On Our Needles – Carole

This week we’re continuing our new blog feature ‘On Our Needles’ with another one of our Loopettes, Carole, our store manager. Carole is known for her incredible colour work sweaters, her quirky colour combinations and her love for matching her knits to her handmade dresses!

‘On Our Needles’ is our chance to talk about the staff at Loop and how wonderful they are! We talk all about favourite yarns, recently finished projects, and what kinds of things we love to make.

Carole has been at Loop for just over two years now, and before joining us worked for Rowan yarns at Liberty for 14 years. Carole’s Granny taught her to knit when she was 4 years old, and to crochet a couple of years later. She’s always loved making things, and studied Textile and Knitwear Technology at Leicester Polytechnic many moons ago. She worked as a Knitwear Technologist before having her daughter.

What are you knitting? (or what project have you just finished?)

My most recent project is the Oleander Lace Wrap, a Loop pattern! I knitted it in Qing Fibre Melted Baby Suri in Desert. I made it to wear to a friend’s wedding, to match with the dress I was planning to wear.

I have also just finished knitting Boyland Knitworks Camp Wilkerson in a linen yarn – Lino from BC Garn. I am known for being very matchy in what I wear and have been wearing a lot of green recently, so went for khaki and bright green with black and white, and it was the perfect holiday wrap!  I don’t really get on well with cotton yarn, I’m much more of a woolly person but I love knitting in linen, you tend to get lots of misshapen stitches but it creates a wonderful fabric at the end.

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Why did you choose this yarn?

I chose the yarn to match my dress for the wedding, and I fell in love with it when it first arrived. Desert is a new colour, and it’s so squishy and pretty on the Melted Baby Suri base.

Did you enjoy the project? If so, why?

Definitely! The Oleander is a good project to practice your lace knitting, and  the Melted Baby Suri was lovely and smooth to knit with and is incredibly cosy. Even though it was made for a summer wedding, and to match with a summer dress, it’s also going to be nice and warm to wear through the winter.

Carole used 3 skeins of the Melted Baby Suri for her wrap, but she would recommend buying 4 to make sure you have plenty of yarn to make the cosiest wrap possible!

Are you especially excited about anything in the shop at the moment?

Working at Loop is like being in a sweetie shop if you were a child, there’s so much temptation. I love playing with colours and textures; my favourite yarns in the shop at the moment are the La Bien Aimee Silk Mohair – the colours and sheen are breathtaking, and Biches & Buches Le Petit Lambswool and Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift – there’s every colour under the rainbow!

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What will you cast on next?

I’ve been getting post holiday blues so I wanted to knit something nice, so I’ve already cast on the yarn and pattern combination that I’ve been lusting over for months – Pam by Junko Okamoto in Ether, the most sublime yarn from Twirl. Junko’s patterns are a real favourite, The Twigs being my most satisfying knit this year (knitted in Daughter of a Shepherd Heritage 4ply and Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift), and the whole story of Twirl yarns makes me smile every time I look at the label!

Yarns used by Carole

Paleta sweater – Orkney Angora in Silver and Magenta and Shibui Silk Cloud in Tango
The Twigs sweater – Daughter of a Shepherd Heritage 4ply (it only comes in the lovely undyed shade) and Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift in 791 Pistachio and 114 Granny Smith
Time Trades shawl – Madelinetosh Twist Light in Favourite Pair and Madelinetosh Merino Light in Popoki, and Kindred Red 4ply in lovely pop reds gifted to her by Susan
Pop Spots shawl – Plucky Knitter Primo Fingering in Happy Glamper and Good Old Days, and Madelinetosh Merino Light in Push Pop
Arvia shawl (pink shawl shown below) – Lichen and Lace Merino Fingering in I See Seashells and Rowan Kidsilk Haze from Carole’s stash

We’re looking forward to bringing you more installments of ‘On Our Needles’ in the future!

Photos of the Oleander Lace Wrap copyright of Kristen Peres for Loop London