janeellison

[janeellison]

Happy Valentine's Day. I hope ewe spend it with the wool you love 💞🐏💞 Photo credit 📷 Sam Hutton from British Wool. (at Purl &Jane) https://www.instagram.com/p/B8i0IGeJtmL/?igshid=irdhz1e0ktjg

[janeellison]

Love it when knitters share their own unique Purl &Jane handknits & it's especially lovely when it's a garment knitted for a love one who loves it too! This jumper, from my Simple Knits book, was knitted by mum for her daughter, sewn up on the last Purl &Jane Winter Retreat and finished just in time for this chilly weather! (at Purl &Jane) https://www.instagram.com/p/B5F2JcUpzH6/?igshid=1ch1tn1mm0yqj

[janeellison]

This lovely knitter just popped in wearing her Purl &Jane Ravenscar Jumper. She knitted it with WYS Croft Shetland Aran. This shade has a beautiful tweed effect which is tricky to photograph. Doesn't she look fab! (at Purl &Jane) https://www.instagram.com/p/B4zdDixpnqv/?igshid=1ngvb8ug8vrdc

[janeellison]

This morning I say "Au revoir" to the lovely Winter Retreat knitters! This retreat we knitted socks, each one with their own initials on. Perfect for a C-word Stocking to hang up for treats! Or as one knitter found - perfect to wear! Some knitters had never made socks before but at the end of the relaxing weekend we had all made a sock on double pointed needles! Woohoo!! (at Hewenden Viaduct) https://www.instagram.com/p/B4cGY0NpJbo/?igshid=18n9p4yb4kpvv

[janeellison]

Day Two of the Mystery Winter Retreat and everyone is creating their own unique hand knit! #teasing #willshowyousoon #retreatsecrets (at Hewenden Mill Holiday Cottages near Haworth) https://www.instagram.com/p/B4Zjn8xJCgB/?igshid=1ig8uuk9k589m

[janeellison]

The Purl &Jane Skipton Studio is O P E N today (Sunday)! The lovely Sophie will be there while I am on the second day of the #purlandjaneretreat Yesterday was a super day of soothing relaxation, fun and laughter! #joinus #sharethejoy (at Purl &Jane) https://www.instagram.com/p/B4ZeZrRJ8-C/?igshid=4se5vy76e5t5

[janeellison]

This morning I am getting everything ready for first workshop day of the relaxing Winter Retreat. While I am here sharing the joy of the soothing stitch the lovely Sophie is opening the Purl &Jane Skipton Studio from 10am - 4.30pm. #purlandjaneretreat (at Hewenden Viaduct) https://www.instagram.com/p/B4W9djgpn_f/?igshid=8de38upm2gny

[janeellison]

And what do you need to complement the Shelby Jumper that I introduced to you last time? A Shelby Hat of course! While the Shelby Jumper is knitted in the round, the Shelby Hat is knitted straight with a seam. The Purl &Jane Cuckoo Cashmere 4 Ply makes the perfect yarn for baby. It is so delicate and soft baby will not even notice that they are wearing it. One of the things I love about natural fibres, the something magical it does for you and you don’t even notice that it is doing so, that is it keeps you at the perfect temperature. As you warm up it helps keep you cool and as you cool down it helps keep you warm - the perfect quality for those days when there are four seasons in one day! It’s why sportsmen and women choose to wear natural merino to train in! What better fibre for baby!  (at Purl &Jane) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3_yOksJOjm/?igshid=zqjx8gzmj4l7

[janeellison]

The patten I am going to share with you today is the Shelby Baby Jumper which is very much inspired by vintage knitting patterns. I love vintage knitting patterns, mostly just to read! They are very ambiguous and I romanticise that is because they were a starting point and the knitter had experience or help from family or friends as they spent evenings and weekends together sharing knitting techniques over the different generations. Most of the vintage garment patterns I have read are knitted in flat pieces and sewn together. This design is knitted from the bottom up in the round until the armholes and then it is divided. It is a great starting pattern for a knitter wanting to knit in the round. A simple pattern that is easy to knit when there’s a new baby on the way! The pattern goes up to 2 years old and the first size needs just one hank of my Purl &Jane Cuckoo Cashmere 4 Ply and its combination of 80% merino and 20% cashmere makes it the perfect gift for baby’s soft skin. #linkinbio👆 (at Purl &Jane) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3y2nnxJw4z/?igshid=ndr7ep0uxuie

[janeellison]

Those of you that know my patterns will be very familiar with the stitches I used on the Bempton Tank Top… it is the same stitch pattern I used on the Bempton Jumper and then on the Bempton Mittens, which as you may remember started out as a mystery retreat project!  I love this stitch pattern, it looks more complicated than it is. I’ve always loved a cable jumper but I wanted to give the Bempton cable jumper a little extra detail so I added a moss stitch panel. The original Bempton Jumper was knitted in Masham Mashup Aran and the Bempton Tank Top is knitted in the latest addition to the Purl &Jane yarn family, Cuckoo Cashmere 4 Ply. I love how the same pattern looks so delicate in the Cuckoo Cashmere 4 Ply, compared to how it looks knitted in the Masham Mashup Aran. The Cuckoo Cashmere 4 Ply is so delicate to wear, it almost feels like you are not wearing it, yet you will notice a difference when you take it off. That’s what always happens to me, I notice how warm it is, forgetting I’m wearing my Bempton Tank Top and then remove it and feel the chill!  It takes just four hanks to knit the first size. As I have mentioned before and before (more than once!) I love designing simple easy to knit patterns. One that the knitter can just sit and relax with and to this end I’ve put one of my front neck edges on this tank top. It is so simple to knit yet looks very classic. #linkinbio👆 (at Purl &Jane) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3wtcWrpxGz/?igshid=11e9v56q2q5i1

[janeellison]

I designed the pattern that I’m sharing with you today, the Tavistock Gloves, because a super lovely knitting beginner, who I helped to knit her first pair of socks, wanted to knit gloves….but on two needles (even though she totally bossed knitting on dpns!) so I designed these for her. It took me a while because the last time I wore hand knitted gloves they were were fingerless ones when I was a teenager but I had designed Frankie Fingerless mittens so I used a combination of memory and the Frankie pattern to get these right. This pattern was launched at Yarndale along with the other new Cuckoo Cashmere patterns and lots of people with different hand sizes tried these gloves on and they fitted every one, they are magical gloves! They are also magical - and so simple - to knit. And so deliciously soft and light in the new Purl &Jane Cuckoo Cashmere 4 ply. (at Purl &Jane) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3twWB6JCUL/?igshid=xove42dhp5r6

[janeellison]

Today’s pattern to share with you is the Clayton Baby Cardigan. This baby cardigan uses the same stitch pattern that I used on the adult Clayton Vest, the pattern I shared with you on Saturday. I love this stitch detail. I also love moss stitch, there I’ve said it! When I say I love moss stitch in the studio to visiting knitters I get two replies - “Oh yes, I love it too” or “Do you, I don’t!” Never anything in between! So this pattern is perfect for knitters, no matter which of those replies they would have given. There are a few rows of stocking stitch alternating with moss stitch so, if you love moss stitch, you can knit the stocking stitch getting excited about when you will start the moss stitch again and, if you don’t you can relax on the moss stitch rows knowing that soon you will be knitting the stocking stitch! This cardigan is unisex and I’ve kept it simple yet different by adding the button detail and then you can always add the perfect colour buttons on afterwards for baby. This pattern uses my Purl&Jane Cuckoo Cashmere 4 ply. It is the perfect yarn for babies as it is so soft and has all the wonderful qualities of natural fibres, like regulating body heat to keep their little bodies at the perfect temperature, cool when it’s warm, warm when it’s cool. It’s a very giving yarn. It gives joy when you knit with it, then joy when you give it and finally joy when you wear it. (at Purl &Jane) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3rMv5opf1o/?igshid=5mrlnd89ilvp

[janeellison]

This Monday the workshop is Socks! Soon we shall have more sock lovers in the world! (at Purl &Jane) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3l_P3_puls/?igshid=1tji9g2adygy8

[janeellison]

One of the things I love about designing is making knitters’ dreams a reality - designing the patterns they ask for when they pop into the Purl &Jane Skipton studio. And there have been a few requests for a top like my new pattern, the Clayton Vest. However, I have to admit, this one is pure indulgence for me. It is everything I love about a hand knit. It is a simple, easy to knit stitch pattern in simple shapes that let the yarn drape and do it’s thing. And the yarn that’s doing it’s thing in this instance is the new Purl&Jane Cuckoo Cashmere 4 ply. It is so gorgeously soft and light it doesn’t feel like you are wearing anything! It is an undyed natural shade. I used to wear a lot of black when I was younger, I’ve added a bit of colour nowadays - well, navy anyway! However after knitting with undyed natural shades I am wearing and loving lighter shades (Purl &Jane Masham Mashup Aran is want I'm wearing as I write this!) so much so I am getting excited about wearing my first cream hand knit! (at Purl &Jane) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3g7Dd2JMNt/?igshid=s5549htm8x4x

[janeellison]

The delivery arrived! For those that have been waiting it's here for you....to squeeze in the Skipton Studio or buy from my website! Enjoy! (at Purl &Jane) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3eS_CXJBNh/?igshid=1apcw3l8vvv9k

[janeellison]

The next pattern I would like to share with you is Lily Scarf. This was one of the most loved patterns at Yarndale, so much so that I had sold out of them by lunchtime on Saturday! However because my printers are local and so very kind, they printed some more and delivered them so I had more by the afternoon and nearly sold out of them again by the end of the weekend!  The Lily Scarf just takes one hank of the Purl &Jane Cuckoo Cashmere 4 ply. I wanted to design a scarf that complemented the beautiful Cuckoo Cashmere yet was simple and easy to knit. At the end of a busy day, I like to sit down and switch off for half an hour or an hour or so, which is not so easy to do with things buzzing around your head. Garter stitch is a good start to soothing those thoughts and calming the mind. I played around with many designs for the edges and they all looked good but they weren’t all fulfilling my desire for a simple pattern to switch off and relax with, a pattern that has a simple repeat but also looks classic. I wore the Lily Scarf I have knitted over the Yarndale weekend and it’s so light you don’t notice that you have it on...until you take it off and feel the chill from the air on the back of your neck. It keeps you warm without you even knowing it! #linkinbio👆 (at Purl &Jane) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3MYzIEJVyD/?igshid=nfagvksjfafn

[janeellison]

I am so excited to share with you the first of the patterns I designed for the new yarn! It’s the Florence Sock, an ankle sock knitted in the brand new, gorgeously soft Purl &Jane Cuckoo Cashmere 4 ply, which is a luxurious combination of 80% merino and 20% cashmere. The finished socks are so light and soft that when you put them on your feet, you will feel like you are walking on clouds. And because they are natural fibres, they have the magical ability to regulate your body temperature, so your feet will be the perfect temperature and so will you! They are perfect to knit now the evenings are getting darker because the yarn feels so deliciously smooth and comforting between your fingers, meaning it is soothing while you’re knitting with it…and then soothing for your feet when the socks are completed! The socks need just one hank of Cuckoo Cashmere up to size 5 and then will need another hank for sizes 6 and above. Link in bio 👆 (at Purl &Jane) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3J1s7spIv4/?igshid=1og9lglvy2m5r