I hope that long after I'm gone, as my grandchildren and great-grandchildren make their way through this world, that they will be wrapped in hand knits made with love from me to them. I have a few knit and crocheted things I've inherited from my grandmothers and they mean so much to me. Snuggling under one of Grandma Myrt's afghans is the closest I can get to getting a hug from her. Holding a bright pink hat Grandma Irene made for me brings back snowy afternoon childhood memories. Handmade things are left behind when those we love are gone and knowing how they were made and taking care of them until they are passed to the next generation is an honor.
I had an idea many, many months ago to put out an ebook of baby knits as a group project among friends, including myself, Kate Gagnon Osborn, Connie Chang Chinchio, Melissa LaBarre and Margaux Hufnagel. The knitting design world is a small one, with most of us being female, many of us mothers and many of us friends. I so admire these women… Working moms, wives, creative minds, yarn lovers… These are my people and I love them fiercely.
The idea was rather simple - we'd each design 3 garments, have our children be our inspiration and models and gather these 15 designs together in an ebook. We all work in the knitting field, whether we're running a yarn company and taking care of our daughter (Kate), designing feverishly while awaiting the birth of our second daughter (Melissa), designing while flying across the country for work and missing our daughter and son (Connie), designing while chasing after our son (Margaux) or designing late into the night while editing knitting books and making knitting class lesson plans while my son sleeps across the hall (me). I have spent time with all these incredible, talented, wonderful women in real life and having us all work on one big project like this together in the virtual world was an example of mom power. This book is a labor of love for our children, for each other and for ourselves as mothers.
I have 2 garments and a baby blanket for my 3 projects:
The Antonia Blanket is a cable-lovers dream. Knit in Tanis Fiber Arts Green Label Aran Weight (superwash), it brings to mind sunny days walking in the woods with my son, Callum.
The Ronan Pullover is my favorite of my 3. Fair Isle knitting is my favorite technique and I love the bold, bright Scandinavian motifs marching across the mid-section and sleeves. Knit in the round from the top down in Alchemy Yarn's Temple (superwash), this would be easy to put the wearer's favorite colors into the design.
The Callum Vest is a surprisingly quick knit. Knit in Sublime's Extrafine Merino Wool DK (superwash), the back is all stockinette. It's knit from the bottom up in the round, then splits for the armholes and v-neck. I love the wrapped stitches and "manly lace" panel climbing up the front.
Some of my other favorites in this book...
Melissa LaBarre's Sid Scrappy Hat (who doesn't love a kid in stripes? AND it's a great stash buster!)
Kate Gagnon Osborn's Bluebell Pullover (I started knitting this for my son in darker colors. LOVE that "envelope" technique at the shoulders!)
Margaux Hufnagel's Boppy Cover (everyone has a Boppy but no one has been clever enough to design a hand knit cover for it until now!)
Connie Chang Chinchio's Velvet Hoodie (every little girl's dream is in this adorable flared pullover!)
That's just a taste of the 15 unique designs in this ebook. You can see them all and purchase the collection here. Be sure to join our From Mama, With Love group on Ravelry. We're kicking off a KAL very soon!
I am so proud of this collection, of these women, of what we banded together to work on and create for our children.
The collection is going on an exciting blog tour, won’t you follow along?
Friday, April 4th, Carol Sulcoski of Black Bunny Fibers Monday, April 7th, Melissa LaBarre of Knitting School Dropout **Designer of FM,WL! Tuesday, April 8th Tanis Gray of Tanis Knits **Designer of FM,WL! Wednesday, April 9th, Connie Chang Chinchio, **Designer of FM, WL Friday, April 11th, Susan B. Anderson Monday, April 14, Kate Gagnon Osborn of Things for Charlie (And KW) **Designer of FM, WL! Wednesday, April 16, Vickie Howell, Host of Knitting Daily Friday, April 18, Carol Feller of Stolen Stitches Monday, April 21, Kate Chioccio of Dragonfly Fibers Wednesday, April 23, Julie Crawford of Knitted Bliss Friday, April 25, Katie & Kara of Nice & Knit Monday, April 28th, Ysolda Teague Guest Blog Post! Tuesday, April 29th, Karida Collins of Neighborhood Fiber Co. Friday, May 2nd, Cecily Glowik McaDonald of Winged Knits Monday, May 5 - Carrie Bostick Hoge of Maddermade Wednesday, May 7th - Thea Colman of Baby Cocktails Friday, May 9th - Kate & Courtney, of Kelbourne Woolens Tuesday, May 13, Jessica Correa, of Dream in Color Yarn Co. Thursday, May 15, Kristen Kapur of Through the Loops Tuesday, May 20, Tanis Lavalee of Tanis Fiber Arts Friday, May 22, Alana Dakos of Never Not Knitting