Le Tissier Designs

Of Larks and Linnets and Flying Fingers

Tag: KAL

  • A Little Summer Entertainment

    A Little Summer Entertainment

    I have been a fan of Kate Davies ever since I first discovered her patterns and books! I love her sense of style and secretly covet every piece of her wardrobe! Her sense of style resonates with me. Over the years I have participated in several clubs, collected, yes collected with no real purpose in mind, multiple balls of her yarns, especially the Milarrochy Tweed, and have a significant stash of her books.

    So when she started advertising her new club I was immediately interested!

    Summer of Mystery Club

    Seriously, how could I not join? Books, with a new to me Mystery writer, essays, conversations and knitting and a Mystery KAL if you want to knit along with it. Something to think about and look forward too after a long winter. The Mystery writer is one of the Vintage queens of the Mystery genre, Margery Allingham. The themes or inspiration for the patterns, including the MKAL and essays will be taken from the time period of Margary Allingham’s writing career, from the 1920’s through to the 50’s.

    I love vintage patterns. Kates’ designs will be vintage inspired, but with her own little twists. I also love to read mysteries and have never read any Margery Allingham! But I am so looking forward to discovering her books!

    The yarn Kate will be using for the designs is her Milarrochy Tweed, which is one of my personal favourites – wool and mohair blended with tweed flecks spun into the mix. This creates a beautiful yarn with body, a slight halo and colour combinations galore, thanks to the tweed flecks!

    The KDD forum on Ravelry already has three very active threads going, all about this particular club. I am really enjoying it all. Tracking down the books, playing with my yarn and anticipating what I may want to purchase (OK, I don’t need any more yarn. I have already put together 2 possible options for the Mystery KAL. But you never know what might jump into my shopping cart!).

    Option 1 :Lochan, Smirr, Garth, Stockiemuir, and for pop Foxglove.

    Option 2: Bruce, Hirst, Backen’, Asphodel and for pop, Ardnamurchan.

    I am thinking of trying a couple of other swatches as well. The first swatch is easy and may end up being what I knit, but it is too easy – I wear all of those colours and I am begining to think that it will look like everything else in my wardrobe. I think the second is my favourite so far, is is closer to the colours of the time period and possible moodiness to the novels – but there is something not quite right.

    While starting my collection of books I learned a valuable lesson. On-line book stores also sell postcards. Vintage stock, that look exactly like a book and were just as expensive! So I am now the proud owner of a Vintage Postcard! It will become my place holder for the Mystery MKAL! The Goff Place Mystery KAL.

    Happy Knitting

    Lynette

  • High Summer KAL

    High Summer KAL

    It is too hot to knit! I don’t say that very often, but here on the West Coast we are experiencing an epic heat wave. Since I cannot knit I will tell you the story of what I am knitting and what images and imaginary place influenced the creation of this new shawl.

    My real garden in early June.

    I was planning on posting this blog on July 1st when I post the preliminary sign-up on Ravelry for this KAL But it can be early as I will need to be knitting to catch up on the knitting time that I am loosing to this heat. This shawl is for a KAL (knit-a-long) that I will be hosting starting Aug 1. I am working with Ancient Arts Yarns to create a fun and engaging time to celebrate the Summer and Summer Gardens! The yarn I am using is their Lascaux Fine, a yarn I fell in love with when knitting a couple of hats, Flat Iron and a new one coming up. This pattern will have options to keep you busy and allow you choices in the finishing. There will be prizes; yarns, stitch markers and a pattern or two. So….

    Starting Aug 1, come and join us as we knit a half pi shawl.   The Sundail Shawl will feature lace panels with floral motifs, some beading (all placed with a crochet hook) and a beautiful floral lace edging.  But the highlight of the shawl is the fair-isle garden that edges the bottom of the shawl.  This fair-isle panel will be reversible and there will be an optional sundial motif, also fair-isle, that is knit separately and then incorporated into the center bottom of the shawl.

    While this is not a true mystery shawl as you know the shape and theme of the motifs, the full shawl will not be revealed until almost the end of the knit – when we start the fair-isle section. The pattern will be released in 4 sections.

    I love looking at pictures of wilder gardens, usually English in style. I am not that kind of gardener. I plant, and hope that the object of my affections will survive my somewhat haphazard style of gardening.

    I have just created a Facebook group and forum thread on Ravelry for the KAL. I hope that you will share your progress photos and gardening pictures – your garden or the one you love the most.

    High Summer in my Fantasy Garden

    I love High Summer in my garden.  I can sit on the deck at the back of the house and contemplate the beds of beautiful flowering plants all in full bloom and vegetables all starting to ripen.  The fruit trees are laden with developing fruit.  My time and efforts are showing the rewards of hard work.  The scents in the air make me feel giddy!

    But my favourite spot in the Garden is at the back of the beds, close to the fence.  Beyond the flowers and sparkling fountains.

    There grow the oldest plants and vines, all started by the original owner of my home, a herbalist with an amazing ability to grow anything (some say she was a witch).  That area of the yard refuses to be tamed.  Right now, the roses are climbing over each other to outdo themselves with headily scented blooms.  There are brown eyed Susan’s and Queen Anne’s lace, fighting for space with Forget-me-nots, Poppies and Bergamot.  Under it all in the center of that garden is an old sundial, grounding the space to the passing of time.

    That sundail is special, it doesn’t show the passing of time. the enamel on the face is as bright as the day the sundail was put into the garden. It stays fast and true as teh garden grows around it. There is magic in that sundail. It spills up into the rest of my garden as I plant and tend. I can feel that my ancestress is working beside me willing the flowers and fruits to grow and flourish. Thank-you dear lady.

    Please join me and Ancient Arts Yarns as we celebrate the Summer. Share your favourite garden photos with us and of course your knitting progress.

    Be well and knit Happy!

    Lynette

    Dates to remember:

    • July 1 – preliminary sign-up for KAL – half price
    • July 8 – next level sign-up for KAL – 25% off
    • July 15 – sign-up for KAL – full price – $12.00
    • Aug 1 – KAL starts – first section of pattern is released
    • Aug 8 – second section of pattern is released
    • Aug 15 – third section of pattern is released
    • Aug 22 – fourth and final section of pattern is released
    • Sept 15 – Show-off date and official ending of KAL

    Places to be

    Instagram tags – #HighSummerKAL #HSKAL #sundailshawl

    Badges

  • Serenity Wave KAL

    Covid has hit us all in different ways. How we cope has been different for us all as well. I cope by knitting and designing things that keep my mind occupied and my hands busy. I have taken a few others along on my distraction journey by creating a KAL with my first attempt at distraction – Covid be Damned or the Impulsive Shawl. For this I picked the happiest coloured yarn I owned and a variety of beads and patterns and just started knitting. I am actually planning the next distraction!

    Covid be Damned or the Impulsive Shawl

    I am creating a new KAL – the Serenity Wave KAL.

    This KAL is designed with relaxation in mind. There will not be anything too drastic in shaping, or anything too difficult in terms of the lace sts chosen. I am hoping that we can relax and go with the flow as we work our shawls. The stitch patterns will feature flowing lines with intriguing shapes.

    Think of your idea of a serene colour or colourway and pull those colours together for this shawl

    Dimensions are approx 22 by 62 inches – most likely a little larger. Dimensions will be updated as the shawl is created.

    This is not a mystery KAL. The shawl is a long oval shape and can be knit with 1 yarn or three different yarns. All yarns are fingering, light fingering or heavy lace weight.

    Beads are always optional but if you are using beads you will need approx 3000 beads size 8/0 plus approx 100 larger drop style beads (I am using leaf shaped beads) for the edging.

    There is a thread in my Ravelry Forum about this KAL. There are sketches and links to beads in the discussions.

    The Serenity Wave KAL starts Sept 8 and runs until Nov 18.

    There will be prizes, support and conversation. This is intended to be fun and if not totally easy at least not so difficult as to cause hair pulling.

    If you are looking for an interesting knit amongst friends please join in the fun.

    Be Well. Live and Knit Happy.

    Lynette