UPDATE 5.19.14: Congratulations to winner Karen Lauterwasser! Karen, check your email! --------------------------
I am a HUGE film lover. I tripled majored at RISD in film, animation and video, concentrating in computer animation. I worked my way through the AFI's top 100 films in 2002 and while going to the movies is a big treat now (involving a babysitter and major planning) I try to go at least once a month. There's something magical about being whisked away into someone else's story, embraced by the darkness, the stadium seating and the gentle munching of popcorn around me. If I have some simple garter or stockinette on my needles, I usually bring it with me, clicking away and immersing myself in what's happening on the screen. If I could, I'd go to the movies every single day.
A few years back, I was asked by knitwear designer Kathleen Lawton-Trask (who is oddly enough married to a man whose sister my brother went to elementary school with) to contribute to her collection on film-inspired knits. The result is a collection of chic, wearable designs honoring the stars of cinema’s golden era. Silver Screen Knits will transport you back to old Hollywood.
Published in two volumes, the books celebrate knitters’ love affair with the movies and include introductions to each featured film star, notes about must-see moments in classic films, and quotations from some memorable characters. Read about each garment’s cinematic inspiration while you work with luxurious yarns and unique designs.
Volume One was published in fall 2013 and includes patterns by Ann Weaver, Veera Välimäki, Karida Collins, Danielle Romanetti, Becky Wolf, and Kathleen Lawton-Trask. Volume Two was published yesterday on May 15, 2014, and includes patterns by Susanna I-C, Ann Weaver, Tanis Gray (me), Danielle Romanetti, Becky Wolf, and Kathleen Lawton-Trask.
I designed a pair of extra-long fingerless mitts, inspired by Hedy Lamarr. Lamarr, nicknamed "The Most Beautiful Woman In Films," was an Austrian actress and inventor. Her most significant technological contribution was her co-invention of an early technique for spread spectrum communications and frequency hopping, which paved the way for today's wireless communications and which, upon its invention in 1941, was deemed so vital to national defense that government officials would not allow publication of its details. She was known for the films Samson and Delilah, Ecstasy and Algiers.
Knit up in one hank of Malabrigo Sock, these lacy fingerless mitts are knit in the round and fall halfway between the shoulder and elbow. Check out all 12 patterns and purchase the ebook here.
Why not do another giveaway? Answer this trivia question about Hedy Lamarr (US residents only, please): What was Hedy Lamarr's real name? Leave a comment here on the blog with the answer and a winner will be chosen at random on Monday, May 19th.
One lucky winner will win a copy of Silver Screen Knits Volume II and be contacted on Monday via email.