Category Archives: Making

What I’ve been up to

Knitting know-how workshops

“Don’t let your awkwardness worry you; or the sliding about of needles, you are their boss and they know it.” (Elizabeth Zimmerman, Knitter’s Almanac)

I’ve been getting ready for a new series of workshops at New Brewery Arts in February. The classes will be based on the throw that I designed for The Art of Knitting, using increases and decreases to make squares, except this time we’ll be using different colours and yarn, making it in Rowan Tweed’s muted palette. We’ll look at diagonals, entrelac and short-rows, all those things that can put you off before you even start. This course will make you more confident and in charge of your needles. I’m really looking forward to meeting a new group of knitters.

There’s been a change of dates, workshops now start on Wed Feb 22 and are every week until Wed Mar 22, 2017. That gives people more time to sign up, yay!

Book Now

Tutor: Katy Bevan (that’s me)
Date & Time: Wednesday afternoons, 1:30pm – 4:30pm
Venue: Albright Studio, New Brewery Arts
REF: sc37-17
PRICE: £90.00

Meet the artists

Kate Jenkins, Ham and Mustard

Max Alexander, Merveille du Jour

Meet the Artists is a new series for The Knitter about knitters who venture beyond the sweater. So far I’ve written about Zandra Rhodes, Freddie Robins, Kate Jenkins in Issue 102. Max Alexander and Celia Pym are coming up, with more artists in knit to follow.

Mending the holes

I have a review of an exhibition curated by Liz Cooper, What do I need to do to make it ok? in Selvedge this month featuring the intriguing work of Celia Pym.
There is a blog post for Selvedge here.

Also for Selvedge, a short piece about the fishy work of Kate Jenkins’ Stitchmonger project

Kate Jenkins, Stitchmongers

Kate’s Plaice

Rowan Day Out at the FTM

Liberty in Fashion. Photo: Daniel Lewis

Zandra reviewing some of the Free Spirit fabrics she designs for Rowan

It’s time for another day out with Rowan. Last time we went to the Clothworkers’ Centre in Kensington. This time we’re going to the Fashion and Textiles Museum in Bermondsey to see the new Liberty in Fashion exhibition. The exhibition celebrates the 140th anniversary of the iconic design store. This is the first major retrospective of the 21st century on the pioneering retailer and design studio Liberty. At the cutting edge of design and the decorative arts since 1875, Liberty is celebrated throughout the world both as a department store and for its distinctive textile prints.

Hat and scarf combos never look this good when I wear them. Photo: Daniel Lewis

Intarsia design by Dee Hardwicke

We’ll also be meeting and hearing from the indominatable Zandra Rhodes, designer extraordinaire and founder of the museum. Her studio is next door so she won’t have far to come.
Coming all the way from Herefordshire is artist Dee Hardwicke who will be giving us a workshop on designing an intarsia pattern with Rowan Tweed (all materials included of course). After all that inspiration there has to be an outlet (and some knitting). I can’t wait, which is okay as it’s on November 24, so really soon.

Read my article in Rowan Magazine 58
Book a place on trip here Rowan website

Ravelings

Felix Ford aka Knitsonik proud author of a new book

Interweave Knits’ Fall Issue is all about Blighty and the Best of British. I have a short piece at the back appropriately named Ravelings. As part of the research I went to meet the lovely Felix Ford who has written a great book about colour stranding and where to get your inspiration, the Stranded Colourwork Sourcebook. After reading it I rushed out to get a new sketchbook with squared paper and sharpened my coloured pencils.

Felix is also a sound artist and makes many field-recordings, something I hadn’t really considered before. My article is about the sound of knitting and how our environment can affect what and how we knit in subtle ways. Jobina Tinnemann’s composition Killing Time uses knitting as a way to recreate the sound of the landscape in Pembrokeshire where she lives. I was lucky enough to be part of one performance in Cardiff last year. All these things make our aural landscape more present and relevant.

Image above: Killing Time on Pwll Deri, Pembrokeshire. Photo: Philip Clarke

Killing Time performed in the Norwegian Church, Cardiff: Photo Bryony Stokes

The Crafter

Words from the craft world