Where have I been?

I just saw this on Lion Brand's blog and can't believe I've been missing it all these years ....

Seems that back in 2005, a wonderful woman had a brilliant idea to bring knitters out of their homes and out onto the streets. This thing is big! They have WWKiP Days all over the world .... now, altho I'd LOVE to be able to knit in London, or Buenos Aires, or even New York ... I'm here in my little corner of Northern Virginia ...

But that's ok because I can knit in public on June 13th and June 20th ... and no one can tease me (even my family) because I'm part of something bigger ... something that knows no borders .... the world knit in the round as it were.

So get out your needles and yarn and head outside ... check if there's a group event nearby or be brave and just knit out in your front yard ... or on the train ... or bus ... or in the car and know that you, too, are part of something bigger!

GWOY: June 2009 Swatches

As I've mentioned before, I LOVE to do swatches for the Great Wall of Yarn. The GWOY is erected twice a year at the semi-annual National Needlework Association's conferences -- one in January and one in June -- and I've participated since about 2003 (maybe even earlier) only missing occasionally (for things like moving to another state/country!). The swatches are from the latest yarns (either color, content or company) and are designed by the members of the Association of Knitwear Designers. Barry Klein and his helper, Heidi, from Trendsetter Yarns work hard to get the yarns out to us in a timely manner ... and it's always "christmas" when the box arrives!

Here are the swatches I made for the June 2009 convention in Columbus, OHIO ... [All the yarns this time (except the Dale) were "medium 4" as defined by the Yarn Standards committee.]

Baby Boutique (from Plymouth Yarns) is a microfiber/nylon with a wonderful hand. This feather 'n' fan swatch was knit on 7s, in the round to make a circular swatch.
Bambino from Be Sweet is a gorgeous organic cotton/bamboo blend that knits up really nicely on 7s. The swatch is a lace edging ... this would make a great summer top/sweater.
Camelino from Knit One, Crochet Too, is a sensual blend of merino/camel that knits up great on 7s. This cuff swatch is a mock-cable that decreases down to a k1p1 rib. The rich purple color is hard to photograph ... but trust me, this one is a beaut!
Dale of Norway's Heilo is a classic! I love using this yarn (and in fact, I made many of the designs in my knitting books from this stuff). Here, using #2 dpns, I knit a toe-up, mock heel flap (actually short-row heel) and loose bo at cuff. The stitch definition with this yarn is gorgeous.Kraemer Yarn's Perfection -- a washable blend of acrylic and wool -- is knit here on 8s. This yarn is so new it's not even on their web site yet! I did the "pointed eyelet lace" ruffle from Epstein's "Knitting on the Edge", decreasing down to sockinette and then to k1p1 rib ... I love the way the "lace" looks like leaves ... I think this would look wonderful as the cuffs on a sweater ... or even the hem as the lace doesn't curl but gives 3-d depth! This stuff really is wonderful to work with and I apologize to Kraemer for originally posting this wonderful yarn as one from Plymouth!

WooHoo: Elizabeth's Foreword

Here's a link to a beautiful foreword from a beautiful friend ... thanks Elizabeth!

Now this is cool ....

Here's a picture of the first United States president who knits!

Now, see, if this was a picture of Mr. and Mrs. Obama ... well, I just might have voted for him! According to Lion Brand, this was just after FDR and Eleanor got married -- now that truly is love .....

WooHoo: it's out!

Please celebrate with me .... Margot, my publisher at Hillside Education, just posted that my book, In His Image: Nurturing Creativity in the Heart of Your Home is available for pre-order (with a shipping date of June 15th). If you get a chance to read a copy, please let me know what you think. And my good friend over at 4real, Elizabeth Foss, kindly wrote the foreword for me!

Enjoy!

Free Pattern: Lent/Easter Basket

Wow ... I haven't posted here for a while! But my knitting needles have been so busy, I haven't had time to post.


Here is a Lent/Easter basket I designed for our family celebrations based on an idea in Hannah Fettig's Closely Knit -- a book I highly recommend you check-out: she has some amazing ideas in there!

I made the basket in maybe 3 hours -- finishing in plenty of time to set our table for Ash Wednesday (Feb 25, 2009), the first day of Lent on the Catholic Calendar. We kept our basket filled with an alms box, rosary box (for evening prayer) and flowers (to remind us that Easter -- and Spring -- WERE coming!).

Fettig's version of the nest was for a palm-sized nest with eggs for pincushions. I changed her design, working from the center-out, using thicker yarn and created a nest large enough to hold our Easter goodies: a family's worth of peeps, jelly beans, chocolate eggs, DVDs, family game and a parade of "custom-designed" hard-boiled eggs.

We're still using this basket for our Easter celebrations -- in the Catholic Church, Easter Sunday lasts eight days (till today) and the Easter Season is celebrated thru Ascension Thursday (when we believe Jesus ascended to Heaven) and ends on Pentecost (the day when the promised Holy Spirit comes down to us on Earth, the birthday of the Catholic Church!). Good thing I made this big!

I've decided to offer this pattern to you, my readers, as an Easter gift. It's mindless and fun knitting and really looks like a bird's nest in this glorious "dark sheep's gray" from Bartlett Yarns.

Easter Nest Basket (inspired by Hannah Fettig's "pin cushion nest" from her Closely Knit)

• needles (dpns/circs as needed): US size: 10.5, 13, 15
• yarn: 1 skein Bartlettyarns "Bulky" (80 yds, 4 oz.) in dark sheep's gray

w/ 10.5 dpns, CO 4 and join. K rnd;
k 2 in each st (8); k rnd on 8 sts;
k 2 in each st(16); k rnd on 16 sts;
*k1, k2 in next st*; rep from * to * rnd (24); k rnd on 24 sts;
*k2, k2 in next st*; rep from * to * rnd (32); k rnd on 32 sts;
*k3, k2 in next st*; rep from * to * rnd (40); k rnd on 40 sts;
*k4, k2 in next st*; rep from * to * rnd (48); k rnd on 48 sts;
change to US 13 needles
*k2, k2 in next st*; rep from * to * rnd (64); k rnd on 64 sts;
*k3, k2 in nest st*; rep from * to * rnd (80); k rnd on 80 sts;
working even on 80 sts, change to basket st --
rnd 1-2: *(p7, k3)*; rep from * to * rnd
rnd 3: k rnd
rnd 4-5: *(p2, k3, p5)*; rep from * to * rnd
rnd 6: k rnd
change to US 15 needles
rep rnds 1-6 of pattern; BO loosely (or do another few rnds to finish ball of yarn, then BO loosely).

Wash in hot water to felt; while drying, fill basket with plastic bags packed in to help shape (or use a large platter/bowl to shape). Here's a close-up of the side of the nest with the basket stitch just about-visible after felting.

ENJOY!

Sometimes I sew ...

I don't just knit (although my kids would tell you I do!). Here are some basic sewing books that I've found that are quite good ...

1. Alvarez, Beverley – Kids Can Sew: Fun and Easy Projects for Your Small Stitcher – Barron’s Educational Series, Inc (Hauppage, NY). 2004. Barron’s does a great job with producing craft books for kids that are attractive, well-laid-out and have fun, doable projects. This one focuses on using a sewing machine to make all kinds of fun things to wear and use. The directions are a bit minimal, so you do have to have a little experience with sewing to use this book.
2. Cantrell, Alice – Sewing with St. Anne – Little Way Press (Twain Harte, CA) 2002. I really like the clear, clean explanations of hand- and machine-sewing in this book. The projects are very cute and useful. Again, I think this one errs on the gender-specificity of its presentation. Boys should also learn to sew!
3. Cantrell, Alice – Tea & Cake with the Saints: A Catholic Young Lady’s Introduction to Hospitality and the Home Arts – Little Way Press (Twain Harte, CA) 2007. This book has great little projects to make a house a loving place of beauty of creativity.
4. Cherry, Winky – My First Doll Book: Hand-sewing – Palmer/Pletsch Publishing (Portland, OR). 1994. This innocuous book will have a child sewing his/her own dolls in no time thanks to the simple, clear and direct instructions. Creativity is encouraged by describing different ways to do the face, clothes, hair, etc. Don’t let its size fool you.
5. Cherry, Winky – My First Embroidery Book: A Name Sampler – Palmer/Pletsch Publishing (Portland, OR). 1994. A great first step with embroidery is stitching on gingham – the squares make for easy positioning of stitches and regularity of stitch size. Another great, easy to follow stitching book that has tons of great advice and information.
6. Cobb, Mary – A Sampler View of Colonial Life – Millbrook Press (Brookfield, CT). 1999. This is the kind of cross-curriculum book I love to use in my home-educating adventures: this one combines American History and needlework by explaining the history of the colonial sampler and teaching the reader how to make the sampler (from making the cloth through the stitching and on to creating other stitching projects like a copy book).
7. Davis, Tina – See and Sew: A Sewing Book for Children – Stewart, Tabori & Chang (New York) 2006. This is a fun, spiral-bound volume that starts with the basics and really teaches children (both boys and girls!) how to hand-sew. I particularly like the retro look of this book which gives the idea of hand-sewing as being a traditional, homey well-loved craft for children.
8. Fryer, Jane Eayre – The Mary Frances Sewing Book – LACIS Books (Berkley, CA) 1997. Reprint of a volume from the early 1900s that teaches how to sew through a story about a little girl and her imagination. Lovely, vintage feel with interesting projects, aimed at older girls or adults.
9. Gagnon, JoAnn & Corrie Gagnon – Stitches & Pins: A Beginning Sewing Book for Girls – Bunkhouse Books 2002. This is a great project book from a homeschooler and her daughter. The projects are useful and include great, clear instructions.
10. Kanamori, Miyako – Happy Gloves: Charming Softy Friends Made from Colorful Gloves – Penguin Group (New York). 2007. This is one of the cutest books I’ve seen in a long time. All the projects in this book – for making squirrels, chipmunks, ducks, dolls and even teapots – are created from knitted gloves! And are they cute!
11. Karol, Amy – Bend-the-Rules Sewing: The essential guide to a whole new way to sew – Potter Craft (New York) 2007. Fun and funky projects that gently lead the reader not only toward sewing but also give the reader the confidence to go beyond the projects and create your own!
12. Llimos, Anna – Easy Cloth Crafts in 5 Steps – Enslow Publishers (Berkeley Heights, NJ). 2005. This is a great fabric craft book for pre-sewing fun – the projects go from easy to hard (although none is too hard) and use glue, staples or tape to make the objects. This one is fun for the younger kids who are too little for real sewing. The projects are fun too!
13. McAllister, Buff – Sewing with Felt: Learn Basic Stitches to Create More Than 60 Colorful Projects – Boyds Mills Press (Honesdale, PA). 2003. The wonderful thing about learning to sew with felt is that you don’t have to worry about fraying edges and you can just worry about stitching the felt to the background. This book walks the reader through every step of the way – encouraging the reader to go beyond the wonderful projects shown. This is beautifully illustrated and the directions are clean and clear.
14. Nicholas, Kristin – Kids’ Embroidery: Projects for Kids of All Ages – Stewart, Tabori & Chang (New York). 2004. Nicholas was former creative editor for knitting yarn company Classic Elites Yarn and famous for her colorful designs. Here she brings her beautiful color-sense to a step-by-step book on embroidery, explaining all the basic stitches and suggesting amazingly fun projects. If you only get one book for your kids to learn embroidery, you should get this one!
15. Rothschild, Sharon Franco – Sweater Renewal: Felting Knits into New Sweaters and Accessories – Potter Craft (New York). 2008. So you have a pure wool sweater you accidentally shrank or you see a sweater in a thrift store that has beautiful colorwork but is the wrong size – this book will help fix the situation. Rothschild has over two dozen projects that demand that you find wool sweaters to shrink. These projects get the creative juices flowing to go beyond her clear directions and start creating your own recyclables.
16. Ryan, Jenny – Sew Darn Cute: 30 Sweet and Simple Projects to Sew and Embellish – St. Martin’s Press (New York). 2009. For simple, but fun, sewing projects, this book is one of the best. The projects are practical (glass case, laptop bag and bibs to name just a few) while developing a sewing skill-base. This book includes patterns for making a crochet-hook case and a multi-pocket crafting apron. Very cool!
17. Sadler, Judy Ann – Kids Can Do It: Embroidery – Kids Can Press Ltd (Tonawanda, NY). 2004. This is a beautifully illustrated, step-by-step guide to embroidering. An added bonus: the projects are cool!
18. Sealey, Maricristin – Kinder Dolls: A Waldorf Doll-Making Handbook – Hawthorn Press (Gloucestershire, UK) 2001. A classic! This one leads the reader step-by-step through the process of creating the beautiful cloth dolls that are a traditional gift for all children in Germany. These dolls are gorgeous and come in all sizes. Beautiful!
19. Stapleton, Dorothy – Kids Can Quilt: Fun and Easy Projects for Your Small Quilter – Barrons Educational (Hauppauge, NY). 2004. This book might even get me quilting. The projects are fun and look doable with the great illustrations and directions. My 8-year-old daughter can’t wait to start – always a good sign!

There are tons of others too ... but these are the ones I particularly like. The Winky Cherry and Tina Davis ones are lots of fun!