Arrows of Ilium Lace Bag

This lace bag was conceived while I was watching the film Troy. Whether or not you approve of the cavalier handling of the ancient epic, the film’s visuals are stunning: the gorgeous lapis-lazuli blues of the Trojans’ garments really struck a chord with me. So I designed this pouch: small and handy enough for everyday use, with a lace pattern evoking arrowheads and the contrasting colour blocks symbolising the two nations at war. It’s great for holding your knitting, a few necessary items or your copy of Homer. I named it Arrows of Ilium after the antique name for the ancient city.

This pattern is available to buy for £3 online: you can download the PDF from Ravelry or direct from here using PayPal. It's also available as a real-life copy exclusively from Sweet Clement at knitting shows.

Otranto Stole

The curves and angles of the lace patterns in this stole evoke opulent architectural forms, and the combination of black yarn and red beads is darkly romantic. So I have named it after the ultimate gothic ruin: the Castle of Otranto, the namesake of the very first gothic novel, published by Horace Walpole in 1764. But you need not confine yourself to my literary tastes: make it in grey, with nupps instead of beads, for the castle of The Mysteries of Udolpho or the Arthurian Camelot; make it in green for the woodland palaces of Lothlórien or Rivendell in The Lord of The Rings; or make it in pink with blue beads to gratify your inner Disney princess. Whatever your fairy-tale proclivities, this is the stole to make you feel like royalty.

This pattern is available to buy for £5 online: you can download the PDF from Ravelry or direct from here using PayPal. It's also available as a real-life copy exclusively from Sweet Clement at knitting shows. I made a nupp sample in her Olive colourway, and it's truly gorgeous. The nupp version shown here is a test-knit by Em, in Knit Picks laceweight.