Planes, Trains & Automobiles + A Giveaway!

My son is obsessed with anything that moves - planes, trains and automobiles especially. I dare you to try to walk through our home and not trip on a matchbox car, step on a train or get your pant leg caught on an airplane wing. That's how it goes with having a boy around and I wouldn't have it any other way! Trying to keep a scarf on a young one can be next to impossible (I knit a scarf for one of my son's preschool friends a couple of weeks ago and she lost it within 24 hours), so I’ve designed a new cowl for kids that love things that go. Cowls are harder for them to take off and lose and if you use superwash yarn, easy to clean. I stash dove and came up with bright primary colors in one of my favorite yarns to use for kid knitting - Berroco Comfort. Comfort comes in many weights and even more colors, washes up beautifully and has generous yardage for not a lot of money (which keeps this frugal mom happy). I turn to it time and time again when knitting for my son or other little ones.

An easy color work knit (ideal if you're looking to start small and try a new technique), it incorporates corrugated ribbing, knitting in the round, using charts and basic Fair Isle. My son has been wearing his Planes, Trains & Automobiles Cowl for a week and I constantly get stopped and asked on the playground or at school where we got it! More importantly, he asks to wear it, keeps it on and LOVES that it has all his favorites modes of transportation marching around his neck. Win/win!

Download the Planes, Trains & Automobiles Cowl here.

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Now for a chance to win! One lucky reader will win a free copy of the Planes, Trains & Automobiles Cowl by answering this trivia question correctly: What was the first car ever made, where was it made and in what year? One winner will be randomly chosen on Thursday. This contest is open to readers worldwide.

Winners!

Congratulations to winners Barbara and Shadowlilies (check your email, ladies!) for winning free downloads of both the Magnolia Cowl and the Clara Shawl! My mom sent me a bunch of old photographs recently, and this one inspired the Clara Shawl:

I danced for years and lived and breathed all things ballet. This photo was taken from my Boston Ballet days and I'm trying on Clara's dress from the Nutcracker. I remember how incredibly thrilling it was and seeing this photo again after so many years brought me back to the excitement and joy in trying on such a famous dress. No doubt my mom has only memories of driving me back and forth to practice multiple times a week, helping me sew the ribbons on my pointe shoes and during Nutcracker season she probably wanted me to take up a sport closer to home with significantly less driving, but this picture reminds me of a wonderful day we spent together in Boston, culminating with me trying on this dress and her snapping away with her camera.

It was a wonderful day, thanks Mom.

What inspires your knitting, dear readers?

Restocked!

Good afternoon, dear readers! I just added 35 new knitting project bags in my Etsy shop today! Below is a little preview of a few of them...

I used a lot of fun, bright fabrics and while I wanted to keep them all, they're now available to you! Visit my Etsy shop here.

Clara, Magnolia & Giveaway, Oh, My!

Greetings, readers! We've spent the last week shivering and drinking tea like there's no tomorrow here at our house. Between the dreariness of the snow and the rain turning it brown and yucky, I've found myself reaching for bright fibers and fabrics to bring a little color back into our world. New project bags coming in my Etsy shop later this week, but for now, I have a few (old) patterns to share. Last year (and again this year), I was invited to be 1 of 2 designers involved in the Knitting Boutique's Luxury Fiber Club. 2014 was a year of accessories all knit in different luxury fibers in winter whites. 2015 is all tops, shells, shrugs and shawls knit in new fibers! 2 of the 3 patterns designed for last year are now available to non-club members, and I'm happy to bring the Clara Shawl and the Magnolia Cowl out of hibernation for you all. The Cameron Street Hat & Wristers will be available in April.

The Clara Shawl is a top-down, center back start shawl with an interesting lace panel with wrapped stitches marching down the center. The border is a meshy lace and the pattern is both written and charted out. Coming in just shy of 400 yards means you can easily make this a one hank project.

The Magnolia Cowl is a pattern chock full of techniques! Lace, wrapped stitches, back loop knitting, bobbles and faux cables make this knit-in-the-round cowl an exciting knit! Coming in at only 360 yards, this would be an ideal project for those hanks of sock yarn you have hanging around. This pattern is also written out and charted.

Now for the fun part! Two lucky readers will win BOTH patterns! Simply leave a comment in the comments section about which pattern you like better and why, and you're automatically entered in to win both patterns. Two winners will be chosen at random on Thursday and the contest is open to readers worldwide.

Clara Shawl available for download here, Magnolia Cowl available for download here.