Tag: knit

A Book Review and Giveaway: Drop-Dead Easy Knits

drop-dead-easyIn less than five words, my review goes something like this:

You need this book.

Ok, so you probably know that Gale and I teach together regularly, and I’m pals with the book’s two other co-authors Kirsten and MaryLou, too (I like to surround myself with smart, talented people!), so you might think there is no way I can give an unbiased review of Drop-Dead Easy Knits. I’m going to be honest with you, people.

The patterns are insta-classics!

The quality and timelessness of the patterns reminds me of some of my favorite knitting books: Weekend Knitting and Last Minute Knitted Gifts come to mind. Books I turn to again and again, not only for the great patterns, but because the books themselves are beautiful.

That’s the deal with Drop-Dead Easy Knits: wearable patterns you can knit while slightly distracted by photo by Gale Zuckerfriends or food or wine or movies…what the Mason-Dixon duo have dubbed #knittingbelowonesSkillLevel, with brilliant warnings when you have to pay attention. Gale shot the gorgeous images, and the writing is funny, smart, and just plain companionable. Which makes sense. The book idea grew out of conversation when the authors were hanging out together, well, knitting!

I’m lucky enough to have two copies in my possession, and I want to share. If you’d like to win a copy, here’s what you do:

  1. Hop over to the Ravelry book page and add it to your favorites.
  2. Peruse the patterns and “favorite” your top three.
  3. Come back here (I’ll be waiting) and tell me in the comments what you can’t wait to knit from the book.

The contest will close at 11:59 p.m. on Monday, September 26. One lucky winner will get their own copy!

I’ve got a Camurac Cardigan in progress (just finishing work left to do…hoping to wear it at Rhinebeck), and tomorrow I’m picking up yarn to make the Keynote Pullover and Glama Wrap. What’s on your list?

Mid-May Friday Faves

impavid

I’ve gathered some links for lovely things to read, to make, to buy.

  • I’m taking a class to learn Uncial calligraphy, and this week my postcard project (if you haven’t signed up for one, there’s still room!) has focused on practicing it by writing an interesting word on a watercolor background. Want to read a few interesting words? Check out this site!
  • Speaking of postcards, Gale’s Nash Island postcards are back in stock! I include one when I send a package to a fiber-loving friend, but mainly I gaze at them (especially those two lambs in front of the barn!) and am transported for a few minutes to a happy, peaceful place.
  • My former student Damian is a talented illustrator and writer and a beautiful human. He’s written a book called I Want a Kid and I Don’t Care. Take a look at his Kickstarter video. The book is done; Damian is raising funds for the costs associated with publishing. If you know someone with foster or adopted kids or someone who is thinking of fostering or adopting kids, this makes a sweet gift. I’ll be posting more about Damian soon!
  • It’s time for Through the Loops MKAL shawl! Kirsten’s patterns are so clear and always elegant. Did you see her recommended yarn? Another fave:
  • Dragonfly Fiber Pixie. I wound my two skeins last weekend, and it is so hard to wait until June 1 to cast on! Oh, what colors did I pick? Wine Country and Sixteen Candles (Molly Ringwald 4-evah, yo).
  • Want more pretty yarn and shawl combos? Check out the Sundara Petals Collection. Kirsten and my new chum Thea both have patterns in the collection. And: cashmere!
  • Last week I put out feelers on social media to see if there is interest in another friendship bracelet swap for grown ups. Let me know in the comments if you’re interested in playing summer camp again this year! In the meantime, you can grab a sweet deal on a set of Et Voila Design’s version of friendship bracelets here! The April special is continuing for some extra time, just for you!
  • One of the things I love about summer break is that the teacher gets to be a student. I took Cal’s Pattern Drafting class in NYC at the beginning of the month (it’s also available on Creativebug). If you have a chance to take any class with her, do eet! She is a patient, wonderful teacher. I’m eager to be her student again!

Your turn: leave a link to a fave of your own!

Ethical Elegance: Knit Good Stuff

Joan I don’t know how many years I’ve been eyeing Nanne Kennedy’s toothy, honest, gorgeously dyed yarn at fiber festivals. Last fall, with my best enabler at my side, I stopped petting the yarn and purchased. I have no regrets. Not one.

My original intention was to use this femme pink yarn for a certain sweater I’ve been lusting after (I’m looking at you, Lorna Suzanne). I decided to be as prissy as I want the sweater to be and swatched, swatched, swatched, only to find I couldn’t get a fabric I liked at a gauge I wanted. I think I’m going to need a bit of Starcroft Light to find the just-right match of honest yarn and pattern for my dreamy, prissy sweater.

So what’s a knitter to do when she’s got a bag full of pink wool this good and a hankering for one of Ellen’s sweaters? She copies her pal Kirsten, and uses the Seacolors yarn for a newish arrival at Chez Odacier: Joan Fuller.

Ellen’s pattern writing is terrific. It’s as though she’s sitting next to me on the porch (in my mind, it is summer, always, and on a porch of one sort or another, always), leaning over to remind me what I should do next.

Still, we all know what a pokey knitter I am. Every day, I stitch another few rows before I go to bed, and I confess: it’s hard to sleep when I’ve just had those plump cables in my hand. Even if I don’t finish the sweater to wear this long, long winter, I’ll be ready for a Maine evening in September!

Gale taught me something: match a good, honest yarn by someone you really like with a terrific pattern from a friend you admire, and you’re bound to be happy. And happiness of this sort is exactly what ethical elegance means to me!

How about you? What’s your favorite yarn-pattern match up?

Craft Friday Link Party

Happy Craft Friday!

I’m excited about the number of us who are crafting instead of shopping today. I knew I wasn’t alone in shunning Black Friday, and I figured I wasn’t the only crafter who spends the day making rather than buying~but, wow! Is it ever exciting to see our revolution take off!

Today, I invite you to write a declaration–post what feels right to you. Maybe:

  • why you’re rejecting Black Friday
  • what you love to craft for the holidays
  • your history of crafting gifts (did you start as a kid? a college student?)
  • your manifesto about crafting rather than buying

Email a link to your blog post to me at pomogolightlyATgmail.com, and I’ll add links throughout the day to this post and share them on FaceBook and Twitter. On Instagram? Take sneak peek pictures of your crafting and post them using #CraftFriday.

To start off the link party, take a look at these terrific posts:

Kirsten from Through the Loops invites you to Craft Friday with a 50% off mitts and mittens gift.

MaryLou explores the magic of making and shopping your stash.

Margene shares that even “selfish” crafters can be part of the rebellion.

Earth Chick connects crafting and gratitude.

Earlier this week I called and ordered fabric from Clementine, and Leah shared that the shop is taking up Craft Friday. Lisa at Flying Goat Farm is, too. What about your local shop?

Oh, my declaration? Of course.

It’s been a dozen years since I last shopped on Black Friday. Most years I’ve visited family or friends, spent time knitting or sewing or crocheting, or written the first of my holiday greeting cards. The rejection of Black Friday didn’t start off that way; different priorities begged my attention, and I obliged. I’m relieved, though, not to feel the compulsion to get the best dealor beat the crowds.

This year, it seems more important to me to craft conscientiously on 11/28. I detest that some big box stores start Black Friday on Thanksgiving day. I’m baffled by the need and desire to shop on a day set aside for gratitude. The things don’t matter. People matter.

And crafting is a way for me to honor the people I love, to offer them something beautiful, to step away from crass consumerism. I like to buy my supplies from indy merchants, and I like to focus my mind on the person for whom I’m creating as I knit or paint or stitch. It matters to me that layers of love and good wishes are built into whatever I’m creating.

So for me, Craft Friday is about pushing back against what the commercials urge me to do. It’s about thoughtfulness and mindfulness. It’s about fun. It’s about the people I love.

Thanks for reading my declaration. Be sure to share yours! Viva la Craft Friday!

Welcome, Autumn, You Bringer of Squash and Yarn!

garlic barn

Keats had it right. I’m like the bees, “…think[ing] warm days shall never cease…” and listening for Autumn’s music, though the music of summer and spring is so much more inspiring. Still. Let’s take a look at some of the loveliness as summer slips away.

My CSA share comes to an end in a few weeks. Saturday the old tobacco barn, now used as a farm stand, was filled with bunches of garlic drying. The tomatoes may lack the sweetness that burst out of them in late July, but Autumn’s bounty brings warmth and depth of flavor. I’m especially excited to cook squash again–here is my favorite butternut squash galette recipe, and my go-to butternut squash soup.

I did no canning this summer, but I’ve been freezing leeks, fresh sauce, and garlic scapes, which means there will be a little taste of sun and earth and rain in this winter’s meals. In another week or two, I’ll buy up all the butternut squash I can handle and spend an afternoon peeling and chopping and freezing it. I want late Autumn and Winter me to think fondly of Summer and early Autumn me!

 

sweater

Even better than the terrific foods that Autumn brings is the return of my knitting fun! I spent most of the summer crocheting motifs for a linen shawl. With Rhinebeck around the corner, it was time to pull out a languishing WIP and get the wool turned into sleeves! The first arm of the sweater is about elbow length as of this morning. I don’t like pushing sleeves up to keep them from getting in the way, so I will only knit to just above wrist length.

I started this in 2012. I know. I told you it was languishing. But this is the year I wear it to Rhinebeck. I just know it is.

What has Autumn got you excited about? Are you trying any new recipes? Starting any new projects?

Let's Get Started

babysitting certification