Tag: knitting patterns

Urban Knitting Book

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Urban Knitting has landed, the new book and e-book by The Red Fox and Gown. My advance copy arrived today in the post. I’m so excited! This has been a long time in the planning. Did I say I was excited? I am!

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Star Slouch Hat.

I decided to make a collection of seven of my existing patterns for Urban Knitting: From Country to City: Sage Woodland Hood, Cloud Cowl, Star Slouch Hat, Morgan Hat, Edinburgh Mittens, English Rose Hat, and Snowflake Boot Cuffs. I also decided to include a general introduction to knitting for advanced beginner to early intermediate level knitters, including Needles + Tools, Yarn and Trouble Shooting too. The book also features rich photographs from my travels around Vancouver and Europe, in urban and country settings. The book includes everything you need to knit up the patterns over 114 pages.

Modeling the Cloud Cowl.

Cloud Cowl.

If you’re attending Knit City 2013 in Vancouver next month, you can see and touch the real book in person. I’m selling the 6″ x 9″ softcover book for $25, and the e-book through Ravelry for $15. It’s a deal if you consider that the patterns retail for $5/each. Some folks like tangible books and some like digital, so I decided to make both options available.

Please e-mail me at theredfoxandgown@gmail.com for book pre-orders through the end of October 2013. If you want the e-book, it’s available for download immediately on Ravelry.

x Rena

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A Global Thank You

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Apollo17WorldReversed

Hi foxes! Wow, this giveaway is real hit, I’m happy to report. From Bangalore to Bonn, Manchester to Madrid, Las Vegas and so many more, patterns from The Red Fox and Gown are finding good homes. I very much appreciate the notes and comments sent to me via Ravelry. Although I couldn’t reply to everyone, believe me that I’m ridiculously pleased to hear from you and that I appreciate the time taken out of your busy days to write. I’m glad that knitting can unite people like this! Thank you, as always, for your interest and support! It means a lot to me.

As a new designer, I’m usually working on my own, so it is very exciting and helpful to get feedback from you. Notes, Ravelry pm’s, comments on pattern pages, favouriting and queuing patterns gives me information about which way to go with my designs. I always have loads of ideas and it’s interesting to see what is a hit with you. So please, keep the feedback coming and I would also love to see finished objects up on Ravelry on the pattern pages.

This is the last large scale giveaway that I will conduct. But don’t worry, there will be lots of fun still to be had. There will be the occasional promotion. But at the end of the day I also need to cover costs and earn an income so pattern purchases are always welcome! 🙂

Thank you all again! Also, if you like this blog, please follow the blog and/or Twitter (on the sidebar to the right) for more news and events.

x Rena

PS – The giveaway is still on until midnight PST. See my previous post for details.

Spring Beach Update… Err, Knitting Update

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Crescent Beach on a crisp spring day.

I must get better at blogging more regularly. I promise I will. As is usually the case around here, things have been rather busy. But not too busy to get to my favourite beach for a walk or two. Getting outside and into nature always gives me new ideas, from colour to texture to shape.

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A riot of tulips.

 

I saw a garden full of tulips that was an amazing sight to behold. Truly there were tulips in all the spring colours filling someone’s back garden. I was delighted. In the centre of the photo lies a very large anchor.

ImageIn another garden, an anemone was in bloom, looking gorgeous. I can’t see anemones without thinking of being in Greece, which was the first place I had ever seen anemones growing – and in the wild, too. I think this anemone has really inspired me in terms of colour this spring.

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Also growing quietly in the same garden was a crop of mushrooms hidden behind daffodils. The mushrooms looked like they had been stretched and seemed somewhat mystical.

 

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Despite the serious expression (honestly, I don’t really like having my photo taken), I really enjoyed the fresh walk earlier in the month. If you look closely, I’m wearing my sample for the new Granville Hat, which will be released in early May. The hat kept me warm against the beach breeze!

Granville has been been tended to by my lovely tech editor and my wonderful test knitters. I’m in love with the nearly anemone coloured alpaca yarn by DROPS that I used to knit up the sample. I promise to blog more about Granville for its release.

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This photo is a clue for the secret project. Admire the Herdwick sheep.

My secret project is coming along well, too. I’ve finished the sample and the photography with the kind assistance of undisclosed helpers. The pattern is off to the tech editor and I’m aiming to release the hat mid-May. I’m pretty thrilled with the result.

The book project is also humming along. There will be a photoshoot or two in May to show all the pattern samples that will be in the book. I’m excited about this and trying to figure out some locations for the shots.

There’s always a few more things up my sleeve too. But in the meantime, enjoy the gorgeous spring out there.

x Rena

 

Getting Ready for Fibres West 2013

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Apologies for the radio silence – things have been busy around here as spring approaches amid the Vancouver rain. Lots of projects are on the go and I’m busy getting ready for Fibres West on 22 and 23 March 2013, held at the Cloverdale Fairgrounds in Surrey, BC. It’s hard to believe that the event is only 10 days away.

 

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As for The Red Fox and Gown, work has been going on behind the scenes on getting my booth display prepared. Things are mostly together at this point, I’m happy to say. I’m excited to sell printed patterns (on heavyweight paper and kept in a plastic sleeve) at the show, with samples of the different projects on display at the table (guess which one is me below).

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I have about 10 accessories patterns ready to go, including favourites such as the Sage Woodland Hood, Cloud Cowl, the Foxy Business Hat, and the Star Slouch Hat.

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I’ve also helped out my sister Krista with her preparations for RainCityKnits’ booth for Fibres West too. I spent the afternoon yesterday helping out with her beautifully dyed yarns. I got to play with Babycakes (yay!) and her gorgeous electric coral yarn in worsted weight.

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I’m so glad that the Vancouver area has two major fibre events per year, 6 months apart to keep you going. I’ll also be at Knit City 2013 in October. But there’s lots to come before then, with some mysterious pattern designs in the works, including garments as well as accessories. 🙂

Please stop by at The Red Fox and Gown booth at FIbres West and say hi!

x Rena

Dog Days are Over: Autumnal Hints

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Star Slouch Hat. PDF pattern available from The Red Fox and Gown.

As Florence + the Machine put it, the dog days are over, unfortunately. I don’t mind being proven wrong, though! For those who don’t know, the dog days are the hottest days of summer, usually in July and August for us in the Northern Hemisphere, and falling in January and February for Southern Hemisphere folks. Here in Vancouver, Canada, the dog days usually are in July, but with our late summer this year, August put in a good showing with a heatwave earlier this month.

From every ending comes a new beginning. I really used to scoff at that truism, but there’s really a lot of wisdom in the phrase. Just because you can’t see the road ahead through the fog doesn’t mean that there’s no road ahead. With the ending of summer, a new season and new beginnings. I always have felt that September is really the start of the New Year with back to school and crisp autumnal days.

And the point of all this? With the arrival of fall comes knitting coziness. Fresh patterns, new yarn, supplies. Lists of design ideas. I feel like it’s the first day of school, although I’ve been out of school for some years now; graduate school is all but a memory. I’m ready to hunker down with projects and lose myself in knitting.

Star Slouch Hat in grey.

In preparation for the upcoming Fall / Winter, I’ve been busy working on a line of knitting patterns aimed for beginner to intermediate knitters who are ready to move beyond variously shaped rectangles and are ready to learn a few new techniques. One easy project is my Star Slouch Hat pattern- as promised, it’s an easy-to-knit slouchie beanie, or toque for the Canadians, that you can dress up or down for that urban look. I made mine out of alpaca for extra luxury.

Edinburgh Mittens in alpaca.

My Edinburgh Mittens are a classic, trim mitten style with modern colour blocking. Me being me, they’re also made from alpaca. I took the colour cues from my time in Edinburgh when I fell in love with the city and Scotland in general, particularly from Arthur’s Seat overlooking the city.

Arthur’s Seat, Edinburgh, Scotland. View from Edinburgh Castle.

Click on the pictures above to go to Etsy for the patterns. If you prefer, you can also find my designs on Ravelry for another option.

I am very near ready to post another pattern this week, a twist on a hat pattern. I promise that it’s cozy!

What are you doing to get ready for fall? Do you have any knitting projects lined up?

x Rena

New Blog for the Red Fox and Gown!

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The English Rose Hat

Hi everyone! Welcome those who have followed over from The Vintage Design Shop blog and those joining in here at The Red Fox and Gown blog home for the first time. The Red Fox and Gown is my new venture into the fashion design realm with sewing and knitting. I plan on regularly posting my latest knitting design previews, sewing projects, contests and more.

You can find The Red Fox and Gown both on Etsy and Ravelry – on Etsy for both sewing and knitting, and Ravelry for knitting ventures. I’m a self-taught indie knitter and sewist, with some time in the museum world, including at London’s Design Museum where I worked with contemporary fashion exhibitions among other fun stuff. I was inspired by both the emergent and established designers and I have finally launched my own shop with my creations.

For the latest news, check here – and please join us on Facebook and Twitter.

To get started on the fun, I’ve just released my English Rose Hat knitting pattern today on both Ravelry and Etsy. It’s a slouch hat with a repeating rose motif, which I think is really cute. But I’m biased. 🙂

Here’s a sneak peak of the first page of the English Rose Hat knitting pattern. Stay tuned for an upcoming contest and a blurb on my newest favouritest ethical sock yarn from Vancouver, Canada.

x Rena