When I design a book I try to make sure there is something in there for different knitting moods. For example, in Simple Knits, I’ve included a very simple garter stitch cardigan, perfect for those hectic days when your mind is bouncing from one thing to another thing and you need something that doesn’t need much attention to calm that whizzing mind!
And then there is the knitting for those that love a bit more of challenge: the cable knits, which may initially seem tricky but they all involve simple cable techniques which mean you create something amazing.

I believe that knitting is as much about the journey you go on when creating the item – the joy of the rhythmic motion of twinkling yarns moving through your fingers and the calm that comes with making one stitch after another – as the unique finished items you make.

Halyard

One of my favourite stitches is garter stitch. I love its simplicity and, when knitted in natural fibres, it’s perfect. It’s lovely to have knitting you can pick up and put down to do a few rows here and there to calm the mind and relax with in today’s hectic world.

Halyard is one of several patterns that I designed because of requests stemming from children’s patterns! I have a version of this which appears as a single pattern for a baby called the Leighton Jacket and many knitters told me they wished it was in their size, so here it is! I’ve already lined up what shades I’ll be knitting this one in for myself!

Pengelly

This is another one I designed as a result of lots of requests!

It involves one of my favourite stitch patterns and I just love the simplicity of knitting it yet it looks so effective, playing with a knit row into between rib rows to create, what I call a flat rib. I also like the idea because on one row of this pattern you have to knit and purl and then on the other side, it’s just knit, what I call a row off!

Iris

I designed this pattern for myself as well as for other knitters. I love a chevron. This one, like Karreck, makes me think of the pattern the sea leaves on the shore, the zigzag of the chevrons even looks like the calming waves of the sea.

You can knit this collar as long or short as you wish, I love a long collar but think this design would look great as a crew neck too.

Portalla

This one was first inspired by Brockabank Jumper for babies and children up to 10 years old.

I love playing with different stitch techniques, especially when they start off one way, go into another technique and then, as in the case of this pattern, into another pattern again. So here we have a small rib pattern going into a larger rib pattern to then my favourite cable, a plait cable! All in a lovely comfortable jumper to feel good in!

Karreck 

Karreck was inspired by my Birbeck Jumper design.

I have many admirers of the designs who wanted the children’s design in adult sizes. I also had a visitor to the shop tell me they would love it with this collar, so I designed like that for them. This version is my fifth design, it took me ages to decide on the best way to do the collar, because I like my knitting patterns to be simple and look effective, which takes time to design!

I love this cable, because it is a simple cable using the basic cable technique, yet looks very intricate. I also love it because it reminds me of the patterns the sea leaves on sand as the tide gently laps over the shore.

Porthbyhan

Porthbyhan is the adult version of the Crag Jumper, a traditional inspired aran.

This jumper was inspired by fisherman and the folklore of the meanings of cables, the simple rope cables are said to wish for safety and good luck fishing, while the honeycomb cable is the symbol of the hard working bee. I love this sort of knitting history.

Hannafore

I designed this one because sometimes I just want a hand knit to wear over things to keep me just the right amount of warm and comfortable, while looking fabulous at the same time. This cable looks the same on both sides so it’s perfect for the collar on this garment to fall open or wrap up completely.