hooded blanket from Debbie Bliss' Baby Knits was making good progress as well.

Unusually, there were jumpers being knit and crocheted for dolls on 1mm and 2mm needles and hooks. If you're wondering how you find wool that thin, you simply take a nice several ply yarn and unravel to use two strands at a time. The packet of tiny pink doll's buttons were phenomenally cute. Also unbelievably cute was a finished knitted geometric stuffed tube trefoil shape with eyes. Somehow mathematically interesting shapes become insanely cute when knitted and given googly eyes. Another slightly larger one is in the works as well, which allows us to investigate whether the cuteness factor of a googly eyed, knitted shape dimishes with increasing size.

Remember to take the knitted cuteness in life where you can!

Clare

City Knitty: 11.10.2006

2006-10-19T00:33:00.000+01:00

After all that excitement at the parliament it was quite a quiet Wednesday evening at the City Cafe and one that I lost my notes for it would seem. Although now I think about it, it's quite likely that I didn't take any because I was convinced that I could remember and would blog forthwith on returning home. Hmm. I do remember the conversation though as we started debating whether or not City Knitty needs to find a new home.

We've been meeting in the City Cafe since our first ever meeting but it seems to us now that while being a cool hang out and having tasty generous food portions the City Cafe is somewhat on the poorly lit and rather loud side. So a rough plan has been sketched out for taking City Knitty on tour for the month of November and trying out new venues that our amassed resource of knitters recommend. Initial suggestions include Chai teahouse on Candlemaker Row and Standing Order pub in New Town. So please come forth with any good ideas for well-lit, spacious, friendly venues of a reasonable price in the centre of Edinburgh.

As for the knitting, from who I remember being there I'm guessing it was a scarf swatch, an empress line jumper, a black and red reversible jumper, a moss stitch hooded blanket and a pair of nice twisty wrist warmers. Forgive me if I'm wrong.

All ideas for possible new venues are welcome!

Clare

Daytime City Knitty: Scottish Parliament Cafe - [07.10.2006]

2006-10-18T23:43:00.000+01:00

What with being the seat of the nation's power and having a free creche, it had to be agreed that having a knitting meet up in the Scottish Parliament cafe was a pretty dang cool idea. It was also the first time that we've undergone a full on security check as bags were scanned and belts removed to go through the metal detector. Once inside we found ourselves in a light, airy space with plenty of exhibits, guided tours and freedom to wander into the main chamber (you could smell the scottish wood). Children were taken to the free creche to play and the adults settled themselves round a couple of tables in the public cafe.

So I think our knitters represented themselves very well with a good varied selection of colourful and fun knitting. There were purple and yellow mittens, a pink and white fluffy hat and socks in pink, green, blue, orange and orange regia yarn and dark blue, brown and cream opal yarn. There was a crochet baby blanket in orange, green and yellow. A blue version of the 'Go everywhere, go with everything' cardigan from the Stitch and Bitch book was receiving a blue and lilac fluffy yarn crocheted trim. A cute little bag was knitting up in a Lana Gross merino acrylic mix up in pink, orange and green. Felting was also present with the i-cord handle for a blue booga bag and an already felted version which was very cute. Oh, and there was a completed knitted womb from the knitty.com pattern for the friend who has everything!

It was also a time for passing round recently discovered knitting books and magazines. Books to look out for included Knitting for the First Time, Scarf Style and From Needles to Hook - Knit to Crochet Patterns Conversion. The last book dealt with how to convert knitting patterns into crochet patterns and in hindsight it seems strange that such a good idea for a book hadn't been realised before. The latest issue of the magazine Knit Today was out and discount flyers for the new McAree Brothers knitting and haberdashery shop were distributed to all.

In summary, it can be said that the parliament is well worth a visit, friendly to knitters (we met an older lady who was thrilled to see knitting and showed us her lovely handspun wool and wooden buttons) and it's a good place to bring along young ones to play in the creche. I do wonder whether meeting in parliament makes this the ultimate stitch 'n' bitch seeing as we brought the stitching to a place where there's sure to be plenty of the latter.

Stitch on and may your voices be heard!

Clare

New beginnings

2006-10-05T00:00:00.000+01:00

There were a couple of new faces at knitting tonight, which wasn't unusual but always a nice thing to notice. One new knitter had bravely decided to come along and ask to be shown her very first stitches and another new face produced a very snuggly, fun, loopy, teal coloured scarf. A further rummage in her bag produced yet more snuggly, loopy yarn in a warm brown and bright multi-colours. Elsewhere, the last arm of a children's donkey jacket, some dark blue neat gauntlets (wrist-warmers), a reversible red and black pullover and the manly mittens pattern from knitty.com were taking shape. Finally, there were over the knee length socks or hose following a pattern for socks worn in the late 17th - late 16th century, which just goes to show that you can keep a good thing down.

Another new beginning was in the air as flyers for the opening of the new McAree Brothers knitting and haberdashery shop were passed around. The shop opens on Monday 9th this month on 19 Howe Street and there's a 10% discount available with their flyer. Knitters of Edinburgh welcome this further addition to the city's knitting opportunities.

Enjoy the new treats!

Clare

City Knitty: 27.09.2006

2006-10-04T23:28:00.000+01:00

The last of the autumn drizzle and rain brought in knitters of high spirits and fine company to fill our table. Among projects under way were experiments with a beautiful fine sock yarn, a warm cosy cardigan, good progress was being made on a blue Novita cardigan pattern and more besides. The wet wind also blew in news of the ongoing sock wars. One pair were completed within two days ready to take out their target, another pair were in the post as the harsh realities of chance meant that one knitter had to take out her fellow city knitty goer and a heel had just been turned on a second sock.

Wrap up warm out there, it's a knitter versus knitter world....

Clare

Daytime City Knitty: Prestongrange Industrial Heritage Museum

2006-09-23T19:00:00.000+01:00

Our plan to enjoy being outside before the winter sets in was blessed with glorious sunshine making our decision to visit Prestongrange Industrial Heritage Museum a wise one indeed. The little visitor centre and cafe had plenty of room for knitters and their family young and old. Even though some areas had been fenced off for safety, there was still plenty of big, old, machinery to look at and climb on. Ripe blackberries grew among disused train tracks and old wagons. It was great to rediscover the simple pleasures of wandering along train tracks balancing on the rails and following wooded trails. For more information on Prestongrange see their website: http://www.prestongrange.org/

So what were we all knitting this weekend? There were blue socks knit on double pointed needles and a blue, lace knitted cardigan. A cute, fuzzy, multicoloured baby blanket was being crocheted and a big grey, lopi jumper started on Monday was already nearly complete. An attempt to learn continental-style knitting yielded a simple piece of stockinette and an injured knitter returned to knit with a soft, yellow yarn. There were knitting magazines (Knit Simple and Knitting) and favourite books (The Knitters Almanac by Elizabeth Zimmermann and Knitting Revolution: Colour by Sally Melville).

Photos to follow!

Clare

Very late post!

2006-09-23T18:14:00.000+01:00

I have meant to do this for weeks and haven't had the time. Here are some pictures from the citty knitty day time visit to
Prestongrange Industrial Heritage Museum on Saturday 23rd September!

Here are a few of us sitting in the cafe knitting or crocheting.

Prestongrange is a brilliant place to visit for both old and young. The staff are very helpful and friendly. (However I might be a tad biased as my hubby works there, but not on the weekends!)The museum is open from April till October and there is plenty to see, lots of old industrial machinery,(some fenced off due to Health and Safety), woodland walks, wide open space and a Cornish Beam Engine. The cafe has plenty of room to sit with a large window which allows plenty of natural light, just great for knitting!!! There is also a small museum of exhibits from the site in the in the cafe area.

The Cornish Beam Engine and winding gear from the pit head.

Some of the tea pots made at the Prestongrange pottery and miners lamps, just some of the exhibits in the museum.

ETA: Originally posted 2.12.06, post redated.

Autumn breezes

2006-09-20T22:55:00.000+01:00

Well, weren't we treated to a fine display of what the weather can be capable of! The temperature remained pleasant while the wind blustered and buffeted playfully about; if somewhat roughly on occasion. However, it was a good wind that brought many knitters to our table.

The changing seasons inspired one knitter to turn to Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitters' Almanac and get started on the Wishbone Sweater in a good, chunky, grey wool. Nearby, an inviting cardigan knit with Guernsey wool from the Shetlands was underway complete with the recipients initials in a band of detail. Another gift taking shape was the second of a pair of red socks and a swatch of Jaeger Matchmaker Merino in 1x1 rib. A long, blue, unusual rib pattern cardigan was well on the way to realising a design from the finnish company Novita. Finally, another first sock was being knit, this time with Regia self-patterning yarn.

The season for warm knitting is upon us!

Clare

The clarion call for sock knitters

2006-09-13T23:39:00.000+01:00

It was a surprisingly warm evening as the first of the sock warriors assembled to prepare for their upcoming campaign. "Sock warriors? " I may hear you ask. Indeed. Sock Wars is the challenge set for all those sock knitters among you. The premise is quite simple: interested knitters register to participate, they are given details of a yarn and desired gauge, on a set date they will receive a sock pattern and the name and required size of a fellow participant. The challenge is to knit a pair of socks for that person as quick as possible and send it to them, once they receive your socks they are knocked out of the competition and must send you their uncompleted socks and target name for you to complete and similarly remove from the competition. However, while you're doing this, there is also another knitter out there with your name and a pair of socks in progress. Everyone ends up with a pair of socks knitted by someone else and the overall winner receives knitting-related prizes. There are several participants from Edinburgh this year and they've formed Team City Knitty to cheer each other on and share progress. So we'll be reporting on the Team City Knitty news in this blog. Good luck to all of them! For more info, see the Sock Wars website:
http://yarn-monkey.blogspot.com/

Socks featured prominently this week as a long grey ribbed pair for a husband. a sock swatch for the Sock Wars challenge and a first ever pair of knitted socks reached the heel flap. There was plenty more to appreciate though: a red and black striped jumper with a different stitch pattern on each side to give the wearer a choice, a lovely light slivery-grey bolero jacket for a baby, a black shawl with a simply lacey pattern and a new knitter practising her first stitches on yarn found at a local charity shop.

Here's to bringing the excitement to knitting!

Clare

Small, but wonderful...

2006-09-06T22:28:00.000+01:00

There were lots of little objects being knit tonight, although being small definitely didn't rule out being complex in some cases. There was a sock in self-patterning yarn with brown, white and dark blue, little garter stitch squares for a baby blanket, a crocheted hat in a chunky grey-creamy-reddish kind of yarn and a nice neat row of double chain crochet stitches made for the first time. There were also some little creatures taking shape on the needles; the Knitted Torus project continues with the beginnings of a badger, and also in its infant stages was a knitted mouse - a Sirdar pattern that may actually be the sweetest knitting pattern in existence ever. The whole table was reduced to high-pitched "Aw" noises when confronted with the cover picture depicting a scene filled with knitted mice in varied and multi-colour attire. It was simply adorable.

May the only mice in your home be knitted!

Clare

What a fantastic evening!

2006-08-30T23:09:00.000+01:00

There was certainly a lot going on tonight with plenty of eye-catching projects, skill-sharing and glossy knitting books all around. So what was there to see? At one end of the table was an adorable donkey jacket and boots (Debbie Bliss pattern, see below), Feathers McGraw was back and continuing to take shape and a first-time sock in Opal variegated yarn was tentatively being introduced to dp needles. In the middle of the table another first was taking shape: a turquoise-blue handbag knit on recently uncovered jaeger dk wool from the 50's soon to become a first felting project (Booga bag - http://www.blacksheepbags.com/booga_bag.html ). It was also a first project with circular needles and a first time for knitting i-cord. All in all, a good learning project then! The other end of the table was dominated by crochet learning and teaching: a circular bag for clothes pegs, some practice of the rudimentary techniqies and finally, a colourful baby blanket knit in a cheery yellow garter stitch but with a rousing finale planned for a bobble stitch garter edging in magenta, green and turquoise (edging from Nicky Epstein book below).

There were also some good knitting books on display. Knitting on the Edge by Nicky Epstein made quite an impact with its impressive range of edgings to give a great finish to any project from garter stitch to lace. The Baby Knits Book by Debbie Blis was met with steadfast approval from a group more than familiar with the task of knitting for babies and young ones whether their own or those of friends. I don't think many knitters can escape the inevitability of knitting for a baby, so it's always good to see some stylish and simple patterns and, of course, some trickier ones for those wishing to show their skills.

A good tip discussed for those looking for new patterns but not wanting to buy a whole book was Knitting Patterns Central. This site contains lots of links to free patterns online from knitty.com to lesser known sites. Here's where to check it out: http://www.knittingpatterncentral.com/

Enjoy the post-fringe peace and quiet!

Clare

Festival City Knitty in the Daytime

2006-08-27T17:30:00.000+01:00

We couldn't have picked a nicer weekend to end the festival. The sun was shining and there was plenty of breezes to keep things cool and fresh. It was a very laid back group of knitters that sat in the Spiegel Garden sipping cool drinks and discussing the weekend's adventures. There were two finished objects to be admired: one machine knitted blue cardigan with handworked edging, and a baby blanket knit in a pinky-purple-bluey Koigu sock yarn for extra durability (the pattern came from the Stitch and Bitch book. :). Still in progress were a 1x1 rib swatch in merino 4ply, a fun yellow crocheted baby blanket with a really interesting stitch pattern and the body and first wing of that deadly villain Feathers McGraw of Wallace and Grommit fame. We also had our youngest attendee yet, a lovely 8 week old baby girl who fit right in to our relaxed and peaceful ambience. It was a small but relaxed group that met this month (my bad, last-minute organisation) but plans are afoot for next month and then we should be able to get a good crowd together again.

Come along next time!

Clare

Fair, fair lace

2006-08-23T22:24:00.000+01:00

There was some beautiful lace knitting to be seen tonight. One freshly blocked and perfect rust reddish alpaca scarf in an off-the-cuff modified mix of leaf and tree lace patterns. It was beautiful. Still in progress was a cardigan knit with cotton tape using a baby fern lace pattern and then a plainer pattern creating an empress line style bust and body. This one's going to look gorgeous when it's finished and the pattern naturally made a neat scalloped edge at the bottom. Very sweet. Last of all, a swatch of 1x1 rib in 4 ply merino was being knitted to prepare for a random prime number width stripy scarf. So all projects present were custom designed by the knitters themselves.

Here's to designing it for yourself!

Clare

City Knitty: 16.08.2006

2006-08-23T13:28:00.000+01:00

The weather was fine as was the company this evening as we gathered to knit, drink and chat. A good variety of projects were on the needles. There was a green snake eating its own tail being knit on circular needles, a 6 colour sock (knitting for friends and family can yield some unusual projects), an ivory baby blanket with an asap deadline (does that scenario sound familiar to anyone else?), a wee little ivory baby hat knit on straight needles, and finally, the fuzzy blue legwarmers were finished (or more accurately, the yarn ran out).

May your knitting times be pleasant!

Clare

City Knitty: 9.08.2006

2006-08-23T10:51:00.000+01:00

Hey all,

The good news is that the City Cafe was a lot quieter this week and we were able to snag a table quite easily. While the sky above us may no longer have been blue, all the projects being knitted this week were. The blue fuzzy legwarmers were ever present and an adorable blue Tachikoma torus toy was being created. Just to explain, a Tachikoma is a very cute robot tank with artificial intelligence from the japanese anime cartoon series Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Conplex. They look like this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tachikoma

Now imagine one handknit and shaped like a doughnut. Very cute!

A blessing to all your unusual projects!

Clare

The festival arrives...

2006-08-02T21:37:00.000+01:00

Wow was the City Cafe heaving tonight! Although, sadly it wasn't all knitters. With some dilligence and patience we were able to snag our usual table though. On the needles tonight were a crocheted afghan from granny squares of soothing tones of cream, fawn, light blue and some yellow, a not yet determined cardigan/wrap/top with a baby fern knitted lace pattern in blue and blue fluzzy yarn legwarmers from my excess novelty yarn pile. Plans were discussed for a meet up later this month while the festival is in town.

May your needles and hooks be deft and swift!

Clare

City Knitty blog is born...

2006-07-26T23:10:00.000+01:00

Welcome all to the City Knitty blog!

This is where you will find news from the City Knitty stitch 'n' b*tch group in Edinburgh, Scotland. We'll be telling you about our latest goings on as well as crafty news from Edinburgh and beyond (Yarn sale anyone?).

First a little bit about ourselves:

City Knitty is a group of knitters, crocheters, seamstresses and misc. crafters who like to share tips and projects and meet new people. Anyone is welcome from beginner to expert and we have a pretty mixed range of projects and skills. Meeting details are below.

Wednesday evenings
7.30 pm onwards
City Cafe,
Blair St, Edinburgh (off the Royal Mile near the Tron.)

This week:

*phew* is the weather hot this week! Despite the heat all this week's projects were scarves - one lovely lace leaf pattern alpaca, one big fun stripy shawl and one blue fluffy fuzzy scarf. Many soft drinks with lots of ice were consumed.

Enjoy the weather, everyone!

Clare