hand knitted blanket

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Thurso knitting tutor John Glen has been inundated with messages from well-wishers after his dazzling Christmas jumper proved to be a success on nationwide TV.
John was the successful contestant in Monday's version of Kirstie's Handmade Christmas, the Channel 4 collection introduced by Kirstie Allsopp, after creating a novel light-yarn seasonal sweater.
Through the programme John knitted a pair of child socks for a brand new grandchild due in January, however the crafters have been judged on jumpers they'd made prematurely.

John's intricate creation – that includes lace work, bead work and a graduated fade – was a labour of affection that took 280 hours to finish.
The decide, knitwear designer Erika Knight, stated: "They have been all winners in my guide as a result of all of them had one thing to supply. But when I needed to placed on one to put on on Christmas Day, that might be John's."
John (59) – who was seen on display with little baubles dangling from his white beard – is now the proud proprietor of the trophy for Kirstie's knitted Christmas jumper champion.
“The response has been actually, actually constructive – completely beautiful," John stated this week.


"I’ve had wonderful, encouraging messages from mates and family round Caithness and from knitters all around the nation, and a pair internationally who've been attempting to get entry to All 4 [Channel 4's online platform] to observe on catch-up.
“The opposite contestants have been in contact as effectively to say it was great seeing us all collectively on TV, and to have a pleasant Christmas – in order that has been pretty.”
John admitted he was stunned to win. “The standard of each entry was actually excessive," he stated.
John – who is named Beardychiel within the knitting world – made the jumper over the course of 28 days, working 10 hours a day.
“It’s a 4ply or fingering weight jumper knitted from the collar down," he defined. "It options lace work, bead work and what’s referred to as a graduated fade in color. That graduated fade was created particularly for me.
"I did the sketch of what I wished and I shared my sketch with considered one of my mates who's an indie dyer in Kirkintilloch, Jillian Thom, and she or he dyed the yarn for me.
“She runs a web-based enterprise referred to as Mothy and the Squid and she or he is among the most wonderful indie dyers that I’ve ever come throughout. Through the years, going to festivals and issues, we’ve collaborated on a few initiatives and after I realised what I wished for my last concept I messaged her and she or he stated ‘I’d like to dye that for you’ and inside every week the yarn was sitting in my hand able to go.
“The colors go from the pure cream of undyed yarn to a forest inexperienced on the backside and the yarn has a positive strand of sparkle referred to as stellina, so it’s like having glitter within the yarn as you’re knitting it.
“Individuals are asking if the sample for this sweater goes to be obtainable, so I’m attempting to get the final of the enhancing executed on the sample in order that different individuals can go and knit it. And there have been requests for the infant socks sample, so I’ve pointed them to the place they'll get a free copy of the sample.”
John's Granny Mac taught him to knit throughout his restoration from a serious operation when he was 10.
He established a knitwear cottage business beneath the identify of Caithness Croft Yarn after well being points pressured chunky knitted blanket him to take early retirement from his job as depute rector of Wick Excessive Faculty. Initially from Glasgow, he had moved to Caithness in 1995 as a technical trainer at Thurso Excessive Faculty.
John hosts common lessons at Messy Nessy gentle play and craft centre in Thurso, and is well-known regionally for his many beginner drama roles with Thurso Gamers.
Kirstie's Handmade Christmas was recorded in a Covid-secure setting in Devon in October and John stated: “It was effectively definitely worth the journey.”
Making the programme had been “an extremely constructive expertise”, he stated.
“I feel the choice course of is de facto fairly intelligent as a result of totally different members of the manufacturing workforce cellphone you for bits of knowledge and only for a basic chat, and clearly they’re attempting to gauge how communicative is that this particular person?
“I understood precisely why the method was structured that means. That was positive.”
John defined that the contestants didn’t get a close-up view of the "wow" second on the finish of the programme when the jumpers, which had been lined up till then, have been revealed by Kirstie and decide Erika.
“You’re about 50 metres away and there’s a clear wall between you to muffle sound, so that you don’t hear what’s being stated they usually’re so far-off that you simply don’t really see the facial expressions that effectively – you simply see that they’ve unwrapped every of them in flip,” he stated.
John can be delighted to have been chosen to contribute to Lyth Arts Centre's Caithness Below the Christmas Tree festive exercise booklet.
“I've been actually fortunate," he stated. "In the previous couple of weeks I’ve had that [the TV show] as a beautiful shock and I used to be additionally one of many 12 artists that Lyth Arts Centre commissioned to work on Caithness Below the Christmas Tree."
In the meantime, John has given an assurance that when the Christmas jumper sample is prepared will probably be obtainable on the identical commonplace value as most of his different knitting patterns. He stated: “I’m not going to all of a sudden hike the worth as a result of it’s the Kirstie’s Handmade Christmas jumper. That will simply be unfair.”

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