New Vintage Lace (& Giveaway!)

UPDATE 5.16: Congratulations to book winner Rita! -------------------------------------------------

I often describe lace knitting to non-lace knitters as "there's lace knitting, then there's everything else." I find that more than any other type of knitting, knitting lace is like opening the flood gates of technique, complexity and a certain elegance that can only be achieved through hand knit lace. Like any other knitting technique, we can knit something very basic, an amuse bouche of sorts for knitting, then we can take it a step further, then another step further, and before you know it, you're knitting hardcore lace with ease. When I'm looking for a challenging knit (and let's face it, it's pretty rare that I get to knit something for myself), I look towards lace.

I was excited to get my hands on the new book by Andrea Jurgrau of BadCatDesigns, New Vintage Lace (Interweave, F+W; $24.99) coming out June.

I really like the idea behind this collection of 18 patterns - all vintage doily-inspired lace motifs from the past repurposed, modernized and turned into something wearable like a shawl, hat, scarf or wrap. Yes, doilies have their place and the motifs from vintage patterns are often stunning, but you can't wear a doily (I suppose you could, but that's a post for another day).

The first section has a few pages devoted to using different fibers and the benefits, as well as the typical amount of yardage used (helpful if you're not good at guessing and have a limited amount of yarn on hand), techniques and something I found interesting - different types of beads. I love putting beads in a special project (usually a shawl), but not being a beader aside from when they make an occasional appearance in my lace knitting, I don't know much about them. There are some lovely illustrated tutorials throughout the book and a great section devoted to the importance of swatching. Yes, I know. Everyone hates swatching, but wouldn't you rather spend a few hours doing so rather than frogging an entire project because you hated how the yarn looked?

There have been many books devoted to vintage lace and scads of patterns on Ravelry that have their roots in vintage doilies (Hemlock Ring, anyone?) but this book has an elegance and cleanness to it that I appreciate. Lace can be complicated, the charts overwhelming if you're not used to them and this book does a nice job of giving those charts breathing room and showing you multiple angles of the finished projects.

If you're a lace shawl knitter like me, I'd say this is a book worth adding to your collection. I want to knit about half the things in this book and next chance I get, I'll be knitting Blue Dahlia for myself!

That being said, let's do a giveaway for one lucky reader, shall we? If you're a regular reader, you know how much I love a good giveaway, so let's get this party started (this is a particularly nice giveaway, because you'll be getting this book before it's even out)!

Please leave a comment with the answer to this trivia question (US residents only, please): How many yards of yarn would you need to get from the Earth to the moon? Winner will be chosen at random on Friday, May 16th and will be contacted by email.

Lessard Cowl

So much for spring. 

I like to consider myself an optimist, especially this time of year when things start popping up from the ground. Suddenly a crocus appears and I get pumped for what's coming next. Tulips in my neighbor's yard? Let's Instagram it! Cherry blossoms? Let's show the rest of the country how lucky we are with our gorgeous cherry trees and put it all over Facebook! But this year? Ugh. Want to see pictures of the puddle that is my backyard? Didn't think so.

I can't remember a more dismal spring. It's monsooning outside my window as I type, my basement flooded (thank goodness my yarn is all in giant, sealed plastic bins) and instead of grilling out and sitting in the sun, we're turning up the heat and making tea. I'm not sure what to think about this weather, but it makes me grouchy and cold. I suppose the silver lining is we now get more time to wear our knits as we bundle up and brace ourselves against the chill as we step outside.

To fight off the general feeling of "blah" brought on by this so-called "spring season," I'm offering up a new pattern, the Lessard Cowl. Cascade has a new yarn, Tangier, an interesting blend of silk, cotton, rayon and acrylic. Coming in at a hefty 220 yards, it's easy to knock this cabled cowl out with 2 skeins. I'm always on the fence about variegated yarns, but there were so many color combinations to choose from, that I found a hard time honing in on just one. I gravitated towards "seascape," feeling that the blend of cool blues and neutral grays summed up this spring perfectly. What Cascade does on their website that I appreciate so much as a knitter, is they have each colorway swatched up so you can see what it'll look like when knit. I tend to shy away from variegated yarns because I don't know how they'll knit up. Oftentimes there's a surprise color in there I wasn't expecting, and that's not the kind of surprise I enjoy. Having these knitted swatches let me know exactly what I was getting. Thank you, Cascade!

The Lessard Cowl is knit in the round in one piece on US 8s. A tiered cable pattern gives the cowl an interesting texture and doesn't get lost in the color changes of the yarn. The fiber blend is ideal for these in-between seasons when we're not sure what we're going to find when we step outside. You can wear this year round, stuff it in your bag just in case, or knit one up for a gift for Mother's Day. It can be worn in a single loop as shown, or double it up for a more snug fit.

At this rate, we'll be wrapped in knitting until July.

Download the free pattern here.

Winner, Winner (chicken dinner)

Congratulations to winner Joanne! Joanne, please check your inbox for further instructions.

As always, keep checking back for more giveaways, new patterns and freebies!

Book Give Away!

Greetings, dear readers and (dare I say without jinxing us) happy spring? It's a lovely day outside! Check out this insanely gorgeous tree in my in-laws front yard that was just on the verge of bursting open on Sunday...

In honor of the cherry blossoms (I am a sucker for the Virginia and Washington DC cherry blossoms), let's do a giveaway, shall we?

Jane Patrick and Stephanie Flynn Sokolov recently released a book of 26 scarves entitled Woven Scarves.

While I don't weave, I think it's a fantastic talent to have. Weaving has been around forever and as a knitter, any kind of fiber craft or technique is aces in my book. The designs are meant to be woven on a rigid heddle loom. This kind of loom is a table top loom, so if you're a spinner looking to use up some of your spun yarn, someone who wants to get into weaving or have always been curious to take on a new craft, they seem to run about $130-$400, depending on the model.

There are a lot of beautiful scarves in this book, including the below:

All of the scarves in this book are woven with yarn, so if your stash is out of control *ahem*, weaving might be a perfect solution. They make stunning gifts and EVERYONE loves a handmade scarf.

To win, leave a comment with the answer to this trivia questions: How long is the world's longest scarf? Hint, it's in the UK.

A winner will be randomly selected tomorrow evening, good luck!