Simply Knitting

hello

As this issue goes to press, the Simply Knitting team are all still working from home and in many cases, staring enviously out into sun-bathed gardens while feverishly putting together all your pages. Although we’ve had a smattering of sunny spring days, full-on summer can’t come soon enough! Happily, our favourite spinners have shared a plethora of wonderful summer yarns and patterns for us to take a look at, many of which you can find on our news pages. Our mission is always to bring you the very best for your needles, so we’re really excited to have patterns from Georgia Farrell, Nicola Valiji, Amanda Berry and Siân Brown in this issue. Turn to our contents page and take your pick from our selection of wonderful, varied designs for everyone.…

editor’s choice

John Arbon Online Mill Tour Experience the wonder of the spinning mill with this fascinating video of the wonderful John Arbon Mill by Tiny Fibre Studio! It’s packed with interesting insight and facts about gorgeous yarn. Watch it at www. youtube.com/watch?v=bd5czCwJ_bY plus this delightful short film about the mill, www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFa7C4cVKQo. Fox and Badger Cushion Patterns from Donna Wilson This bright pair of cushions are available as pattern downloads and can be bought individually for £4 or together for £7. Knitted in ever-popular DK yarn, they come with a wealth of intarsia for you to try. Visit www.donnawilson.com/ product/knit-your-own-fox-badgercushion-downloadable-patterns. Lily Sugar’n Cream Fridgies We recently discovered these sweet rose knits and realised they had been designed as fridge magnets too! They’re perfect for prettifying your kitchen, or adapting into other summery decorations for you or ve your…

buy-me-now books

BABY KNITS by Susie Johns (TUVA Publishing, £12.99) There’s nothing quite like dressing little ones in clothes stitched with love and made just for them, and we love how quick baby projects are to knit too! This sweet book contains 18 adorable designs ranging from cardigans and blankets to booties, bloomers and teddy bears, all sized for ages 3-12 months. Our favourite is the classic ribboned vest in pure Merino wool, a must-have for any baby wardrobe. MODE AT ROWAN: SUMMER KNIT 4 PROJECTS by Quail Studio (Rowan, £2) This mini collection of four summery designs, worked in Rowan’s Cotton Cashmere and Summerlite DK yarns, makes the perfect warm weather knitting, just the thing for casting on during a hot weekend. It’s a great price too, working out at just 50p a pattern for a stylish ribbed…

a day in the life of…

JULIET BERNARD The all-rounder! Multi-talented Juliet is a craft PR, journalist, designer, teacher and knitter Up early or slow to rise? Usually, I would be very slow to rise, being a night owl. But we have a 14-week-old puppy at the moment, who was up at 5.30am today – it’s killing me! First job of the day? Check emails and social media to see what needs most attention. At the moment I am working on the Yarn Shop Love campaign so that needs my attention first. Mid-morning pick-me-up? We have a wonderful wood near us so walking the dogs helps me to relax. Right now all the leaves are coming out so there is the most wonderful haze of bright green everywhere you look. Fave time to sit back and take five? Around 5pm. I like…

simply knitting’s guide to knit classes

A YARN STORY Recreate the experience of yarn store shopping with this great free “virtual personal shopper” service from Bath-based (and online) store A Yarn Story. Book a time and date through the website, then give as much info about your yarn needs as possible. If you’ve got a pattern in mind, let them know what it is, if you just need a top-up of yarn for a project in progress, give the existing yarn details, or if you want help choosing a design, just let them know what sort of thing you’re after! You’ll get 20 minutes of one-to-one service from one of the expert shop team via online meeting platform Zoom, giving you a chance to shop from the store while still keeping a safe social distance! Visithttps://ayarnstory.co.uk/collections/classes-and-workshops/products/ virtual-personal-shopping TRIBE YARNS The…

lacy rose blush

YOU WILL NEED ❏ King Cole Finesse (DK, 77% cotton, 23% silk, 50g/120m) For yarn quantities and measurements see size table ❏ A pair of 3.25mm needles ❏ A pair of 4mm needles ❏ Stitch holders TENSION 22 sts and 28 rows to measure 10x10cm (4x4in) over st st using 4mm needles 20 sts and 28 rows to measure 10x10cm (4x4in) over patt using 4mm needles ABBREVIATIONS For a full list see page 87 ZIGZAG T-SHIRT BACK Cast on 88 (93: 98: 103: 108: 113: 118: 123: 128: 133) sts using 3.25mm needles. Rows 1 to 5 Knit. Change to 4mm needles. Cont in patt as foll. Row 1 (RS) P4, *k2tog, yo, P3; rep from * to last 4 sts, k2tog, yo, P2. Row 2 K3, *P1, K4; rep from * to end. Row 3 P3, *k2tog, yo, P3; rep from * to last 5 sts, k2tog, yo,…