Just in time for the weekend, the Hot Water Bottle Cover pattern is ready! It’s an easy peasy pattern and will knit up in no time.

Elizabeth mentioned in the comments that she would start calling HWBs, ‘hotties’ which I think is excellent practice, even if people get the wrong idea when you tell them you’re going to bed with a hottie. ;)

Here’s what you’ll need:

Yarn

• 2 balls Rowan Scottish Tweed Aran
• [100gr; 100% wool; 170m/186yds;
• in shade 027 Lewis Grey]
• or 3 balls Rowan Felted Tweed Aran
• [50gr; 50% merino wool, 25% alpaca, 25% viscose; 87m/95yds;
• in shade 729 Soot]
• or approx. 230m/252 yds of aran weight yarn.

Gauge

• 14 sts / 27 rows
• over 10cm / 4in
• (with 4.5mm (US 7) needles,
• in garter stitch).

Finished Size

• 21cm x 34cm, approx. 8¼ x 13½in.
• To fit a hot water bottle 19cm x 30cm.

(On the subject of hotties,) my boyfriend informed me that he gave in to his urge to put a teabag in his hottie the other day. He said he chose peppermint because you didn’t have to put milk in that. Clever man. Except he can’t get the teabag out now, so if you try this, we recommend loose tea. In fact, we’re thinking of patenting some kind of teapot/hottie combo. Watch out for that one. ;)

I’ll be sending out copies to the “mystery winners” as soon as my flaky internet connection allows me. With the rain & wind tonight I think it’s going to be the perfect weekend to snuggle up with a hottie (both kinds). And if you want a good book to go with it, watch out for my next post. The pattern is just £3.00 on Ravelry, so go forth and knit! Have a great weekend! :)

No one guessed my mystery project, and to be fair, it was a bit mean of me to expect you to. Here it is, modelled in all its rustic elegance by a MAN! Since I first dreamt it up, I thought this design would make a great gift for a gentleman, because it’s genuinely useful, hard-wearing, and cosy in a non-pink, non-fluffy way (though it could easily be made into both these things). I wanted it to be completely unfussy – no buttons, no drawstrings, just a simple fold-over top. There are a few short rows for the pocket to accommodate large hands, but otherwise the pattern is very straightforward.

And if you want further proof that men love this hottie, I got two commissions from builders while we were shooting these photos. I informed them that I actually sell patterns, so they’d have to learn to knit first. I can just see them at home, relaxing after a day’s work with a bit of knitting and a tipple. :)

The pattern will be released sometime next week, and I’ll see if I have time to throw in a little surprise. I’ll send everyone who commented on the last post a free copy, since it was so tricky.

Of course the other mystery that we’re all excited about is WoollyWormhead’s Mystery KAL. Here’s my progress. I don’t think it merits a spoiler warning yet. The yarn is Sirdar’s Country Style DK which isn’t ideal, but it was all I happened to have. Anyway, I like the colour and I’ve finished the first installment. Now I’m eagerly awaiting the second…

Here is the latest Laylock design, taking a well-earned rest on the lawn. I wanted to design a versatile everyday shawl with DK-weight yarn, because those are the shawls I use most. Lace shawls are very pretty and enjoyable to knit, but when the chilly breezes blow (as they frequently do in Britain, winter or summer), this is the shawl I’d want around my shoulders. I loved knitting it because the garter stitch is so quick and simple that you can knit while you read and finish it in a weekend! The way the lace edging fits together reminds me of a dovetail joint, and of course I had to knit it in ‘dove grey’. The pattern will be available soon, though if you’re interested in being a test knitter, email me and you could get it sooner. Thanks, test knitters, I’ll be in touch very soon! I think the shawl would also look lovely with a wider border, or with a border of a different colour. Perhaps even striped garter stitch with a plain coloured border. Seeing as the heat wave in the UK is forecast to end tomorrow, I think I’ll be needing my Dovetail Shawl very soon.

I’ve said goodbye to Wales for a few months. On my last day I had the perfect pleasure of the first ripe strawberry of the year, and a glass (or two) of rosé. Mmm…

I had a lovely Easter weekend, full of amazing food, flowers, fun, sunshine, boating & bunnies. I’ve loved seeing all the Chick Egg Cosies popping up on Ravelry during Easter. Eight-year-old Rose Red made a very sweet yellow chick, chia777 didn’t have any felt, so she beaded the beak, clockworkpurple made some with googly eyes (if I ever get my hands on some googly eyes, I’m going to make some that look like Pacman ghosts, with zig-zag edges!), smartcinderella made some cosies that are laced up corset-like, and theknittedcupcake knit some amazing multi-coloured chicklets. All so clever & crafty! If you haven’t knit any yet, remember, chicks and eggs aren’t just for Easter! :) Also very lovely was seeing Vetiverknits’s finished Houses Slipover in gorgeous merino cashmere from The Knittery. Just nothing more exciting and satisfying than seeing people enjoying knitting from your patterns. Thank you all!

I’ve been knitting too, of course, and fiercely designing. I have too much inspiration for two hands, as always! But in addition to the knitting, I’m also very excited to be writing reviews for Cast On! I’m somewhat ashamed to say that I had never listened to Cast On until a few weeks ago; have I been living under a knitted rock? I remember last year a fellow knitter (Julia, who I met on Ravelry) and I were sitting in Aberystwyth Arts Centre drinking coffee and she told me I should really go listen to some knitting podcasts. She then whisked me off to a dance lesson and in between trying to remember the steps to the cha cha and the waltz I completely forgot about this excellent piece of advice. Well, I have now finished Series 5 of Cast On and I’m hooked on Brenda’s lovely voice, and in particular her weekly sweaters. My first review as a Knit Review Minion is for Simple Style, from the same series as Interweave’s Lace Style, Folk Style, and Wrap Style. I hope you have a read and let me know what you think, if only for my somewhat silly, rhyming bio!

There are buds on the lilac.

Spring is nearly here. Snowdrops abound, several daffodils have opened their sunny selves, and I have seen hawthorn on the very brink of bloomage.

I am designing a pair of knee-length cabled stockings, which I am enjoying immensely. Cabling is always more fun than I remember. I’m considering naming these ‘Country Stockings’, as I think they will be perfect for wearing under skirts on country walks, or even as wellie socks, and besides they have a (pleasant) ‘peasant heel‘. I also thought of ‘Cottage Stockings’, but I think it’s time to move away from the ‘house’ theme a little. The yarn is Rowan Pure Wool DK; soft, lofty, superwash, and comes in a wonderful variety of colours! My boyfriend already has his eyes on them, but I have ribbon garters in mind, to trail in the wind.

I hope you make time to go for a nice, long walk this week.

I found out via the Berroco Design Blog that a group of Ravelers are celebrating Vest-uary, by knitting a vest (or slipover for us Brits) during February. Punning is obligatory. I am working on the baby version of the Houses Slipover, but the temptation is great to knit another slipover for myself. They are very versatile and I wear mine constantly.

In between knitting, I have also been working on starting my latest adventure, the Laylock Press, a private electronic press, charged forthwith with publishing Laylock knitting patterns. The aim is to give the PDF-design side of the Laylock patterns the attention it deserves, while providing an outlet for publishing various other pieces I have in mind. I will be posting postulations about pattern layout over there, so I hope you will take time to visit & subscribe.

Thank you for all the Houses love & support! I was delighted to see Ravelry user Chirurun’s finished slipover, knit in Rowanspun DK in a gorgeous pale pink. She has kindly let me show her photo here, but please see her Ravelry page & her (Japanese) knitting blog. I love Chirurun’s knitting & I’d like to thank her for her help in spotting an error. If you purchased before the 22nd of January, you should have received a link to the updated PDF. Sorry for the hassle!

There will soon be a baby version of the Houses Slipover. The simple, almost childish house motif really resonates with me, especially in this economically troubled time when so many houses are being repossessed. I hope to see many more people cosying up in their houses!

The Houses Slipover pattern is now available for download on Ravelry. You can purchase the PDF here. I have been reading a lot of books and articles on typography and layout, and have spent a long time making the pattern as readable and usable as I could. I posted about the gift tags before, but the PDF is also rich in photographs and both charted and written instructions. To me, it feels like a well-mapped journey (through 9 pages), and I hope you will enjoy it too.

Overview:

• Knit in the round,
• from the bottom up,
• with a motif of three houses across the front,
• completely seamlessly,
• without waist shaping,
• with the neckband picked up lastly, and also knit in the round.

or
View the Ravelry Project Page.

The Houses pattern is nearing completion, so I thought I’d show you the little gift that will come with it. Printable pictures you can use as gift tags or for your own records. Just like the birdy labels I posted earlier, they have garment care symbols that you can fill in yourself.

The new website is also coming along, slowly and quietly like the snow, and a very cold summerhouse has decided my next project for me. Wait and see!

I hope you’re celebrating by casting on.

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(by the way, do you spy a double decrease?)