Oolong knits

Investments: shares, funds, bonds, cash, property, foreign currency, collectibles, commodities, contracts for difference (derivatives), etc. Bonds: also called fixed interest securities, are loans to a company or government (the latter are also called gilts). Shares: part of a company. Funds: a specialist manager who pools the money from its investors to buy shares and others. Funds can invest in almost anything – shares, bonds, energy, gold, oil, debt, etc. All funds have a theme – anything from geography (European, Japanese, emerging markets), industry (green companies, utility firms, industrial businesses), types of investment (shares, corporate bonds, gilts), to the size of the company. Investment Trusts: a type of fund. They're a closed ended investment that issues a fixed number of shares. OEIC: "Open Ended Investment Company", a type of fund. Open Ended means shares are issued each time someone invests and you can buy or sell shares whenever you want...

My husbie, a bread addict, has been forced to follow a wheat-free diet. In this day of innumerable free-from fads, it should be quite easy to find all the necessary replacements for his medical-supervised diet. But, what people who follow these fads are unaware of is that a lot of these products are ultra-processed and as such a lot worse for our health than the things they replace. This is an extra problem for my very spoiled husbie because his diet excludes many of the additives more commonly used in the food industry. At our home we already ate mostly homemade food (with the exception of things like ham and cheese), but for a couple of months at least this is going to be a must. God, do I go on and on! What I'm trying to say is that I had the idea of making oatcakes as a bread replacement, but that idea turned out to be a flop mainly because they are super fat. I then looked for recipes for wheat-free oatmeal biscuits and hit the big ridiculous fad wall. All the recipes I cou...

Hugo by Veronik Avery is a cable sweater. This is a great design for men, that looks great on women too. The collar is unusual enough to provide interest, but traditional enough to please most men.

I've already written a brief post about growing cucumber , but I couldn't resist writting a more detailed one about this wonderful plant. How to grow Cucumber Crop Rotation Group: Cucurbits (Squash family). Indoor or outdoor growing Different varieties are good for growing in a greenhouse or outside. As a general rule, cucumbers which are spiny or rough to the touch (called ‘ridge cucumbers’) will tolerate cooler climates and are suitable for outdoor growing. The ones with smoother skin are usually better grown in a greenhouse. The former have a better taste. Outdoor cucumbers usually require pollination, so do not remove male flowers. Note: the following advice is only for outdoor growing . Sowing Sow indoors preferably in March (otherwise April-May), preferably on a heated propagator. Cucumbers don't transplant well, so it's better to sow directly in 7.5cm pots. Otherwise, they can be transplanted to a larger pot at the one true leaf stage. Keep in good lig...

Aileas by Isabell Kraemer is a cardigan with a very simple cable pattern for interest. This is a good design for both men and women.

How to grow Fennel Source: Grow your own vegetables , by Joy Larkcom; also Allotment Handbook and Planner , by Mitchell Beazley) and here . Florence fennel requires warm, sunny and moist conditions . It's very prone to bolting, so it must be kept well watered and protected from frost, otherwise the plant will bolt, flower and set seed quite quickly. Sowing Soaking the seeds for a day or two before sowing will ensure better germination. Sow seeds about 1cm deep. Final distance: 25-30 cm apart. It's possible to sow indoors (see below) into module trays (never seed trays) of compost. But be careful to minimise root disturbance when planting out in order to avoid bolting. Plant out when there are 4 leaves (not later), again to reduce the chance of bolting. Indoor sowing For early Summer crop, sow in modules in May-June . For an Autumn crop, sow in September . It can tolerate light frost, but use protection (cloches or fleece) to prolong season. Alternatively, keep...

Stephanie Lotven's Sock Arms sweaters are a colourful dream. The original model was knit in fingering weight yarn, with arms knit in self-striping sock yarn, hence the name. For today's candy I chose her worsted-weight pattern , because I'm not a masochist and only the idea of knitting an entire sweater in fingering weight hurts.

How to grow Rhubarb Of the rhubarb plant, only the stalks are eaten. The leaves of the rhubarb plant are poisonous. Rhubarb is easy to grow and usually pest free, but needs cool weather to thrive. Propagation It's possible to grow from seed, but usually crowns of young plants are used. If growing from seed, sow directly in spring. Sow several seeds and then choose the strongest seedling. Planting out Plant crowns in late autumn to mid winter. Before planting, eliminate all perennial weeds. Spacing: at least 1 meter apart. Site: sunny (or partial shade). Well-drained (will not withstand water-logging in winter) and rich soil (rhubarb is a heavy feeder). Harvest Avoid harvesting in 1st year. Harvest a few stems in the 2nd. Freely harvest after 3rd year. Always leave at least 2 stalks per plant to ensure continued production. If the stalks become thin, stop harvesting; this means the plant’s food reserves are low. Care In autumn, mulch generously with a heavy lay...

I love the simple beauty of this yoke.  A very ingenious idea.  This is Miala by Renée Callahan.

Ainur Berkimbayeva is a very promising young designer and the beautiful Alatau Pullover is the main reason I think so.

I have recently discovered Emily Greene, an amazing designer.  I found it really hard to choose a single of her projects to highlight here, because I have a long list of favourites.  In the end, I've settled for Linocut .  This pattern includes instructions to knit three different projects: a triangle shawl, a scarf and a larger wrap.  All made with the beautiful lace pattern you see in the photo.

I've always loved designing as much as I do knitting. This means I hardly ever follow a pattern, not even one of my own creation, as I keep making modifications as new ideas come along. Knitting, like any other visual art, involves both aesthetics and technique. Accordingly, there are two aspects of designing patterns that I love: one is the pleasure of creative thinking, playing with colour, texture and shape, and the other the problem solving aspect of it. When I see a knitted garment, my first thought is often "How is that done?" and solving that puzzle all by myself is one of the reason I usual don't ever buy patterns. The other being that during or after the often lengthy process of solving the puzzle, a bunch of modifications and improvements have already occurred to me. So, why buy a pattern when I have a much better idea, right? One limitation I have been feeling very keenly lately, when it comes to designing, is the available yarn in my stash. I h...

This is the Beanstalk Hat by Amy van de Laar. I just love the way the lace and ribbing come together in this simple hat.

When I think of Caitlin Hunter, I always think of boxy sweaters with lots of amazing colour work. But most of her designs are a lot more than that, they involve a stunning mixing of heavy techniques: cables, lace, textures and striking colours. What is surprising is that she can make harmonious combinations of them all. Whitehorse is a little bit different because it is only lace, but it still is heavy stuff and gorgeous like all her designs.

Pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima) Pumpkin is one of my favourite vegetables and if you're starting to suspect that I say that about all edible veggies, you may just be right. But seriously, I can't get enough of this stuff and I'm always disappointed by how hard is to get them outside of Halloween. Unfortunately, even though they store well, they occupy a large area and I can grown no more than a few in my small plot. Soil moist, fertile, plenty of muck Aspect warm, sunny, sheltered Row spacing 180 cm Plant spacing 180 cm Germination 1 week Time to maturity 28 weeks Sow outside May Sow undercover April Plant outside May-June Harvest September-November Store lift, dry, keep cool and frost free Pests/diseases mildew

It's rare to find a free pattern this good, so I was really surprised when I realised Namu by knitboop is indeed free. Which is even more amazing when you take a pick at the pattern and see that it includes 10 different sizes and tones of charts for each size available. There was a lot of work involved writing it. So, I think we should really appreciate Yu Ra's generosity. I'm also a big fan of her Namu cowl .

Chicory and Endive (Cichorium intybus and Cichorium Endivia) Chicory and Endive are closely related vegetables. If you love the white endives you can buy in the supermarket as much as I do, you may just be as disappointed as I am that the process of growing them is slightly convoluted. So convoluted that I'm going to leave it for another post and only after I test it myself. In the mean time, let me tell you that endives are quite bitter and therefore not very popular, but their cousins chicories are super tasty in salads and a great favourite in Italy. Soil lighter soils are best Aspect bit of shade (grow between other crops) Row spacing 30 cm Plant spacing 25 cm Germination 1 week Time to maturity 16 weeks Sow outside April-August Plant outside May-June Harvest July-October Store cut as required Pests/diseases botrytis

Unboxing by Hanna Maciejewska. To be honest, I don't like the shape of this sweater at all, particularly the shoulders, but the cables are gorgeous and well-worth including on your favourite sweater recipe. They'll make an amazing cowl too.

Tomato (Lycorpersicon esculentum) When I tell people I have an allotment, the most common reaction is an excited "Oh that's great! You can grow your own tomatoes." Now, if I'm going to be honest, here in the North of England, tomatoes are a bit of a disappointing crop. There is just not enough sun to grow the sweet tomatoes I grew up eating. That said, as long as you sow early on at home, you can grow some nice varieties and have a nice little harvest before the cool weather kills your plants in a single night. So, take the 'sow outside' recommendation below with a grain of salt, unless you live in better climates. I always sow them at home in late February or early March and then plant them outside in late May. They are super easy to grow, but, if you want a good harvest, plant them in a super rich soil and give them plenty of fertilizer while they are fruiting. Soil plenty of muck Aspect sunny and warm Row spacing 45 cm Plant spacing 45 cm Germinat...

Kate Davies is one of my favourite designers. She uses Scotland's rich knitting tradition as her main inspiration, but she gives it a modern twist that makes her designs universal. Coofle is one of her most recent designs.

Chard (Beta vulgaris var. Flavescens) I love chard and I'm always surprised that this easy to cook plant is not more popular. Growing them yourself is a must, because you won't find them in supermarkets in the UK. If you do not know what to do with them, here is my go to recipe: chop a few new leaves and boil them in a pot with enough water to cook rice, boil them just enough that they start wilting and add the rice. Cook in very low heat until the rice is ready and mix a bit of olive oil in the end. Soil moist and plenty of muck Aspect open Row spacing 45 cm Plant spacing 45 cm Germination 2 weeks Time to maturity 18 weeks Sow outside April-June Plant outside May-June Harvest All Year Store cut as required Pests/diseases bolting in summer, keep moist

I hardly ever include socks in Eye-Candy Fridays, but I should. There are some truly nice sock candy out there and Andrea Rangel's Saxe Point is a worthy example.

Spinach are not only delicious, they are one of the easiest crops to grow in the allotment. However, they do tend to bolt if the weather is too warm, so, unless you are sowing in early spring or late Summer, choose a shady area of your plot to grow them. Spinach (Spinacia oleracea) Soil all but poor, dry soil Aspect partial shade Row spacing 30 cm Plant spacing 15 cm Germination 2 weeks Time to maturity 18 weeks Sow outside March-June, September-November Plant outside April Harvest April-October Store freeze after blanching Pests/diseases mildew

I had a really hard time choosing the photo to illustrate Ranunculus by Midori Hirose, not because there were no nice photos, but because there were so many amazing ones to choose from. No wonder this is one of the most popular patterns: everyone looks great in it. And there are an endless choice of variations: light texture created by using larger than usual needles, heavy texture created with worsted weight yarn, soft texture by using mohair, or instead the sharpness created by yarn with very good stitch definition that shows off the beautiful and simple lace details. There is short sleeves, no sleeves, long sleeves, balloon sleeves or just normal sleeves. There is large, bulky sweaters with tones of positive ease or, instead, tighter ones with only a bit of positive ease or even zero ease. The possibilities are endless and every one of them looks great. I'm sure a lot of people are knitting more than one project, because it's so hard to choose one model.

To be honest I find British rocket salad leaves quite bland and not worth growing at all, unless you prefer your salad tasteless. Instead I recommend using an Italian wild rocket variety, or arugula, with a nice strong flavour. There is nothing easier to grow and also faster growing from sowing to harvest. I always have a large area of my plot where I grow this in order to make sure I have a nice flavoursome salad on my table through out the all Summer. The plant is quite hardy and doesn't die with cold weather, but, unfortunately, it does stop growing. Rocket (Eruca vesicaria) Soil moist, fertile Aspect sunny, tolerates some shade Row spacing 15 cm Plant spacing 15 cm Germination 10 days Time to maturity 12 weeks Sow outside April-July Harvest July-November Store cut as required Pests/diseases slugs and snails

Knit it and wear it at your own risk. This is BR-10904 Unlooked-for Silhouette Big Sweater by Kazuyo Nakamura (中村和代). A beautiful bulky sweater with a very, very unusual shape that works surprisingly well. The photo I chose is from littlepurl's project . She changed the collar and I really like her version. The good news is that this change is trivial to make.

These gorgeous socks are the solution I found to a few personal problems. The most serious of these: excess of sock yarn in my stash; the milder one: cold feet in winter; and the last one: impatience. To solve all these problems in one go I designed a pattern for thick socks knit with two different strands of sock yarn held double through out. With the resulting gauge, these socks fly off the needles, ready to warm cold feet in no time. In addition, even when knitting plain socks, there are not enough stitches to reach the dreaded death by boredom caused by miles and miles of stockinette. But the cherry at the top of this cake is the beautiful marled effect obtained by using a combination of self-striping yarns which keep surprising me as I knit on. The technical details Yarn: Scheepjes Invicta Colour, colourways 970 and 975. Needles: 4mm (US6/UK8). Pattern: standard construction, i.e. cuff-down, with heel-flap and gusset, and a wedged toe finished with Kitchener stitch . Bri...

Another sweater that combines lace and ribbing. Docklight by Julie Hoover includes more ribbing (than Waffle, that we saw last week), which in my opinion makes it a little more unusual and elegant (and of course minimizes the see-through effect). Of course, it could just be the amazing beauty of Brooklyn Tweed yarn. I think it would be difficult to make a pattern that looks bad with this yarn. On the other hand I personally cannot justify to myself to spend so much money on yarn while there is so many people going without food, shelter, clean water, medical attention or education. But that doesn't change the fact that it still is dreamy yarn.

I always thought there must be some way of grafting even the most complex stitch patterns, but until recently I'd never found this information either in books or online. Joni Coniglio has written an amazing amount of articles about grafting for Interweave. They're all super detailed (even too much: prepare for a tour de force) and clearly written and there are so many of them it's too much work to list them all here. I'll give only a couple of examples that I found particularly useful. If you ever need to graft lace, here is an absolutely amazing tutorial on how to do so: An Education in Lace Grafting Note, this is actually a series of tutorials and you can find the links to the rest of the series at the end of the article. And here is another on grafting brioche which includes video tutorials: Brioche Stitch 101 If you'd like to check her other tutorials, I found them by clicking on Joni's name at the top of the articles. Socks And since we are talk...

The problem with lace is of course that it's see-through, but the Waffle Sweater by Pernille Larsen is so beautiful and simple that it may well be worth it. You decide!

I found this really amazing article on Interweave about increases that I highly recommend. Not only are the instructions and explanations very clear, but the illustrations are brilliant. The article is so complete, it almost gives too much information. But it's the best resource I've found to clarify certain common confusions: both to distinguish different techniques that are often considered the same, or the other way around, the same stitch done differently and often mistaken for different techniques. But the reason I most like this article is that it gives clear explanations about which stitches are more or less attractive, more or less visible, and more or less easy to execute. Exactly what you need to make a decision on which one to use, depending on your purpose.

A free pattern for socks with a separate big toe is great. Specially if you would like to show off your handknitted socks while wearing flip-flops. But I confess I chose this pattern as candy today because I love the colours and the little mid-sock stripes. A simple idea to incorporate in any other sock pattern you may prefer. Oops, I almost forgot: these are Tabi Toes by Daniela Mühlbauer.

I love learning new techniques and often find myself foolishly attempting something that is not half as good as the standard well-tried methods. For the socks I'm currently knitting, I decided to go with the Fleegle heel , even though I thought this was probably a bad idea. It turns out that, at least on my feet, this heel has a really great fit. It's also super easy to execute, so I couldn't be happier with this experiment. I highly recommend this heel, it's easier to work and has a better fit than the standard short-row heel. If you'd like the recipe I'm using, here it is: Toe Cast-on: 2x12 Judy’s magic CO. Round 1: purl all stitches, Rounds 2-5, increase rounds: p1, incr1, purl to last st of half, incr1, p1, twice. Then, Even rounds: purl all sts, Odd rounds: increase round (as above). Until 60 st total. Foot I’ve added 2nd colour after finishing toe: k15 in the old colour and then added new (in the middle of the bottom of the sock). Then...

Column looks like nothing special, but seriously... if I only bought one pattern, this may well be it. Why? The shaping. In particular the shoulder shaping that makes this bulky, boxy sweater one of the best fitting sweaters you will find. Trust me, its simplicity is deceptive, look at its project pages and convince yourself: every one looks amazing in this sweater and even Isabell Kraemer has knitted one. Hiromi Nagasawa is a new designer, but she is already an idol. Watch out for her next designs.

I have started and never finished this cardigan . That is right, I didn't just forget to finish the series, I actually never finished the damn project I was working on along with this tutorial. And here is the most absurd part, this is not the first time, and it will probably not be the last, that this happens. This happens every single time that I knit a project that involves a lot of sewing. The second project that I ever knitted was a blanket made of squares I started in 2014. You read it right: 2014! I have knitted all the squares, assembled most of them and even used the mini blanket I obtained in my bed (I had to make the hard choice of covering my feet or my shoulder, yes, for real, I'm this ridiculous), but I still haven't finished sewing the whole thing. I love the damn blanket and sincerely it is totally gorgeous, if I say so myself. But still not finished, because I'm lazy and undisciplined. But, going back to the damn cardigan. I have been working on it la...

Today's candy is a double-double treat. Two patterns and both are free. As you can see they both are triangle shawls with simple diagonal lines which create an attractive effect. The difference is the orientation of those lines. On the left, the Siki Shawl by Dawn Henderson is worked in half-twisted ribbing. On the right, the Lifeline Shawl by Jackie Daugherty uses a very simple 2 by 2 ribbing that shifts to the sides as the number of stitches increases. Both are so easy to work, they are actually boring, but the result is well-worth it, if you, like me, love simplicity.

Today we discuss a method for knitting circles sideways, or radially, if you prefer. I have already wrote a very long post on this method and I do suggest you read it for a lot of more extra details. Here I'll describe this method briefly and mostly for the sake of completeness. The radial method This well known method of creating a circle uses short-rows for shaping instead of increase or decreases. You can use your favourite method for working the short-rows: replace every turn as described in the recipe below by the instructions of your preference. This method almost always uses garter stitch (as in the recipe below), but other stitches can be used, including lace, although the recipe must be adapted for stitches that have a very different ratio of height to width than that of garter (by knitting fewer or narrower wedges). Unlike in previous methods, you will be knitting flat , not in the round, so feel free to use straight needles. Here is the recipe (taken from The ...

I love simple geometric patterns and Abbott by Michele Wang, with its clean diagonal lines, is all about that. The photo was taken from skuoprice's project .

On the first two posts of this series, I described the concentric and the swirl methods to create circles. Both these methods use increases in order to create a circle shape from the centre out. Except for that, they seem to be completely different. But they have something else in common. Take a look at the table below that contains the number of stitches in the every increase round on the concentric method and the previous round of the swirl method. Row Concentric Swirl 2, 1 8 8 4, 3 16 16 8, 7 32 32 16, 15 64 64 32, 31 128 128 64, 63 256 256 You see, what both this methods have in common is that on average there are 4 increases per round. On the swirl method these are worked in alternate rounds, on the concentric method they are worked a lot more rows apart. This is the inspiration behind what I'll call the general method, which is ...

Continuing the Gansey theme from last week. This is Sweet Little Gansey by Boadicea Binnerts, a modern take on a the fisherman's Gansey or Guernsey. Super cute.

This winter has been particularly warm: we didn't have snow and not much frost either. A couple of perennials in my front yard, namely a geranium and plenty of gazanias, which always die out in winter, are still green and even shyly flowering right now. For this reason my prettiest tulips are now coming out in between the gazanias, which is just fine, only a little bit crowded. In the front of the main garden, the usual spring bulb suspects are showing off their colours: white snowdrops, bright yellow, purple and white crocus and the pretty yellow tete-a-tete which bloom earlier than other daffodils. In the back of the main garden, the hazel flowers are dying out, while the helleborus are in full luscious bloom and the beautiful camellias are slowly coming out. So starts my favourite time of the year. From now on, there will be a line of new flowers all the way to Autumn. At home, I already started sowing some early seeds in mid-February. This year I'm making a bit ...

I love the knit and purl combinations typical of seamen’s ganseys and I think these versatile patterns can look even more beautiful on scarves. Ludlow by Julie Hoover is a good example of this. Note how even the wrong side looks great.

We continue my new series on shapes with another method used to obtain a circular shape, that I call the swirl method, which I mentioned in my previous post and I even have described in a very old post . But I'm going to repeat it here again with a different, and I think better, set-up. The swirl method Like the concentric method (described on the previous post of this series), this is a method to knit a circle in the round and from the centre out , but it can easily be adapted if you'd rather work from the outside to the centre (see the variations section). It does not really knit a perfect circle, but it's good enough for most uses. It creates a swirl with 8 arms, but see the variations section below for a different number of arms. Here is the simple recipe (you will need 8 markers): Use the pinhole cast-on to cast-on 8 stitches and spread them over 2 or more needles, according to whatever method you prefer to join in the round. Round 1: knit all stitches, if y...

I am usually not a big fan of lace, but Chaukor the Second by Sandhya S. has caught my eye. I guess I like it because it is both geometric and organic. What do you think of it?

I am starting a new series of posts dedicated to shapes. Each post will exemplify a single method to obtain a specific shape. This means that several posts will be dedicated to the same shape since there is always more than one method to obtain a specific shape. Today we discuss one of the many methods available to knit a circle. As it turns out I already wrote a few posts on this: using the swirl method , the same method we will discuss today and a circle with a hole in the centre . But those posts were written quite a while ago and, even though I am repeating myself, I'd rather do it for the sake completeness. Before I start, let me remind you there is not one perfect method, each method has its advantages and drawbacks, but knowing them all will allow you to choose the right one for your project. Hence, I will try to briefly discuss the uses as well as advantages and disadvantages of each method. The concentric method This method is named after the concentric circles cr...

I love Bohus sweaters and this one is a particularly complex example of how amazing these patterns can be. Simply called the Large Collar Sweater or Stora Spetskragen by Karin Ivarsson. The same colour pattern can be used for other garments, such as hats and scarves, with amazing results. Just follow this link for pics.

A relatively simple idea in a gorgeous yarn combination. This is Sorrel by Wool & Pine. I have notice there is a new big trend of knitting with a combination of two fine yarns of slightly different colours, one plain wool, the other mohair. It's being used everywhere lately, from sweaters, like Sorrel, to hats and shawls. The thing that is great about this combination is that you can get both gorgeous colours and amazing halo.