Winterwoods Cross Stitch Sampler

{image via Posie Gets Cozy}

Posie Gets Cozy just added this charming Winterwoods ABCs Cross Stitch Sampler to her online shop – and even though I’ve never done cross stitch – I immediately bought it. The little red mittens, the snowflake, the wellies and the coffee cup…the whole cabin in the woods theme will be perfect addition to the library/knitting room in the new house. Plus, it will be fun to try something new!

{image via Posie Gets Cozy}

Posie Gets Cozy is one of my favorite blogs in the whole entire world…written by Alicia Paulson, it is one the few blogs* that I check on a daily basis. Her writing style, her photography, her incredible talent with fiber and fabric, her studio, her insanely cozy home…it is all so inspirational!

{image via Posie Gets Cozy}

And for newbies such as myself, Alicia is kind enough to offer her favorite embroidery supplies for sale in her shop as well. Pick up a Winterwoods sampler of your very own here.  This weekend, be sure to pour yourself a hot cup of coffee and read Alicia’s blog here. Have a great weekend!

{*other daily reads: dona knits, garance doré, this is glamorous}

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knit. wear magazine, premiere issue 2011

I am in love with the cover of the new knitting magazine, knit. wear. It is so beautiful and simplistic…I am mesmerized by those gorgeously chunky, wine-colored cables.

Don’t you love when knit wear is both cozy and elegant?

The pattern is called Shaped Capelet with Braided Cables, by Erica Patberg., As always, click on any of the pictures to Ravel it, or buy the premiere issue here.

 

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Free Ysolda Teague hat pattern!

I love starting my Monday morning with some surprises, like this free Ysolda pattern over at Knitting Daily. The pattern is called Lee, and besides being both retro and glamorous, how fun does that construction look? Download the free pattern here; the Ravelry project page is here, and of course, Ysolda’s blog is here.

Happy Knitting! ~J

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For the very first time…

…I’m knitting a Jared Flood pattern. It seems odd to me that I’ve never knit one of his patterns before, considering how much I love them. I’m sure it won’t be the last time. ~J

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vintage vogue knitting

{Vogue Knitting Magazine, Fall/Winter 1960, $18}

How glamorous are these vintage Vogue Knitting books and magazines being sold by Alexandra over on Etsy?  There is the above Fall/Winter 1960 magazine, with the gorgeous red and gold holiday wrap.  How perfect are her red fingernails, cocktail ring and kitten eye-makeup?

{Vogue Knitting Book, 11th edition, 1948, $32}

Here’s another red-lipped beauty modeling a form-fitting red pleated dress – imagine paying 50 cents for a knitting book these days!

{Vogue Knitting Book, 12th edition, 1949, $32}

And who doesn’t need hand-knits for yachting?  I love how this blue sweater highlights how teeny-tiny her waist is!  Very Grace Kelly.  There are about one dozen vintage knitting books and magazines in Cleo the Rio’s Etsy shop and you can get them 25% off if you use the code  CLEOXMAS2010.  Happy browsing! ~J

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french grey

This is the birthday present I gave to Jaime this morning – a warm, cozy cowl knit in the softest virgin wool ever.  This literally flew off the needles in about 2 hours – from casting on to weaving in the two ends with a crochet hook.  These cowls have been in almost every mall display window lately, but why buy one when you can make one, right?If you are looking for a last-minute holiday gift, I highly, highly recommend this project!  The Twinkle Soft Chunky yarn is gloriously soft and easy to work with, and it blocked beautifully with just a few gentle tugs.  I want one in the clover color.  And black.  And maybe the urchin shade.

Here are the details:

• Pattern: Marian by Jane Richmond {free knitting pattern!}
• Yarn: Twinkle Handknits Soft Chunky in French Grey, 1 skein
• Needles: Size US 19″, 29″ circulars
• Size Made: one size

{Hint: the patten give you the option to work a mobius-like twist into the cowl, which I opted for.  Basically, you know how they say “make sure stitches are not twisted before joining in the round?”  Well kids – here’s your chance to get a little bit crazy!  Basically, you take the first stitch and give it one full twist around the needle, then join it in the round as you normally would.}

I love Jane Richmond’s patterns – they are so modern and fresh.  Be sure to stop by her blog, her Ravelry page, or her Etsy shop for some inspiration! ~J

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pinky-salmon.

When  my friend Rebecca told everyone she was going to have a little girl – 10 years after having her son! – I was pretty excited to do some baby knitting.  I asked her what her favorite color was, because I wanted her to have a special connection to the knits.  Her reply? “Pinky-salmon.”

Pinky.  Salmon.

Knitters – you and I both know that this was no. easy. task.  So after combing the yarn stores – both virtual and brick-and-mortar – for pinky-salmon yarn, I finally settled on Filatura di Crosa’s superwash Italian wool in the 1741 colorway.  It is half-way between a pinky-salmon and a vintage rose, but I think the real reason I chose it is because it matches my favorite Chanel lipstick: Rogue Coco in Mademoiselle:

We all have our inspiration, right?  I chose this particular pattern after seeing Alicia’s version in blue.  The pattern as written only calls for one row of eyelet lace at the bottom, but the two rows are much prettier, I think.  There are 20 rows between each button hole, so while knitting the rows for button hole 5, here’s what I did for the bottom of the sweater:

• Row 1: k4, p to last 4, k4
• Row 2: knit
• Row 3 (ws): knit
• Row 4 (rs): k5, *yo, k2tog* across, ending k5
• Row 5: knit
• Rows 6-10: continue in stockinette (keeping first and last 4 stitches in garter) until row 11.
• Row 11 (ws): knit.
• Row 12 (rs): k5, *yo, k2tog* across, ending k5.
• Row 13: knit.
• Rows 14 – 18: continue in stockinette (keeping first and last 4 stitches in garter)
• Row 19: knit
• Row 20: (button hole row) knit across to last 4 stitches, k1, yo, k2tog.
• Rows 21-22: knit.  Bind off all stitches loosely.

It was difficult to find buttons that matched this yarn color, so I chose creamy, winter-white buttons, which compliment the hat and socks that I also knit as part of this set:

The sleeves were knit to be a little shorter than normal; babies like to chew on their hands, and despite the yarn’s softness, I didn’t want her chewing on wool.  This sweater will be a nice, warm layer over a soft t-shirt.

I am in love with this yarn.  I would knit with it again in a heartbeat!  Here are the project details:

• pattern: Eyelet Yoke Baby Cardigan, by Carole Barnys {free knitting pattern!}
• yarn: Filatura di Crosa Zara (2 skeins in colorway 1741)
• needles: size US 4 32″ circulars used as straight
• size made: newborn

Hopefully Rebecca will love her pinky-salmon sweater as much as I enjoyed making it.  ~J

 

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warm and wooly…

This past weekend, I cast-on a Ravelry favorite, Saroyan.  My needles were craving something warm and substantial after knitting with lace-weight yarn for so many months.  I am using the Ashland Bay hand-spun, a generous gift from my former English professor.  The pattern is flying – I knit the increase part of the pattern in one day, which is about 1/3 of the scarf.

Here is a detail of the leaf border – the mohair in the yarn slightly obscures the stitch definition, but I think it looks wonderfully rustic that way.  I am also in love with the colors in this yarn – heathered shades of navy, olive green and eggplant all beautifully blended together.  This scarf will be a perfect match for my navy pea-coat this winter.

Saroyan is a free knitting pattern, which can be found here, in case you want to knit along. ~J

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Ysolda’s knitting patterns are on sale!

In honor of her 25th Birthday, Ysolda is sweetly offering 25% off all of the patterns in her Ravelry shop.  I went ahead and splurged on the pattern for the Ishbel scarf she’s wearing in the photo above – which was £2.25GPB, or $3.45.

The sale is today only, so don’t dilly-dally.

Happy Birthday, Ysolda!  ~J

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hooded baby towels…

Jaime and I are always looking for fast and cute baby projects around here – and this hooded baby towel featured over at The Purl Bee sure does fit the bill nicely!  The vintage looking Blue Posies fabric they used is totally sweet for a girl, and they paired it with Michael Miller’s soft Organic Terrycloth.  For a boy, I might back the terrycloth with this charming Three Little Pigs fabric:

A whole stack of these would be perfect for my adorable nephew, Jack, who is totally in love with his new pool.  Here is a picture of his very first swim, taken just last week:

He needs something soft and cozy to dry off that little Buddha-belly of his! ~J

{Towel project page here, fabric can be bought here and terrycloth here.}

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