Plum Dandi Knits & Giveaway!

UPDATE 12/11/17: Congratulations to winner Bridget! Check your email! -----------------------------

I was excited to get my hands on a copy of Plum Dandi Knits - Simple Designs for Luxury Yarns by Alicia Plummer and Melissa Schaschwary (Interweave Press, $24.99, 2017). A collaborative effort between two designer friends (AliciaPlum and Dandiliongrl = Plum Dandi), this book contains 23 projects ideal for luxury yarns. I love the idea of making a book with your best fiber friend!

If you're like me, you tend to hoard the luxury fibers. Buying them is a treat, but sometimes I'm not sure what to do with them. Is that hat worthy of cashmere? Do I deserve that silk blend shawl? I am always happy to use fancy yarns for gift knitting, but I get stuck in the cycle of waiting for the exact right project to come along to knit for myself. Personal knitting is a rarity, so I very much liked the idea of this book.

Beautifully photographed outside, I love the contrast of the soft knits in nature. These are simple designs to live your life in and I appreciated the natural environment. With leg warmers, cowls, socks, shawls, hats, multiple sweaters, a blanket, and a headband, I enjoyed that there were a lot of smaller, non-fussy projects that could be worked up quickly with a variety of techniques represented. Check out all the patterns here.

I'm a fan of both Alicia and Melissa, having worked with Melissa for a project in Modern Baby Knits. This is a lovely collection and I have my eye on Sawyer, Langlade, and Exeter for a few last-minute knitting gifts for the holidays. I can picture this book combined with a hank of luxury fiber making a wonderful gift for any knitter this holiday season!

Let's give a copy of this book away, shall we? Answer the below trivia question in the comments correctly for a chance to win! Open to US residents only.

What are the 8 countries that produce the most cashmere?

A winner will be chosen at random on Monday, December 11th.

Part of Your World Cowl

The first time I saw Disney's The Little Mermaid, I sat in the theater in complete awe. The second the opening credits started rolling I was hooked. The bright colors, the music, the story, the fluidity of the animation. When it came out on VHS, my childhood friend Ashley and I would walk back and forth to each other's houses to watch it. Her house had a huge TV and a seemingly endless bowl of M&Ms and she and I along with her older sister would belt out the tunes along with the tape. It remains to this day my favorite Disney film and one of my random party tricks is being able to quote the entire movie.

This film inspired me to set my path, or at least set it as much as an 8 year-old could at that part of my life. I knew I wanted to go to school for animation, I knew I wanted to attend RISD, and I knew I wanted to animate for Disney Studios. While part of that dream came true (and I still harbor dreams about working for Pixar), my path twisted and turned until I ended up exactly where I'm supposed to be. My love of animation still burns brightly, and it's a joy to watch animated features with my son.

I've been wanting to design something inspired by The Little Mermaid for quite some time. I wanted it to be elegant, colorful, and something both my 8 year-old self and my 30-something self would get grabby hands over and want to wear. I knew it needed to be squishy, soft, and put a smile on my face every time I went to wrap it around my neck, a wearable ode to one of my favorite films of all time.

Introducing the Part of Your World Cowl, a Fair Isle extravaganza (it's me, of COURSE it would be Fair Isle!) named after the famous song where Ariel sings about wanting to become human, using only 2 balls of yarn. The gentle gradient of Freia Handpaints new Ombré Fingering Shawl Ball in 100% cruelty-free merino in Aurora, a mix of greens and blues, combined with Whisper, a very subtle neutral palette, brings to mind the sea and the beach. With shells, mermaids, fish, ocean waves, starfish, and sand dollars, if this doesn't get you in the mood to either hit the beach or watch The Little Mermaid, I don't know what will!

Knitting up on US 3s for the garter edging and US 4s for the Fair Isle work, this cowl knits up large enough to engulf your neck or wear like a fitted poncho. I've been wearing it in the mornings for a few weeks and it keeps me warm and snugly while talking with the other parents about our Disney memories from way back when. I find myself digging through the pile of knits in the front closet for it every day! It's my new favorite for certain.

Another exciting announcement about this cowl is that I've teamed up with Freia Handpaints and Webs to make kits available to all!!! I'm very excited about this partnership as I've been a customer and fan of both Webs and Freia for years! The Part of Your World Cowl is available through their online store here, as well as kits for the popular Ziggy Stardust here, and Nakia here. Please remember that while you shop and knit like a crazy person for all the loved ones in your life for the holiday season, it doesn't hurt to get yourself a treat, too!

Download the Part of Your World Cowl here, or find the kit here.

Thankful & Baby Rainbow Hat

I have a lot to be thankful for... The two sweet babies I get to guide through the world, a loving husband, wonderful parents, fantastic friends, clothes on my back, food in my belly, air in my lungs, roof over my head, a fiber stash any yarn snob would love, getting to do a job that I adore and am continually inspired by, and of course you, dear readers.

As a small token of my gratitude, I'd like to present you with the Baby Rainbow Hat. A free pattern for kids, this easy Fair Isle hat is perfect for stash busting, a gradient kit, or to use as an excuse to buy yourself some nice fiber to knit with. With a brim of twisted ribbing, this hat is knit in the round from the bottom up and takes the knitter through the full spectrum! Due to the stretchy nature of the brim and small children having rather large heads, this hat will fit almost any child.

Using leftover bits from my Magically Delicious Hat design, The Lemonade Shop's Sparkle DK is the absolute perfect yarn for this kind of hat. What kid doesn't love a sparkly rainbow (or what adult, if we're being honest)? This soft and glittery superwash is one of my favorite DK weight yarns to knit with, and the fact that it's dyed by my BFF Heather makes this hat even more special. I have enough yarn leftover to make an adult version of this hat, so perhaps in the new year when things calm down a bit I'll get on that.

Knitting up on US 4 circular needles, the stranded color work repeat is small, making this hat super-duper easy to make slightly larger or slightly smaller by adding or taking away repeats. Because it's designed to have a bit of a slouch, you can get away without having to tweak the decreases unless you wish to do so. With just a handful of yards needed in each of the colors, you finally have a use for all those bits and bobs of leftover DK you've been squirreling away.

Thank you to all who read my blog, purchase and knit my patterns, read my books, watch me on Knitting Daily repeats, take my classes both in person or on Craftsy, attend retreats where I teach, ask for a photo together, email me pictures of their FOs, or just drop me a friendly note saying hello. You make this job awesome and I'm honored to knit alongside you all.

Download the free Baby Rainbow Hat here.

Happy Thanksgiving!

xoxo

Floating Embroidery

Embroidery is beautiful. I love going to museums and seeing wonderful samplers that young girls made, or spying embroidered details on the cuff of an ancient shirt or petticoat. What I appreciate even more than this gorgeous handwork is when someone comes along and turns a very old craft into something modern and unique. Check out Russian artist Krista Decor's clever and amazing embroidery! Original article found here.

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Embroidery Artist Makes Her Designs ‘Float’ In Mid-Air By Using Tulle

Embroidery is a delicate art at the best of times, needing great accuracy and patience as well as a steady hand and eye for detail.

The Russian artist known as Krista Decor takes it to the next level by choosing to stitch her intricate designs on to a delicate fabric called tulle. Tulle is a lightweight netting that is so fine it has an almost transparent look, one that makes embroidery appear like it is suspended in mid-air.

Krista’s technique of haute couture embroidery was forged during an internship at V. Yudashkin, a fashion-house in Russia, and is inspired by nature. “Most of all in work with embroidery I like floral and animalistic ornament. Simply put, this is the world of nature of flowers and animals.” She writes. “When creating the decor, I use flat and voluminous embroidery which requires such materials as woollen yarn and cotton thread, beads, pearls, natural stones, gimp, embroidery with straw and silk ribbon. When combining these materials, a new design is born.”

Krista has an active Instagram page with all her new designs, including work in progress and some videos.