January 2012 - 1

August 2013

2 - August 2013

CONTENTSWelcome letter 4

Yarn In The Spotlight 5

Rowan Design Competition 2013 6

Monthly Free Pattern 7

Knitting In Public 8

Workshops 10

Rowan Studio 32 12

KnitFor Peace 14

British Wool Weekend 16

August 2013 - 3

4 - July 2013

Hello and welcome to the August edition of the eNewsletter!

We’re all excitedly starting knitting our autumn pieces from the new Knitting & Crochet Magazine 54 here at the mill – Rowan Designer Gemma Atkinson’s first pick is Soumak Scarf Wrap, visit our Facebook page and tell us what’s on your needles!!

This issue, we hear from Rowan Designer Marie Wallin about her knitting workshops, and from stockist Love Knitting about their fabulous Love Knitting in Public Day, which they hosted last month. Finally, we bring you Lisa Richardson’s fabulous take on the Rowan Design Competition 2013 brief with a stunningly elegant free pattern.

We hope you enjoy!

The Rowan team

Front Cover:Quiltby Martin StoreyUsing Creative Focus™ WorstedPioneer

Click on the symbol where it appears for a link to further information

Keep in touch with us on social media…

August 2013 - 5

This July saw the introduction of the new Alpaca Colour yarn; 100% alpaca and available in ten colour rich shades ranging from Emerald and Garnet to Topaz.

Topaz143

Ruby138

Amethyst141

Garnet139

Blue John140

Agate137

Jasper134

Emerald136

Graphite142

Iron135

Yarn in the Spotlight…Alpaca Colour

6 - August 2013

This year, we have taken inspiration from the glamour and glitz of the new Great Gatsby film from Baz Luhrmann for the second year of our Design Competition. The brief is simple; design a fabulous knit or crochet garment or accessory piece, which represents all of the style, fashion and feeling of the film, to be a winner.

Rowan designer Lisa Richardson has created her own fabulous take on the brief to bring you this month’s exclusive Row@n free pattern.Lisa says, “I wanted to encapsulate all the wonderful, glitz, glamour and style from the Gatsby era, as it was such an iconic and unsurpassed period within the fashion world. I used beadwork and the beautiful Fine Lace yarn to result in a vintage, elegant look.”Click here for more details on how to enter the Rowan Design Competition 2013. Win the chance to have your design featured on our website and in our eNewsletter, and the yarn to knit the garment of your choice from our brand new Rowan Knitting & Crochet Magazine 54. And, if that’s not enough, throw in a one year membership to Rowan Subscription!

Rowan Design Competition

2013

the

August 2013 - 7

E X C L U S I V E

Gatsbyby Lisa RichardsonFine Lace

GATSBY

For this and hundreds of FREE patterns exclusive to

m e m b e r s click the button below:

8 - August 2013

Since its launch last summer, www.loveknitting.com has dreamed of being more than a knitting shop. As an online store, how do you maintain the friendly service, helpfulness and personal touch that knitters expect from their local yarn shop? Well, one way of course is to meet your customers! And if you can promote knitting to a wide audience at the same time – even getting novices to try the craft – so much the better.

So for the site’s first Knit in Public Day they decided to really push the boat out. With Rowan’s support, loveknitting staged a very public knitting session – in the middle of St. Pancras International Station! New knitters passing by were invited to sit down and make their very first project – a beautiful Pure Wool mug cosy designed by loveknitting, incredibly easy and quick to make. Meanwhile, Rowan designer Sarah Hatton gave two wonderful workshops on lace and texture, for the more experienced knitters – other knitters came along to sit, chat, teach newbies and eat cake!

Loveknitting’s stand created quite a stir with busy train passengers stopping to take photographs, tweet about the ‘knitters in St. Pancras Station’ – and passing knitters giving a cheer as they waved a project bag.

Serena from loveknitting says: “The best part of the day was seeing so many knitters enjoying sharing their passion with others, and going out of their way to welcome and help newcomers. Knitters are fanatical about spreading the joys of knitting – as they should be!” If you know newbies in need of instruction, why not encourage them to make their own mug cosy: the pattern and loveknitting’s How to Knit guide are both online.

www.loveknitting.com

Knitting In Public

August 2013 - 9

10 - August 2013

MARIE WALLIN CREATIVE WORKSHOPS UPDATE

There are still places available on Creative Workshop 1 to be held on Saturday 21st September.

CREATIVE WORKSHOP 1You will be able to make a lovely 3D cushion using Rowan Frost yarn with a choice of two cushion fronts: an origami front or a vertical ripple front, the choice is yours. You will be given the patterns for both cushions and enough yarn to complete one cushion.

CREATIVE WORKSHOP 2This workshop is to celebrate the start of Wool Week 2013. The crochet bag you will make uses 5 balls of Rowan Purelife British Sheep Breeds Chunky in 4 natural shades from 4 different native sheep breeds. Created from two basic crochet squares, this bag is achievable by a crochet novice. Even if you have never picked up a crochet hook, I will be able to teach you the basic stitches needed to make this lovely bag.

August 2013 - 11

Creative Workshop 2 will be held on Saturday 12th October 2013.

ABOUT THE CREATIVE WORKSHOPSEach workshop will be hosted by myself and will be worked around a specific project. The project will be an exclusive design or designs and will be an item to wear, an accessory, an item for the home or a decorative piece. The workshops aim to be fun, friendly and creative in the comfortable surroundings of the Village Hall in my home village of Hoby, Leicestershire.

WHAT’S INCLUDED IN THE PRICEA pack containing Rowan yarn and patterns to complete the project.A chance to view and try on the latest Rowan garments from the current books.A delicious lunch prepared locally.Lashings of tea, coffee, fruit juice and homemade cake.

For further details and how to book please go to www.mariewallin.com and click on the workshops tab.

Other Marie Wallin WorkshopsCreative Workshop 3 – Saturday 26th October – Christmas gift ideas.Creative Workshop 4 – Saturday 16th November – Christmas wreath.

Up Coming Workshops At The Mill

Triangular Lace Shawl with Sarah Hazell Weekend WorkshopDate: 21st/22nd September at Rowan, Holmfirth.

For a full list of Rowan Workshops click the button below

WORKSHOPS

12 - August 2013

Monochrome is always in fashion and keeps coming back around on all the catwalks. This edition of Rowan Studio shows the hand knit interpretation of this trend.

Each garment has its own unique take on the black and white mix, some simple colour changes and more complex stitch patterns mean that there is a garment in this collection for all knitters, from beginner to the more experienced.

Check our website over the coming months for two more FREE designs to knit!

Petula - by Lisa Richardson using Cotton Glacé

Sandy - by Marie Wallin using Cotton Glacé

issue 32

monochromedesigned by

marie wallin, martin storey, lisa richardson & gemma atkinson

August 2013 - 13

Dusty - by Marie Wallin using Handknit Cotton

14 - August 2013

Words by Marie Wallin

A few weeks ago the charity ‘Knit for Peace’ was brought to my attention. I was asked to donate a free pattern to them, so I did a bit of research and very quickly I was very impressed by them and their philosophy of encouraging people from different backgrounds to come together and knit, sew or crochet. Often these people are from hostile regions of the world, have differences in race, religion or castes, but all have a common goal and that is to come together and knit peacefully.

The ‘Knit for Peace’ charity has been running since 1979 and is an initiative of the Charities Advisory Trust, the trust has been finding innovative ways to raise funds for charities ever since.

Makers are encouraged to donate their knitted or crocheted items and Knit for Peace guarantees that they will be distributed to those in need wherever they happen to be. The charity send hand knitted baby and children’s clothes to India, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and to refugee centres and hospitals here in the UK. Colourful cardigans, jumpers, hats and bootees are always popular and they currently have a request from the Royal Free Hospital in London for colourful blankets. Apart from keeping warm, they are good for elderly patients to be able to identify and personalize their beds so that they can find them again more easily.

How can you help? Well you can do several things.

August 2013 - 15

If you belong to a knitting group, why not suggest that you all knit or crochet an item to donate? If you don’t belong to a group, join one and make the same suggestion. You could also start your own group. There is more information on how to do this on one the website www.knitforpeace.org.uk. I urge you to have a look and see if you can help in any way. Free patterns are available on the website. My own exclusive free pattern for the charity - a crochet cowl - will be available on www.knitforpeace.org.uk and www.mariewallin.com very soon.

You can also support a knitting group in another part of the world. In India and Pakistan, Hindu and Muslim knit in friendship. In Rwanda, Hutus and Tutsis are stitching their differences together. This happens because the charity provides women from formerly hostile communities a common cause – organizing knitting and sewing businesses. The charity ensures attendance by paying a very welcome income for their equally welcome output – warm clothes for babies, children, the elderly, orphans and street dwellers. To help this great charity you can also make a cash donation, buy from their gift catalogue as well donating your hand knitted items, knitting materials and books.

If you are a designer then why not think about donating a free pattern to the charity.

Why not buy your Christmas cards and some of your gifts from the online shop, I know I’m going to do this!

Knit for Peace will be most grateful however you decide to help, and you can be pleased with yourself in the knowledge that you will be helping people a lot less fortunate.

Thank you for helping.Marie

16 - July 2013

British Wool WeekendSaturday 7th & Sunday 8th September 2013, Hall 2, Yorkshire Event Centre, The Great Yorkshire Show Ground, Harrogate.

We are really excited to be exhibiting at the 3rd British Wool Weekend in Harrogate next month – a lovely celebration of British wool! Alongside our advice and demonstration area, there will also be live sheep shearing, talks on sorting and preparing fleece, and the chance to see rare breeds of sheep, goats and alpacas.

Visit www.britishwool.net to find out more and get your ticket, we will see you there!

July 2013 - 17

StockistsTo find your local stockist view our store locator at www.knitrowan.com by clicking the button below

STORE LOCATOR

WorkshopsTo 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 2013 by Coats Crafts UK LTD Green Lane Mill, Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, England, HD9 2DX

E-mail: mail@knitrowan.com Web: www.knitrowan.com © Copyright Rowan 2013

18 - August 2013