Book Review & Giveaway: Seamless Knits

Recently, I received a review copy of Seamless (or nearly seamless) Knits by Andra Knight Bowman.

I have to say, I love the idea of this book. I don't know about you, but I pretty much hate seaming anything. The book title says it all, the patterns require little to no seaming. That is a dream come true for me.

The book contains 19 patterns, and are separated by construction type: bottom up, top down, and side-to-side.

Most of the patterns are bottom up (there are 10 total in this section). There were lots of cute patterns in this section. The Deb Vest is a garter stitch vest that seems super easy. The Dixie Sweater has an awesome collar that I haven't really seen in a lot of sweater patterns, and the April Cardi is a simple loose cardigan that I could actually see myself knitting and wearing.

In the top down section there are four patterns. The one I liked was the Sandi sweater (seen in the cover photo above). I could totally see my knitting BFF, Jenni, whipping up that one up in a weekend.

Finally, in the "Somwhat Side-to-Side" section, there were five patterns. My favorite one there was the Patti cardigan. It's knit in different directions, and would be a good addition to any knitter's wardrobe.

So, if you hate to seam/finish and want to try some new sweater patterns, I think this would be a good book for you. The patterns are sized up to a 2XL, giving lots more people the chance to make and wear the sweaters!

Since I am not much of a sweater knitter, I will be giving away my review copy. Just leave a comment and you will be entered into a random drawing for the book! (please include your Ravelry name, or link to your blog so I know where to contact you should you win). I will be drawing the winner on Friday, 7/1! Good luck!

Note: I received this book as a review copy from Martingale & Company. For more information, please see my disclosure policy here.

Korknisse

For some time, I have been saving my wine corks. I knew just what I would use them for someday.

Finally, that day arrived. There are only two so far, but they will be multiplying soon.

It's my new friends, Korknisse! This pattern is super quick (and free!). I knit these two guys in just under an hour.

For mine I used some leftover Cascade 220 Heathers and some US Size 3 dpns.

I think I am going to make a bunch more to decorate the house around the holidays. Probably make some as little gifts too. Guess I better get a-drinkin'. :)

Happy knitting!

Elation

I introduce Elation:

It's an easy shawlette pattern. Just garter stitch and eyelets. No charts, no purling. Just easy, breezy knitting. Perhaps my favorite kind. :)

Elation is available as a Ravelry download for just $4.00. It takes a skein of just about any kind of sock yarn. Around 400 yards should do.

C'mon, you know you want it knit one.

Summer Sale

With the completion of the Mystery Shawl KAL, I thought having a little summer shawl sale seemed just right. I love knitting shawls in the summer. They are quick knits, easy to take with you, and usually not too bulky!

Snuggery Shawl



Now through 6/19, you can get 20% on all my shawl patterns that are available in my Ravelry shop.

Phineas Shawl

Just use the coupon code "summershawl" and your discount will be applied at checkout!

What are you knitting this summer?

Book Review: Knit Noro

Recently, a received a review copy of Knit Noro. This is one that I wanted to take a look at as soon as I heard about it. I love me some Noro, but basically use it to make Noro Striped Scarves. I love that pattern, but would love to do other things with the stripey goodness that is Noro yarn.

This book has a nice range of patterns. There are sweaters/vests, socks, gloves/mitts, hats, scarves and blankets. Basically, there is something for everyone in this book!

Like any knitting book, there are some things I would knit and some that I would be unlikely to make. But, I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised at the number of things in here that I would make. Even though I am not really a sweater knitter, I really like the Belted Cardigan Vest and I love love love the Fair Isle Cardigan. The Ridges Ripples Scarf and Leaf Lace Socks are two patterns that will definitely be going to the Ravelry queue.

Even if you are not a fan of Noro, I think you might like this book. There are lots of pretty patterns in here, and they would look good in just about any yarn.

Overall, I think this book is a good buy. There are 30 patterns in the book, and most of them are really really good. Especially if you like to knit sweaters and garments, then I think this is a most excellent book to add to your knitting library!

Knit Noro retails for $24.95. It's currently on Barnes & Noble website for about $16.

Note: I received this book as a review copy from SoHo Publishing. For more information, please see my disclosure policy here.

Jenni @ TNNA

So, my knitting BFF, Jenni, had the pleasure of going to TNNA this year. I was insanely jealous of her trip to Ohio, but she promised me good pictures. She did not disappoint.

Here are some of her pictures from the Kollage Yarn booth.

That is one fine-looking booth. The two scarves you see there in green and khaki are my new Bonnie Jean scarf, which will be available in the near future! Here's some close ups:

And here is Jenni with the sample she knit for me:

Both scarves were knit out of Riveting. Seriously, people. That recycled jeans yarn is so awesome. I am not much of a sweater knitter, but I have a very strong urge to knit a whole sweater out of it. Love love love.

Jenni also snapped a picture of my Winchester Cowl:

The cowl has a matching pair of mitts, and both are knit out of Kollage 1/2 N 1/2.

It was so fun talking to Jenni Sunday night, hearing about all the fun she was having at TNNA. I can't wait to see her tonight and pet some of the amazing yarn she managed to get her hands on.

Happy knitting!

And the winners are. . . .

Thanks everyone so much for joining me in the Mystery Medallion Shawl KAL. It was a whole lot of fun and I really enjoyed chatting and seeing everyone's progress.

Some stats about the KAL:

• 230 signed up for the KAL
• Currently there are 99 projects in Ravelry for the shawl
• 58 people completed it with pictures to show off

All those numbers totally shock me. I never thought I would get a response like that. It was so so very exciting!!

And, what's even more exciting is seeing who won some prizes (you can see pics of the prizes in this blog post)! Using a random number generator, here are the winners...

The winner of the ZigZag Stitches project bag is.....scarletpurls!

The winner of the KP Gloss yarn and a copy of my Snuggery Shawl pattern is....aslon!

And finally, the winner of the hand-dyed by me sock yarn is....drillis351!

Please check your Rav mailbox for a message!

Thanks again everyone. Stay tuned. Mystery Sock KAL is coming in August. New clue every Friday in August. More details coming in early July!

Feed Your Creativity!

I am so very excited to share that I have two designs that will be available through Kollage Yarns Feed Your Creativity Program!

The first one is the Bonnie Jean Scarf knit out of Riveting (love that yarn, you should try it!). The second are the Winchester Mitts, knit out of 1/2 n 1/2.

When the patterns are available I will definitely let you know. I am so excited to be a part of the upcoming year's program with some awesome designers like Anne Hanson, Carrie Sullivan, and Sandi Rosner.

Working with Kollage over the last few months has been so awesome. I really hope that you enjoy my new patterns.

Come back tomorrow to find out who won prizes in Mystery Medallion KAL! (I will be posting around 9pm Central Time!)



New KAL Coming - Mystery Socks!

After much pondering, I have decided that the Mystery KAL is just so much fun. The Mystery Shawl KAL has been so great to host, that I have decided to do it again...with socks!

 Take a Hike Socks

Not much of a sock knitter? Well, maybe now is a good time to try! The pattern will be for a top down sock. The clues will come out in four installments. Clues will be released on the following dates:

Friday, 8/5
Friday, 8/12
Friday, 8/19
Friday, 8/26

One sock will need to be complete by Friday, 9/2 in order to be entered into a drawing for a prize or two.

 Come Fly With Me Socks

I will be organizing sign ups at the beginning of July. Just thought I would share a little info to get everyone excited! More details coming soon!

Happy knitting!

It's an Addiction

If you are a regular reader of this blog, it's no secret that I am obsessed with ZigZag Stitches. I think about 95% of the project bags I own are made my Catherine. And that's the way I like it. :)

I have been trying to stock up on an extra project bag or two as Sock Summit approaches. Why? Because if it's anything like last time, there will be a major startitis frenzy going on while in Portland. And you gotta keep all those projects organized!

Anyway, last week, I got this gem that I had ordered the week before (which is mega fast, because it came from Canada!):

I couldn't resist the fancy French ladies. Even the inside of the bag is pretty.

 

This is drawstring bag is bigger than the normal size ones you usually see. You could definitely fit a large shawl or sweater parts inside it. Or 2-3 sock projects. Just sayin'.

Mystery Shawl KAL - Prize Recap

With the Mystery Shawl KAL ending on Friday (I will be drawing names at around 5pm Central), I thought it would be fun to look at the prizes one more time.

First up, there is the project bag from ZigZag Stitches:

Photo courtesy of ZigZag Stitches.

Then there are the two skeins of KP Gloss (and you will get a copy of my Snuggery Shawl pattern sent to you too!):

 

And then there is a skein of my hand dyed yarn:

Make sure you post a pic or link in the Ravelry group by Friday, 6/10 to be entered into the random drawing! Not on Ravelry, just leave me a comment with a link to the picture of your shawl and I will add you to the list!

Mystery Medallion Shawl

I have had such a great time seeing everyone working on their shawls.

As for me, I can now share some pics of my finished shawl:

I am so pleased with how this shawl came out. I will definitely be wearing this one a lot!

I hope everyone else is pleased with their results. Hopefully, it will make you want to do more mystery KALs with me in the future. :)

Happy knitting!

A little outdoor spinning

Yesterday was a beautiful day. It was a little hot during the day, but in the evening, it cooled off and got super breezy. I couldn't resist pulling the spinning wheel out on the patio:

I haven't been in much of a spinning mood lately. But, last night, it seemed like the right thing to do. Hopefully, we will have some nice weather again today and I can do the same thing today when I get home from work.

What's that I'm spinning? It's a Sheep to Shoe Kit from Blue Moon Fiber Arts in the Lettuce Knit colorway. Alex was asking me last night what it was going to become. At first, I thought I would knit it into a shawl. There is something like 8.5 oz. of roving, and I thought I could get a huge shawl out of it. But then I started thinking of those sweaters I see on Ravelry with the handspun yarn used for the yoke of the sweater. So, I don't know. Hopefully, it will become something awesome. :)

Happy spinning (and knitting)!