Archives for 2017

I have another book to show you today:

This is Knit Mitts: Your Handy Guide to Knitting Mittens & Gloves by Kate Atherley. More than just a book of patterns, it gives you everything you need to make mittens and gloves to keep you hands warm and comfy.

The book contains everything you ever wanted to know about hand measurements: a chart of survey results for adult and child hand sizes (9 different measurements — hand circumference, length of each finger, etc.), info on measuring a hand, tips for working without measurements, making adjustments, etc.

Next up, a discussion of materials: choosing your yarn, knitting for warmth, incorporating linings, and a useful chart of yarn requirements.

The next section is all about techniques — gauge, working on different needle types (i.e. circulars, dpns), different cast-ons, thumb and finger techniques, and blocking.

Then come the patterns. Kate offers basic patterns for mittens and gloves, with lots of details and information on variations you can work.

Next up, a chapter on customization — adjusting a pattern to fit a baby, adjusting the length of the various parts of the mitten or glove, changing stitch patterns, and working in add-ons, like conductive thread (which any commute knows is pretty much a necessity these days!, adding a string to keep track of your mittens, and working a flip-top mitten.

The last chapter is a collection of patterns: 9 very pretty designs for mittens, mitts and gloves.

The appendix includes a stitch glossary and abbreviations used.

So if you are planning on making any sort of hand covering for the upcoming winter, this book has you covered!

Who’d like a copy? To be entered in the drawing for a copy of Knit Mitts: Your Handy Guide to Knitting Mittens & Gloves by Kate Atherley, leave a comment on this blog post by noon Eastern time on Sunday, October 22, 2017.

Meanwhile, Loki is being very helpful!

The winner of a copy of 60 More Quick Baby Blankets: Cozy Knits in the 128 Superwash® & 220 Superwash® Collections from Cascade Yarns® is Barbara Fredrick, who has been emailed. Thank you to everyone who left a comment to be entered in the giveaway.

Moving along, here is why I have not yet finished my Moth Cardigan. I am having way too much fun sewing doll clothes!

See?

I love the period clothes!

But sometimes you have to slip in something contemporary.

And maybe a Halloween costume?

Or unicorn footie jammies!

Group photo!

Loki thinks I’ve lost my mind.

Sorry for falling off the face of the earth there for a bit. I have been having a really busy time of it at the day job and everything else took a back seat for a bit. But things have hopefully settled down for a while, so I am back with another great book to show you!

This is 60 More Quick Baby Blankets: Cozy Knits in the 128 Superwash® & 220 Superwash® Collections from Cascade Yarns®, the latest in the 60 Quick Knits Collection from Sixth&Spring Books. I love the “^0 Quick Knits” books — you really get a lot of bang for your buck and the patterns are designed by a variety of great designers . . . and are super cute!

You can view all 60 patterns for these baby blankets here on Ravelry. There is a little bit of everything: texture, cables, intarsia, stripes, stranded colorwork, lace. Something for everyone and for every skill level. Some of my favorites:

This is “Whale Watching” designed by Katarina Segerbrand.

It’s worked from Cascade Yarns 220 Superwash® worsted and it is stranded colorwork. I just love the little whales swimming across the blanket! The knitted measurements are approximately 25 x 34¾” but you could easily enlarge it if you wanted a larger blanket.

Next up, Checkered Blocks by Jacqueline van Dillen

This is also worked in Cascade Yarns 220 Superwash® worsted, and it combines blocks of color with a textured stitch. Each block is worked separately then seamed, so this would make a great group project. Perfect for several friends to collaborate on for a baby shower, for example.

This is Baby Spider Web by Cheri Esper.

This is worked in an aran weight yarn: Cascade Yarns 220 Superwash® Aran Splatter and it is a circle 30″ in diameter. I love the unique look of this blanket! It’s worked from the outside in, decreasing as you go.

Next, Over the Rainbow by Audrey Drysdale

I don’t think it is any secret that I am obsessed with rainbows, so this blanket caught my eye immediately. The rainbow is worked in intarsia, which is not my favorite knitting technique. But the blanket is so adorable, I could definitely see myself knitting it for a special little one. It is worked in Cascade Yarns 220 Superwash® Aran so it would be a fairly speedy knit.

And Gooseberries, by Brooke Nico

I love traditional cables and texture, so this of course made my list of favorites. It’s worked from Cascade Yarns 220 Superwash® worsted and has a lovely cable pattern framing an Estonian cluster stitch center panel.

And these are just the tip of the iceberg. So many cute blankets! Go see!

Sixth&Spring has generously offered up a second copy for my blog giveaway. Who’d like it?

To be entered in a drawing to win a copy of 60 More Quick Baby Blankets: Cozy Knits in the 128 Superwash® & 220 Superwash® Collections from Cascade Yarns®, please leave a comment on this post by noon Eastern time on Sunday October 8, 2017. A winner will be chosen at random from the posted comments.

Loki has been busy this week too. See?

?

The winner of a copy of Seed Stitch: Beyond Knit 1, Purl 1 by Rosemary Drysdale is “knittingdancer on Ravelry” who has been emailed. Thanks to everyone who left a comment and to Sterling Books for sending my review copy and providing a second copy for the giveaway!

I am still knitting along on my Moth Cardigan. To give you some idea of its construction, here is one side of it.

In this photo I’ve folded the first side piece into place and put the second side next to it.

You can sort of see how it is going to look now, right?

In other news, I performed doll surgery on a friend’s doll.

Her legs were really loose. Now post-surgery, Kit can easily stand on her own!

Loki is busy, as you can see.

The winner of my review copy of  Unobtainables: Fake Elements, Real Knits is Christel, who has been emailed. Thank you to everyone who left a comment!

Today I have another lovely book for review: Seed Stitch: Beyond Knit 1, Purl 1 by Rosemary Drysdale. This is seed stitch like you have never seen before.

The author has definitely gone above and beyond what I think of when I usually think of seed stitch. She has incorporated it into colorwork, mixed it up with cables, and has created an array of lovely patterns. In addition to the patterns, the book contains a stitch dictionary with 60 swatches.

There are also illustrated “how-tos” for techniques used in the book.

The patterns in the book are shown on Ravelry, here.

Some of my favorite patterns:

The Baby Boy’s Cardi is a nice combination of stripes and texture and is worked from sportweight wool.

Mini Diamonds Pillow:

I love diamond patterns! This pillow is stranded colorwork and would be a pretty quick project because it is knit from super bulky yarn. Wouldn’t it make a great housewarming gift for someone?

Moss Stitch Cowl

Worked in worsted weight, it is a thing of minimalist beauty. It would be wonderful worked in luxury fibers!

And this is the Zigzag Poncho:

This is my favorite project from the book: I love the combination of different stitch panels.

The publisher has generously offered up a second copy as a giveaway here. Who would like it?

To be entered in a drawing to win a copy of Seed Stitch: Beyond Knit 1, Purl 1, please leave a comment on this post by noon Eastern time on Sunday September 24, 2017. A winner will be chosen at random from the posted comments.

Here is one of Loki’s and my favorite things to do: knitting in our jammies first thing Saturday morning!