Archives for November 2015

Another blog silence, though this one was not due to fun, rather, to flu. But I am alive and for the most part recovered!

The winner of a copy of the eBook of Amazing Lace, by Sharon Mooney and Cheryl Potter is Rosane, who has been emailed. Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway. I have another cool book to review, with another eBook giveaway, so check back on Wednesday.

And guess what? I finished Claremont! This is knit from SilverSpun fingering weight yarn, and it is wonderfully soft!

Here is a photo of it being worn. Be gentle — I took this while I was recovering from my bout with the flu.

(Do you like my stylin’ pigtails?)

I used mother of pearl buttons that match the yarn color very well:

And here is a close-up of the front band.

And here is the Little Prince, worn out from play!

As promised, here is a review of another great book I received.

This is Amazing Lace, by Sharon Mooney and Cheryl Potter, and it is available in both paperback (Amazon link) and eBook (Ravelry link) format. This is a collection of 13 lace patterns. The patterns are designed by Sharon Mooney and are knit in yarn dyed by Cheryl Potter.

This is not just a pattern book: there is a huge amount of great information included for beginner and more experienced lace knitters alike. Each project contains extras: comments from the dyer, swatches knit in different colorways (for example, variegated versus solid) and on different needle sizes, a detailed step-by-step tutorial for working short rows, unblocked versus blocked pieces, etc. A lot 0f the “logic” of lace is explained, and I think this is hugely helpful for a knitter who is just beginning to delve into lace knitting.

The patterns themselves are lovely and include large clear charts. My favorites:

This is “Entre Nous” and I think this is the first entrelac piece I can honestly say I love. I love the combination of solid plus variegated colorways.

This is “Feeling Groovy.” It’s a rectangular wrap that is pretty easy to knit and is done in several colors. It would be really fun to come up with your own color combinations!

And this is Hankie Panky, a handkerchief knit from lace weight yarn and lightly beaded. Wouldn’t this make a great wedding handkerchief? So many possibilities using different colors and beads!

The publisher has authorized me to give away a copy of the eBook to one of my readers. Who’d like it?

To be entered in the drawing for a copy of Amazing Lace, please leave a comment on this blog post by 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time, Sunday, November 22, 2015. The random number generator will select a winner.

Meanwhile, here is an overhead shot of the Little Prince:

You may have noticed that I took a bit of a blog break. I had a friend come to stay with me for a week so was too busy having fun to remember to post to the blog! But life is back to normal now.

First things first, the winner of a copy of the Spilly Jane Knits Mittens ebook is Claudia, who has been emailed. Thanks to everyone who left a comment to be entered in the giveaway. I have lots of books to review and lots of giveaways in the coming weeks, so be sure to stop by again for a chance to win one!

I am still knitting along on my Claremont cardi. While it is not dramatically exciting knitting, being miles of stockinette in natural-colored yarn, it is very satisfying because the yarn is so soft and lovely. I finished the body to the armholes, and am almost to the armhole on the second sleeve.

At this point you insert the sleeves and knit upwards, doing raglan and v-neck decreases as you knit. But I think I’m going to go back and add a bit more length to the body after I finish the second sleeve. I think this cardi will become a favorite, so I want it to be as perfect as possible!

Loki is standing by (well, lying by) and is ready to help me!

First things first, here are Dottie and Inga in their November outfits. They are dressed as pilgrims.

For their dresses I based them on Julie Williams’ Seasonal Dresses Pattern that fits all her little critters. I winkled together the rest of their outfits. I used leftover fingering weight wool.

Next, we have a winner for the Crazed Scandinavian Cowl kit, and it is Syd T., who has been emailed.

Third, I have a book to review: Spilly Jane Knits Mittens by (you guessed it) Spilly Jane. It’s published by Cooperative Press, and you can purchase the book in paperback via Amazon.com (who is temporarily out of stock) and in electronic pdf via Ravelry.

If you have spent any time on Ravelry and are at all into mittens, you will likely recognize the name Spilly Jane. She has lots and lots of cute mitten patterns (as well as patterns for other items, like socks) available on Ravelry. So it’s nice to see a whole book of mittens from this mitten maestro!

In addition to thirteen mitten patterns, the book has a lot of useful information for both new and experienced mitten knitters, including notes, tips, and tutorials on sizing, different thumbs, carrying yarn for colorwork, and adding embellishments to your mittens. The tutorials are accompanied by nice clear photos.

And . . . the patterns are extremely cute! They are all colorwork, in one way or another. There are two patterns for fingerless mitts, both worked in stripes. The Plain Blue Mitts would be a good pattern for a stranded colorwork newbie, as it is worked in stripes with just a bit of stranded knitting taking place when you switch colors.

I love the Cupcake Mittens:

This would be a great pattern for using up bits and leftovers.

The Penguin Mittens are another favorite:

Who doesn’t love penguins?

All patterns use fingering weight yarn and would be a great way to dip into that sock yarn stash to knit holiday gifts. The samples in the book are all knit from either Brooklyn Tweed Loft or KnitPicks Palette, but you could use any fingering weight wool or wool blend.

The publisher has authorized me to give away a copy of the eBook to one of my readers. Who’d like it?

To be entered in the drawing for a copy of Spilly Jane Knits Mittens, please leave a comment on this blog post by noon Eastern Time, Sunday, November 8, 2015. The random number generator will select a winner.

Here is Loki, practicing for the Sleep Olympics.

Freestyle. It is his best event.

Thank you to everyone who has bought my Crazed Scandinavian Cowl from my Ravelry store. I’ve decided to extend the reduced price through Wednesday, November 4, so you can get the pattern for $3.00 until Thursday, November 5, when it will go back to the regular price of $5.00.

In celebration of the pattern release, I have a special giveaway:

This is 4 skeins of Elsa Wool Company Woolen-Spun Fingering Weight Cormo, in the colorways I used to knit my cowl: natural and medium grey and this is more than enough to knit your own cowl. I’ll include the pattern if you have not already purchased the pattern.

To be entered in the giveaway, leave a comment on this post by noon Eastern Time on Wednesday, November 4, 2015. The random number generator will select a winner at that time.

I am knitting along on my Claremont cardigan.

But I took time out to knit mousies for a couple of Loki’s online friends.

And Loki is hanging out in front of the fan because we are having unseasonably warm weather!