A chance to join me in August at The Knitting Hotel and an exclusive offer from Read Loop, France

I know that’s an even longer title than my January post. And despite my plans to work less in favour of more making, nurturing and nesting, I’m currently busier than I’ve been for ages. Am I my own worst enemy? Of course I am! 

This past week has been particularly ‘screen heavy’ so I thought I’d drop in with a quick blog update before I shut down my Mac for the weekend and finally get down to some sewing and gardening. 

In my last post I introduced you to Hidden Star, my design contribution to Laine’s 52 Weeks of Accessories. This pattern celebrates my love of beaded knitting, and features a technique I call ‘beaded colourwork’ where beads are threaded in colour sequence, onto the yarn before casting on which creates a specific motif when they’re knitted in.  

In Hidden Star the blocks of different coloured beads draw the eyes to a dart-like shape on the back of each hand, and these mirrored darts reveal a star-like motif when both hands are placed together. The instructions offer a choice of either full mittens or fingerless mitts and another interesting feature of this design is the yarn.  I chose to use two close tones of John Arbon Exmoor 4ply Sock held together. This produces the most beautiful and gently coloured marl effect to show off the beads. Being me, I mixed orange (Quick Beam) and red (Peggles) for the top section and dark turquoise (Plashes) and navy (Whortleberries) for the bottom section, with an acid green (Oddmedod) stripe cutting across the centre of the mitt to give the eye a lift. But of course you can knit the design in your favourite colours with beads that either tone in or stand out. Don’t want to knit with two ends of 4ply held together? Knit it in a single end of DK instead. The choice really is yours. 

So why am I telling you all this? Because this August 1st – 5th  I’ll be at The Knitting Hotel in Dawlish, teaching a Beaded Colourwork workshop and Hidden Star is the pattern we’ll be exploring. You’ll learn all the techniques needed to knit your own pair of blingtastic mitts / mittens while enjoying the hospitality of The Knitting Hotel’s fabulous host, Belinda Harris-Reid (pictured above in one of her amazing rooms). The knitting inspired style of the venue combined with its stunning location on the Devon coast and a weekend of great food plus joyful learning in the best company make this the perfect opportunity to treat yourself. This retreat has been fully booked for some time, but this week I found out there’s just one place left that comes with a single occupancy room.

If you’re interested email katherine@theknittinghotel.co.uk. But you’d better be quick! Hope to see you in August. 

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Me in my beloved Read Loop specs and my Pearls Please fingerless mitts pattern

Ok, here’s the offer from French brand Read Loop, mentioned at the top of the post. If, like me, you’re a postmenopausal woman of a certain age, you’ll be familiar with the panicked scramble for reading glasses whenever you encounter any text smaller than 18pt. In my younger days I simply couldn’t understand why older people pulled their glasses down their nose or held the unreadable item at arms length in an effort to make sense of it. Well, I hit my mid 40s and boy, did I find out. 

That’s when I entered the realm of the ‘ready reader’ and started wearing reading glasses. It’s also when I discovered Read Loop’s asymmetric Patchwork design which became my ‘go to’ pair of readers. (They’re the ones I’m wearing in the above picture). Well a couple of weeks ago – and after 10 years of much loved wear – my precious favourites finally broke. So, I posted on my @jeanettesloan Instagram feed about how much I’d miss them, particularly because they were a Christmas gift from Sam. Well following my post, the lovely people at Read Loop got in touch and we’ve come up with a fabulous offer exclusively for you, whether you sign up  to my newsletter, subscribe to this blog or follow me on Instagram. 

Shop on online at  www.readloop.fr and use the code JSLOAN10 to get 10% off, a free eyewear cord with each order and free shipping over €90 (around £77). Discount code expires 30th April 2024. 

I must say a huge thank you to Claudia at Read Loop who kindly gifted me three pairs of glasses; one from the everyday ‘Comfort’ range, one from the ‘Digital’ range (great for screen working) and one from the ‘Sunrise’ range for when I’m sitting, knitting in my sunny new garden.  If you do treat yourself to a pair(s) be sure to tag me and @readloop on social media. I really can’t wait to wear mine over the coming months and years. 

Until next time, happy making!

J x

 KITS | RAVELRY PATTERN STORE | PAYHIP PATTERN STORE | BOOKS

Shop online: www.jeanettesloandesign.com

52 Weeks of Accessories: a new design and a new chapter.

I know that’s a long title, right? Well, it kind of sums up where I‘m at right now. 

So much has happened in the last three years, culminating in a major house move towards the end of last year. And because I’m keen to give myself time and space to process these changes, 2024 marks the start of a new chapter. One where I’ll be adjusting to life in my new home city of Bristol and taking mindful steps each day to listen to what my body needs. Whether that’s reading, resting, cooking, crafting or soaking up the culture of my new hometown, this year, you should expect to see something a little different from me. 

And what better way to kick off the year than with a new design? Having kept this under wraps for several months, I can finally reveal I have a design in Laine Publishing’s new book, 52 Weeks of Accessories. 

Hidden Star is a mitten & fingerless mitt pattern that celebrates my love of beaded knitting, and as the temperature drops here in the UK, the timing couldn’t be better. Hidden Star is about snuggling up (remember my constantly cold hands) but with a twist on traditional stranded colourwork. Blocks of different coloured beads draw the eyes to a dart-like shape on the back of each mitten, and these mirrored darts reveal a star-like motif when both hands are placed together. So when one of my fabulous test knit team suggested the name Hidden Star, I jumped at it. It’s perfect, don’t you agree?

The mittens are knitted in John Arbon Exmoor 4ply Sock. After doing some initial swatching, I found knitting with two close tones of the yarn held together produced the gentle marled colour effect I wanted for this design. So, I mixed orange (Quick Beam) and red (Peggles) for the top section and dark turquoise (Plashes) and navy (Whortleberries) for the bottom section, with an acid green (Oddmedod) stripe cutting across the centre of the mitt to give the eye a lift. Of course, if you prefer, you can use a regular DK yarn in a single colour to make Hidden Star, as some of my test knitters did.

At this point, I must say a HUGE thank you to every member of my fabulous test-knit team who pulled out all the stops to meet an incredibly tight deadline when testing this pattern. They showed such grace and patience while I juggled with a new-to-me project management platform, responded to their queries and quickly picked up on my occasional lapses in concentration. You are all amazing, thank you!! #teamtestknit

As you can see, the results of the Hidden Star test show how you can channel your inner designer with the yarns and colours you use. I love how each knitter’s combination of yarn and bead choice reveals a little something about their personality. Seeing how every team member worked through their allocated version of the design was pure joy. Each was asked to knit a specific size and version for a full test of the pattern instructions, and what was even more gratifying was that some had never tried beaded colourwork before. That made it even more incredible that they could turn this test around in the time given while navigating such a steep learning curve. 

Oh, I should mention the beads; I mean, how could I forget them? As the pattern is knitted in a DK weight, I’ve used Debbie Abrahams size 6 glass seed beads in purple (Rainbow), orange (Fruit Salad) and clear. These colours really pop on the marl background, and slipping the beads in groups rather than singly – what I like to call beaded floats – makes the star motif stand out even more effectively. 

Toasty Cosy Fingerless Mitts

Toasty Cosy Mittens

I’ve created many mittens and glove patterns over the years. I particularly like offering them in full mitten or fingerless mitt options, as I did for Toasty Cosy, part of the Warm Hands collection I co-edited with my friend, designer Kate Davies. With each design, I try to inject some intriguing details to make them more interesting for you – the knitter. After all, when you knit one of my designs, you’re investing both time and money into making the project, and both are precious. So you’ll be pleased to hear that short-row shaping and an i-cord cast-off also appear in this design (i-cord cast-off used in the fingerless mitt version only). 

Hidden Star can be found in Laine Publishing’s 52 Weeks of Accessories. It’s a stunning collection of inspiring makes, and I’m proud to have my design featured alongside such an impressive pool of international design talent. If you hop over to the Laine Publishing website, you can pre-order 52 Weeks of Accessories and get a sneaky preview of all the designs. I hope you like Hidden Star. It feels great to start the year with the release of this new pattern, and I’d love to hear what you think of it.

Oh, and before I go, if you’re in the mood for glove, mitten and mitt knitting this weekend, you can get 15% off Warm Hands over on my website. No code is needed, but the offer ends at 11.59pm Sunday, 14th January GMT.

Until next time, stay warm and happy making!

J x

covid take two, champion cats and changes afoot

Picture the scene. I’m lying in bed at Mum’s place propped up by two pillows surrounded by snotty tissues. It’s Day 3 of my second bout of Covid in as many months and this time it’s absolutely floored me. I’ve rarely felt this exhausted or spaced out, in fact the last time I felt this ill was after my brain surgery in 2016 so that gives you some idea of how bad things are.

The last few months have been relentless and I guess this is my body saying ‘enough is enough’. Since September I’ve taught at Shetland Wool Week, the Woollyaway retreat, Knit With Attitude and Black Sheep Wools in addition to vending at the Scottish Yarn Festival. On top of that there’s been the mammoth task of selling the Hove house and finding a new nest in a new city. This meant navigating the nightmare that is the English system of selling houses where you’re shown around often filthy houses by an estate agent whose knowledge of the property begins and ends with its value.

Me: “When was the boiler last serviced?

Young estate agent: “Don’t know, I’ll have to ask.”

Me: “And is the chimney open, can I install a wood burner?”

Young estate agent: “Don’t know, I’ll have to ask.”

Me: “Damp is obviously an issue here, I can smell it plus there’s snail trails all over the kitchen floor. Oh and is that fresh cat shit behind that chair?”

Young estate agent: “Is it? I hadn’t noticed”. (Despite the overwhelming smell of fresh cat crap).

Aargh!

Take it from me, buying houses in Scotland was always a much simpler affair. In fact during our time together Sam and I must have moved house around nine times but this has easily been the most stressful move I’ve ever experienced. Of course this time it’s very different. This time I’m doing it alone. And when you factor in the physical toll of all that teaching, hours of travel plus the stress of driving a six hour round trip for each house hunt and the emotional weight of packing up a four bedroom house it’s no surprise that I’m currently laid up in bed with the Rona. But sneezing and snotty tissues aside there are HUGE changes on the horizon.

Next week I’ll finally be moving to my new home city of Bristol. Having taken what’s felt like forever I finally found THE house that will be the nest that Jang and I have been searching for since the beginning of the year. I say ‘I found’ but it’s more accurate to say ‘we’ because I couldn’t have taken on this mammoth task without the help of my big sis San. She’s been living in Bristol for over thirty years and having tried to convince Sam and I to move there since FOREVER, she’s been instrumental in helping me to find the right house for my next chapter. I have to admit that I’m excited. Yes that excitement is tinged with sadness because Sam isn’t here, but I am super excited. And more than a little nervous.

Choosing to step into a new chapter, in a new city is a healthy, positive move. Over the two years since Sam’s death I’ve learned how important it is to really tune into the needs of both my heart and body. Staying in our Hove home would have been an easy, familiar option but I felt the time was right to actively step into this strange new life of mine. To effect a positive change rather than respond to the events – both sad and happy – that occur in it. That upset and shape it. And so it is that Jang and I are heading west.

Ah yes Mr Jangalang, that champion, lifesaving pussycat of mine. Before getting him I could never have believed how healing having a pet could be. It’s remarkable how much his unconditional love and cheeky playful personality have kept me going since he came into my life.

You may be asking, what are my plans for the next few months? Well I have none. Actually that’s not exactly true. Let’s just say that I’m gifting myself 6 months (minimum) to settle into the new house so I can enjoy the process of turning it into a home. I do have a couple of work projects lined up next year but thankfully they have generous deadlines which mean there are no immediate demands on my time or currently limited brain capacity. Plus of course, there’s also BIPOC in Fiber to keep ticking over.

For now though, I’m giving my knackered old body the time it deserves to shake off this damn virus. And when I’ve recovered, I look forward to exploring the music, food and arts venues of my vibrant new home city.

Until next time, stay well.

Shetland Wool Week 2023

It’s the first of July! Pinch and punch and all that. Can you believe we’re already talking about Shetland Wool Week? Well, bookings for this years event went live this week so of course we’re talking about it.

2022 saw my first ever visit to this iconic festival which I LOVED so I’m very proud and happy to have been invited back to teach this year. It’s inspiring that while Shetland Wool Week is renowned for celebrating the islands’ rich textile heritage the organisers are also looking to embrace tutors from outwith Shetland. This helps to ensure there’s an evolving schedule of classes, talks, demonstrations and meetups that will appeal to all types of crafters and artisans. 

This year I’m teaching two full day workshops at Islesburgh Community Centre, Lerwick-

Introduction to Beaded Colourwork on Wednesday 26th September.

And Sew Pretty: Introduction to Embroidery for Knit and Crochet on Thursday 27th September.

I’ll also be co-teaching  a very special workshop on Tuesday 25th September alongside my beautiful friend Felicity (Felix) Ford aka Knitsonik. The picture below shows why we were both asked to be model.

We’ve called it Colourwork Two Ways: An Adventure in Oddments and Beads as it brings together Felix’s love of stranded colourwork and my passion for beaded colourwork. This is a truly unique exploration of the different creative possibilities of working colourwork charts in yarn oddments or with beads. 

Bookings for all this year’s Shetland Wool Week events launched on June 27th, and tickets sell out fast. That means you need to visit the Shetland Wool Week Box Office quickly to avoid disappointment. 

If you’ve never travelled to up to the Shetland’s mainland, believe me, it’s one of the most stunningly beautiful places I’ve EVER visited. Lying 100 miles off the north east coast of Scotland, for me, its remoteness only added to the wonderful sense of peace I felt during my two week stay. I was lucky to be staying in Hoswick, home to the studio of my brilliant friend, knitwear designer Neila Nell Kalra who invited me to stay in her guest cottage (which I’ve since re-named Sloan Cottage).

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I know what you’re thinking, if Shetland Wool Week only lasts a week, what was I doing there so long? Well being the sort of designer who wanted to showcase her knitwear on ‘real’ people, Niela invited both me and Felix to model for her alongside other members of the Nielanell family and friends who lived locally. The shoot took just two days but during that time we packed in so many changes of outfit and this is thanks to the exceptional production skills of Astrid Johnston and Gail Turpin who made sure there was a constant flow of perfectly prepared models for photographer Austin Taylor to shoot.

As I promised to publish my Shetland pics I won’t ramble on here, I’ll just let you see what we got up to. (Note the picture of me fangirling with legendary Shetland knitter Hazel Tindall).

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I also help out Niela’s right hand woman, Katie Leask, when setting up the company display at the Saturday Maker’s Market. As it turns out, it was good practice as I’ll be showing there myself this year.

Don’t forget, if you want to grab a place on my, Felix’s or anyone else’s classes or talks at this year’s Wool Week you’d better be quick as some have already sold out.

Click here to book your events on the Shetland Wool Week site. Till next time, happy crafting,

J x

King Charles III Birthday Honours List 2023

Today I am very proud – and somewhat gobsmacked – to find myself on the Birthday Honours List of our new monarch, HRH King Charles III. 

As the child of Bajan parents who came to this country as part of the Windrush generation, I am hugely proud to accept a British Empire Medal in recognition of my career as a knitwear designer and my efforts to make the fibre space more inclusive, diverse and welcoming for Black, Indigenous and People of Colour. (Not Fine Arts as is stated above).

There will be those who hold staunchly anti-monarchist views. Who feel the Honours System is archaic and reeks of colonialism. There will also be those for whom mention of the word ‘empire’ encapsulates nothing but negative and harmful connotations to Britain’s history. If that is you, don’t feel the need to comment, simply close this page and go about your day.

So why am I accepting this award? I’m accepting it in celebration of what my parents, Marjorie and Sam Trotman, invested into this country’s post war economy. For every day they – and many like them – worked in jobs that thousands of ‘native Brits’ wouldn’t do. Despite the racism they encountered. Often on a daily basis. And for every time they were turned away from rented accommodation, purely because they were black. 

More specifically I’m accepting this award to acknowledge the many gifts my mother, Marjorie Rita Trotman, handed down to me. 

None of what I’ve achieved, over 30 years working with fibre, would exist had Mum not taught me to knit when I was seven. Mum literally gave me life, and, by passing on her many craft skills, she unwittingly gave me a purpose that’s only revealed itself in the last few years. This award celebrates the fabulous, formidable woman she was and the other extraordinarily talented, supportive women with whom I’ve collaborated and continue to work. I also accept this award knowing how proud both Mum and my husband Sam would have been to see what I’ve achieved. How their unending love and support has empowered me to continue; particularly in the light of their passing. 

To my siblings Sandra Meadows, Wayne Trotman, Pat Simpson, Brian Simpson and my beautiful wider family, thank you for your love. 

Heartfelt thanks to those who nominated me for this award, I’m genuinely humbled. 

To those with whom I’m currently collaborating, whether design related or with BIPOC in Fiber. There is SO MUCH more to do, and this award shows we are making a difference.

Lastly to everyone who buys my knitting patterns and kits, reads my articles, follows me on Instagram and asks about Mister Jangalang. Thank you all for being here.

Joy: rediscovered

It’s been a while since you heard from me, and there’s a good reason for that. As you know, I tend to speak only when there’s new work to celebrate or when I’ve something worthwhile to say. However, having shared so much of myself online in the last couple of years, I took a bit of a step back to re-evaluate my life. Yep, another re-evaluation. As if multiple bouts of cancer and brain surgery weren’t enough, losing Mum and Sam in such close succession meant the last three years have been….well, challenging tends to be the current term of choice. But to me, a challenge is something you choose to take on.

Never in all my worst dreams would I have chosen to lose my mother and husband within a year of each other. So ‘challenge’ just doesn’t cut it for me. It’s been beyond shit.

It hasn’t exactly made me question myself, but I did question where the ‘old me’ went. The joyful, celebratory, optimistic Jeanette. The one I failed to recognise despite the many times I looked back at pictures of myself cuddled up next to Sam or my precious Mum. What I’ve learned from the hard lessons of grief is that the ‘firsts’ are hellishly tough: the first birthdays without them both, the first wedding anniversary as a widow, the first Christmas without the world’s best gift-giver. And Sam was annoyingly good at both finding and wrapping gifts. The pain of those firsts began to define who I was, or at least I’d started to let that happen. Starting conversations with “my husband and Mum died” created an expectation that all you are is a sad, grieving entity, and the weight of that was making my heart ache. So I chose to do something about it.

I needed to re-frame myself as an individual. As well as a knitwear designer, writer, maker and founder of BIPOC in Fiber, I was also a sister, daughter, aunt, grand aunt, friend, primary carer to Mum and a life partner to Sam. Those last two roles had played such a massive part in my life that I’d lost my sense of self without them. As a result, I felt rudderless. And that needed to be addressed if I was to move into the next phase of my life.

Taking myself away on a retreat seemed the most helpful thing to do, so I set about searching the internet. I quickly decided against a grief retreat. They may be appropriate for others, but having come through the raw immediacy of Mum and Sam’s deaths, I didn’t feel that sitting amongst strangers and discussing my saddest losses was the best thing for me. This may well be oversimplifying the process or doing those types of retreats a great disservice, but the thought of someone possibly telling me ‘they were in a better place’ meant I gave them a hard pass. So instead, I looked for a wellness retreat. Something that would offer me space to breathe, to look after my physical and emotional health, perhaps even get a bit of sunshine and hopefully rediscover my joy. Perhaps a new joy.

After a week of searching the web, I eventually found the *Glow Retreat. And having just returned from it, I can’t think of a better name for what it is and the magic it’s worked on my life.

Susie Howells (above left) and Sarah Oliver (above right) run Glow Retreats at various villas and venues in Ibiza, Greece and the UK. What I hadn’t noticed when searching (despite it being clearly stated on the website) was that the retreat was focused on yoga. However, looking back, it was meant to be. I’d zoomed in on the mention of daily mindfulness and breathwork, and the retreat taking place in Ibiza – somewhere I’d never been with Sam – offered my first opportunity to travel alone to somewhere new and start making my own memories. Yes, those firsts just keep coming.

I chatted with Susie and Sarah over email, and they assured me that the yoga sessions would be within my capabilities. When teaching, they encourage each person to only do what they can in order to make the practice their own. This was exactly the encouragement I needed, but I finally committed when Susie assured me there’d be plenty of laughter. They say it’s the best medicine, and I was up for an overdose.

On Thursday, May 11th, I was up at the crack of dawn, heading for Gatwick and into the Ibizan sun. Completely out of my comfort zone and with my big girl knickers pulled up high, I dived into five days of yoga, breathwork, mindfulness and mouth-tinglingly delicious veggie food. Each day began with a gentle wake-up breakfast of overnight oats/yoghurt and fruit – eaten around the pool – before we eased into the morning yoga session. What I love about Susie and Sarah is their ability to hold space for everyone while making each person feel like they’re the only one in the room. Even an unbalanced, tight-shouldered novice like me.

At this point I should mention the villa we stayed in because stunning doesn’t begin to describe Can Verru. It’s away from the hippie/clubbing nonsense that Ibiza is so famous for and instead it offers a haven of peaceful calm set among wild fennel, lemon trees, rosemary and olive trees. I couldn’t get enough of the plants and flowers as you can see from the pictures I did take. More importantly I felt able to immerse myself in each moment spent in these grounds rather than mindlessly taking hundreds of ‘Gramworthy’ pictures just to ‘check in’ and say I was there. I really WAS there.

The yoga felt inclusive and achievable, not posey and worthy. And I mean, I’ve seen posey yoga; I live in Hove, remember. But, above all, it was enjoyable, so much so that I’m still practising daily now I’m back home. With the fantastic food prepared and cooked by Rakhee and Martha and the gentle presence of Marta, who seemed to know my needs even before I did, I feel restored to a new me. As well as the complimentary full body massage, I also treated myself to a session called ‘Energy Transformation, Trauma Release and Somatic Re-Integration’. This treatment works on the Meridian channels and reflexology points in the feet and hands. I really can’t begin to understand how it achieves results, but after nearly two hours at the hands of my therapist Marin, something changed. And I mean dramatically.

Without going into further detail, it’s enough to say that despite not knowing what to expect, my openness to the process allowed me to heal. I feel like a new part of my heart has been unlocked. Of course, it was emotionally and physically exhausting, so much so that I went straight to bed afterwards. But within me, something has definitely shifted: for the better. I feel lighter, I’ve lost weight, and I look different, according to friends I’ve seen since coming back.

Much to my surprise and once again out of my comfort zone, I also discovered I like kayaking. After supper on the beach on Sunday night – our last – we paired up and took to our kayaks with our superb guides, Paolo and Christian. According to Mel, one of the other ladies on the retreat, I looked petrified getting into the boat (well, I’m a crap swimmer, and the sea was FULL of jellyfish). But I went for it, and after a few minutes of paddling with my kayak buddy Sarah, I loved it. Watching the Ibizan sun setting for the last time, this two-hour trip hugging the island’s coast gave us all a chance to admire its beauty from a new perspective. Perhaps I should have titled this blog post, ‘Lost Weight, Gained Perspective’?

Thanks to Susie, Sarah and their glorious retreat, I’ve connected to a new joy and rediscovered my love of food and cooking. Those precious five days have proved that:

I don’t need to eat (so much) meat.
I like drinking lots of water.
The occasional tea and coffee taste better without the synthetic taste of sweetener.
Not eating in front of the telly means I can focus on the taste of what’s actually going into my mouth.
I like kayaking!

Since coming home, I’ve eaten a lot of salad and finally found a use for those dates lingering in my baking cupboard for so long. It seems Date, Orange & Cardamon Energy Balls don’t take long to prepare; even better, they stop me from reaching for the junk while I’m working. I’ve bought lots of healthy snacking ingredients from Grape Tree and even dug the dehydrator out of storage to try making crackers and other snacks to keep me away from the Pipers (sheds tear). I’m not saying I’ll never eat certain foods again, but I’m riding this change for as long as possible.

Right, I’d better go do some work. Have a great weekend,

J xx

*This post is in no way sponsored by Glow Retreats and is an unsolicited account of my experience as a genuine paying client.

Adventures in Silver

Over the last 8 months my work has understandably taken a back seat while I adjust to a life I didn’t anticipate and certainly wouldn’t have chosen. As many of us have had to accept, sometimes life just happens and if we’re lucky, we somehow find the strength to adjust. If we’re very lucky there are people around to help us when we fall, listen when we scream and hold us when we cry. There have been days when I could barely lift my head off the pillow and others when life feels entirely normal, but Sam is never far from my thoughts. Or my heart.

The process of making – whatever the craft – has always helped me to heal. Whether recovering from breast cancer surgery or brain surgery, being creative in a practical sense has always helped to centre me. You might imagine that as someone who gets paid to write, I’d commit my thoughts and feelings to words, but not so. Making is the thing that always enabled me to find a path through days of physical pain and mental exhaustion.

Then, along came grief.

The dark bitch that has floored me twice over the last 18 months, first with the death of my precious Mum and then with the loss of my wonderful husband. For me, bereavement combined the worst physical hurt with acute mental weariness and interspersed it with periods of emotional paralysis so severe, I couldn’t process what happened to me. I’m doing much better now but there are still days when I can’t believe that Sam has gone.

Friends and family have been remarkable in their support. I’m truly blessed to have the most thoughtful, kind, loving and often funny support network around me. I say funny because if I didn’t find time to laugh, I’d really never stop crying. One particular friend, jewellery designer & maker Laila Smith offered me a chance to heal in the most unexpected way when she invited me to participate in one of her jewellery workshops. At first I thought, what do I know about jewellery? I think the older we get, the less likely we are to open ourselves up to anything that takes us out of our comfort zone. But given that my world had already been turned upside down AND inside out I thought, ‘exactly, what do I know about jewellery? Nothing. Then I have nothing to lose by going to a class’.

The first exercise on the morning of my first class was to explore mark-making using a set of textured stamps and a small piece of copper sheet. This remarkably straightforward task opened up a completely new world to me. Handling a material so far from the soft, easily manipulated world of fibre that I’ve inhabited for over 30 years was like taking a kid to a sweet shop. I was instantly hooked.

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I’m not one of life’s natural squealers but I was lost in what I was doing and giggling like a child. Laila is an excellent teacher who guided me through the use of the basic kit with tools like the hide mallet, binding wire, piercing saw and files of varying shapes.

Before long, I’d learned how to measure correctly for my first ring. This process comes so naturally to me now but at the time it felt like I was learning magic. Choosing the right thickness of wire (the correct term for the lengths of metal used to make a ring), accounting for that thickness when cutting; there are so many elements to consider. Especially if like me you choose to work in silver. With precious metals, nothing should go to waste.

Cutting hard solder needs keen eyesight

Wrapping a ring with binding wire prior to soldering

Refining the shape of a ring by filing

A page from my sketchbook

What I also thoroughly enjoyed was documenting my thought and making processes with photographs and my sketchbook. Looking back over these shots as I write this post, I’m instantly back at the bench in the workshop. Immersed in what I was making. Without being aware of it I was healing with each piece I made.

It would have been so easy to stick with rings and to date, I think I’ve made four in total. But the more classes I attended the more I wanted to push myself to see if I could achieve even more. There is something truly magical about taking the germ of an idea and, over time, lovingly applying a combination of annealing, cutting, soldering, filing, burnishing and polishing. Looking at my finished pieces I can recall every decision that determined how they came to be.

This sterling silver bookmark was made for a close friend who loves to read

This sterling silver pendant was a gift for the friend who brought Sam and I together

And these sterling silver initial keyrings mark my first attempts at gem setting

These sterling silver earrings are a work in progress, haven’t quite got the balance right yet…

I’ve loved my adventures in silver. They’ve seen me through some of my darkest times and the results bring me joy because they’ve enabled me to pass love onto both friends and family.

Thank you Laila for sharing your skills, your limitless patience and introducing me to a world I hadn’t imagined I would love as much as I do. I won’t be giving up knitting any time soon but you know, with a bullion dealer just down the road in Brighton I know where to get silver in a hurry should I take a notion to start classes again.

Laila regularly teaches short courses at West Dean College and if you’re looking for original handmade jewellery you’ll find her work for sale through her website Laila Smith Jewellery.

J x

Knitstrips Giveaway – and the winner is…..

Congratulations Pauline Lofkin!

You’re the lucky winner of a brand new, stash-busting copy of Knitstrips – the world’s first comic-strip knitting book. I’ll be in touch by email to get hold of your shipping details and, depending on your location, the book should be with you by the end of the week.

Thanks to everyone who posted a comment, I really appreciate you reading my blog.

J x

Book Review: Knitstrips – The world’s first comic-strip knitting book

This book feels like it’s been in the works for absolutely ages, and to be honest, it has. 

Back in February 2019 I received an email asking if I’d like to contribute a design to what was billed as ‘the world’s first comic-strip knitting book’. The message was from the creative partnership of Alice Beltran and Karen Mar who created the Knitstrips feature on the Modern Daily Knitting website. To be honest I hadn’t seen the feature so I had to pop on over and have a look. You should too, it’s a genius concept where the instructions are presented in comic-strip format, tearing apart the traditional knitting pattern which is text heavy and image light. The email dropped at a time when I’d already done a lot of publishing work in the preceding months. Having completed my collection of lace designs for the Modern Daily Knitting Field Guide no 15: Open and co-edited the Warm Hands collection with Kate Davies I was really brain tired. But, intrigued by the Knitstrips concept and up for a challenge to my usual work process I said yes. 

Nearly 3 years on and the world is a very different place and sadly my personal circumstances have changed beyond recognition. But receiving this bold beautiful book through my letterbox this month brought a huge smile to my face. It takes me back to a time when I could share my work with both Mum and Sam and they’d give me honest feedback. (Sometimes brutally honest in Sam’s case “you know I like everything you do, why are you asking? Stop worrying and just do it”). 

So you may be wondering, what is Knitstrips really like? Is it worth the hype? Is the format user-friendly? What are the projects? Who are the designers? Well read on and I’ll tell you…

The format

Knitstrips is based on the concept of IK (pronounced eye-kay) or Interactive Knitting. That’s where the patterns are: 

• Yarn neutral – so you’re free to play with different yarn weights, colours and textures.
• Based on the wearer’s body measurements not a defined set of dimensions.
• Presented with specific instructions while at the same time allowing you to personalise the project to suit your personal style.

The book opens with a foreword written by founders of Modern Daily Knitting Ann Shayne and Kay Gardiner, followed by an explanation of exactly how  you should work from the comic strip instructions (this is particularly helpful as we’re so used to page after page of nothing but text). Then to set you up, there’s information on the different types of yarn, how much you’ll need, knitting needles and other necessary tools before exploring tension (gauge), various types of fabric covered by the patterns and how to finish your projects. Once you’ve read all this you’re all set to jump into the 4 collections or themed comic books that contain the Knitstrips patterns. 

The patterns and designers

Each themed comic book is named to give you a taste of what to expect:

• Issue 1 is OMJOM (One More, Just One More). Have you ever kept telling yourself that you’ll stop after the next row, then you don’t? Well these are knits you never want to finish.  

• Issue 2 is Focus Pocus. The projects feature the kind of techniques that take a bit more focus while you’re  making them. 

• Issue 3 is STASH (Skeins That Are Special and Here). Lots of patterns that can be made from what you’ve already got hidden all over the house.

• Issue 4 is Bucket List. These are knits of a lifetime, you know the kind you might choose to knit for someone else? 

I’ve just realised this is turning into the worlds longest blog post so rather than describe every pattern in the book I’ll just give you a run down of who – other than myself – has designed something for this book. It’s a lovely diverse group in terms of ethnicity, ability, design signature and skill level:

Ana Campos

Casey Rich

Cecilia Campochiaro

Hikaru Noguchi

Julia Farwell-Clay

Julie Kornblum

Rebecca McKenzie

Natalie Warner

Lauren McElroy

Norah Gaughan

Alice Ormsbee Beltran

Karen Kim Mar

The designs range from a slouchy oversized tunic that cleverly turns into a sweater with the addition of sleeves, to a bobble hat worked in sequence knitting. Or perhaps you fancy a pair of toe up, short row heeled socks, a drop sleeve custom cabled sweater or a two colour brioche cowl – that’s my humble contribution. You’re probably asking how patterns that are so technically dissimilar can make sense as a comic strip. Well, that’s the genius of this book, they absolutely do and if you’re someone who’s previously struggled to make sense of the large bodies of text used in conventional pattern instructions you should check out this book. Hopefully you’ll be pleasantly surprised. 

This book encourages each of us to think a little more outside the box when knitting from the patterns is contains. It doesn’t give information about the specific yarns used but instead gives an idea of the yarn’s weight, characteristics and an idea about how the gauge should feel. That could mean yarn with a light, airy yarn handle, a hardwearing wool or even a gauge that’s ‘medium to chewy’. No I hadn’t heard of that one either! 

At the back of the book you’ll find lots of other helpful hints and tips along with a gallery of bios on every contributing designer, the authors and illustrators who have created the most wonderful comic portraits for everyone involved. 

Here’s my comic portrait

There’s so much that makes this is an exciting new style of knitting book and from moment I noticed the brown hands on the front cover I knew I was going to love it. Alice and Karen, thank you so much for inviting me to be a part of this beautiful thing called Knitstrips. I hope there’s a second one on the way. 

J x

KnitPro J’Adore Giveaway – And the winner is…

Well, happy Tuesday! Or at least it will be for one of you.

Thank you so much for the lovely comments on my review of the KnitPro J’Adore Gift Set. It was interesting to read which needles you each prefer and the reasons why. The wonderful thing about our craft is that we can (hopefully) all find a technique, tool, style, fibre and colour that suits our individual needs. After all, that’s what inspires us to keep the craft alive.

Anyway, thought I’d pop in as promised to announce the winner of my first (I think) Blog Giveaway, and the winner is…… Anna! (All the names were put into a numbered spreadsheet in order of posting and the winner was chosen using Google’s Random Number Generator)

Anna will receive the set I road-tested last week which I received from the lovely people at KnitPro, along with a special something extra from your truly. All I need Anna is your full name and address and I’ll get the set out to you later this week.

Don’t worry if you weren’t lucky this time, there’ll be another Blog Giveaway next week. Details to come. As you know I’m not yet back to work full time but today I’m interviewing someone for a special piece I’m writing for Vogue Knitting Magazine. So I’d better rush…

Have a great day,

J x