A colourful knitting day at Toft

Here at Toft Towers colour work (in a selection of natural alpaca colours of course) is something we are really starting to encorporate into our knitting.  Be it intarsia or stripes, fair isle or slip stitches, we love working with colour combinations to create unique patterns.

Jubliee jumper with intarsia diamond.

So Saturday's colour knitting workshop at Toft Studio was an excuse to share this love as we welcomed several workshop regulars, as well as some new faces. 

We covered intarsia - did you know that this term originates from woodwork and the inlaying of different colours of wood to make a pattern, but in knitting it refers to using blocks of colour.  With intarsia knitting is not stranded or carried across the back of the knitting as with fair isle, instead a pattern piece is knitted effectively in columns and therefore bobbins of yarn are used for each column.

Toft's jubliee jumper is a brilliant example of intarsia with swiss darning or duplicate stitch detailing (see our website for our swiss darning help video). The key to tip top intarsia is your tension, in fact the talk of tension was a running theme of the whole day.  Too loose, you'll get holes where the colours join and too tight, joins will be puckered and out of shape. 

Colour work means lots of yarn, not all of it alpaca to practice with.

Stranding or floats behind fair isle work.

The day started with a slightly soggy dash around the farm to meet and greet the newest additions to the herd and then it was back to the comfort of Toft Studio for tea and biscuits before a full day of knitting.  After a warming lunch (it might be June but we needed it on such a rainy day - it felt more like March!) the afternoon was spent tackling fair isle and learning to knit with a strand of yarn in each hand, one continental style and one English style. We chose between the fair isle beanie kit or a brand new Toft design, the houndstooth fair isle wrist warmers kit, which is available to purchase online or at the farm now!

Sneak preview of Toft's new Houndstooth wristwarmers

Toft tips for fair isle are to give continental knitting a practice before tackling fair isle, if you are determined to do it properly that is. Fair isle never uses more than two colours in any one row and knitting using this method of one strand in each hand, rather than picking up and dropping colours as required will give your knitting a better chance of looking tip top. This latter method can play havoc with your tension (I did warn you about the prominence of that t-word!) and also yarn dominance. In brief, yarn dominance means which strand is carried above and which below according to how they held when knitting and this must be consistent because one colour will appear to recede and one will be dominant. 

There is more to fair isle than first meets the eye - it's pretty involved and incredibly interesting!

  

Even the history of fair isle was discussed during the day, did you know for example that sleeves are traditionally knitted from the shoulder down in order that the well worn cuff can be unravelled and re-knitted as necessary. Shetland islanders were also proficient on-the-go circular knittters, many ladies had knitting belts enabling them to knit whilst doing their daily work, probably with a baby on their back at the same time, multi-tasking and portable knitting all in one!  Puts our knitting on the go with knit pros a little in the shade! Those kind of facts are perfect examples of knitting know how providing ingenious solutions to practical problems. Indeed learning intarsia and fair isle, traditional knitting methods for use in modern designs of the like found at Toft give us (and I'm pretty sure all knitters) a warm fuzzy glow.

 

Lots to discuss about colour work.

We haven't got another colour workshop in the diary yet but do let us know if you'd be interested in learning. Helen and Carrie got very excited about lots of new ideas after their first brainstorming session together that the diary until Christmas is chocablock full of new topics. Take a look at the website to book your place on one of our new workshops, some are even in the diary for a Friday afternoon like the lace , aran and giant knitting workshops, should you fancy a cheeky afternoon off in the relaxing surroundings at Toft.

From autumn onwards crochet workshops feature highly alongside spinning, quilted patchwork and firm favourites like the button bag and several seasonal felting workshops. Why not let us know if you have any workshop ideas that you'd like to see at Toft.

Little Cria hiding the grass at Toft.

Toft's Open Farm Craft Day - Roll On Summer!

 
Today at Toft we finally got some sunshine after a week of high winds and heavy rain. It got us all excited for summer's arrival, and doubly keen for the 4th of August to swing round - because we're having a party!





Between 10am and 4pm Toft Alpaca farm will open its doors for a summer open day where visitors can meet our beautiful alpacas, tour the farm and enjoy taster sessions in an incredible variety of crafts. 






You can try your hand at knitting, felt-making and crochet under the supervision of our expert tutors, and talk the hind leg off an alpaca about all things crafty. The best part is it's completely FREE. We'll even be laying on one of our scrumptious cream teas.



Activities will be suitable for all ages and all levels of experience - we're all about passing skills between people of every background and every generation.








You'll get a chance to find out exactly what goes on here and meet the entire team (including some of our hairier members).



Make sure you save the date in your diary: August 4th. Come and soak up the sunshine - even as I write this, the ladies from today's crochet workshop are standing on Toft Manor's terrace with bulging bags of newly purchased yarn, looking out over our rolling fields at Draycote Water shining in the distance. I can't think of a better way to spend a day - hurry up August!  

The farm is a glorious place to visit on a week like this! Book your trip now.

Hasn't the weather this week been glorious? No complaints here despite having to swap all our chunky knitwear for the finer variety and our socks for sandals.

And this fine weather has certainly caught the alpacas at their best. Almost in full fleece with just six more weeks left until shearing they are looking like big cuddly ewoks.

It's a great time to come up to the farm to meet the herd and see the alpacas in all their glory. You can come up to the farm for a visit anytime Monday-Friday 10am-4pm or in addition we will now be opening Saturdays from May onwards (NEWS TO FOLLOW SHORTLY).

A fab alternative to this is to join us on one of our craft workshops in knitting, crochet or felting. Spend a relaxing day here at Toft alpacas (Dunchurch, Warwickshire) getting to know all about alpacas and learning new skills. Each day includes a farm tour to get up close to our herd of over 150 alpacas.

Coming up pre-shearing we have an Intro to Felt Workshop on 14th April with a few spaces left. Book online here or give us a call on 01788 810626. The whole day course is just £5o per person and that includes all of your materials and and wonderful lunch. You will learn all the basics of wet felting, needle felting and knitted felt, and you will of course be working with luxorious alpaca fleece.

Come the week of May 15th the Shearer will be here and our herd will be transformed into skinny minnies! You can come and join us at Toft for this exciting event by booking on our workshop on 17th May. You will again spend a day on farm but this time see and learn about shearing alpacas and sorting fibre. You will then spend the afternoon making felted jewellery. This workshop is very limited with only a couple of spaces left so act now and book here.

If you are more animal mad than crazy about textiles then one of our Alpaca Fun Days could be for you. Spend a day on the farm halter training your own alpaca for the day. Great for all the family these summer days involve meeting all cria (baby alpacas- 50 due again this year!), a trek across the farm with your alpaca, followed by a picnic in the fields and then an obstacle course to finish! A great day out for all animal lovers. Book here.

So there's no excuse not to make a day of coming out to visit us. With an ever-expanding prgramme of events on farm, and the upcoming opening of 'Toft Studio' we will be hosting all manner of walks, talks and workshops.

Get booked in now as spaces are limited to small groups on all of our dates. Alternately if you have your own group and you'd like your own private tour then just get in touch to arrange a trip to us. All groups from 6-50 people are welcome with prior arrangement and cream-teas and craft classes are offered in addition to farm walks and talks.

Whether you are a WI, Knitting Group, School Party or simply a group looking to meet up and do an unusual and exciting activity for the day. Get in touch now to get us in your calendar.


With thanks to Emi for her photography and gorgeous alpaca treats from Japan.

What’s in your knitting bag?

Are you a neat tidy knitter with a bag to match, a ‘several-projects-in-my-bag’ kind of knitter, or perhaps you have a bag that resembles something akin to a black hole of unravelled yarn and unlabelled needle tips? Whatever kind of knitter you are (or are thinking of becoming) your knitting bag says a lot about you. Of course if you are going to take your knitting out and about it’s also essential to have, well, the essentials but what are they? Let’s take a look at the contents of two knitting bags and what they say about these knitters.

Knitter One – A knitting addict, often suffers with acute and enthusiastic start-itus. Loves simple patterns for garments and accessories, tends to have at least 4 projects on the go at any one time.

Contents of Bag:
Two projects currently still on needles. The first is two half knitted sleeves of striped deck jumper – this knitter always knits two sleeves at the same time, or two legwarmers, gloves - you get the idea. (Toft Tip: Whilst this method doesn’t exactly save on time it does mean that you are less likely to suffer with second sock/sleeve/legwarmer syndrome and therefore never complete a project) Don’t mention her 1 and only 2 ply cable honeymoon sock (the yarn for the second is buried under a pile of ufo's!). This method allows you to ensure the length of each piece is perfectly even and using circular needles is a must in order that you have enough room for both items. They can also easily be put down without risk of losing either piece.

The second project is a small knitted and felted bag that a crocheting but non-knitting friend has asked this knitter to work up in 100% wool – she found this at Unravel and in return she is crocheting a chain scarf (who got the best deal there?!).

1 deluxe set of KnitPro Symphonie Interchangeable knitting needles with extra size tips, 3.75mm 12mm and 15mm – practically every needle you will ever need in one handy case with different length cords (also added a 30cm cord to the collection), plus stoppers for the easy change between projects. Perfect for knitting anything whether circular or straight, lots of stitches or just a few! Since this set is several years old she’s labelled the needle sizes – newer sets have the sizes printed on the needle tips.
2 pairs of fixed circular needles
1 pairs of rosewood and mother of pearl tipped knitting needles size 4mm (brought on a whim at Unravel)
1 crochet hook (4mm) – useful for picking up dropped stitches and crocheting of course.
Scraps of yarn to use as markers etc
The e-mails and telephone numbers of her knitting group ladies
Handcream and lip balm

1 small zipped case holding the following;

Tape measure

1 pair of sewing scissors
1 cable needle (5mm)
1 DPN (lost it’s set)
Needle size gauge
1 row counter
2 metallic stitch holders
Pins
Various stitch markers
Pen for making notes on a pattern

Knitter Two: A meticulous Toft knitter, a perfectionist when it comes to working out a pattern, she's integral in working up samples for Toft’s beginner knitting kits. Recently discovered a love of sock knitting and can sometimes be heard to cry – ‘not garter stitch again!’

Two projects currently on needles, one baby jacket in cashmere and a child’s sock (the second is yet to be cast on) in a wool nylon mix. Like our first knitter this knitter likes to have several projects on the go and this is in addition to her Toft knitting!
One ball of Toft sock yarn in Oatmeal ready to knit another pair of socks whenever the fancy takes her, in fact this is the second of two balls and the lace knee high socks are currently on DPNs at home (in her stay at home knitting bag!)
1 pair of chunky knitting needles often used by her children with scraps of yarn as practice pieces (Toft Tip – chunky alpaca yarn is great to learn to knit with as it knits up quickly and it’s nice and robust for tight tension newbies)
1 notepad and a pen for pattern notes
Set of 4 DPNs for sock knitting
2 pairs of scissors
Small zipped case containing the following;
Tape measure
1 mint
Needle size conversion gauge
Lipstick
1 cable needle
Leftover fine yarn
2 stitch holders
1 crochet hook
Sheephead stitch counter
Various stitch markers

So there you have it an anthropological look into two knitters bags and perhaps a little insight into their personalities too, or are we just reading too much into this?! Let's face it, it’s just an excuse to talk knitting and be nosey! Share your knitting bag photos here on via Twitter or our Facebook page.

So now that Spring seems to have sprung what projects are on your needles? For us we feel it’s time to get some lighter knitting on the needles like a pair of socks, a lacy scarf or our new easy tunic vest all of which can be worn year round.

Crochet is also great for summer especially if you are new to this craft, beacuse what could be better than using up oddments in your stash to practise and hone your technique with small test squares that could be made into a blanket for example. If you haven’t got the foggiest where to start with crochet though why not book yourself on our Introduction to Crochet workshop on Saturday 7th April, spaces are filling fast but we can squeeze a few more in! Another popular summer workshop and passtime is felting (it's so lovely to be able to take this outside in the spring weather) and we have some spaces on our alpaca felt workshop on Saturday 14th April .

Our workshops are proving to be even more popular than usual this year, which is fantastic since we will soon be able to run them in the nearly completed Toft studio. We’ve added to the subjects too, this year we’re also offering alpaca fleece processing, a must for alpaca owners and handspinners alike and a quilted patchwork workshop both of which are available to book online now for September.

To celebrate the opening of the new studio in the coming weeks, we are planning a Craft Open Day on Saturday 4th August. If you came to our 5th birthday party last year you'll have some idea of what to expect, come and join us for craft taster sessions like knitting, crochet and felting, plus tours of the farm and lots more. No need to book, just turn up at Toft Manor, CV22 6NR from 10am!