I’ve just been reading a fab news story on the BBC website.

I’ve always had the impression that Boy Scouts were the ones having all the fun, leaving Girl Guides to do things like cake baking and toy making. But according to this news story, Girl Guides pretty much won us World War II! It turns out Girls Guides of yesteryear did more than compete for armfuls of badges and go on the occasional camping trip.

From the English Girl Guides helping to dig air raid shelters to learning to construct their own wireless receiver and send messages in Morse code in the UK, to Polish Girl Guides aiding the resistance and smuggling food to prisoners of war, Girl Guides played a key part in the war effort.

Oh, and of course there was a fair bit of knitting too – soldiers always needed socks to keep their feet warm! 

Belinda and Ruth at KNIT Expo have got in touch to invite any Simply Knitting readers based in the West Country to come to the Knit in at the Exeter Phoenix Arts Centre. The knit-centric evening will happen on the first Thursday of every month, beginning on September 2nd at 7pm.

Belinda says: “Ruth and I have noticed that people do not necessarily want formal training in 'learning to knit' – what we have noticed is that there is a definite need and desire for people to 'jam' together; through skills sharing, exchanging pattern ideas and development, troubleshooting, just sitting and knitting and chatting.”

Belinda stresses that this is more than just a 'come and knit' group, although there is a lot of this too. “Ruth and I (and a bunch of experienced Exeter Knitters) are happy to guide and suggest. We also have our own patterns and hand-dyed yarn to sell at the events – and we encourage people to link up with other knitters to form 'social knit groups'. We want to connect modern knitters with the traditional skills and techniques of the past, hopefully encouraging knitters to create quality designs and inspire adventurous knitters!”


If you miss this one, don’t worry, the KNIT in will also be happening on 7th October, 4th November and 2nd December.


For more information go to www.knitexpo.co.uk

There’s something about any major sporting event that brings out the British public’s patriotic side, and you don’t get much more major than the Olympics. So what better place to showcase the wonder of British wool?


NFU Countryside and Curtis Wool are asking for your support to get a wide range of British wool products selected for the 2012 Olympic project, from carpets and upholstery fabrics to commemorative badges or brooches made from British wool.

They say: “The Olympics presents a tremendous opportunity to showcase the best of British and wool has surely earned its place. Historically, the wealth of the nation was built on wool and today some 50,000 farming families produce the raw materials for a wool textile industry that employs thousands.”



They’re aiming to gather 10,000 names on their petition, and currently have 350, so your input could make a real impact.
All you need to do is add you name to the petition at www.countrysideonline.co.uk/wool-petition

With this Friday being a sort-of-sleepy, almost-the-Bank-Hol-weekend kind of a day, it’s the perfect day for packing up giveaway prizes. This morning Miriam and I spent ages stuffing envelo9pes with Katia Big Bang pompom yarn.

There were 20 balls to send out to the readers who provided the winning entries for our SKM70 (August issue) giveaway.
The silky fluffy stuff has a mind of its own and kept trying to wriggle out but we had it all parcelled up by lunchtime.

It’s lovely to think of all those people opening their post in a day or so to discover a mound of fuzz! For good measure we’ve also included instructions for knitting a scarf.

Not that you have to make a scarf, of course. If you’re one of the lucky recipients, make sure you get in touch and let us know what you make with your prize by emailing simplyknitting@futurenet.com. Ooh, and include a picture if you can.

If you weren’t a winner this time, take a look in issue 72 when it’s out on September 9th to see what you could win!

Subscribe to Simply Knitting before 30 September 2010 and quote the offer code below and as well as your favourite magazine we'll send you this fab Amethyst Knitting Tote bag.



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This offer is for new UK subscribers subscribing by Direct Debit. Offer ends 30 September 2010. Visit MyFavouriteMagazines.co.uk or call 0844 848 2852 for full terms and conditions. You must quote the offer code or use the link above to receive your offer.

Our friends at Stash Fine Yarns have asked us to let you know that they’re holding a special charity event in aid of Kidney Transplant Patients. To raise money for the cause, Debbie Bliss will be coming to visit their showroom in Chester on Tuesday 26th October for a book signing and a meet/greet event.

There will be plenty going on with raffle prizes to be won, a chance to gets hands-on with Debbie's yarns, sample garments to see, plus plenty of tea and cakes to tuck into!

As an added incentive, there will be a 10% discount off purchases on the day.

Tickets for the event cost £5 – you can get hold of one by calling 01244 389310 or visiting www.stashfineyarns.com.

There's always an air of exhausted euphoria in the Simply Knitting office when an issue goes to press, so we're all happy and a bit relieve that the October issue, issue 72 is well on its way to the printer. You'll find it in shops from 9th Sept, so look out for it turning up on your doorstep if you're a subscriber.

I'm excited that my feature about Wool Week is going to be on page 71, with lots of news about the campaign launching on October 11th. I've been chatting to masses of the people involved and they all had such interesting things to say that we're hoping to run a second feature in issue 73.

My favourite knit in the October issue has to be the cute Halloween spider hat designed by our very own Miriam McDonald. It's aimed at kids but I'd love an adult-sized version for myself!

Errata for Issue 22 of The Knitter including Deco Lace Jacket, Vintage Sampler Blanket and Spencer. ...

If you ever doubted that your hobby was a glamorous one, Mad Men star Christina Hendricks has said she's a knitter – and she gets together with friends to knit. We've still yet to see a celebrity wearing one of their own handknits, but we'd love to see Christina rocking a 1940s-style jumper as she's got the perfect figure for 'sweater girl' style.

If you're in Devon and fancy getting out and about with your knitting, there are some knitty goings-on at Poltimore House's Falconry and Craft Day on 15 August. KnitExpo are hosting a knit-in, so whether you can knit or can't knit but fancy learning, pop in and put your feet up. They'll be having a yarn swap, too, so you can take the no-longer-loved balls out of your stash and replace them with something you'll really love to knit with. Also at the event, The Craft Hub will be selling handmade crafts, including knitted and crocheted items and The Devon Guild of Spinners, Weavers and Dyers will be turning fleece into yarn while you watch.

For more details, visit Poltimore House's website.

Our sister magazine, The Knitter, is supporting Mencap, which helps people with learning difficulties, as its charity of the year, so they'd like to tell you about Mencap's new competition. Mencap wants knitters and other crafters to get together for 'Make and Bake' tea parties. To spur people on, they've launched a photo competition: the sender of the best photo of a Make and Bake event will win two tickets to the Knitting & Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace – the year's biggest knitting show. The closing date for entries is 20 September, so if you want to enter you'll need to get your Make and Bake organised pronto!

For full details, including terms and conditions visit Mencap's website and download the PDF.

The Natural Dye Studio are hosting their 'Knit under the Willow' day this Sunday (8 August), from 11am to 4pm. If you fancy going along, don't forget your knitting/ crochet/ spinning or other yarn project, a cake or bottle of wine for sharing and something to sit on. Tea and coffee is provided, and you'll be able to join in the barbecue too (to help them work out the numbers for catering, they do ask that people buy a £2 ticket in advance). There's also a competition for the best yarn-based sheep – no more than 6 inches in any dimension.

For full details of the event, please visit the Natural Dye Studio's Website.

Simply Knitting issue 71 hits the shops on Thursday 12 August 2010. Enter our great giveaways and competitions by using the links below.

Sari yarn giveaway, page 6
'Sew Your Own' book giveaway, page 10
Hobbycrafts and Crafts for Christmas tickets giveaway, page 12
Prize crossword, page 94
Prize sudoku, page 94

'You can't always get what you want,' sang the Rolling Stones back in the 1960s, and I'm afraid that's true of the pattern for the vintage top we pictured in issue 70, which we've had a few enquiries about. Originally published by Sirdar in the 1960s, it was redone for issue 8 of The Knitter, and your only way to get that pattern is to find a secondhand copy of either the original pattern or issue 8 of The Knitter (which is not available as a back issue, but you could try placing a free reader ad in our 'Exchange and Knit' section).

We do sometimes get asked for photocopies or PDFs, and we can't provide them because in most cases we don't own the copyright on the patterns we print. That remains with the designer, who gives us permission to print the pattern once, so making further copies, such as photocopies, would be a breach of copyright.

However, if you do like this style of top, have a good rummage in charity shops and at car boot sales, because it's amazing how many vintage knitting patterns you can find. (If you have friends or family who love car booting, get them on board – I have relatives looking for pre-1960s patterns for my collection.) If you can't find exactly the one you like, you may find a different one you like even better.

As for online resources of vintage knitting patterns, I have bought patterns from The Vintage Knitting Lady and was very happy with the service.Yesterknits have a massive pattern archive, but I have not bought from them myself.

Errata for Issue 21 of The Knitter including Minarets and Muriel Shawl. ...

Sorry about the infrequency of updates - I've been off on my holidays and we're still a bit under-staffed. You may have been wondering what we're all up to, apart from making your magazine each month. Well, I'm really excited because Deb and I, and Jen from The Knitter, are all off to KnitNation. (And Deb and I are going on the Saturday, so there's no bunking off out of the office!)

Taking place in London from the 29-31 July, KnitNation is very much class-based, with a really excellent workshop schedule. Deb is going on the Advanced Lace Knitting full-day workshop, which has sold out, and I'm going to the Aran Cardigans from the Top Down workshop, which still has spaces available. I've never made anything from the top down apart from socks, so I'm hoping to learn plenty on the course, and some friends from online who I've never met in person will also be going so it would be great to meet them if there's time.

Are you going? If you are, what courses are you taking?

Simply Knitting issue 70 hits the shops on Thursday 15 July 2010. Enter our great giveaways and competitions by using the links below.

Katia Big Bang giveaway, page 6
One Ball Gifts book giveaway, page 10
Stitch & Creative Crafts show, Esher tickets giveaway, page 12
Prize crossword, page 94
Prize sudoku, page 94

We've had a query from a reader with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: "Carpal tunnel syndrome has made it extremely hard to knit to gauge. There are supposed to be gadgets to help with this. I have tried smaller needles and English style to no avail."

My guess would be to try successively smaller needles to get the correct tension, but if the needles get too small they won't be very good for the lady's hands so that's not always going to be practical. Do you have any suggestions? Do you know of tools that help with tension?

Back in issue 68 of Simply Knitting we mentioned Cardiff University's School of Psychology looking for knitters to help with their research on knitting and memory. Now researchers from Cardiff University and Stitchlinks need 1,000 knitters to take part in an online survey which will help them investigate the links between knitting and wellbeing (both physical and social).

Click here to be taken to the survey. If you've already filled out the questionnaire on knitting and memory, it's okay to fill out this one as the questions have been written taking into account the results of that survey.

The survey organisers say the questionnaire "asks you for some demographic details, for example your age, gender, ethnicity and nationality followed by questions about why you knit, how knitting impacts on your mood and feelings, your skills and social life. The questionnaire should take about 15 minutes to complete." The results should be fascinating!

We went to the launch of Susan Crawford's new book, Vintage Gifts to Knit, at Jelly in Reading a couple of weeks ago. I won't spoil it by telling you all about it here as we've got some lovely photos for you in issue 70, but it was really inspirational. I love vintage patterns, and I know Simply Knitting readers do too because we do get letters asking where people can find particular patterns or what yarns they need to use to knit an old design. Susan's books take the hard work out by resizing the designs for larger modern figures and using current yarns. I'd been considering getting A Stitch In Time, a large collection of reworked vintage knits by Susan Crawford and Jane Waller, and after meeting someone wearing a lovely cardi at the book launch I went out and bought it.

Anyway, I decided to do something with my vintage pattern collection other than flick through it (a great way to spend a wet Saturday afternoon!) and had a go at knitting something in the evenings. It's only a small thing, but I'm really pleased with how the tam o'shanter at the bottom of this post turned out. I tweaked the colours, mainly because there wasn't any primary-coloured DK in the stash. I might actually wear this - something I didn't expect when I started it, as it was really a bit of an experiment.

Have you tried knitting from vintage patterns? How did you find it?

Also on the events front, I went down to London for Loop's shop opening as they've moved to a super new location. The shop is light and airy, with lots of really nice yarns on show, including some American brands that aren't easy to get here in the UK. (I bought a skein of Berocco laceweight to make a Victorian stole for a steampunk friend.) The whole area felt really artsy, with lots of antique shops and little stalls dotted around, and I'll definitely go back if I'm in London and have spare time.