sunny side up

It’s a lovely sunny morning here in Kintyre, and I am very happy to tell you that Making Light is now published!

If you would like to see what’s included in this exciting collection of two-tone knits, just take a look here, where you’ll find photographs of every pattern that’s included

If you pre-ordered the print book, thanks to Kate C and Kendall (who both worked extremely hard before the long weekend), you may already have your copy, or if not, will receive it soon. And if you weren’t a club member, you can now buy your own copy from the KDD shop. A digital version is also available, both in the KDD shop or on Ravelry, where you can also purchase individual downloads of each design in the collection.

I wanted to take a moment to reassure those of you in the US (who are understandably worried) that KDD is very much open for business and that our packages (so far) are happily arriving on your side of the Atlantic with no issues. The chaotic international trade situation is, of course, enormously concerning (for everyone), and the whims of the current US administration will undoubtedly have a significant impact on the globally interconnected world of yarn and knitting, (as they will on all enterprises, and economies, large and small). We are prepared for this. Our company policy of very short, very accountable supply chains, and our direct-to-knitter (and reader) method of conducting operations, means that we are ready to weather this particular storm, as we have many other storms, with (one hopes) minimal effect to you. We continue to “knit on, with confidence and hope, through all crises”, as Elizabeth Zimmermann wisely put it.

Speaking of knitting, I have been doing rather a lot of it in recent weeks – much of it of the super-secret design-and-sample nature, which I obviously cannot show you here. But I did want to mention how very much I enjoyed – and how much wear I am getting – out of one of my Making Light designs – Sun Pillars.

I knit my original Sun Pillars sample last autumn in Ooskit shades Riach and Choffer. I absolutely love this sweater, and wore it not just for this happy photoshoot, but near-constantly over winter.

By the time that February rolled around, I was filled with a need for bright, bold colour, and, having completed a project, also felt like treating myself to some new yarn that I had not myself produced (which I do surprisingly rarely!). So I bought some lovely chunky yarn to knit myself another Sun Pillars from my very good friends at This is Knit, in Dublin.

This is farm to yarn chunky, in shade “embers”. It’s 100% Irish: a fabulous collaboration between Ériu Farm (who have produced this wonderful blend of Romney lambswool and Bluefaced Leicester) and Townhouse Yarns (the work of talented dyer, Jenny). This yarn really is completely gorgeous – robust and sheepy, soft and lofty – while Jenny’s super-saturated, semi-solid colourwork is amazing. I used my own Ooskit for the contrast through the yoke, and quickly whipped up a lovely new Sun Pillars which I now seem to throw on every evening as the sun goes down, and the air begins to cool.

Here I am on one such evening, on an ill-fated trip to Arran a few weeks ago (which resulted in my injured leg).

Sun Pillars is a super fast knit, and, with its dense, warm fabric, makes a great alternative to a spring smock or fleece: ideal for a chilly evening, or for walking in exposed locations, such as the Northumberland Coast Path, where KDD’s Maylin recently tested out her own version.

Maylin describes her Sun Pillars as the “ideal hiking sweater” and you can see more details of her sweater, with its lovely two tone yoke, over on her Rav page.

I loved knitting a new Sun Pillars with a gorgeous, new-to me Irish yarn! Now, back to those new designs . . .

Happy Knitting!