It's time for the first ever Fasten Off Yarn Along! It's a huge knit along/crochet along with a ton of indie designers taking part. Set up in response to Ravelry's issues with accessibility, this is an entirely off-rav even so that everyone can take part in a knitting and crochet event in the run up to the festive season.

You can search for all the patterns that are included here - they're all available at a 25% discount with coupon code FO2020. You can submit your finished items to a database (the form is here) to be in with a chance to win a ton of knitting/crochet related prizes! There's chat too over at the discord server here.

Here's a wee taste of some of my patterns that are on sale:

All the patterns here on the website are actually on sale for Fasten Off 2020, just use coupon code F02020. It's valid in our Etsy shop and Ravelry store too.

I'm obviously getting involved too!  I've just bought the beautiful pattern for Forest Floor Socks from The Conscious Knitter. The pattern has instructions for sizes from baby to adult XL - I'm going to knit the baby ones for my wee one. Off to cast on now, I think these are going to be super super cute!!

The Indie Design Gift-A-Long is here!

If you haven't taken part before, the gift-a-long is basically a giant knit along/crochet along on Ravelry in the run up to the festive season. It begins today with a sale on over 4500 independently designed knitting/crochet patterns from 250 designers. Use coupon code giftalong20 from today until 30th Nov - you can find which patterns are eligible here.

It's more than just a sale though, you can post your projects on the forums to be in with a chance to win prizes - as well as getting your fix of knitting chat! That carries on until the end of December.

Normally I try to knit quite a few things getting ready for Christmas (last year I made a whole batch of bunbuns as gifts) but this year things are a bit different with a newborn. She's not keen on napping unless I'm cuddling her, so not much knitting is on the cards. However I am going to try to make myself a pair of handwarmers - my hands have been getting chilly pushing the pram! I'm going to try to knit these gorgeous Ridgeview Mitts by Kerriknits Designs. I have some super bright coral yarn that would be perfect!

I need to mention though that this is all based on Ravelry and unfortunately they still have not fixed their accessibility issues. For those of you who can't access Ravelry at the moment, not to worry! There's an alternative which starts up tomorrow, I'll be posting more info then!!

We’ve just released our Steall Shawl knitting pattern. It’s a quick knit that’s mainly garter stitch with a stunning lace design that’s much easier than it looks. Plus there’s a video tutorial for it! This is designed for a gradient miniskein set of 4ply yarn, but it would work perfectly with leftover odds and ends of sock yarn too. There’s detailed instructions for customizing it for different sizes and numbers of colours.

The pattern is similar to our Bracklinn Crop so I named it after another Scottish waterfall. The Steall Waterfall is found in Glen Nevis, a stunning beauty spot near Scotland’s highest mountain. The colours match with a waterfall theme too!

You can purchase this pattern here on this website, on Ravelry or on Etsy.

Use coupon code STEALL50 before 19th Nov 2020 for a 50% discount.

The lace pattern looks super complicated but it's actually very straightforward, here's a short video which shows how it's done:

Here's the nitty gritty details for the pattern:
Yarn: River Knits BFL 4Ply Mini. (100% British Bluefaced Leicester Superwash Wool) 5 mini skeins – 80 m/88 yds per 20 g miniskein.  Colourway – Turquoise Gradient.
We will refer to the five colours as MC, CC1, CC2, CC3, CC4.
Total meterage – 390 m.
Total yardage – 430 yds.
Yarn substitution guidance – you could use five colours of any leftover 4ply/fingering/sock yarn, 20g each, or any 400 m/440 yd skein of 4 ply/fingering/sock yarn.
 
Dimensions
One size – 30 cm x 130 cm/12” x 52”.
 
Needles:  4.5 mm/US 7 straight needles.
 
Gauge: 18 sts x 25 rows = 10 cm/4” in garter stitch after wet blocking.
 
Extras: Tapestry needle for weaving in loose ends, blocking board, blocking wires and pins.