gansey kids

Today we have a guest post from Meg Roke, designer of Gansey Kids, a collection featuring 10 gansey-inspired knits. Among the designs are two lovely accessories worked in Quince yarns: the Cullercoats Cap, knitted in Owl, and Fisherman Mitts, knitted in Chickadee.

We invited Meg to the blog to share a little bit about the collection and the designs featuring our yarns—and to celebrate these lovely creations, we're hosting a giveaway here on the blog. More on that at the end of this post! Take it away, Meg...

Gansey Kids

Gansey Kids is a collection of ten patterns inspired by traditional ganseys: Five accessories, and five garments. Some designs are more traditional in color and construction, while others are a bit more modern, with bright colors and current shapes. The patterns vary from beginner to intermediate, with garment sizes ranging from 12 months to 12 years. As a bonus, all the accessory patterns include instructions for both child and adult sizes.

If you are a knitter, then you likely already know all about ganseys, or at least would recognize one if you saw it. For those who are new to the subject, let me paint a little picture for you: Ganseys (or guernseys) are fisherman sweaters from the British Isles, knitted for male family members for practicality and, sometimes, for income. There are many characteristics associated with ganseys, such as the square-shaped body, all-over textured stitch patterns, underarm gussets, etc. These features made the handknit pullovers both wind- and water-resistant—rather important for the fishermen.

There are two patterns in this lovely collection that feature Quince & Co. Yarns: Cullercoats Cap (in Owl) and Fisherman Mitts (in Chickadee).

Cullercoats Cap

Cullercoats is a unisex hat with a classic gansey look and construction. This hat is worked in the round from the bottom up, with double rib and a combination of garter stitch and hen’s claw stitch. Top it off with an optional pom-pom for a bit of fun! The pattern includes six sizes, from infant through adult x-large. The hats pictured were knitted with Owl—the perfect blend of wool and alpaca, with enough twist to make the stitches on the cable chart pop, and enough halo to help the rib stitches nestle together.

Fisherman Mitts

This accessory has it all: A touch of texture, a dash of cable, an easy thumb, and a quick stash-busting finished knit. The pattern includes six sizes—child small through adult x-large—easy to make a pair for everyone in the family. These fingerless mittens are worked in the round from the bottom up and feature a variety of classic gansey stitch patterns: A seeded rib cuff, stockinette stitch palm and thumb, plus a centered cable panel and bit of garter stitch.

Get started on your fall knitting and make a Cullercoats Cap for everyone in the house, or knit a matching pair of Fisherman Mitts for your kids.The children’s mitts pictured were knitted with Chickadee—the go-to sport weight yarn for showing off stitch definition.

Gansey Kids can be purchased on Ravelry and on Etsy for $18. 

Gansey Kids Giveaway

And now on to the giveaway! There are 3 prizes on offer: Two lucky winners will receive the Gansey kids ebook. And one lucky winner will receive the grand prize: the Gansey Kids ebook plus the yarn to knit their choice of project: 2 skeins of Owl in Barents Sea to make the Cullercoats Cap, or 2 skeins of Chickadee in Apricot to knit the Fisherman Mitts!

To enter: Leave a comment to this post, letting us know what you think of gansey-inspired knits.

Contest period: Comments received from now through Friday, August 26th, 2016 at midnight Eastern Time will be eligible to win. Winners will be announced on Saturday, August 27th, and contacted individually for prize arrangements.

Important bits: Limit 1 entry per person. Comments entered elsewhere—on other blog posts, on our Facebook page, Instagram, Twitter, etc. will not count. Comments received after midnight on Friday are not eligible. Comments will be assigned a number, and winners chosen by random number generator. Ebooks will be issued by the designer to winners via Ravelry's gift feature.

Have fun, and good luck!

Keep up with the designer on her blog, @megrokeknits on Instagram, and Meg Roke Knits on Facebook.

All images © 2016 Meg Roke