Indie Designer Giftalong 2015

Aaand..they're off

The 3rd annual Indie Design Giftalong has now started over on Ravelry.

335 designers from 30 countries have combined to offer a fabulous 25% discount on selected patterns. Use code giftalong2015 at checkout from Thursday, November 19th at 8:00 pm US EST - Friday, November 27, 2015 at 11:59 pm US ES.

Louise Tilbrook Designs: GAL Patterns

As well as the sale and the chance to find some new-to-you designers there are KALs, competitions and general chatter happening over on the Indie Design Giftalong group.


 As you might expect I'll be hanging out in the thread related to sock and other foot/leg patterns but I can never resist checking out all the other amazing patterns - and I do need a new hat for winter....

New pattern release: Comb Gill socks

I am pleased to say that the second pattern in my sock series - Walks in Lakeland is published today.

Comb Gill - Louise Tilbrook Designs

The Comb Gill socks were inspired by a recent family walk up the mountain of Glaramara, this design represents the second in a series of four.

After you leave the fell wall and sheep behind you, you start the failry steep ascent and Comb Gill (pronounced Coombe Gill) provides an ideal spot for a quick drink and a breather. 

A scenic stopping point where a mountain beck cascades over dark grey slate and granite.

Comb Gill, Borrowdale

The small twisted cables in this sock echo the paths taken as the water finds it own way down the mountainside, carving intricate niches and channels as it does so.

As with many of my patterns, this is offered in both cuff down and toe-up formats - although I'm hoping to win you all over to the way of the toe-up eventually :)

Until midnight on Sunday April 19th, 2015 this pattern is offered with a 25% discount applied at the checkout - no code needed.

For added fun and for those speedy knitters amongst you, knitting a pair of your very own Comb Gill socks and posting a picture to your Ravelry project page (and in the FO thread on my Ravlery group - link here) will get you a discount code for 50% off any of my other patterns.

So, grab your needles and join me..next stop is the wild and rocky summit of Glaramara

 

Year of the Sock

A belated happy New year to you all

New Years Day in Buttermere

My new year started with a wet, windy and wonderful walk around Buttermere in the Lake District, battling the elements and having fun with the family.

A lovely, chilled out time was had by all with plenty of knitting and outdoor activities

A sunny day in Borrowdale

Lots of sock knitting in particular was done, despite me leaving all my beloved long circular needles at home. But even with DPNs I managed to come away with the makings of a lot more sock designs.

I am aiming to knit 15 pairs of socks in 2015 with 12 of them being my own designs. I have a cunning plan to base some of them on walks we did in the Lake District recently. With 3 or 4 socks per collection (or walk) they will guide you through some of the wonderful scenery on offer, and of course like all good country walks, will end in a sock named for a local pub :)

The first 2 pairs are on the needles and will be ready for testing soon. So dig out your walking boots and waterproofs (it isn't called the Lake District for nothing) and get ready to join me on Walks in the Lakes - Part 1.

A new pattern: Rosthwaite

And a good morning to you on this cold and frosty day.

I'm really pleased to be able to share my latest pattern with you today - the Rosthwaite socks.

Rosthwaite Socks: Cuff down with an afterthought heel

This pattern was designed as part of my Sock Design Challenge which I ran in September and invited you lovely readers and members of my Ravelry and Facebook pages to vote on key design elements.

The overwhelming vote was for top down socks with some fun stitch detail and nothing too complicated or stressful, and I really hope that you like the finished product as mych as I do.

As a bit of a change for me I have also worked these socks with an afterthought heel. The more I work this heel type the more pleased I am with it and if you have never tried it, maybe this is the project to start you off.

There are a lot of amazing resources on the web and I highly recommend the following as a good place to start.

The Knit Girllls have a fabulous tutorial: here

And excellent blog posts on the subject can be found here and here.

I really do hope you decide to give them a try. As a thank you for all your support and encouragement I'm offering a 25% discount until Nov 30th, 2014 with the code Rosthwaite.

Happy Knitting

Sock Design Challenge: A final vote

Apologies for the delay but I am pleased to be able to show you the sample for this challenge sock and also to ask you to vote one final time on a name for the pattern.

The names currently up for debate are:

1. Copper Mine
2. Bracken Wood
3. Rosthwaite
4. An other?

As you can tell, my name choices are skewed by my recent trip to the Lake District. The yarn colour really reminds me of barley sugar sweets but that name is already used :)

Seriously, please do vote and let me know what you think or feel free to suggest one of your own - in the true spirit of this challenge.

Sock design challenge: An Update

It may all have gone a little quiet but please rest assured that I am beavering away behind the scenes to bring you a snazzy and fun new cable pattern in time for some super-organised gift knitting in November and December.

I have tried to be faithful to the choices of the majority and so we have a cabled sock with a really effective but very simple repeat. We have it as a cuff down version (although you die-hard toe-uppers) could easily modify it and we have a fun alternative heel which might be something you haven't tried before.

The pattern will also include directions for a regular heel flap and gusset in case your nerves fail you at the last minute or in case you are up against a gift deadline and just want to power on through with your tried and tested method.

The pattern testing will be underway very shortly and my cunning plan is to release the pattern in early November.

Before that though, I will need to find a name for this design and so it seems only fitting that I turn to you for the final vote on this. I am putting together the shortlist and then I'll be asking you to vote once more for your favourite.


Back soon

xx

Sock Design Challenge: Work begins

Thank you all so much for your votes and participation over the last month. It's been really great to get so much feedback and I'm very much hoping that I can take all that valuable feedback and use it to create a sock pattern that you will really like and that you will want to knit.

I've cleared the needles, browsed my stitch dictionaries and chosen the yarn. So, this afternoon I sit down with a pencil and chart paper to get cracking.

Mmmmmmm....cables....my favourite :)

Back soon
xx

New month, new projects

There is something very special about this time of year. With just a nip of coolness in the morning air and mists on the fields there is a sense of seasons turning and autumn just around the corner. Time to get the chimney swept and winter logs ordered. Time for the kids to go back to school and fresh starts everywhere.

Since the start of this year I have been trying, in an effort to curb my constant cast-on enthusiasm, to limit the number of monthly projects I have. Making a concerted effort to finish that month's projects before starting the next. And should I find myself with bare needles (horror!) I can work on my Sock blankie or Mitered Crosses Blanket.

There is something very satisfying about lining up all my intended projects for the month. Although it seems that in September I will be mostly knitting Green Things. Not all of them will come to fruition but there is a great sense of anticipation as Sep 1st comes around and I can Cast On.

Clockwise from top we have:
West Yorkshire Spinners 4ply sock yarn - not quite sure yet but probably socks for DH
Rico Design Essentials soft aran - a baby blanket in my Where I Live series
Debbie Bliss Rialto DK - a Lush cardigan for my niece
Juno Fibre Arts Buffy Toughie sock yarn - a new cabled sock design.

If anyone wants me, I'll be in my favourite chair...