Thought I’d just show you a cushion that Mum has just finished making.  It’s like the St Ives Cushion from Little Luxury Knits that I did recently, just in different colours.

It’s made with just three balls of Rowan kidsilk haze: pink, yellow and green.  You knit with two strands at a time and by doing so you can use one strand in one colour, and the second strand in a different colour to achieve a blend or colour wash effect.  In this case Mum blended the yellow and green.

The back is a 50cm piece of Amy Butler fabric – this one’s called Happy Dots.

These cushions are so easy to make and are a lovely addition to any room.  Why not have a go yourself?

We’re delighted to announce the arrival of Rowan Magazine 46.

Rowan Knitting & Crochet Magazine 46 has three beautiful stories, Heritage, Folklore & Shadowland.  Heritage is eccentrically English and includes striped, patterned and lace womenswear designs.  Folklore explores traditional folk designs, including tartans, plaids, fairisle, tweeds and texture.  The final story surfaces in the form of oversized, chunky textures fashioned in dusky purple and deep red tones.  Designs are for both men and women.

Folklore (Click for larger image)

Heritage (Click for larger image)

Shadowland (Click for larger image)

Navajo is a special collection for children ages 11-16, inspired by the colours of the American wilderness. These can be downloaded from Rowan’s website: www.knitrowan.com

Navajo (Click for larger image)

The yarns used are Big Wool, Cocoon, Pure Wool 4ply, Pure Wool Aran, Shimmer, Wool Cotton, Kidsilk Haze, Kid Classic, Kidsilk Aura, Felted Tweed, Felted Tweed Aran and Felted Tweed Chunky.

This pattern book contains knitting and crochet designs by Marie Wallin, Erika Knight, Sarah Hatton, Amanda Crawford, Kaffe Fassett, Brandon Mably, Sarah Dallas, Martin Storey, Jennie Atkinson and Janice Anderson.

I’ve just discovered that Prima magazine have a free knitting pattern on their website, which you might be interested in.  The free knitting pattern is Cari from the Lenpur Linen Collection.

This beautiful cable-trim cardigan will make the perfect summer cover-up with its simple one button and three-quarter length sleeves.

Rowan Lenpur Linen is currently on sale from our online shop at £3.49 per 50g ball (reduced from £4.36 a ball)

You can download the free knitting pattern Cari from http://www.allaboutyou.com/craft/Knitting-pattern-cable-trim-cardigan/v1

Last Saturday I drove to Rowan’s HQ in Holmfirth, Yorkshire for a Retailer event they were running. I’d been looking forward to this for a few weeks and I wasn’t disappointed.

Rowan offices in Holmfirth

After a cup of tea and a chat with my rep and the boss of Coats Crafts UK, the day began proper with a brief presentation about Rowan’s position within the Coats group.  This was swiftly followed by the session we’d all been waiting for… the previews of the new magazine, pattern books and new yarns, which was given by Erika Knight.

Erika was a really nice and as she explained and enthused over the new designs, we were all caught up in her excitement – there were lots of oos and aahs from the audience!  Magazine 46 certainly looks to be one of the best that I’ve seen and the designs in Studio 16 are certainly striking!

There are some new yarns coming in the Autumn and these were passed around for us to fondle and even knit a few rows with.  I’m not allowed to go into details, but they all feel luxurious and all knit up really nicely.  There is good pattern support for the new yarns too. (If you really want to know what they are, then some of the US stockists have let slip details on their blogs, so a quick search on Google or in Ravelry will tell you more!)

A fashion show of garments from the new magazine and pattern books took us up to lunch.

Rowan yarns

After lunch there was a presentation on the fabrics that they supply.  Amy Butler and Kaffe Fassett are just two of many fabric ranges that they supply and I wish that I could stock a lot more of them.  Hopefully I’ll be able to increase our fabric offerings in the shop over the coming months.

It was good to chat with the other retailers and with the Rowan design team.  They love their job and their products and that certainly shows.

I’ll be getting the new books and patterns from mid-July onwards, so do sign up for our newsletter so you can be the first to hear when we have new stock!

A good friend of mine and his wife are expecting their first baby this week and of course, I want to knit something for the new arrival.  I’m sure that they will be showered with gifts of newborn baby clothes over the next few weeks, so I think I’ll knit something for a slightly older baby – maybe 6 months old.  Then the baby will have something to grow into.

But there are so many gorgeous baby knitting patterns available at the moment, it’s hard trying to decide what to knit! 

One of the trends for 2009 is the use of eco-friendly, organic yarns and both Rowan and Sublime use new and special fibres in their baby knitting patterns.

Rowan Milk Cotton Baby Collection

Rowan Fine Milk Cotton and Rowan Milk Cotton DK are beautifully soft cotton based yarn additions to the Rowan family so called because the yarn contains 30% milk protein.  Its softness makes it ideal for this collection of classic and charming baby knits.  Featuring 14 garment designs by Marie Wallin and Martin Storey and 7 accessories by Lisa Richardson this collection has everything from coats, baby shrugs and kids hoodies to romper suits and enchantingly details dresses and cardigans, complimented by soft toys, slippers, shoes hats and a classic blanket.

Sublime Baby and Children knitting pattern books

Sublime have produced several patterns books containing knitting patterns for babies and children.  New for 2009 is their baby cotton kapok dk yarn and accompanying baby knitting pattern book.  Cotton kapok is a good baby yarn because of its unique properties.  It keeps baby warm in winter yet cool in summer, has a nice drape to it and perhaps most importantly for parents – it’s machine washable!  These are just some of the patterns from the cotton kapok book.

But for me, the best baby knitting yarn has to be the Sublime Baby Cashmere Merino Silk DK. It’s so incredibly soft and in the most gorgeous colours.  In fact it is so popular that Sublime launched a Cashmere Merino Silk DK for adults.  It’s exactly the same yarn, but in more “grown-up” colours and doesn’t have “baby” in the name!  Here are some patterns from the Third Little Sublime Handknit Book.

My Mum recently knitted this striped baby blanket in Sublime Baby Cashmere Merino Silk DK from the First Little Sublime Hand Knit book.  She wasn’t knitting for anyone in particular and she doesn’t have any grandchildren yet – she just loved the yarn so much that she wanted to knit something with it!

I’ll let you know what I decide to knit for my friends and will of course, post a picture!

We now have more shades of Rowan Classic Pima Cotton yarn now in stock.  Pima Cotton is a new DK yarn from Rowan for this Spring.  It’s a versatile yarn, light to wear, absorbent, breathable and fully machine washable.

There are two new Rowan books which use this yarn – Rowan Studio 15 and Rowan Classic Reminiscence by Martin Storey.  

We’re also running a special offer on Studio 15 book – buy a copy and receive a voucher for 10% off of any purchase of Rowan Lenpur Linen, Rowan Pima Cotton or Rowan Kidsilk Haze yarns.

Copies of Rowan Studio 15 arrived today! We’ll send you a voucher for 10% off Rowan Kidsilk Haze, Pima Cotton and Lenpur Linen with every purchase of this knitting pattern book. (Offer expires 30th May 2009)

Another item I’ve ordered for the shop is Kim Hargreaves’ new Spring/Summer book – Breeze.  It looks really good and I’m fast becoming a big fan of Kim Hargreaves’ knitting patterns, although I’ve yet to knit one myself.  (There are a few in the queue!)

There are 21 designs using Rowan Fine Milk Cotton, Rowan 4ply organic cotton, Rowan Handknit Cotton, Rowan Summer Tweed, Rowan Denim, Rowan Pima Cotton and Rowan Wool Cotton.  Some of my favourite designs are below.

The book is due in to the shop at the beginning of April and to coincide with the book’s arrival we’ll be running a promotion on Kim Hargreaves’ books.  Sign up for the newsletter on the shop’s home page if you would like to receive details when we have them.

Little Luxury Knits by Alison Crowther-Smith has just arrived in the shop and it looks like a great book.

This book includes 20 patterns for knitted accessories using Rowan’s Kidsilk yarns.  Frills, beads and sequins add a touch of magic to many of the projects, making this collection a knitter’s delight.  Particularly helpful is the introduction and tips for how to knit with mohair yarn.  I’ll be certainly knitting one of the cushions and backing it with one of Amy Butler’s fabrics.