I am very excited to announce the publication of Cross-Country Knitting, Volume One!
Cross-Country knitting is a collaborative venture between myself and my lovely designer-comrade, Jen Arnall-Culliford. Jen and I live at opposite ends of the UK: she’s down there, in Somerset, and I’m up here, in Scotland. Yet the internet has enabled us to work with one another, and, as well as forming a friendship, has forged a bond between us about many knitterly things. Jen and I often talk about our design ideas, and about our general approach to design. Interestingly, both our design ideas, and our approaches to them, are really very different: in many respects, we have distinct styles, but they are styles that work very well together. Given this, it occurred to us that it might be fun to test our collaborative acumen with a joint design challenge: what would two very different designers come up with when working to the same general brief? The first challenge we set ourselves was to create a man’s garment that was functional, wearable, and would appeal to contemporary masculine tastes. It was an especially enjoyable challenge for me as, though I’ve knitted many sweaters for Tom, I had never actually produced a man’s design before. Well, this pair of garments – totally different, but distinctly complementary – is what we came up with!
Jen designed the Bruton Hoody . . .
. . . and I designed the Machrihanish Vest.
I’ll be back tomorrow to tell you all about Machrihanish, (which knitted up in lovely Jamieson & Smith Shetland Heritage is of course, the garment whose steeks I was finishing off the other week), but for now I just wanted to announce the launch of Cross-Country Knitting, and the release of the e-book of Volume One!
In Cross-Country Knitting, Volume One, you will find patterns for both the Bruton Hoody and the Machrihanish Vest, plus a feature article by Jim Arnall-Culliford (aka, the inimitable Veuf Tricot) on the perils of giving and receiving hand-knits, as well as a cut-out-and-keep Cross-Country Knitting gift tag to attach to your finished knits. The e-book is now available via Ravelry, and the print booklet will very shortly be available via MagCloud.
KDD & Co 
I, personally, can’t wait to cast on Bruton.
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You and Jen both score bulls-eyes here. Thank you!
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There is so much to love here, but what stand out most to me are how stylish, wearable and contemporary yours and Jen’s designs are here (and different!), and the collaborative and complimentary spirit of “Cross Country Knitting”. The phrase “more than the sum of its parts” springs to mind when thinking about this venture – both you and Jen are completely amazing pattern writers and knitwear designers, but there is an extra ‘plus’ which comes about from presenting your designs together, and with contextualising writings. I love the sense of mutual respect and richly shared knitterly knowledge which shines through in these designs and in the general ethos of “Cross Country Knitting”. A beautiful new direction for your ongoing work together, and a generous way to bring the knitting community into your shared focus on precision and knitterly detail. Hurrah!
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I still shudder in fear at the word “steeks” which I guess, means I should tackle a project with steeks… sigh.
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Love both patterns. Is the vest pattern suitable for adaptation for women’s sizes?
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Love the colours of the vest. Fabulous collaboration.
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Absolutely wonderful vest, Kate! And, yes, the model is very smart, too!
I love the detailing on the Hoodie.
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What a great idea. Really like both designs, which to knit first? Very funny article too. Now in my Ravelry library. Thank you both, hope to see more collaboration in the future.
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The colors in the Fair Isle vest are stunning! I have been attempting my first foray into Fair Isle and choosing the colors has been a humbling experience.
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Beautiful fair isle and subtle cables :-) Wise to stick to a vest. I wish I had! The dark blue looks almost like velvet in the light, so rich in colour, I love your use of the colours, the overall effect has a look of Victorian tiles
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both are fabulous but the vest is distinctively you Kate! and as Susan above has already pointed out, that green is perfect!
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That vest! And the green going through it clinches it! Superb.
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A very clever collaborative between you both! Although I must say, that your Fair Isle Vest (and the wearer modelling) is probably the smartest ever yet !
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