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I recently blogged about my inability to part with my precious prototypes and test knit samples, but the time has come! I’ve literally run out of space in my IKEA cupboards and I can’t bear the thought of ripping them down and turning them into something new, so I’ve started to prepare them to leave me and take up their place in someone else’s cupboard.

I’ll be parting with some 100% super chunky Italian Cashmere pieces from the Jo Storie Cashmere Collection, that once graced the racks of London Fashion week at the Exhibition, some pieces from the Jo Storie Ecology collections and some pieces which have further celebrity status having walked the catwalk of the Royal Highland Show in Edinburgh and were given space in Scotland on Sunday and the Daily Telegraph. Each design will come with its own little biography, to help re-home it. Maybe like some of my patterns, the new owners will keep me in touch with their readjustment to life on the outside (of my studio).

So if you are not signed up already to my newsletter, I’d suggest you do it soon, as subscribers will be the first to know when and where the first Jo Storie sample sale will take place.

I have a feature in my local newspapers ‘The Berwickshire News’ and ‘The Berwick Advertiser’ this week and I have set a competition to win one of my ‘Cove’ hats valued at £60. To win the hat the readers have to visit the website and look at this blog and work out the following anagram:

TANKTENUC

The clue is that it is the name of one of my designs. Once you have it worked out email your answer and your name and address to natter@jostorie.com where it will be put with the other correct answers and the winner will be drawn at random and announced in the newspapers the following week. The Competition closes on Monday, 5th December at 5pm. Unfortunately, this competition is only open to those within the Berwickshire and Northumberland area (the catchment for the Newspaper).

Following the runaway success of the pattern in PDF form we’ve decided to go into mini production of the finished hat.

The photograph from the pattern of Sarah wearing the hat seems to have gone viral and has popped up all over the place and so many people contacted us asking us whether we sold the actual hat that it got us thinking - well why not?

It will be hand knitted in Scotland, from British sheep breeds and so it is 100% wool as recommended on the pattern. We will be offering the colour and yarn as seen in the pattern, a natural undyed grey Suffolk and as I blog the delivery of the yarn arrived. (see photo).

We are really lucky to work with some wonderful talented hand knitters, scattered around Scotland. They are all currently working on a sample hat which I will approve before they embark on this mini order.

We will retail Cove on our website for as long as stocks last. However, we will only be making a very limited number. You can reserve yours very soon by visiting the shop on the website where we will have more information about availability and pricing. There is a product page for Cove Hat where you can register to be notified when the hat is available for order.

So whether you are a knitter who hasn’t got the time to knit it yourself or someone who just can’t knit then you can still have Cove and pretend that you did it yourself!  We won’t tell.........................

The buzz around London fashion week always gives me goose bumps. It’s getting so cold outside and we’re all bundling ourselves up in winter woollies but inside the catwalks it’s all bikinis and sundresses as this is the time of year the designers show S/S 2012. 

I keep abreast of what’s happening through daily email feeds from the shows and through style.com. Knitwear is never a priority for this season but it’s always good to see the emerging silhouettes as a trend is a trend and can be translated into knitwear. I often make note of the popular sleeve proportions or pattern and stitch interests, and they often start in spring and are re-explored in winter.  Interestingly knitwear is often a compliment to a total look for example, what will the new trouser leg proportions be as it will influence how my knitwear works.  I attend trend presentations that forecast the trends a year out, so I’ll be getting my notes out and seeing which designers  took note and which chose their own path.

31^st August 2011 - Found myself in Edinburgh for my wedding anniversary and just had to do a bit of window shopping. First stop was Harvey Nichols to check out what designers are up to. Stores switched from summer to Autumn in early July so all the Fall collections were in.

This really is my favourite time of the year when I get to see how all the designers have interpreted the trends of the season.

There were lots of oversized beanies and super chunky cable knits, lots of cape like silhouettes and plenty of snoods. It’s always a wee bit of a relief to see my designs are on trend and are in keeping with what’s on sale.

The price tags make me shudder though and it’s here that I realize that making it for yourself really does pay off.

Knitting your own designer cardigan or hat really is cheaper than buying it and you don’t need to worry about bumping into someone wearing the same design especially if you customize it.

I’ve now got my own Flickr account and have started uploading images from the Modern Heritage collection. There are some that do not appear on this website, and I will be uploading images from earlier collections, including my Cashmere collection.

The link to my photostream is http://www.flickr.com/photos/jostoriehandknitpatterns/

Please visit and share the images with you friends and other knitters!

Nick Callaghan, the photographer who does all my shoots, has uploaded a set of images from the July shoot for the Modern Heritage collection.

Although the images will be appearing on my site soon, in the gallery and on the pattern pages, I thought you may like to know that you can visit his site to get a sneak preview. And you can also see the other great work he does!

Click on his name above to visit his site.

Following on from my earlier post, here is an image from behind the scenes at the photo shoot at the end of July.

The photo shows Nick Callaghan (www.nickcallaghan.com) – the photographer who has done all my photography over the years - setting up a photo of Sarah, who always does a great job modelling the garments!

I’ve had some great feedback from people who’ve read the article in Knitting Magazine (August edition), which included the pattern for Cove cardigan.

 I’m very grateful for all the emails I’ve received and the comments people have made saying how much they enjoyed the article and like the designs.

 A number of people have asked me when the designs featured in Knitting Magazine will be available – Kimono cardigan is in the final stage of the QA process and will be available very soon; Kelly cardigan should be available later this month.

I’m starting to pull together my mood boards for the next season and getting excited about all the new designs ahead of me. My knitting needles are poised and at the ready! I’m thinking of continuing with the modern heritage collection as it seems so appropriate to the trend forecasts I’ve seen to date. There seems to be a real revival for all things handmade and artisan in feel which is perfect for hand knitting.

Winter collections are hitting the stores now and I’m getting excited that my designs seem so relevant for the season ahead.

My son bought me a knitting kit for knitting a miniature Ninja. Very cute!

Had a great photo shoot with Nick Callaghan last week for my new collection ‘Modern Heritage II’. It went without a hitch, we managed to get it all into one day and I am thrilled with the results. This means we can get the next batch of patterns out next week.  Look out for my niece modelling the Morgan snood and my dog Oscar in his coat. Sarah did another great job modelling the new collection.

The graphics team are going to try to put up a gallery of the images to get everyone’s creative juices flowing. Check out the Gallery to see the images as they're posted.

We were lucky enough to have some of our designs shown on the catwalk at the Royal Highland Show in Edinburgh on 23-26^th June 2011. The designs  ‘Aspen’, ‘Alaska’,’ Cove’, ‘Madison’, ‘Bramble’ and ‘Savannah’ were all featured.  

Bramble, Alaska and Aspen are now available to purchase as a hand knit pattern in downloadable form from the online shop.

You can see the new designs and the ones currently available in the Gallery. The others will feature as part of the Modern Heritage II collection available in the Autumn.