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Follow Jen and Jim's many knitting and craft adventures, including expert knitting tips, tutorials and book reviews, with bonus quilting and other crafty content.
My finished Watercolor Cowl (Ravelry project page)
That’s right, I’m blogging today about a finished object! But before I dive in and share my first FO of 2021 (that I can tell you about, at least), I want to say a mahoosive thank you for all your enthusiasm and support for Confident Knitting! Read on for four video tutorials on intarsia as well as some colourful yarn eye candy…
Read moreWhen you hear the word intarsia, what do you think of? Perhaps jumpers from the eighties with splashy motifs and a bit of mohair (both of which, as it happens, coming very much back into style!)? Maybe it brings up memories of a knitting disaster (as it used to for me)? Or maybe you’ve not come across intarsia —“Intars-WHAT?—before, and you’ve got no idea what I’m talking about! Read on for top tips for perfect intarsia…
Read moreThis month, we’ve been tackling intarsia in the round … and the results have been pretty spectacular! It’s always great to see the amount of learning that happens in the monthly knitalongs, but this month in particular, it’s been really inspiring to see knitters take on a technique that was new to virtually almost everyone!
Read morehis month’s Boost Your Knitting designer is the supremely talented Julia Farwell-Clay, whose cleverly cute Heartgyle Socks have knitters around the world not only working intarsia, but doing it in the round! She loves a good sweater, but also has designed beautiful accessories — she’s partial to eye-catching designs and interesting techniques! She was kind enough to sit down and answer some questions about her design process and the role that new techniques play in it — and she’s got some good advice for us too!
Read moreI’m a big fan of stranded colourwork knitting – and I know many of our customers are aficionados too! But there are times when you want a single bold colour motif that’s non-repeating, no stranding required. It’s in these situations that we turn to another type of colourwork knitting: intarsia. Working the technique in the round poses special challenges. I’ll show you how to tackle them in today’s tutorial.
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After a few months of fabulous patterns that play with texture, it’s time for some fun with colour! I am so pleased to introduce you to this month’s pattern, the shockingly cute Heartgyle Socks by Julia Farwell-Clay, which will have you working intarsia in the round, July’s technique, in no time!
Read moreIf you're a regular reader, you'll know that April's A Year of Techniques technique was intarsia. Most knitters taking part in our KAL followed Bristol Ivy's Brambling shawl pattern, but others took the technique and had a go at something else for an extra challenge, as you will see.
Read moreWe've been beavering away behind the scenes to get A Year of Techniques ready for the final copy editing and layout process, which is why it's been a bit quiet around here. In between all that I've been knitting like mad on my Brambling Shawl. I'm feeling a little bit sad that it's nearly done, as I've enjoyed it so much. But I'm also bursting with excitement to share May's pattern with you next week. It's a corker!
So how have you found intarsia? Was it as tricky as you thought? Or were you already a seasoned intarsia expert who had knitted a heap of picture sweaters in the 80s? I've been chatting to Bristol Ivy (the genius designer of Brambling) about her experience of intarsia, and I've pumped her for pattern inspiration for my next intarsia project. Here's what she had to say:
Read moreI can't believe the first month of A Year of Techniques has flown by so quickly! The enthusiasm and excitement that you've shared this month in the knitalong threads, on Instagram, by email and in blog posts has been humbling. Thank you all!
present to you the Brambling shawl! I had a total intarsia conversion last year when I knitted my Harewood Hap, so when we started to think about techniques and designers for A Year of Techniques, I knew that I wanted Bristol Ivy to be our "intarsia pusher"!
Read moreHeartfelt thanks for all the kind words you've said about A Year of Techniques. We've been overwhelmed by the messages in our Ravelry group, on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and via email. It's so great to hear that you're sharing our excitement!
I've always been a bit of an enthusiast for learning something new. In fact, that might be the understatement of the century. Whether it's in my knitting, or the garden, or helping the kids with their homework, I absolutely adore that satisfied feeling you get when you've mastered something you couldn't do before. I want to spread that feeling far and wide! You don't have to love every new thing you try, but there's always something to learn from the process of having a go. At least that's what I tell the kids when I've cooked some experimental dinner and they are all turning up their noses. Sometimes it even works!
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