knitting – tracey doxey

New Year Colour Blending 2 hour workshop – 50% of income will be donated to MSF Gaza Appeal.

From tradition to trend. Breathe new life into your colour work knitting projects with complete colour confidence.

Do you have a Fair Isle knitting project, but are not sure how to choose your colours or would like to be braver with colour choice? Do you like stranded knitting projects but you don’t like the colour choices in the pattern decided by the designer and would like to successfully choose your own colours? My Colour Blending workshop is an online Zoom, two hour fun, interactive, creative session to experiment with coloured yarn in order to gain the skills to successfully and confidently choose colours for your own future stranded knitting projects.

For the session, you will be asked to bring your stash yarn to your own table for the workshop (do not buy special yarn as we are looking at colour). You can look at your own stash of yarn and I will teach you how to get the best out of colours for your stranded colour work projects.

NEXT ONLINE COLOUR BLENDING – Sunday 10th January 2027, 2-4pm UK TIME

A little something extra for January – at the start of everyone’s New Year.

As we begin a new year, I’ve decided that 50% of the income from my Colour Blending Workshops on 10th January will go towards humanitarian support for people in Gaza. I will be donating to https://www.msf.org/gaza-israel-war

Creativity, colour and making things together bring so much pleasure into our lives. But I also feel strongly that we shouldn’t lose sight of those whose lives are currently filled with unimaginable hardship, especially as we start a NEW YEAR.

If you would like to book on to this colour blending workshop – there are 6 places available and I look forward to working with participants in the New Year.

Experience Level – Anyone who can knit and wants to experiment with and understand colours more. This is not a knitting session. This is a design workshop where you will learn the skills and gain experience to enable you to blend colours and design your own samples of Shetland traditional tree and star yoke patterns. The workshop is based around The Tree and Star Motif in my Sea Urchin Hat pattern, as pictured above and to the right. It’s a fun creative workshop where you will be able to experiment with your colours at home for Fair Isle knitting to take forward to create your own swatches for future projects. Afterwards, you’ll be able to throw yourselves into the many colours of yarn available to us and you will look at your own stash of yarn with a different eye. We will look at a traditional Shetland Tree and Star motif, used on Shetland cardigans and jumpers, to USE AS YOUR COLOUR BLENDING SWATCH after the workshop.

This is not a knitting lesson but one of colour.

At this online workshop, you will learn: –

• How to see colour / tone / contrast

• How to blend colours in your knitting to create a harmonious pattern.

• How to see what you can see and what you cannot immediately see in a colour blended motif.

• How to get excited about colour and not frightened

• How to see your errors in colour choices.

• If you love colour and textiles, you will enjoy the opportunity for experimentation Please bring with you.

• Any coloured yarn that you have to look at during the workshop – it doesn’t matter what yarn it is – we’re just looking at colour. Please bring a mixture of light colours and dark colours – you don’t need a lot and you don’t need to buy anything special – just bring what you have.

• A mobile phone to take photographs in colour and b/w – please learn how to do this before the event.

• Paper and pen to take notes.

• We will not be knitting – this can be a follow up session.

Workshop handouts: – The workshop presentation will be emailed to all participants after the workshop. After the session, you will get 20% off any of my knitting patterns on Ravelry.

Here is the link to the New Year Workshop on 10^th Jan 2027. It seems a long way off but it will soon come around.

COLOUR BLENDING WORKSHOP BOOKING HERE

Let’s wish as many people as we can – A happy new year.

gibbous moon – taken from my porch when I lived in Shetland

A decade of watching, learning and finding colour

When I look back at my time studying for my Master’s degree in Knitting at Nottingham Trent University, between the years of 2016 and 2018, I realise just how much that period continues to influence the creative design work that I make today. Design isn’t just a thing you do, it has a long history in the designer going back years – and in my case, nearly 50 years.

At NTU, I specialised in Shetland lace motifs, initially developing patterns by hand before translating them on to the hand knitting machine before finally being allowed near CAD – computer aided designs for power knitting machines. Over two years, I worked through an intensive process of experimentation, travel to and from Shetland and experiential learning until finally learning how to programme the computerised design system to produce exactly the patterns I wanted.

The result was something I was particularly excited about: creating, for the first time at the university, large Shetland lace panels using computer-design power knitting machines.

But my work wasn’t confined to the studio.

During those two years, I travelled backwards and forwards to Shetland, usually around three times a year, taking my developing lace panels and laser-cut work with me. These became the final pieces of my Master’s project. I placed them inside abandoned croft houses across the islands, creating site-specific installations as a testament to the Shetland lace knitters who had once lived and worked in these houses. If you dig way back, you will see all of this work, here on this blog going back 10 years.

I photographed the work and the abandoned croft house doorways and windows, making a substantial body of site-specific photographic artwork. I was interested in the relationship between the knitted object, the social history of a place and the women whose lives had been connected to it.

During the final months of my Master’s, I was awarded a travel award to visit the island of Unst to record the voices of Shetland knitters. I still have those recordings of the beautiful voices of the women on our furthest most Island – recordings of sea shanty songs too.

My studies took me in directions I hadn’t initially anticipated. I contacted Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen and worked with the company for a short time in London, spoke to Yarn companies about yarn sponsorship, moved from traditional hand-knitting into computer-aided design and developed my practice into site-specific photographic work. Something I didn’t even know existed before starting at NTU.

I graduated in 2018 with a high distinction. What made that achievement particularly meaningful was not simply the innovative use of computer technology to develop Shetland lace, but the breadth of my exploration, the connections I had made and the willingness to take my practice in entirely new directions and to push my own boundaries.

I loved my time at Nottingham Trent University. It gave me an enormous bedrock of knowledge, experience and confidence, and, perhaps more importantly, I discovered how much I thrive on learning.

This morning I reopened my Master’s journal. There is also a post about this work on my Instagram, here where you can see some of the original materials and swatches in my Technical file.

Looking through the journal again has been unexpectedly and calmly interesting. It has inspired my latest design, which brings together a rather different approach to lace knitting and Fair Isle, using mohair. It is, in some ways, an easy-cheat version of lace knitting, but the thinking and visual exploration behind it have roots in those earlier experiments.

And then something else happened this morning.

I was sitting in a café in Sheffield, looking at the colours of the walls. They were almost a perfect match for the colours I am currently exploring in my new design. I felt an enormous sense of joy. That moment of noticing, recognising and connecting colours is something I never tire of.

Watching and journalling have been part of my life since 2016. For ten years, I have been recording what I see, collecting colour combinations, noticing relationships between colours and documenting the world around me. And, I have recently been teaching others about colour swatching in my Colour Swatch Journal Groups – information about the group is here

Not gauge. Colour.

I have filled journals with observations, photographs, ideas and experiments. Sometimes a colour combination comes from a landscape, sometimes from flowers, plants, buildings, a journey or simply the walls of a café. I watch, I record, I collect, I experiment and eventually those observations find their way into my knitting.

It is a daily – YES, daily, continuous process of looking and learning.

I love colour. I love the process of discovering something I hadn’t noticed before. I love the way one observation can lead to another, sometimes years later, and become something entirely unexpected.

Perhaps that is what has remained constant since my time at Nottingham Trent: the curiosity to keep looking, the freedom to experiment and the pleasure of learning something new.

And I still have so much more to discover, and, although my Nottingham Trent story is much bigger than a knitting qualification, and I did start knitting in the 70’s and 80’s, I realise that my turning point in creative development came from my MA and that my ten years of journalling is potentially a defining part of my artistic identity.

I post daily on instagram, if you don’t follow, I am here

all patterns are here and the new one will be out on December 1st

A little update on my chunky knitted vest workshop here in Sheffield … and a very kind surprise!

Last week I shared the news that I’m running a face-to-face knitting workshop in Sheffield next February, and I was delighted when two people booked their places immediately after the blog post went out – thank you

It’s been more than two and a half years since my last in-person workshop, so I’m particularly excited to be doing this one in my own hometown of Sheffield, sharing something I love: experimenting with yarn, playing with colour and texture, learning new skills and discovering what we can make from the yarn we already have.

But something rather lovely has happened since I announced the Sheffield Workshop.

Mel, who is @mskiknits on instagram, has been following and supporting my work for years – right back to when I lived in Shetland, contacted me and sent this message — Hi Tracey!I won’t be able to get to the workshop from Kodiak, Alaska, BUT I wonder if I can do the next best thing!? Can I purchase a spot for you to use

I was so amazed that Mel got in touch to ask whether she could purchase a place for someone else to use. Between us, we came up with an idea: she would purchase and gift a place to one of the people who books on to the Chunky Knit Vest workshop, so that they can bring a friend along with them. So, there are 10 places in total. The first 9 people who book will go into a draw with a chance to win a free place for a friend.

Isn’t that incredibly kind?

I was so touched by her offer. It’s such a lovely reminder of the connections that can grow around a shared love of making, even when we’re thousands of miles apart. But more touched because the offer altruistically came out of the blue. I always feel humbled by this sort of support.

So, thank you, Mel, for this wonderfully generous gesture. ❤️ I really hope that we meet one day. I think that Alaska is more exciting than Sheffield. X

A little reminder about the workshop

Here is the original post all about the workshop.

We’ll spend the day making a start on your own chunky knitted vest, using your own yarn stashes to experiment with colour, texture and combining strands to create your unique chunky yarn. You’ll learn new techniques, including knitting in the round if you haven’t tried it before, and I’ll be there to help you along the way.

You don’t need to buy lots of new yarn. In fact, the whole idea is to make something lovely from the yarn you already have.

Location and date below.

📍 Woodseats Community Garden arts space, Chad’s Community Hub, Sheffield
📅 Saturday 6 February 2027, 10.30am–4pm
🎟️ £95 for the day

There are just 10 places available, and two have already been booked. Everyone who books a place will be entered into a draw for a chance to win Mel’s gifted ticket and bring a friend along for the day. When 9 places have been booked, I will close the booking – so, If you are thinking about it, now is your chance as I haven’t posted about it on Instagram yet. There can only be one winner.

I’d love you to join me. It will be a day for playing, experimenting, sharing ideas and enjoying making something with yarn in good company.

Here is the buy now button, if you would like to join me

BUY NOW

And a very huge thank you again, Mel. What a lovely thing to do. ❤️

A New Workshop! Come and Make Your Own Chunky Knit Vest with me in Sheffield.

I’m really excited to tell you about a new, Special one off, face-to-face knitting workshop I’ll be running in Sheffield next February. It’s been more than two and a half years since my last in-person workshop, which I did with Hope and Elvis, so I’m particularly happy to be doing this in my own hometown, sharing something I feel really passionate about: using the yarn we already have, experimenting with colour and texture, learning new skills and opening ourselves up to new ideas.

And what better way to do that than by making a chunky knitted vest using my vest pattern for ease?

A workshop for knitters who love to experiment

This workshop is for anyone who can knit and loves playing with yarn. You don’t need to buy lots of new materials or find the perfect yarn for a pattern. Instead, we’re going to explore the possibilities of your own stash and discover how to turn those odd balls, forgotten skeins and yarns you’ve been saving into something lovely.

The pattern is a fun, chunky knit vest, and fluffy yarn works particularly well. We’ll look at how to combine your yarns, experiment with different textures and ply strands together to create your own chunky yarn.

You’ll learn some useful techniques along the way, and, most importantly, you’ll have a go!

Here are some examples of the chunky knit vests that I have made in the last few months. The pattern becomes and addictive knit.

What will you learn?

During our day together, you will:

Make your stash work for you. Learn how to use the yarn you already own to make this great little vest, experimenting with different combinations and textures.
Learn to knit in the round. If you haven’t done this before, I’ll show you how to cast on and knit using circular needles.
Create your own chunky yarn. Learn how to ply your stash yarns together to make a thicker yarn suitable for the pattern.
Get started on your vest. You’ll begin knitting your own vest during the workshop and take it home to finish in your own time, using your own favourite stash yarn and your own reliable needles.

I’ll be there throughout the day to help you, answer questions and work through any tricky bits with you. You don’t have to know everything before you arrive. That’s what the workshop is for.

BUY NOW

What do you need to bring?

The idea is to use your own stash, so please bring the spare yarn you’d like to experiment with and use for your vest – maybe 15 balls – or a carrier bag of yarn. Fluffy yarn is particularly good for this pattern, but part of the fun is discovering what your own yarns can do when you combine them. I will be on hand to give you ideas of how to mix your own yarns and how to place colours next to each other.

You’ll also need to bring your own:

10 mm UK circular knitting needles
12 mm circular knitting needles

Because you’ll be using your own yarn and needles so that you can continue working on your vest at home after the workshop.

I’ll provide the knitting pattern on the day, and I’ll also bring some extra yarns for the middle of the table. Christina, from Woodseats Community Garden (the hosts of the workshop) will also be on hand as a volunteer.

And, of course, there will be plenty of biscuits and tea and coffed and Ginger cordial!

The practical details

When: Saturday 6 February 2027, 10.30 am–4 pm

Where: Woodseats Community Garden Arts Space which is at, Chad’s Community Hub, 54–56 Abbey Lane, Sheffield, S8 0BP.

Cost: £95 for the full-day workshop.

Please bring a packed lunch. There are a couple of sandwich shops very close by, if you fancy a little wander at lunch time.

Getting there

There is street parking available.

The number 76 bus from Sheffield, stops directly across the road at Abbey Lane Primary School. The numbers 24, 25, 43, 44, 75 and X17, also from Sheffield, stop on Chesterfield Road, approximately a 5–10 minute walk away.

A note about accessibility

I’m sorry that this workshop space is not wheelchair accessible. The arts space is on the first floor of the building and can only be reached by stairs. Unfortunately, there is no step-free access to the workshop room.

I wanted to make sure this was clear before anyone books, so that you can make an informed decision about whether the venue will work for you.

Come and spend a day knitting with me!

I’m genuinely excited about this workshop. After such a long time away from face-to-face teaching, I’m looking forward to being in a room with other knitters, sharing ideas, helping you experiment and seeing what happens when we bring our different yarn stashes together.

I love the idea that we can make something new from what we already have. We’ll learn, try things out, make decisions about yarn, and discover possibilities we might not have thought of on our own.

You’ll leave with your own vest underway, a pattern to continue working from, and some new skills to take into your future knitting.

Places are limited to just 10 people, so the workshop will be small and friendly, with plenty of opportunity for individual help.

I’m sharing this with my website subscribers first, so you have the first opportunity to book before I share it more widely.

If you’d like to join me, please visit the workshop page on my website and follow the link to PayPal to book your place. – or link here

I can’t wait to get knitting with you!

BUY Now

Tracey x

September Colour

September colour

Today, I’ve been thinking about colour again, especially as my beautiful garden Dahlia are coming to an end.

I don’t think of colour as a palette chosen from a shade card, or a set of colours that are supposed to work together, or from a carrier bag in front of the tele but colour as something you discover by looking – really looking. And this year, I have really looked at the flowers that I have grown.

So, I’ve been sitting with Rowan Kidsilk Haze and a handful of my last flowers. I’ve knitted little swatches, changed colours, changed my mind, pulled them out, tried something else and watched what happens when one shade sits beside another. I feel the colours more than just look and I have a very exciting new knitting project in the pipeline.

This is the part of knitting I never seem to tire of but don’t get much time to do. A full day just knitting and pushing colours and flowers around is a true gift of time and creativity.

A colour can look completely different depending on what is next to it. A pink becomes warmer beside rust. A green suddenly looks sharper beside red. A quiet, almost muddy shade can become the colour that holds everything together or becomes the subtle change that the eye doesn’t always see but the mind sees it.

A Creative practice swatching and developing skills and outcomes, is why I started the Colour Swatch Journal.

I wanted others to learn to explore that process of looking and experimenting rather than simply deciding in advance what a “good” colour combination might be.

I’ve been knitting for more than forty years and I’m still surprised by and LOVE colour.

I’m currently working on something new with these colours. I’m not quite ready to show you yet — but I will be soon.

September is looking very beautiful from where I’m sitting.

Want to explore colour with me?

The next Colour Swatch Journal group will begin in January. It’s a space for experimenting with colour, keeping a visual record of what you discover and developing your own understanding of colour relationships. It is a place to learn and grow and take those skills into your own knitting projects after

There is more information about my Colour Swatch Journal Group on my workshops page which is here

life…

I’ve been thinking lately about how strange it is that the things I do every day have somehow turned into a kind of lifestyle on Instagram, maybe I overshare. It is an honest, open, free running Instagram feed of knitting, yarn, travel, allotment, clothes, badgers, my cat Tiggy, and the stories are basically, what is in my head that day.

I’m a knitter, artist, traveller, redundant writer of stories. I’m interested in colour, clothes, gardens, making things, places and people. I have a fairly ordinary life in Sheffield, although I suppose “ordinary” is a matter of perspective – these things are the things I post about – not just knitting.

But lately, some rather lovely things have started happening.

I spent three simple days in a Shepherd’s hut in Dorset and had such a good time that I’ve now decided to stay off grid at Eden.Fold which will be a collaboration and is closer to Sheffield. A clothing company sent me two pieces that I genuinely wanted to wear and I was very, very excited – here is the post of the Tuxedo shirt from Plumo. And recently, Rowan has sent me a beautiful selection of mohair in colours I chose myself which I will knit in my off grid retreat at Eden.Fold.

Other companies and people have started collaborations with me but I am NOT an influencer, just a sharer of a few select beautiful things that I believe in and LOVE . And I find it really quite humbling. I never thought that this would happen.

I’m very careful about what I choose to be involved with. If something doesn’t fit into my life, or isn’t something I would genuinely use, wear or love, then it doesn’t really make sense to me.

What interests me is how I got here.

Because I certainly didn’t plan it.

I’m 63. I live alone. I’ve been knitting for more than 40 years. I studied Fine Art, did a Masters in Knitting much later in life, worked in the arts, spent years absorbed in Shetland knitting and women’s histories, and eventually found myself making work about colour, landscape and the things that surround me.

Then Instagram happened. I feel immensely grateful for it all.

I started sharing what I was doing because I enjoyed sharing it. Somewhere along the way, lots of other people started looking without me planning or marketing and then, if I am honest, I began to get a little nervous.

So now, I seem to have arrived at this slightly unexpected place where my knitting, clothes, allotment, travels, the things I make, the things I discover and the things I’m curious about have all become part of the same story.

Perhaps that’s what a lifestyle window actually is – I am still learning and the internet evolves quickly.

And slowly, I am building a life I genuinely enjoy, and I am still surprised that other people are interested in coming along for a little bit of it.

If you would like to join me in my Colour Swatch Journal group, there is information here on the workshops page

Colour Swatch Journal Group: How it began, what I have learned and what comes next

On 11 January 2026, I put a post on Instagram saying that I was thinking about starting a Colour Swatch Journal Group and asked if anyone would like to join me. The post almost went viral.

What was particularly interesting was the response. It became clear that people wanted to make their own colour journal themselves. They wanted to learn about colour, experiment with their own yarn and discover techniques that would help them develop their understanding of colour within their own projects.

Patterns aren’t necessarily expensive, but yarn is, so getting the colour right is important. Of course, colour is personal — we all see and respond to it differently — but there are principles that can help us make better colour choices: understanding contrast, dark and light, saturation, avoiding muddy combinations and knowing how colours interact with one another.

So My Colour Swatch Journal Group idea was born.

What I learned from Cohort One

The first cohort started on 1 April and it was a big group. At first, people enthusiastically shared their work and information in the private Facebook group, and something rather wonderful developed: a real sense of community.

But as the six months went on, participation gradually dropped.

There are lots of reasons for that. Family commitments, holidays and simply life getting in the way. But I also learned something important: six months is a long time. The original programme was also very inexpensive, so perhaps there wasn’t quite enough financial commitment to keep everyone committed to their own development.

Last Sunday, 30 August, I held a celebration of the work from Cohort One in our final zoom session.

By then the group had become much smaller. Seven people came to the presentation and six shared their work. But I was absolutely delighted by what I saw and proud of their stories about what they had learned.

Many people in the group had learned, experimented and developed.

I want to say thank you to the whole group because they taught me something too: how important community and celebration are within a learning group and this became apparent in the session 5 where people stepped up to help each other. See blog post When Colour Becomes Kindness on July 27^th

Cohort Two began on 1 August, and already I can see a difference.

The Facebook group is busy and prolific. People are sharing their work, asking questions and really embracing the process. They have more questions for me, and I am learning from them too — particularly about the challenges people face when they are developing their understanding of colour and how to step out of their comfort zones with new learning.

The group is open to everyone. There are people of different ages and experiences. Here is a group image of their first swatches. They will develop as they learn to colour blend. I am loving seeing their first swatches and excited to see where they will go.

And now I’m really excited to announce that Cohort Three will begin on 1 January 2027.

Cohort Three

I have revised the programme into a focused four-month master class

Each month there will be a comprehensive newsletter on the 1st, with work to complete using your own yarn. There will be 20 exercises across the four months and approximately 12 video tutorials shared in the Facebook group. Everything is done at the participant’s own pace. They can finish 2 months after everyone else, if they wish. Below are some inspiration for colour images from my summer flowers as inspiration will also be part of learning.

At the end of each month we will meet together so that I can go through the newsletter, answer questions and talk through the challenges and discoveries people are having.

And the private Facebook group will continue to be the place where work is shared and the community develops and I drop little videos – Facebook group is not mandatory but it is a wonderful place to share and feel safe and excited to do so as you can see from the swatches that I have shared (with agreement) from both cohorts.

The newsletter, videos, exercises and meetings are really just the mechanism.

What matters is what you develop, what you learn and how your understanding of colour changes.

That’s what makes this a master class.

Interested in joining?

Cohort Three starts on 1 January 2027, and I’ll be taking bookings during September to early December. There will be an early bird price this time running between 7^th – 20^th September.

If you are interested, please go to my Online Workshops page and fill in the registration-of-interest form.

I’ll email everyone who registers next week on 7^th September with the full overview, schedule and price.

I’m really excited to see what Cohort Three will discover.

On 7th September, All information will be sent to those who have registered interest in the next cohort – early bird bookings from 7th – 20th Sept. complete registry of interest form on this workshops page

Knitting at Stanage is one of my perfect places to be.

Knitting outside at the Millstones below Stanage Edge

The walk from Burbage car park to the edge of Stanage is always a joy. Something happens to your soul part way across the moor – it opens and you take a deep breath. I’m 63 years old… and I’m still scrambling over the rocks to reach my favourite knitting spot.

Beneath Stanage Edge, beside these old millstones overlooking Hope Valley, is where I come to slow down, eat my home made granola from a flask, drink tea, knit and look and feel grateful.

I’ve shared this place with you before because so many of you tell me you wish you could sit here too. I completely understand. There’s something about this view that quietens everything.

Today I brought along my Smola Beanie—a pattern I designed while living in Shetland, in a house called Smola —and I cast on using Pony’s new aluminium interchangeable circular needles, which they’ve kindly sent me to try. I a being honest here, I love them and wish they went to bigger sizes so that I could knit the chunky vest. I am using the 3mm needle and the shortest wire. There is a little extension, if you want to add 2 wires together to create a bigger one. The needles are smooth and have a good pointy needle to get into my Fair Isle stitches.

I couldn’t think of a better place to use them for their first use – out in this very cool place in the Peak District, 6 miles from my door.

Sometimes the best knitting room has no walls at all.

The pattern is called Smola Beanie, it has matching fingerless mitts and a scarf (which my daughter wanted – praise indeed)

If you would like to knit this beautiful Shetland Motif pattern called, Smola Beanie, then the link is here

When Colour Becomes Kindness

Yesterday, Sunday, between 5 and 6 pm, I hosted our Colour Swatch Group Zoom session.

A small group of us from across the world met, and together we spent an hour talking about colour in knitting. We explored the monthly newsletter, looked at four different ways of knitting the same colours into one motif, talked about where inspiration comes from, and how sometimes the best colour choices are the ones that come from your heart rather than your head, or a carrier bag in front of the tele.

Afterwards, as always, I opened the session up for questions and for people to share their work.

Then something happened that, in seven years of teaching, I have never experienced before.

One of the ladies in the group isn’t really a knitter. Instead of sharing knitting, she shared a photograph that had inspired her. It was a photograph of her mother holding an enormous bunch of pink and peach and pale read flowers.

This lady generously shared how she had only met her mother ten months ago. In the photograph, her mother was surrounded the flowers picked for her by her daughter —flowers she absolutely loved. Looking at the photograph made her smile. This lady’s mother has severe dementia and she mentioned that some days she knows she is her daughter. Some days she thinks she is a friend. Some days she believes she is an enemy.

Every week, my participant drives five hours to visit her mother and five hours home again. Alongside that, she has been moving house. Life has simply been overwhelming.

She had already ordered yarn in exactly the colours of those flowers because she wanted to knit my Sea Urchin Mitts for her mum. But between visiting her mother, moving home and everything else, she just hadn’t found the time.

As she shared her story, it was heartwarming and sad and heartbreaking. And incredibly beautiful.

Then something happened that silenced every single one of us.

Another participant simply said,

“Send me your list of colours. I’ll knit the mitts for you and post them to you.”

That was it.

No fuss.

No hesitation.

Just kindness.

I could feel tears welling up. The lady telling her story was emotional and several of us were in the group. It was one of those painfully beautiful moments that stays with you long after the Zoom call has ended.

What made it even more extraordinary was this.

The lady who offered to knit the mitts lives on the Isle of Wight and The lady she offered to them for lives in America.

Two women who had never met, connected simply through colour workshop, creativity, the opportunity to open up and kindness.

All I could think to do in that moment was send both of them the patterns for the mitts and the matching hat. It felt like the smallest contribution compared to what had just unfolded, but it was what I could offer. In all my 7 years of teaching colour work online across the world, I have never witnessed such altruistic instant kindness and I was very moved.

Tonight reminded me that Colour Swatch Group has become something I never imagined it would be. I thought I was bringing people together to explore colour. Instead, colour has brought people together to explore humanity and we are a community.

My Participants’ colour journals have become more than pages filled with palettes and inspiration. They have become places where stories are shared, where people feel safe enough to be vulnerable, and where complete strangers quietly remind one another what kindness looks like.

I don’t think any of us present in that zoom session will forget that moment of pure kindness. I know I never will.

If you would like to join me in my next Cohort of Colour Swatch Journal Group, we will be starting In January 2027 as my 2nd Cohort starts on Aug 1st is is now Full. Nip to the workshops page and send me a contact form, to say you are interested in information for any future session.

Link to the workshop contact page is here

Happy knitting -much love – Tracey

A Little Harvest of Yarn… and a Giveaway!

A Little Harvest of Yarn… and a Giveaway! 🍂🧶

I have just finished my fourth Chunky Knit Vest from my easy to follow pattern, and I absolutely love how different it feels from the others. These yarns came from the mystery bag I bought last week called “Harvester Pie”, but as I knitted, I kept thinking the colours were more like butterscotch, honeycomb, autumn leaves, toasted caramel, warm rich autumn colours. When I look at yarn for this pattern, I always have my favourites – every stripe seemed to tell its own little story. I always save my very favourites for the neck and arm pit ribs…

The beauty of this pattern is that there is no right or wrong way to choose your colours AND I WOULD LIKE TO OFFER A YARN GIVEAWAY FOR ONE PERSON TO KNIT THEIR OWN CHUNKY KNIT VEST FROM THE LEFT OVERS OF MY LAST 2 VESTS.

🎉 Yarn Giveaway!

To celebrate this latest vest, I’d love one of you to create your own version.

The remaining yarns from my Harvester Pie collection and the previous vest (pictured below) are going to One winner who will receive the bundle of leftover yarns shown in the photograph—perfect for creating a beautifully individual vest of your own.

There is a mix of pure wool, Rowan felted tweed, lopi, and acrylic. Enough to make your own vest by plying the yarns together in whatever way you choose to create your own Chunky Knit Vest. The pattern gives ideas on what yarns to ply.

All you need to do is purchase my Chunky Knit Vest Pattern between 15th July and 31st July, and you’ll automatically be entered into the draw. There will be one lucky winner. The pattern is £6 on Ravelry

Link to Pattern is below.

Chunky Knit Vest Pattern on Ravelry

To enter

Purchase the Chunky Knit Vest Pattern between 15 July and 31 July.
Everyone who purchases the pattern during those dates will automatically be entered.
One winner will be chosen after the closing date. I will draw one winner at 6pm on 31^st July

I will announce the winner on Instagram – @traceydoxey and email the winner too.

The only thing I’ll ask is that the winner pays the postage to their country, wherever they are in the world.

Thank you so much for all your enthusiasm for this pattern already. Seeing your colour choices in the projects in Ravelry and in the comments on Instagram has made me really happy. Seeing your own interpretations is one of the greatest joys of designing something like this. Every vest has its own personality, and every knitter brings their own unique selves to it.

Every vest becomes a reflection of the yarn you already have, the colours you love, and the choices you make along the way. No two will ever be the same, and I think that’s what makes knitting from stash so wonderfully exciting. This offer is a different type of stash – it is mine that I am offering to give away.