Later, Winter!

Readers, I have big news.
This morning I wore a dress for at least two whole hours before running back to the bedroom for a sweater and tights. Thrilling stuff, right? I knew I had to have something good to make up for my recent lack of posts...

Things have been quiet here on the blog, but busy enough on the store front. As excited as I am for Spring to finally arrive in my hemisphere, I'm also vaguely nervous about my first Fall/Christmas season. There's a likely chance that sales will halt altogether, but for now I'd rather keep positive and prepare for an influx of international sales!

I have been experimenting with a bunch of new designs and ideas lately, but it's always the gloves that end up the most satisfying. This pair is my current favourite colour combination. There's just something about bright orange with cool grey lately.

Originally I wanted to do something a little more complex with the colour-work, but the simplicity of this pair just kind of works. Available here as of today :)

In other knitting news, I finally decided on yarn to make the long-awaited chunky sweater of my dreams. This lovely blue wool/nylon blend yarn was reclaimed from an old sweater and then washed and re-skeined. It's from an awesome Etsy store called Kitty's Curiosity, and is such an affordable way to buy an entire sweaters worth of nice wool. I can't wait to get started!



The weather is only just starting to change, but I couldn't be more ready to say goodbye to August! Have you started making creative plans for the new season?

Monday Motivation - Chunky Knitted Sweaters

Last week I spent some time whining about the cold planning out my ideal Winter uniform. Since then, I have been on a hunt for the ultimate slouchy, cabled sweater pattern.

After way too many hours spent scrolling through Ravelry (ermahgerd, so much 80's!), I have come up with three options that just might satisfy my current need for epic levels of cosiness:


1. Honeymaker by Leah B. Thibault. I absolutely adore this sweater (and the gorgeous styling!). The honeycomb texture is so unusual - it even comes with instructions to knit a tiny bee into one of the cells! As soon as I find the perfect shade of red, it's happening.
Pattern is $6 from Quince & Co.

2. Stonecutter by Michelle Wang. Probably the most difficult of the three options, but still completely amazing.
Pattern is $7 from the Brooklyn Tweed store.

3. Lempster by Norah Gaughan. Such a pretty cabled design. I can see it being especially beautiful in a forest green.
Free pattern via Knitty.com.

So, who wants to help a girl out? Which sweater gets your vote?
I'm totally in need of a cable-related challenge after the mindless fingering-weight stockinette that made up my last project (soon to be blogged!).

Happy Monday!

Winter in Shades of Purple

The cold weather has put a bit of a dampener on current sewing projects, but my hands have stayed plenty busy. To make the most of the uni break, I have been spending my mornings knitting in the sunny front room of the house. Bean keeps me company. In fact, it's the only room in the house where either of us can be found in a cheerful mood.
We are definitely not Winter souls.

After the purple theme of my last post, I thought I'd share a few recent knitting projects :)

These elbow length wool gloves are even warmer than they look. Gentle shaping on the inside of the wrist creates a smooth, comfortable fit across the wrist. I'm very tempted to make a pair for myself, eventually - the biggest hurdle is choosing a colour! These gloves would also feel amazing in organic cotton. Just imagine their soft, delicate look when made up in a pastel blue...

This scarf is a purple variation of my Chunky Wool Cowl. What makes it special is the blend of wool with bamboo. The bamboo content (50%) adds some weight, giving the cowl a lovely drape. It also creates a shimmery, jewel-like sheen in most lights. I'll definitely be using this blend in other projects!

Both of these projects were custom variations of designs available in my Etsy store.

An Autumn Shawl

[photos from my instagram]

A new cowl in my store, just in time for the first few real days of Autumn. 

This has always been my favourite time of year. The trees have all finally turned now. The mornings are crisp, the nights are early, and the afternoon air is rich with the scent of woodsmoke. It is the one time of year that Armidale really makes up for being so far from the sea. 

This cowl was an entirely spontaneous creation, from yarn purchase to bind-off. The finished product is lovelier than I could ever have hoped. It's incredibly warm and versatile. The design is ideal for someone who (like me) feels claustrophobic in neck-hugging scarves. I am eager to create more in different colourways.

Sustainable Vegan Gloves and a Sale!

This has been a wonderfully productive week. The organic cotton that I ordered for some test products finally arrived. It's perfect. 

I made a pair of fingerless gloves. They are beautifully soft and delicate. Perfect for early Spring mornings, or appointments in ridiculously air-conditioned buildings.

Since starting Fozzel & Bean, sourcing sustainable, low-impact vegan fibers has been an important priority for me. Even on Etsy, it's difficult to find knitwear that doesn't contain at least a small percentage of acrylic. Talking to some vegan friends led me to realise that, as consumers, vegans often have to make do with materials that are often just as bad, if not worse, for the environment than the animal products they avoid.

This certified organic cotton yarn brings me one huge step closer to my goal of providing beautiful and earth-friendly vegan options. The yarn has been hand dyed with plant materials, using traditional methods. It's also people-friendly - providing Fair Trade conditions for struggling women in Lima, Peru, and education for their children.

These gloves are now in my shop, in the soft lavender shown above. They'll be available in pastel blue over the coming days :)

In other exciting news, last night I reached a little milestone for my store - filling my front page! To celebrate, I'm having a sale for all readers of my blog. For 20% off any purchase in my store, just use the coupon FOZZELFRIENDS at checkout!



P.S. If you're wondering what happened to my previous post, some last-minute research found that NSW residents (most other states are fine) cannot actually hold chance-based online giveaways without first purchasing an $80 permit. I'm a little devastated, but what can you do.

Some Progress

The past few weeks have been rewarding and unproductive in equal measure. I have spent many hours by this window. The bench is at just the right height that I feel as though I'm working - an important tool for staving off Pinterest binges. It is a hard mental task to start a business from a squishy couch. 

The truth about designing knitwear is that it involves many pages of scribble and the unravelling of many hours of work. I'm sure there's probably a much more methodical and mathematical method, but often I just don't know how I'm going to feel about a design until I'm holding it in my hands. Or wearing it on my hands...

I couldn't be more pleased with the fit of these gloves - the position of the thumb, the fit around the wrist. They are beautifully lightweight - I've always hated the cumbersome feeling of bulky gloves. And being 100% wool makes them very warm. Already my mind is full of ways to make them more exciting, but I do love the simplicity of this design.

These gloves are currently available in my shop, in the lovely shade of pumpkin you see here. More colours will be added over the coming week!

Some fashion week appreciation

There have been some lovely collections throughout this Fashion Week, especially for Fall. I thought it might be nice to share a few of my favourite knitwear designs.

Alberta Ferretti Fall 2014 RTW : My favourite so far! Warm earthy colours, simple cuts, flattering metallic details, some fascinating and feminine evening-wear, and plenty of cozy felt dresses and knit sweaters.

 

Calvin Klein Fall 2014 RTW:  Endless coats! And lots of interesting knitwear. I'd love to try my hand at a knit skirt or dress in time for Winter.

 

Erdun Fall RTW: I love these knit tunics. It also seems as though baggy sweatpants can actually look fashionable. I have been waiting for this day!

 

 

 Last but not least, this knit dress by Carmen Marc Valvo is just stunning, don't you think? There are some lovely dresses throughout this collection.

Sadly, I'm yet to see any knit menswear apart from the generic hoards of fair isle and cable sweaters. If you've been following fashion week, I'd love to hear about anything I might have missed! The image below is literally the most inventive thing I've come across so far (and it's still a sweater!):

I mean, really?! Doesn't it just make you sad?