By Hand, With Heart ... hand-knit designs: Amazon

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Browsing Amazon's upcoming knitting titles ...

I came across this one that is ready for pre-order and scheduled to be published in April/May.

More Knitting in the Sun: 24 Patterns to Knit for Kids, edited by Kristi Porter. The designs are all knit in summer-type yarns (cottons, linen, etc) for kids to wear in the summer-time. So the knitting is summer-able and so is the wearing.

Don't you love this cover .... don't you love the sweater in the middle?

That would be mine! Cool, huh?

I knew the book would be coming out this spring from Wiley but that's all I'd heard. Browsing Amazon's knitting books (ALWAYS looking for more to add to my library) ... I came across this. Was I thrilled! I also like the other designs on the cover and can't wait to see the whole book ...

I'll be posting more details as the book nears publication, but so far this is all I can share!

Enjoy the journey

Mary C. Gildersleeve

By Hand, With Heart -- hand-knit designs
bhwh.mary@gmail.com

Tuesday, September 07, 2010

Knitting Tools can come from the playroom, too ....

I posted a six weeks back about some knitting tools that are worth spending the bit of extra for to ensure long-lasting quality. I have since upgraded my yarn-swift to a lovely wooden one from KnitPicks ... it was on sale and does a spectacular job while also looking lovely (a win-win, yes?)

But there are times when there are less expensive alternatives than buying the official, knitting-company made tools. Case in point: blocking mats. For $20, I can get nine 12-inch square "blocking mats" that are 3/8" thick and white. This would give me a 3x3 square of block-ability. Sounds great and not a bad plan. For another $3, I can get 60 t-pins to use with the blocking mats. Not too bad a deal and KnitPicks is always a good resource for these tools.

That said, I did an Amazon search (my go-to spot for online shopping) and found that I could get a set of four 24-inch square playmats that are 3/4" thick and blue. This gives me a 4x4 square of blockability (with an individual size of 2x2) for $23. I can also get 100 t-pins for $3. So, economically and usefulness dictated that I go with the Amazon one. And the mats/pins work like a charm:

Happy knittin'