It’s phenomenally cold here in the UK right now, which means that it’s perfect timing to release a newly p/hopped pattern:  Northmoor Watchcaps by Luise O’Neill of Impeccable Knits.

It’s a quick, easy knit, using 2×2 rib in a snuggly aran weight yarn.  The resulting fabric is super stretchy, so will fit a wide range of sizes.  The pattern also includes a nifty reversible cable brim that you can pull down to keep your ears extra toasty when the wind chill picks up!

A perfect beanie pattern, whether you’re out on the moors or not.

Happy new year everyone!  I hope you all had a nice break, wrapped up in snuggly woollies to keep warm and cosy.

Here at p/hop HQ we’ve been doing a bit of a stocktake of the amazing patterns we’ve got.  I’m amazed at how many fab patterns we have (over 60!), ranging from socks to scarves and shawls, tea cosies to cuddly toys, and everything in between.

We like to take pattern samples on the road with us, so that knitters can see how the patterns knit up in real life.  This really does make such a huge difference in inspiring people to use our patterns to make wonderful woollies of their own.  To do this, we need p/hop knitters to help us out to knit up samples that we can show off.

Some of our trusty ol’ samples are getting a bit tired and frazzled from years of being squished and tried on, and we’ve always got new patterns coming in that need samples knit up.  At the moment, we especially need samples knit for the following patterns:

Three Cheers

Gifted

Minerva Cowl

Oscillating Socks

If you’d like to knit and donate a sample of one of these patterns for p/hop, please just get in touch.

Your contribution will be hugely appreciated, and your handknits will have the honour of travelling up and down the UK attending all the best yarn shows!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Here’s a pyramid of Rudolphs for you, knitted by p/hopper Ros.

Enjoy!  See you in the new year.

Here at p/hop we’ve recently received two brand new patterns that are just perfect for the festive season both designed by Louise Zass-Bangham of Inspiration Knits.

The first pattern is Three Cheers, designed perfectly to hold a bottle of wine or non-alcoholic beverage of your choice.

The second pattern is Gifted, a knitting pattern for a gift bag in different sizes, and it’s easily customisable to whatever size you’d like.

These are quick knits, and can be lightly fulled/felted in non-superwash wool. They’re bound to be appreciated by both knitters and non-knitters alike.

There are only ten knitting days left before Christmas, so race over to the pattern pages and donate and download now!

Wishing all our wonderful P/Hoppers a happy, healthy and fulfilling 2014!

My fist day back in the MSF office and there’s been loads to do.  Two invites to shows were in the inbox with all the form filling that that requires to apply for a place.  The first is Woolfest in Cockermouth, Cumbria on Friday 27 and Saturday 28 June, followed by Fibre-East in Redborne, Bedford on Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 July.  Both are lovely shows.  If any of you would like to volunteer to run the P/hop stall at either of these shows, I’d love to hear from you.  Either drop me a line at p-hop@london.msf.org or contact me through Ravelry – I’m Katestwirl!

We were also lucky enough to have the final bits of information needed for our latest pattern, which has been very kindly donated by Karie Westermann.  This gorgeous shawl is called Eyre Shawl and is now ready for download on the Eyre Shawl pattern page, where you can also read all about it.

It is perfect for keeping you cosy in this stormy weather while you’re sitting indoors reading the classics!  Think of poor Jane Eyre in that drafty school and pull it a little tighter!

Here is what Karie had to say about her inspiration for the shawl:

I first read Jane Eyre when I was fourteen. I had this mad, mad notion of ‘reading all the classics’ before I turned fifteen. I did not get far, of course, because I read indiscriminately and without any real understanding of what I read. Jane Eyre was one of the books I did read and I remember thinking it was ‘okay but a bit dull’.

Then I decided to revisit Jane Eyre last year and the novel took my breath away. What an intelligent, passionate, fierce book it is. It is both a Victorian literary equivalent of a Mills & Boon novel (“Reader, I married him”) and a proudly feminist book about the importance of knowing your own mind. The many knitting references were just cherries sprinkled on top! I swooned and cheered.

There was even a lovely bit where the housekeeper, Mrs Fairfax, says something in the vein of, “Oh, hang on a sec. Must. Finish. This. Row. before you dash off with the Master” – any knitter would smile in recognition. So, how could I resist designing a shawl to match Mrs Fairfax knitting away?

Please don’t forget to donate for patterns which you download.  Evey little bit helps MSF to help those in need wherever they may be.

We have 2 new patterns for you, both with a Royal vibe!  The Diana Black Sheep Sweater and the Diamond Dot Scarf.

Firstly, and at last the Diana Black Sheep Sweater pattern from Muir and Osborne is finally available as a download from P/Hop.

Sally Muir and Joanna Osborne very kindly donated their pattern a long long time ago but we didn’t have the time to assemble it into a “proper” format for download.  The wonderful Bronagh (lapurplepenguin) helped enormously by popping the details in to a Word document and then, finally, thanks to the generosity of Clare from Yarn and Pointy Sticks who has donated her tech-editing skills, we now have a downloadable pattern.  It wasn’t easy – knitting pattern language has changed over the years… and the yarn it was designed for is no longer available!

If you fancy getting your 80s’ vibe on, then this gorgeous sheepy number is perfect for you!  Those little sheep are just soooo cute!

If knitting up whole garments is not your thing, Kate Ellis (Kate’s Twirl) has donated her Diamond Dot Scarf pattern to us too.  The pattern was designed as an homage to Her Majesty The Queen for her Diamond Jubilee year and was previously available as a Ravelry Download.  You can now download it here for a donation to MSF.

So, pour yourself a cup of Earl Grey and sit back and relax with a spot of regal knitting.

Happy knitting!

Miranda in the aran weight Martini Cowl

We have a lovely new pattern from another fabulous designer.  Miranda Jollie (aka Hanwelknitter) has donated this fabulous pattern (nay, recipe!) for a wonderfully cosy and stylish cowl.  Just like a martini cocktail you can make it anyway you choose – any yarn, any length, any size!  Images of Leonard Rossiter throwing Martini over Joan Collins are spiringing to mind – Any time, any place, anywhere… (mmm perhaps you’re not as old as me…)

Miranda gives specific instructions for both a sockweight (4ply) and an aran weight (worsted) cowl, but also provides instructions on how to adapt the pattern to any weight of yarn which you may have kicking around in your stash – clever girl!

The pattern is on Raverly and you can already see other people’s projects here and download the all important patter from our pattern page here.

Perfect last minute Christmas knit… shhh – who mentioned the C word!

Happy knitting – please don’t forget to donate for your pattern.  You can do so here.

We are honoured that Anna Fisk, aka narnie83, has donated the Dear Green Shawl to our P/Hop project.  It’s a gorgeous shawl that can be knit in a variety of sizes and will make a really cosy autumn/winter cover up.

Clare has just dashed a copy off the printer and is going to cast hers on really soon!

Here are a few pics – not only did it win a prize at the design competition at the Glasgow School of Yarn in 2012, but it has already made it’s stage debut!

The photographs of the large mustard shawl, are used with the kind permission of Antje Karl.

Hurrah!  Wimbledon starts today!  Why not enjoy some valued knitting time whilst watching Murray, Robson and Watson battle it out for Britain.

You know how stressful it can be watching our heroes – so when you’re too scared to watch, knit a few rows and de-stress…

So grab some strawberries and cream, download the fabulous Wimbledon footlets pattern and get knitting for Britain!  Come on Murray!

Wimbledon footlets by Ros Clark for P/Hop

Crafting humanitarian work

This pattern has been generously donated to the p/hop project by MSF supporter, Ros Clark and is available for your knitting pleasure.

In return, we ask that you make a donation to p/hop based on the hours of enjoyment you will get from our patterns.

Making your donation is easy, just click here for pounds, here for US dollars or here for Euros. Thank you very much.

To download your PDF of the Wimbledon Footlets pattern please click here.

We can’t believe that December is already upon us. To celebrate the season and get in the festive spirit we have a fabulous new pattern for you. Introducing Rudolph, that Reindeer! Designer Judith Baser says:

I first came across p/hop through Ravelry and thought it a brilliant scheme – anything that involves knitting will grab my attention, and the idea of raising money for such an excellent cause and being involved in knitting as well is great. I’ve knitted some of the samples so kindly donated by generous designers, and have been lucky enough to be able to help out on the stall at several events, spreading the word! Rudolph is my first attempt at producing a pattern. He was inspired by some birds I saw at a craft fair made out of bean bags, and I thought the basic design could be knitted into a cute little animal shape. I do hope people will enjoy producing a few of their own Rudolphs, and will take a few minutes to visit the p/hop site and make a small donation to help MSF continue with their work.

To download your copy of the pattern please click here