9.28.2011

The Beauty of Handmade


As many of you know, we are going to be welcoming a 
new baby boy into our family in November...which I am so excited about!
A little over a week ago, I had my baby shower and received so many wonderful gifts from family and friends.

Among these presents, were some very special handmade things given to me by my two sisters-in-law.
These two girls are amazingly talented and thoughtful.

My one sister in law, Erica, knit this beautiful sweater for our baby boy. This is the Rufus Textured Cardi from the book Vintage Baby Knits knit from Knit Picks City Tweed dk. So adorable!
 And in my favorite color too!



She also made this AMAZING mermaid for my daughter as a "big sister present". This mermaid is seriously one of the cutest knitted things I've ever seen. There is so much detail.. I know she must have put a lot of time into it. 

The pattern is called Mermaid from the book Dream Toys. I love this book and everything in it. 


My daughter's 4 year old dark-haired cousin has a matching doll with brown hair so that they can play mermaids together. So very sweet.


And as you can see.. my daughter loves it! They have been inseparable friends lately. 
There was a moment of panic in our house when mermaid fell tragically behind my daughter's bed.. but she was soon rescued.. and all is well again. :)




My other talented sister-in-law, Malaree, made this amazing handsewn jacket for our new little one.


But I should mention... it also came with matching appliqued onesies...


AND reversible pants...


Yes. And EVEN matching shoes.


Does it get any cuter than that?

She seriously outdid herself with this one. I cannot wait to try this outfit on our baby!

These handmade gifts mean so much to me. It makes me feel so special that someone would spend the time to make these beautiful things for us. I truly appreciate all of the time and effort that went into each of these items, and they will be treasured for years to come.

Thank you so much!



9.20.2011

All Together.. At Last!


A few weeks back, Hannah sent me all of her book samples just in time to display at a Coastal Knits preview event at one of my local yarn shops, Ranch Dog Knitting.

It was so fun to see the entire collection all together in one location!


It also was wonderful to finally see Hannah's east coast knits in person. 
..which fueled my unbridled obsession with this pattern...



It's the coziest, comfiest, most wearable cardigan ever. I want one. Now.

The Water's Edge Cardigan is also adorable!


And I thought it matched quite nicely with my Cambrian Cowl.
(For those of you who have been asking, the buttons are from HERE.)


I was also quite enamored with the beautiful side shaping on the Bayside Cardigan
It was even more striking in person.


Here is a 32" Gnarled Oak Cardigan knit up in the Bronze Age colorway from Pigeonroof Studios
It's a bit hard to tell in this picture, but it's a rich coppery color. 




I often like to get my patterns test knit in an alternate color or yarn. 
Here are my two samples of the Cambrian Cowl. 

The cream version is the original from the book knit up in Alpenglow Yarn Big Fat Alpaca
The blue version was knit in Misti Alpaca Tonos Chunky
Both are excellent options for this design.


Here are two versions of my Rustling Leaves Beret. The lighter green is the original Tactile Fiber Arts version, but the tonal green beret was knit up in Madelinetosh Tosh Sock in the Wren colorway.

Any sock weight yarn will work will work for this pattern, but Tosh Sock is an excellent alternative.


For the Sand and Sea Shawlette, I had my second version test knit in Madelinetosh Prairie in the Cove colorway.  I wanted to show what this design looks like knit in one main color. Since Cove is a beautiful blend of browns and blues, it still evokes the feeling of the Sand and Sea combining on the shoreline.

This is such a versatile design. Any combination of lace or sock weight would be great for a light summery shawlette. But you could even do a thicker yarn for a more substantial shawl.


There will be two Coastal Knits trunk shows traveling the country very soon! 
Please check the schedule here to see if it will be appearing at a yarn shop near you! 


9.18.2011

It's Feeling Real



Over the weekend, I spent some time looking over the proofs for Coastal Knits trying to catch any last minute errors before it goes to press.


Seeing it in these printed forms, although they are rough, makes this feel very real. 



I am so excited about this book!!!!!!!!



9.16.2011

One Planet Yarn And Fiber Drawing Giveaway!


In my latest podcast episode, I had the privilege of sharing a story from  designer Anne Hanson of knitspot.com about an incident surrounding her lovely Les Abeilles shawl. Pattern found HERE.

Just like all of her patterns, this shawl is just beautiful! 
And I think it would be a perfect pairing with this soothing Sea Wool yarn. 

I love this blend of colors!



This shawl project could be yours!

Enter to win this skein of Fleece Artist Sea Wool (provided by One Planet Yarn and Fiber) along the lovely Les Abeilles shawl pattern (by Anne Hanson) by leaving a comment under this post.

Please remember to include your contact information in your comment... 
and only one comment per person please!

A winner will be announced here on October 1. Please check back then to see if you have won!

Listen to Episode 58 for a special September promotion from One Planet Yarn and Fiber!

Drawing Now Closed! 
Congratulations to the winner, Fibercrafter!

9.12.2011

Coastal Knits Pre-Order Giveaway!


Remember in the last post when I mentioned a little something about this?



Yep! This is one fantastic giveaway! Everyone who pre-orders a copy of Coastal Knits is automatically entered to win this fabulous basket of yarn! All of these yarns were hand selected by us for use in our Coastal Knits projects!



Here's what's inside!

(From top left)
-2 skeins of Tactile Fiber Arts Wild Crafted series skeins dyed in eucalyptus leaves. 
This is enough to knit 2 or more Rustling Leaves Berets.

-4 skeins of Madelinetosh Pashmina in Isadora.
This will make the smallest size of the Wildflower Cardigan.

This is the yarn Hannah used in her Water's Edge Cardigan.

-1 skein of Pigeonroof Studios Cassiopeia DK in Bronze Age.
This is the yarn used in my Gnarled Oak Cardigan.

This is enough to knit a Cambrian Cowl.

-10 skeins of The Fibre Company Organik in Heather Moorland. 
This is enough to knit the two smallest sizes of the Rocky Coast Cardigan.

I know that this basket is going to make one of you knitters very happy! 
We hope that you enjoy our new book, Coastal Knits, along with these amazing yarns we've chosen to work with!

Remember.. to enter the drawing, pre-order your copy of Coastal Knits HERE on our website!

Thank you to everyone who has pre-ordered thus far! We really appreciate your enthusiasm and support!



9.09.2011

Coastal Knits- Available for Pre-order!


Guess whaaattt?
Finally! After much work behind the scenes...Our new book, Coastal Knits, is now ready for pre-order!



The scheduled ship date is mid-October, but if you pre-order your copy now, you can download our 
special Coastal Knits pre-order package!



The download package includes:

-An automatic entry into our Coastal Knits Drawing Giveaway! Look at all this yarn! 
(More info about what's included coming soon.)



-A book excerpt containing these two patterns for you to get started on right away! 


Rustling Leaves Beret by Me :)

Rocky Coast Cardigan by Hannah

-2 coupons for you to use in purchasing pdf pattern downloads here at Never Not Knitting and from Hannah at Knitbot.

-AND--- A special Coastal Knits "shopping list" bookmark! This is a handy bookmark that you can take into your yarn shop to help you pick out yarn for your projects, and later you can use it to keep your place in the book!

You'll have lots of fun things to keep you busy while your waiting for your copy to arrive in the mail!

Meanwhile, please also check out our new Coastal Knits Ravelry Group! This is a great place to chat and share pictures with other knitters who are working on Coastal Knits projects. 
You can also ask Hannah and me questions about the patterns, and even participate in a Coastal Knits KAL!

We'll be starting a knit-a-long for the Rustling Leaves beret and the Rocky Coast Cardigan very soon for all of you "pre-order..ers". :)

All of the pattern pictures are now up on  Ravelry! So start queuing up your favorites!

Visit our brand new website, CoastalKnits.com, for more information about the book, ordering, and the patterns themselves. There is even wholesale information for all of you shop owners who are interested in carrying Coastal Knits in your store!

We are so excited about Coastal Knits! We hope that you love it!


9.05.2011

Pulling At Strings Drawing Giveaway


Are you looking for a new fall sweater project?


Well, look no further!

To enter to win these 4 gorgeous skeins of Three Irish Girls Springvale Dk in the Tree Fort Colorway provided by Pulling At Strings, along with the beautiful Lucette Sweater pattern by Amy Herzog, leave a comment under this post!

Remember to include your contact information in your comment.. and only one comment per person please!

A winner will be drawn and announced here on September 15. Please check back then to find out if you are the winner!

Someone is going to have one seriously beautiful sweater for Autumn!

To learn more about Pulling At Strings online yarn shop and to hear a great story from designer, Amy Herzog regarding this unfortunate incident with the Lucette Sweater...,please listen to my latest podcast episode!



Drawing Now Closed! Congratulations to Kellie, the winner! 





9.02.2011

NeverNotKnitting Podcast : Episode 57 : The Trouble With Seatbelts

Episode 57




Shownotes:
























The winner of Episode 56's VK Live Drawing Giveaway is Lorrie and the Alpenglow Yarn Drawing Giveaway winner is Avila! Congratulations!


*Please check back soon to enter the Pulling At Strings Drawing for Episode 57!


Receive 10% off of all Pulling At Strings orders by entering code "NNK10" in the checkout process.
This offer is valid until midnight on October 1 at pullingatstrings.com and is exclusive to the Never Not Knitting podcast listeners and blog readers.

Click HERE to download the Episode 57 MP3 file.





9.01.2011

Episode 57 Podcast Delay



Hello everyone! Unfortunately I have come down with a horrendous head cold and won't be able to record the new podcast episode today. I am hoping that by tomorrow my voice will sound much better. 
Thank you for your patience!