Digital Knitting Machine

As we continue to adjust to life with a newborn and very active 5-year-old, knitting has been very much on my mind. I knit everyday until the baby was born and it was not only my job, but simply part of my routine. Like someone training for a marathon, I got my time in and accomplished what I wanted, then put it away until the next day. While around-the-clock feedings, diapers, and maintaining, well, life, has made knitting difficult to squeeze in, I'm looking forward to getting into more of a routine once Astrid starts sleeping through the night and I have more than 2 brain cells to rub together to create new patterns for you all to enjoy. In the meantime, check out this super cool digital knitting machine. Original article found here. Be sure to click the link below to watch the video.

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Kniterate: A New Digital Knitting Machine Lets You ‘Print’ Fashion Designsby Christopher Jobson 

Kniterate is a compact industrial knitting machine created for designers and entrepreneurs that facilitates the one-off creation of garments. Built by London-based designer Gerard Rubio, Kniterate is meant to act as a sort of 3D printer for knitwear, allowing you to create digital designs in Photoshop and turn them into a wearable garments in just a few hours. The machine is capable of knitting scarves, sweaters, dresses, ties, or even the components of shoes. Kniterate could dramatically reduce lead time for a fashion business or design school in need of quick prototyping, or help a more ambitious artist in the fabrication a completely unique wardrobe. Learn more over on Kickstarter.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kniterate/kniterate-the-digital-knitting-machine/widget/video.html

Baby Blankets!

I love knitting and designing baby blankets. I enjoy thinking of the new baby that will be wrapped up snugly in it, possibly right after being born or on the drive home from the hospital. Babies are so new, so full of promise and delight.

Our house is chock full of things to keep you warm - knitted baby blankets, swaddles, quilts, sweaters. Baby blankets make an ideal gift and can be passed down from baby to baby. Nothing pleases me more to see a blanket I've knit or quilted for someone in tatters, being dragged around behind a toddler and obviously deeply loved. Whenever I gift a blanket or quilt I press it into the new mom's arms, look her in the eyes and say, "Use it. Do not keep this in a closet somewhere and think of it as 'precious.' Get it dirty, let them sleep with it, bring it on car trips, give it to the next baby, throw it in the washing machine, and let me know when it needs patching." One of the things I love most about knitting is we live our lives in it - it's not meant to be shoved to the bottom of the closet and not used.

Astrid turns 3 weeks old today. As I sit here slowly typing with one hand while snuggling her on my shoulder with the other, she reminds me why I knit for others. Everyone should be so lucky to be welcomed into the world with a new blanket, each stitch made with love.

In honor of this little bundle snoring softly in my ear, with the purchase of any TanisKnits pattern, pick one of the above TanisKnits baby blanket patterns for free until Wednesday, March 29th at midnight with coupon code SNUGGLE. This includes Mother of Dragons, Neapolitan Baby Blanket, Enver Baby Blanket, Palone Baby Blanket, Owen's Blanket, Malcolm's Blanket, Antonia Blanket, Susannah, Kinderhook Blanket, Finn's Blanket, and Lorelai (note - I have other baby blanket designs but they are not under the TanisKnits line and are not included in the sale. Offer good only with TanisKnits patterns, no exceptions).

Grab your needles, your positive thoughts, your superwash yarn and start knitting!

Embroidered Photographs

*Tap, tap.* This thing on? I'm delighted to announce the arrival of our baby girl, Astrid. Astrid arrived a bit earlier than her scheduled c-section and we are settling into life as a foursome. I'm healing up, enjoying the blissful newborn stage, and I'll be back to our regularly scheduled program soon.

More on that later, but in the meantime, I came across this interesting artist who embroiders on top of vintage photographs of unknown faces and was smitten with her colorful, unique work. I definitely wanted to share with you, dear readers. Original article found here.

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Found Photographs Embroidered With Colorful Thread by Julie Cockburnby Christopher Jobson 

“The Conundrum” (2016), hand embroidery on found photograph, all images courtesy of Flowers Gallery London and New York

London-based artist Julie Cockburn transforms vintage photographs by embroidering across their surfaces, adding bright pops of thread to portraits that are either black and white or have faded over time. Using found images from eBay and flea markets, Cockburn obscures the faces of strangers, layering the portraits with multi-colored dots, geometric patterns, or ovals in varying gradients.

Cockburn will exhibit work with The Photographers’ Gallery at The Photography Show presented by AIPAD March 30 through April 2, 2017 on New York City’s Pier 94. You can see more of Cockburn’s embroidered images on her Instagram and Facebook.

“Quizitive” (2016)

“Honeydew” (2013)

“The Secret” (2012)

“Point of View” (2014)

“The Orthodontist” (2014)

“Viewpoint” (2012)

“Morphine” (2014)

“Troublemaker” (2015)

Mother of Dragons Blanket

There are so many fine examples of girl power in literature. Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games, Elizabeth Bennett from Pride & Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Hermione Granger from Harry Potter, The Wife of Bath from The Canterbury Tales, Hester Prynne from The Scarlet Letter, Eowyn from The Lord of the Rings, Mulan... The list is endless and inspiring. While I always paid attention to strong female characters, I'm beginning to focus on it more since our daughter will be arriving in about a month. I want her to be strong-minded, to voice her opinions without fear of retribution, or forced to keep her statements to herself because of someone telling her "girls shouldn't have their own opinions." We speak to our son about strong male individuals often and I think it's important to give him role models who aren't only athletes and superheroes, but men who use their mind for the greater good.

One of my favorite female characters has been brought to the small screen recently. She's opinionated, she's strong, she's loyal, and she's a leader. Daenerys Targaryen from George R. R. Martin's Game of Thrones (also a hit HBO show) commands armies, walks through fire, longs to be the leader of the Seven Kingdoms, and is known as "The Mother of Dragons," due to her three dragon companions (read more about her here). She's absolutely fierce and "mother of dragons" has become a pop culture phrase similar to being called a "mama bear" when defending one's children.

In honor of dragon mamas everywhere, I'd like to introduce the Mother of Dragons Baby Blanket. Designed to be knit by a busy mama, this blanket is knit piecemeal square by square and to invoke an old-world design with a modern twist. It's easy to throw enough yarn in your bag for a square or two when you have limited time and room, or if you're like me, grab it to work on any time you get a few minutes to get a few rows in. 16 squares will get you a sizable 40" x 40" sized blanket, and the slip-stitch crochet seams done on the wrong side make for quick finishing. Topped off with an effortless garter-in-the-round edging means it's simple to size the blanket up or down with more or less squares if you wish.

Knitting up on US 7s in the soft and bouncy DK weight Dragonfly Fibers Traveller in the aptly named Daenerys color way, this yarn is superwash and a perfect shade of purple to remain gender neutral. Children LOVE texture, and the ribbing, textured vine pattern, and yarn overs sandwiched between garter ridges done on the bias make it a blanket they'll drag behind them wherever they go for years to come. Work the whole blanket in this amazing shade or make each square a different color!

Unleash your inner dragon mama and start knitting! The Mother of Dragons Baby Blanket pattern is available for download here.