Fans of Downton Abbey’s amazing fashions, rejoice!

Just in time for holiday gift-knitting, A Head For Trouble: What To Knit While Catching Crooks, Chasing Clues, and Solving Murders (20 Hats & Adornments Inspired by Lady Detectives of the Roaring Twenties) was released in October, 2014. It is available in both electronic and paperback format both here and on my website: www.julieturjoman.com

Knit something special for your inner flapper!

Those familiar with the Kate Shackleton mystery series by Frances Brody, know that Kate has a knack for finding the missing sons, husbands, and fathers of other women – dead or alive. Not much shocks her after serving as a volunteer nurse at the front during WWI, which is just as well since dead bodies turn up with regularity wherever she goes. Her photography hobby provides a useful smokescreen for her investigations, while her pragmatism, determination, and intuition keep her one step ahead of Scotland Yard.

With its densely knit color work back, fold-over flap, and cabled front pocket, this bag would be ideal for protecting Kate’s camera film plates. For the modern knitter, it makes a practical carrying case for either a digital camera with its accompanying paraphernalia, or an attractive iPad case that includes a convenient pocket for its charger and cord.

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS:
8¼“ (21 cm) wide and 10” (25.5 cm) long.

MATERIALS:
Sundara Yarns Aran Silky Merino 200 yds (183 m)/3.5oz (100 g), 50% merino wool, 50% silk.
Main Color (MC): Wild Blueberries, 1 skein.
Contrast Color (CC): Grape Over Grey Violet, 1 skein.
US Size 6 (4 mm) straight or 16” (40 cm) circ, and set of 4 or 5 double-pointed needles, or size needed to obtain correct gauge
Cable needle
Tapestry needle
One 1¼“ (32 mm) diameter decorative button

GAUGE:
approx 22 sts and 44 rows = 4” (10 cm) in Bird’s Eye patt, blocked;
approx 22 sts and 31 rows = 4” (10 cm) in St st, blocked.
Note: When counting rows for Bird’s Eye pattern, every 3 rows that are apparent are actually 4 rows due to the slipped stitches in the pattern.