September 2012 January 2012 - 1 Hello and welcome to the September issue of the eNewsletter. Here at the mill we are sad to see the end of the summer months, however we are now looking forward to the cooler side of the year, which gives us an excuse to get our knitting needles out with thick, cosy, chunky yarns! This month we hear from Jane Crowfoot about her popular Crochet Club, talk about our exciting plans for Wool Week 2012, look at our favourite scarf patterns for autumn, and bring you a quirky free cardigan pattern as part of our exclusive Studio collection. In addition to this, SeptemberвЂ™s members free pattern is one for the boys; a stunning houndstooth sleeveless sweater. Happy knitting. The Rowan Team CONTENTS Debbie Abrahams 4 Knitty Gritty Auction 8 Wool Week 2012 6 Superb Scarves 9 Yarn In The Spotlight...Tumble 7 Crochet Club 2013 10 Front Cover: Brynn by Marie Wallin Using Rowan Tweed Aran Tweed Click on the where it appears for a link to further information Follow us on 2 -September 2012 symbol EXCLUSIVE Jack by Martin Storey Wool Cotton Jack For this and hundreds of FREE patterns exclusive to members click the button below: FREE PATTERN ARCHIVE August 2012 - 3 Debbie Abrahams Debbie AbrahamвЂ™s Mystery Blanket has become a global phenomenon in the four years it has been running. Excited knitters from Australia to North America and all over Europe sign up to the club at this time of year, not knowing what design they will be knitting over the coming months вЂ“ thatвЂ™s the mystery. What they do know is that the project is a blanket made up of 49 squares, it will be in Rowan yarns with Debbie AbrahamвЂ™s beads and it will be beautiful. Debbie started knitting at the tender age of 6 and was hooked, going on to take a degree in Knitwear Design before becoming a Rowan Design Consultant in 1995. Now a highly-respected freelance designer, Debbie teaches workshops all over the country encouraging and inspiring knitters to learn and experiment with their craft. It was at one of these workshops that a knitter mentioned the idea of Mystery Blankets, which are very common in the world of quilting. Having already had two books published on blankets, the idea grew in DebbieвЂ™s mind 4 - September 2012 until in 2008 the first Mystery Blanket Club took place. вЂњI thought that maybe 20 or so knitters might want to take part but in fact the first club had 80 members and today there are 500!вЂќ Debbie explains. The club is a real family affair with both DebbieвЂ™s parents and in-laws looking after 250 members each, storing the yarn and beads and sending the packs out all over the world. Each knitter will receive more than 30 balls as part of their membership, which is 15,000 balls of Rowan yumminess and 4,000 bags of beads. Wow. вЂњHaving the support and help of my family is hugely important to me and the running of the club, which is why we only have 500 places. I like to give knitters the really personal touch,вЂќ she says. knows how much yarn a square of cable takes but Fair Isle or intarsia are a very different matter, and all the yarn needs to be ordered by July. There really is a huge amount of work involved for Debbie and her team. Debbie spends a good 6 months creating the Mystery Blanket design, first collecting images from lots of different sources before sitting down to decide on her colour palette. Using a big board in her living room, Debbie literally cuts out 49 squares in her base colours and lays them out. вЂњEvery time I walk through my dining room I see the layout and can be sure it works. Constantly seeing my design helps me to fine tune it if I need to.вЂќ Actually determining how much yarn and in which colours she needs is the kind of calculation that would make a maths genius weep. From experience, Debbie With the membership list for 2013 open,what can knitters expect from next yearвЂ™s Mystery Blanket? Debbie is very careful not to give too much away: вЂњI have chosen different yarns from previous years, focussing on Rowan Tweed, Felted Tweed, Kid Classic and Pure Wool DK.вЂќ Sounds intriguing. We managed to get Debbie to give us just a little more information just for you! The design will be geometric and use traditional Fair Isle and texture with beads. Colours are subtle, cosy and tweedy with bright accents. We canвЂ™t wait to sign up. You can join DebbieвЂ™s Mystery Blanket club by emailing info@debbieabrahams.com or visiting www.debbieabrahams.com. The club costs from ВЈ205 for UK members вЂ“ all other prices are on the website. Due to rising postal charges there will be 3 packs of yarn sent out but the patterns will be emailed out each month to members. Debbie will also be running a number of workshops throughout the UK and you will be able to find details on DebbieвЂ™s website. September 2012 - 5 Wool Week 2012 Rowan is once again gearing up to celebrate all things wool during the week of 15th вЂ“ 22nd October this year, as part of Campaign for Wool 2012. Once again teaming up with The British Wool Marketing Board (BWMB), Rowan will be proud to have representatives present on the вЂњClickety-Click on the Clackety-ClackвЂќ train carriage вЂ“ a BWMB initiative which involves knitters and knitwear designers taking over a first class carriage of an East Coast train service travelling from London Kings Cross to Edinburgh and back. Now in its third year, the concept continues to gather speed, and Rowan are excited to be getting involved in the celebrations by introducing the following initiatives: Made up of an hundreds individual knitted rectangles of different textures and yarn qualities, Rowan will be unveiling an awe-inspiring inspiration statement giant knitted Union Jack piece upon the return journey of the вЂњClickety-Click on 6 - September 2012 the Clackety-ClackвЂќ train. Passengers on board will be working hard to perfect the final touches of the Union Jack, ready for the culmination of the woolly journey at Kings Cross station, where the unveiling of the piece will create a stunning vision knitted entirely in RowanвЂ™s British Sheep Breeds yarns, sourced and spun exclusively in Britain. The idea behind Marie WallinвЂ™s design is to highlight and celebrate RowanвЂ™s support of the British sheep farmers and British wool, and is sure to be a beautiful reminder of the high quality of the product. There will also be a selection of homeware designs, and patterns will be available to download for free from www.knitrowan.com. For those who may not yet be an expert knitter, we will also be hosting a download pattern for a toy sheep and a competition where Facebook users can send us in pictures of their knitted sheep to win a prize! Yarn in the SpotlightвЂ¦ Tumble We take a closer look at new yarn Tumble. A stunning blend of 90% alpaca and 10% cotton, the wonderfully chunky Tumble yarn is sure to be a favourite this winter. Available in six shades ranging from sumptuous Cherry, to rich Indigo and fluffy white Marshmallow, the luxurious blend is available with beautiful yarn support in the form of the new Tumble brochure, a collection of ten womens designs by Martin Storey and Lisa Richardson. Click @ for full details. Marshmallow 560 Apple 561 Cherry 563 Bon Bon 565 Sky 566 Indigo 567 September 2012 - 7 Knitty Gritty Auction Knitting SOSвЂ™s very own Aneeta Patel is supporting the Genesis Research Fund by auctioning off a beautiful Afghan taken from her forthcoming book Knitty Gritty вЂ“ The Next Steps, in order to raise funds for the worthy charity. How it will work: ВЈ1 = 1 ticket. For a ВЈ1 donation one ticket will be placed in the hat with your name on it. If you donate ВЈ100, one hundred tickets will be put into the hat with your name! Increase your chances by donating more. The Afghan is approx. 160cm by 130cm, used about ВЈ200-worth of Rowan Sheep Breeds natural wool and took 300+ hours to knit! For all the information and the full story, visit www.knittingsos.co.uk/afghan-raffle. Image by Peter Schiazza A Yorkshire Day Out with Rowan We invite you to join us for a grand day out here in Yorkshire, as part of our celebrations for Wool Week 2012. Set to take place on Saturday October 20th at the Rowan Mill, Holmfirth, the day will include an inspirational talk by Kate Buller, Rowan Brand Manager, the opportunity to meet real live sheep, a Summerwine Magic Tour, lunch at Compos Fish and Chip restaurant, a Rowan afternoon workshop and a goody bag! Tickets are priced at ВЈ45 per person, and places are limited вЂ“ so donвЂ™t miss out, call us on 01484 681881 to book your place! 8 - September 2012 Superb Scarves Take your pick from these luxurious scarf designs to knit for winter, perfectly cosy enough to take away the winter chills! Misty, Kidsilk Haze Stripe The Kidsilk Haze Stripe Collection Shanty Scarf, Knitting & Crochet Magazine 52 Slip, Tumble Collection Honeydew, Easy Winter Knits September 2012 - 9 Crochet Club 2013 For years the craft of crochet has been seen as the poor cousin to the craft of knitting and for many people the thought of crochet granny squares, ponchos and kitsch retro projects is enough to put them off. However, over the past few years the number of people taking up the craft of crochet has risen dramatically and the standard of pattern support for the craft continues to improve. Rowan designer Marie Wallin is a true crochet fan and Rowan publications now feature crochet projects, all of which showcase the wonderful range of Rowan yarns. Rather than opting for traditional designs, the crochet fans of today are looking for projects that test their abilities and offer them the chance to learn new exciting techniques such as beaded crochet and intricate lace designs and so many designers are pushing the boundaries of the craft too. One such designer is Jane Crowfoot who, following the success of her вЂ�crochet clubвЂ™ projects over the past 2 years, is once again launching her club design aimed at those who want to work on an exclusive crochet along (CAL) project. Quilters were one of the first groups of crafters to adopt the idea of joining clubs with the aim of making an ongoing mystery project which became gradually revealed. Recently, knit-alongs have also been gathering interest, and now JaneвЂ™s crochet club is proof that crochet fans can get in on the act too. 10 - September 2012 The design of the new project is based on Persian and Islamic mosaic and ceramic design and Jane has used a palette of green, blue and terracotta shades alongside cream and mustard to echo the design theme - the image shows a piece of the crochet design for the new club which acts as a teaser so that you can see colours and get a general idea of the design. The crochet club offers members the chance to work through the exclusive crochet project over the course of 6 months. The patterns are sent via email and members have the added bonus of a private members only blog that offers them tips and techniques for each month. The membership fee includes all yarn, patterns and access to the blog and yarn packages are sent in one parcel at the beginning of the project and patterns are sent on a monthly basis. Patterns and yarn kits are not available to nonclub members. The design will not be published at a later date and remains exclusive to club members only. If you fancy joining JaneвЂ™s club вЂ“ which last year had a membership of 280 people across the globe, you can register your application now. Places are allocated on a first come first served basis and more information can be found on JaneвЂ™s website: http://www.janiecrow.co.uk/jshop/article.php?xArt=36 September 2012 - 11 Knitrowan News You may have already noticed, but we at knitrowan recently launched our very own news section, bringing you interesting daily articles about all things fashion, design and craft. Keep an eye out for current events and news about the quirky side of crafters; from texting sheep to Olympic themed yarn bombing, itвЂ™s all happening! NEWS AREA THE GLAMOUR COLLECTION ZB127 Launching October 2012 A collection of 14 designs by Marie Wallin, Martin Storey, Lisa Richardson, Gemma Atkinson & Jem Weston using the new yarn Kidsilk Haze Glamour. Plus 5 free lace scarves and shawls patterns exclusive to www.knitrowan.com 12 - September 2012 Stockists To find your local stockist view our store locator at www.knitrowan.com by clicking the button below STORE LOCATOR Workshops To view a full list of workshop dates visit www.knitrowan.com by clicking the button below WORKSHOPS All right reserved. Reproduction in whole or any part of all material, including illustrations, in this publication is strictly forbidden. No part may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior permission of the copyright owners having been given in writing. The designs in this publication are copyrighted and must not be knitted for re-sale. Reproduction of this publication is protected by copyright and is sold on the condition that it is used for non commercial purposes. Yarn quantities are approximate as they are based on average requirements. Colour reproduction is as close as printing will allow. First published in Great Britain 2012 by Coats Crafts UK LTD Green Lane Mill, Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, England, HD9 2DX E-mail: mail@knitrowan.com Web: www.knitrowan.comВ© Copyright Rowan 2012 September 2012 - 13 www.knitrowan.com