monday musings

November 17, 2014April 29, 2020 DiannaLeave a comment

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What a busy few weeks! Is it just me, or does this time of year get busier with each year that passes? The knit world has felt especially busy up here in the Pacific Northwest this month with big events and other goings-on, but more on those later. For now:

My copy of the Knitsonik Stranded Colourwork Sourcebook arrived sometime last week and it’s fantastic. I’m enjoying it very much and if you’re interested in colorwork, you probably will too!a backlog of things to blog. In the meantime, here are a few great things, specifically book-related:
Magpies, Homebodies, and Nomads by Cirilia Rose officially came two weeks ago tomorrow! Have you snagged a copy yet? I’m already plotting my first MHN project…
Yokes by Kate Davies, which you all know I’ve been eagerly awaiting, is now available! Order your copy right here.

More later this week, and I hope those of you in the States are staying warm! It seems like it quite suddenly got a lot chillier for all of us, and I’ve been enjoying seeing snowy winter wonderland photos around on social media (particularly these of Fancy Tiger’s new Pine Bough Cowl sample).

lately

October 28, 2014April 29, 2020 DiannaLeave a comment

It always seems hardest to keep up with blogging when I’m at my busiest, and it’s been a busy fall so far! But there are many, many things of note happening in the craft world at the moment as well as in my own world, so I thought I’d mention a few things here:

– I’ve been sewing some more, in free moments. I finished my first Deer and Doe pattern two weeks ago, the Airelle blouse, and you can see my version here. I’m not sure if I’ll make it again (I prefer a straighter cut and narrower sleeves in blouses, I think) but the pattern itself was great and I’m very pleased with how it turned out! I’m looking forward to more sewing, and I recently picked up some lovely light grey fabric for the Chardon skirt, also from Deer and Doe.

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– Felicity Ford’s new book, the Knitsonik Stranded Colourwork Sourcebook, has been making the rounds of the craft blogosphere and it’s become obvious that I need to pick myself up a copy! For anyone who’s ever wanted to get into stranded colorwork but struggled with choosing colors or finding inspiration, or if you’re the kind of knitter who wants to break free from patterns, I think this book will be a huge help. If you’d like to learn more about it, I’d hop over to this post by Kate Davies or this one from Ysolda (or, for that matter, check out the whole blog tour which begins today – the list can be found at the bottom of this post), and the book itself can be ordered right here.

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– Speaking of Kate Davies: Kate is wrapping up work on her forthcoming book, YOKES! I am beyond excited for this book: featuring 11 patterns for yoked sweaters of all different sorts, it will also feature quite a bit of history in the form of essays and other short pieces of writing. Having been a follower of Kate’s work for years, I’m beyond thrilled that I was able to aid Kate in her research for certain sections of the book. Isn’t that cover sweater a stunner? I’ll be sure to post when it’s available to order.

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– The preview of the Winter issue of Pom Pom Quarterly is up, and it’s beautiful! I love the cozy cover sweater by Bristol Ivy. The whole issue is full of cozy knits, soft and warm tones, and I love the pub where they did the photoshoot (especially that portrait of Queen Victoria).

– I’ve really been enjoying the #fringeandfriendsknitalong, the cabled-sweater knitalong begin hosted by Karen Templer of Fringe Association. I’m not participating, just following along, but it’s a great place to be a fly on the wall. Check out all the KAL-related blog posts over at Fringe.

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As for me, I’m furiously working away on wrapping up a few new patterns. One of those is Seven Stars, the pair of fingerless mitts pictured above, featuring Spincycle’s beautiful Dyed in the Wool. These will be the basis for a colorwork workshop I’m teaching at Knit Purl in Portland, Oregon on November 15 (I believe there are one or two spaces still available; more on that here). There will also be a Paper Tiger trunk show, so if you’re in or around Portland, you should stop by! Seven Stars is almost ready for publication, so I’ll have more info for you on those next week!

I’m also going to be stopping by Knit Fit! in Seattle the weekend of November 8-9. I won’t be vending this year, but I’m taking a crochet class (!) and I’ll definitely be stopping by the marketplace as well! If you see me there, say hello!

a knitter’s gift guide

December 11, 2013April 28, 2020 DiannaLeave a comment

‘Tis the season for gift guides, and if you’re anything like me at this time of year, you’ll find yourself realizing you’ve only checked a few people off your list and you have a whole bunch more to go. I thought I’d put together a few of my favorite things that would be perfect for gifts – whether you’re a knitter giving gifts to someone else, a non-knitter shopping for a knitter, or a knitter shopping/knitting for another knitter! I’ve tried to cover all the bases.

Last-minute knits

No matter how busy you are, you definitely have time to knock out at least one of these in the next few weeks.

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1. Toatie Hottie by Kate Davies, available as a kit (including hot water bottle!) here. (£15.99)

2. Brig, a hat and scarf set, by Veronik Avery for Brooklyn Tweed. I’m pretty in love with the simple seaman’s cap that’s a part of this set. Definitely a quick knit! ($6.50)

3. Earl Grey Mitts by Bristol Ivy. Quick, simple, beautiful, unisex. How can you beat that? ($2)

4. Whichaway Mitts by Karen Templer, a free pattern. These genius little colorblocked mitts can be worn in either direction.

5. The Tolt Mitts & Hat, by Andrea Rangel. Designed for the opening of Tolt Yarn and Wool in Carnation, Washington, either the hat or the mitts would be a perfect last-minute knit and a great introduction to colorwork. ($8)

6. The appropriately-named Jul Hat, by Jenny Gordy ($6.50). ‘Jul’ sounds like ‘yule’ and it means Christmas in Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish. I love Jenny Gordy’s simple knits and her styling is always impeccable.

Project bags

I tend to work on a lot of projects at the same time, so I’m of the opinion that you can never have too many project bags. My all-time favorite is my bag from The Fibre Company, but any of these would do well!

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1. Bento bags from Fringe Supply Co. ($16-$18)

2. ‘A Daily Dose of Fiber’ designed by Vera Brosgol and available from Ravelry. They also stock this bag with the spelling ‘Fibre’ which you can find here. ($15) Update: it appears they only have the latter bags in stock (spelled ‘fibre’).

3. Bags by The Fibre Company. Available in several places online, including here & here, or you can find a stockist near you here. (~$12)

Magazines

Subscriptions are available for a few of my favorites:

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1. Pom Pom Quarterly, filled with beautiful knit and (often) crochet patterns, with a focus on creative life in general. Wonderful recipes in the back of every issue. A subscription gets you four issues and is £37.

2. Knitscene is perfect for any knitter, featuring a range of patterns in different styles, but none too complicated. Any knitter could confidently tackle a Knitscene pattern. I love these guys. A subscription gets you four issues and is $24.

3. Extra Curricular isn’t strictly a knitting magazine and you actually aren’t likely to find any knitting patterns in this one at all, but they do always have some DIY project or another you can try out. This NZ-based magazine is one of my absolute favorites, and they’re focused on creative folk of all sorts. A subscription gets you three issues and is $42 (NZ).

Project Notebooks

I might be a notebook hoarder, but like project bags, I really don’t think you can ever have too many.

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Moleskine. Call me boring, but I have no interest in any of the busy new editions Moleskine keeps coming out with – I’m a devotee of the simplest, plainest, most elegant notebooks they carry. You can’t beat a classic. Available here from the Moleskine website, where you can choose your size, paper type (plain/lined/graph), cover weight, and color, among other things. ($9.95-$20.95)

In contrast to Moleskine, I love the special ‘Colors’ editions by Field Notes. Their most recent edition is pretty beautiful: Cold Horizon. These come in three-packs and they’re pocket-sized. Good for almost anything. ($9.95 for a 3-pack)

Knitter’s Graph Paper Journal from Fringe Supply Co. How many times have I wished I had one of these on me? If you do any charting yourself, or you know someone who does, this is a perfect gift. The grid is laid out like a knitting chart, so the columns are wider than the rows are tall. Perfect for visualizing a colorwork design or working out the kinks of a new cable. ($12)

Notecards

Looking for the perfect card to go along with your package? Here are a few of my favorites:

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