February saw the launch of my first pattern book for Araucania yarns. Wandering Spirits, is a collection of eighteen designs for Spring 08 using beautiful Araucania kettle-dyed cottons.

There have been a few questions about about the piece on the cover. The model is wearing Cruz, a mobius strip, which is knitted in the round with a twist. As with all scarves, it can be worn in various ways - around the neck, the shoulders or the head, as in this case. The dimensions of Cruz are given in the pattern in three sizes – the one on the cover is the small size and it’s wrapped around the model’s head twice.
Click here to order your copy - below is a taster...

Look out for the second book, In The Mood, in stores from August - fifteen designs for autumn/winter inspired by love, music and food.

Next week Sasha, Philip and I meet in Portsmouth to take the ferry to St Malo at the start of our French Treats knitting retreat. One whole week of total knit immersion - sounds like heaven!. We all love travelling and the Charante Maritime is new ground, so it'll be an exciting journey as well. See below for more details, or see you there if you're coming along - can't wait!

FRENCH TREATS
3rd – 10th May 2008

A relaxing week of workshops, yarn, creativity, trips, fun and much more
with SASHA KAGAN & JEAN MOSS

Following the overwhelming success of their first knitting workshop in 2007 (featured in Simply Knitting September 2007) Graham and Christine Dove, the proprietors of Le Vieux Monastere, have asked Sasha Kagan and I to put together an exciting new programme for 2008, to include workshops covering knitwear design, finishing techniques, and colour work.

The holiday takes place in the beautiful retreat of Le Vieux Monastere, a former monastery dating back to the 12th century. Set in the sunny Charante Maritime, between La Rochelle and Cognac - a perfect setting for promoting creativity and wellbeing. Guests are accommodated in luxurious cottages and meals consist of buffet-style breakfast, lunch and dinner, with wine included.

Cost is £550 (single room supplement £50), which includes accommodation, full board, workshops and excursions. The price excludes travel to La Rochelle. Download flyer here

2007 workshop guest comments
"Excellent experience from every perspective. You are marvellous hosts and provided a high quality experience"
"Inspiring and relaxing, good company, good food and beautiful countryside. I would like to do it all again!"

For further information, please call Christine and Graham on 00 33 546 91 59 98,
or to email them click here

My most recent hardback book, Contemporary Classics, was published by New Holland last September! Commissioned two years ago, I was asked to design 24 classic designs inspired by Audrey Hepburn, the working title was Classic Knits - Audrey Style. To immerse myself in Audrey, a woman I've always admired both on and off the screen, was a dream project. So you can imagine my horror a few months ago, having put the book to bed a year ago, when I was told by my UK and US publishers, that the entire focus of the book had to change, including the title. Classic Knits - Audrey Style became Contemporary Classics overnight and the book I was led to believe I had created had miraculously metamorphosed into a completely different animal! Beggars belief but true. However, at least the designs remained the same - simple, sophisticated classics to knit again and again. My aim was to capture Audrey's unique magic and knit it into every design. So... though you'll have to use your imagination a little more than I'd anticipated, I hope that in this collection, each of you will be able to find your own piece of Audrey style. If you're interested in reading the original intro, complete with Audrey references, click here, or here to order the book.

I'm always on the lookout for interesting queries forAsk Jean, my monthly column in the UK magazine KNITTING - so if you have any send them in, you may even win the star prize!!

Knit on,
Jean

See below to view previous newsletters, or have a rummage through my stash of knitbits sent to me by other knitters. If you have any interesting knitting-related items or news, I'd be pleased to share them with other knitters here.