Thursday 21 June 2007

Digging around in the muck for brass

You can tell a Google search is going badly when your query returns your own blog on the first page, and you know you haven't posted the thing you're looking for. And what am I looking for? Well I'm almost ashamed to tell you... Here's my search. Please don't all fall down in surprise that I appear to be only person clamouring for this particular knitwrong. (Actually, I think I have tracked down a source for the pattern, just not a free on-line one; if anyone can tell me whether The Big Book of Knitting is good for more than the one fake pelt pattern, I'd really appreciate having your opinions before I spend my money.) I don't have a firm plan yet, but rest assured that whatever I come up with will be as brassy as hell. Something that definitely is not brassy is Matilda Jane. She's lovely and I don't think I'm going to work on anything else until she's done. Thanks to Badger for the short-row tip in the comments - I found a handy-looking experiment devised by Nona which I'm going to try out for myself and work out which method I like best.

UPDATE: Hillevi at the Knitty Coffeeshop pointed out this chart from Garnstudio, which looks like a winner to me! The next person searching for "leopard print Fair Isle chart" now has a useful result. Thanks Hillevi, and everyone else who helped me out in my quest for brassiness, especially the tireless Seahorse.

9 comments:

Sarah said...

Can't wait to see the brass, haven't seen that book before so I'm no help there, sorry.

florencemary said...

Fret not, faux leopard skin is acceptable (it's just mohair intarsia that isn't)! And I'm afraid I can't help you with The Big Book of Knitting...

Enchanting Juno's MJ is lovely in the one colour - I will knit it, I just think I was having a sorry-for-myself, mutton-dressed-as-lamb, middle-aged moment.

Caroline M said...

Don't you have leopards in the book with Michael Palin and the whale? (I'm sure you can't have two books with that particular combo so you must know the one that I mean)

Sarah Ditum said...

Sadly, Knitting Wildlife is all intarsia and doesn't even have a leopard pattern. Worst £1.99 I ever spent, grumble grumble etc.

Linda said...

Can't help you with the book but you did have me searching on google for charts and patterns! No luck I am afraid.

Seahorse said...

I thought there might be one in Wild Knitting:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0894790544/

but it's only a pair of socks. It's a marvellously kitsch book though, you'd like it.

I'd be tempted to get a repeating leopard print motif from a piece of fabric or similar and transfer it to knitter's graph paper.

Seahorse said...

Oooh, it's machine knitting but should be adaptable... search ebay uk for "Machine Knitting - Artika Designs - Special Effects"

Seahorse said...

Oh dear me again! (It's too wet to go out and if I get up I'll be forced to do some cleaning). Poss not quite what you want but put 'Kaffe Fassett leopard' into Google for another option.

Seahorse said...

Liking the Garnstudio find!

We ARE going to get excessive cleavage and oversize ear-rings to compliment the effect, aren't we? ;)