I forgot to do a little post about my time volunteering at Alexandra Palace, although very quiet at the British Hand Knitting Associations comfy corner it was nice to speak to others interested in knitting and I got to experiment with a few unusual yarns which was good! Having a quick look at some of the other stalls in the show, it was nice to see a good range of British yarns available - not many being naturally dyed (although there was an amazing one from Scotland!)

I also had a lovely chat with a representative from Rowan yarns who was telling me a little bit more about Prince Charles' Wool Project!

Look what I found in a shop window - How lovely!

 

I have been experimenting with how to visualise and collate 6 months of research and show all the processes, time and dedication that has gone into creating just the yarn that has been used to make my collection, So I have decided to film clips of the machines running in the mill and have a voice over depicting what the process involves and how it is necessary in the steps of production. I have roped in an excellent camera man so we will be filming at the same time as the photo shoot - Paul from the mill has been amazing and is kindly letting us crash in on the mill on a Saturday - its going to be amazing!

So with the final pieces of knitting coming along slowly but steadily (I wish I could knit faster, or have two sets of hands!!), my final collection outcomes have been cemented (eek pressure!)



And here are the colour choices - I am off home to dye the yarn for the green dress before I knit the design, and whilst I am home I am also going to dye the pink tunic dress with madder - I am very scared as its my first time dip dyeing whole garments - so hopefully my practice with the sample yarns will have prepared me a little, i'm just hoping it comes out evenly!



So the knitting and sewing up process begins...

Well today is the first day I have had to catch my breath, sit down and reflect on everything I have done in the past two weeks - I have been madly knitting, writing and panicking whilst trying to complete my collection of pieces in time for the two photo shoots I had organised, whilst trying to collate all my research project ready for hand in!

So heres the story so far...

The next step of creating more loops has begun - with a lot of ground to cover I set about knitting masses and masses of french knitting ready to be formed into loops - it is quite difficult to get the tension, weight and speed level even, along with trying to keep loops and knots out of the wool - here is my first finished piece on top of my natural bat winged dress - 



And here it is when I experimented with dip dyeing the loops in all British Madder - 

Who knew you could knit shoulder pads?...well according to Vogue Knitting 1985 (before I was born!) its the easiest way to update and add structure to your knitted creations...so I though i'd give it a go...and I love them!!

 



And a sneaky one of the ribbed drape all nice and pressed...

Testing the length and shape the structured shoulder creates - I decided to do it in three sections giving the shoulder and neckline a little more structure and stability to hang the rest of the knitted pieces from...
 
 



Rounding the neck and shaping the collar...

These are the four simple pieces that are the basis for my final collection, they may change a little with every piece knitted as I pick up new tips and techniques but the general length and look will be based on these... then with a mixture of other decorative knitting techniques and dyeing I will add texture, depth, volume and colour...fun fun fun...

 

Whoo...my second garment is officially finished - apart from a lot of loose ends that need sewing in (thats going to be during my 'break' times for fun relief heehee!)
I had started to worry that I had calculated the shaping wrong on the garment and I was a total failure, and would have to start again - but thankfully, after a good steam and block at Mare St, and the pieces being sewn together properly by my now numb fingers, I am very very very pleased with it - it drapes better than I had dared hope for, and the sleeve length is perfect (even if I do say so myself!) 

So all that is left to do is take a few pictures on the mannequin of its beautiful cream self then store it safely until i'm ready to dye it!

It took me 8 days to complete it - too long according to my time plan - i'm hoping I have simplified my 3rd pattern enough to get it done in 5 days (6 if i'm being realistic and factoring in some sleep time!), I drew up a pattern for this next one so I can measure the length a little more accurately and count the stitches easier - so hopefully this will save time - I have also shaped the front pieces straighter so it is an even number of decreases - meaning knitting the shoulders should be a LOT easier!





 

I GOT MY WOOL (thank you Paul!)... All 17kg of it!! And had a very interesting bus ride back down to London carrying it!! But now i'm back and it full steam ahead knitting - i've spent the last two days knitting for 8 hours a day - and have currently got one front and half a back of my second collection piece - I think tonight shall be a late one so I can block them both at uni tomorrow, and then make a start on the sleeves! I can't believe how fast time is going...December is going to come around very very fast, and my knitting doesn't seem to be progressing very quickly!

Back to knitting...Oo look what I saw in Hobb's window for Wool Week...