On sale at last

I hope you aren't sick of hearing about it yet, but today is a red-letter day.  My new book, Sock Yarn Studio: Hats, Garments, and Other Projects Designed for Sock Yarn, is as of this writing in stock and ready to ship at Amazon.com.

Wow.

I first envisioned this project three or more years ago, right after I finished my previous book. Things don't always move fast in the publishing world, but the big day is finally here. And it was worth the wait.

I'm really proud of this book, in particular, because of the three books I've worked on, this one has the most me in it. For example, there's a technical section that talks about sock yarns and how to work with them, and I've always liked giving people information and insight that they can use to make their knitting more enjoyable.

There are several patterns knit in my own Black Bunny Fibers yarn, including this fabulous stranded pillow cover, designed by Barb Brown:

Cushington Square, designed by Barb Brown

and this short cowl that I designed.

Lisatra Short Cowl, designed by Carol Sulcoski

Several of my very dear friends contributed patterns, like the aforementioned Barb Brown, Veronik Avery,

Nuit Blanche, scarf version, designed by Veronik Avery

Franklin Habit,

Roselein Hat, designed by Franklin Habit

and Laura Grutzeck, and I could go on and on, but I'd run out of space.

Chambourcin Halter, designed by Laura Grutzeck

I was able to do some things I think are fun, but aren't always done for practical reasons in books, like show a few patterns in alternate colorways, like the Compostela Scarf:

Compostela Scarf, knit in two colorways, designed by Carol Sulcoski

which is shown in a solid version and a version knit in a slow self-striping yarn. I think it can be really helpful for knitters to get a feel for how different types of yarn can affect the finished project.

Of course my lovely, hilarious daughter is one of the models, and you can imagine how that warms my heart:

Lizalu Blanket, designed by Carol Sulcoski

I got to use yarn from companies I love, like Koigu (and Regia, and Lorna's Laces, and Quince & Co., and Swan Island, and ......)

Anu Baby Hat, desigend by Carol Sulcoski

I was able to guide the selection of the photographer, and I simply could not be happier with the breathtaking photographs Carrie Bostick Hoge took -- which you'll see throughout this post.  (I'm also very pleased to have had a chance to meet her and call her friend, and to know that her bee-yoo-tiful baby girl is also a model in the book -- see the baby cap photo above!)

Flipping through the book I see so many intangible "footnotes" -- a colorway named after one dear friend (waves to piggeh), a pattern named for another, help from unexpected quarters in thinking up pattern names when my creative well was running dry, the knowledge that still other friends helped knit and finish some of the items, seeing quilts used in the photography that were loaned by my friends at Spool -- that make me so happy when I think of them.

Kitteh Mittens, designed by Wendy Johnson

It's here.  I love it. I am so grateful for all the help I had from my wonderful friends, old and new, in making it happen.  I hope you love it, too.




All photographs reproduced with permission from Sock Yarn Studio by Carol J. Sulcoski, copyright 2012 Lark Crafts, an imprint of Sterling Publishing, Inc.

Check out some photos

of projects from Sock Yarn Studio on the Lark Crafts blog here.

No-Bull Book Review: Indie Socks by Chrissy Gardiner

I am embarrassed that it has taken me so long to write up this review of Chrissy Gardiner's new book, partly because she sent it to me at the beginning of the summer, but also because, joy of joys, it also features a sock in Black Bunny Fibers yarn. So with abject apologies for being so slow, let's finally take a look at Indie Socks: Knitting Patterns and Dyer Profiles Featuring Hand-Dyed Yarns (Sydwillow Press 2012; MSRP $28.95).

Gardiner -- owner of Gardiner Yarn Works, with an extensive collection of patterns sold on-line and in yarn shops -- has focused on 24 dyers, large and small, well-known and not as well-known, readily available and available less widely. She designed a sock pattern for each individual yarn, and presented it, along with a profile of the indie dyer. Fans of well-crafted sock patterns, in particular, those knit in handdyed and handpainted yarns, rejoice! It's a great collection of patterns and you may also find yourself intrigued by some new (or new-to-you) handdyers to augment your stash.

Gardiner begins with a brief section on selecting handdyed yarns, and a description of what she means by "indie dyer." She then divides the 24 patterns of the book into three sections based on the coloring of the yarn:  Mild, Flavorful and Spicy.

The Mild section highlights semisolid and nearly solid yarns, and therefore uses more intricate patterning.  Hard to pick favorites in this section of 14 good-looking patterns, but I was particularly taken with the following:

Spyglass Socks (yarn by Alpha B Yarn)

the Spyglass Socks, with a wool/silk yarn by Alpha B Yarn in a dreamy lilac;

the Calpurnias, with Schaefer Nichole yarn; and

the Natsa Sukka socks, which use 6 different shades of a more rustic shetland-type yarn (dyed by Elemental Affects).

The Flavorful section includes what I would term "muted multicolors," yarns with a bit more going on with them than a semi-solid, but not the really crazy color combinations of the most zany handdyes.  Here's where you'll find Nami, the lovely pattern in a feather-and-fan pattern with simple wavy cuff:

These are knit in Black Bunny Fibers Superwash Merino Classic in Kathy's Cape

(the blue color reminded Chrissy of the ocean too; "Nami" is the Japanese word for "wave").

Other lovely patterns in this section include

Flamethrower (yarn by the Unique Sheep);

Owenburger (yarn by Lavender Sheep);

Deux Tourbillions (yarn by Mountain Colors; Crazyfoot base);

Rippleside (yarn is Pagewood Farms Alyeska); and

and Gelato, featuring Iris Schreier's Artyarns yummy Cashmere Sock yarn base.

Last up is the Spicy category, with 7 patterns designed for the wildest of your handpaints. Check out Archery, in Abstract Fiber's Supersock:

Seesaw (yarn by Cephalopod):

Muir Woods (yarn by Blue Ridge Yarns):

and Soda Fountain (Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock):

There are lots of photographs, including close-up shots of details; charts where necessary; detailed patterns; and a glossary of techniques (many with clear photographs walking the knitter through them). After the pattern section is a profile of each dyer (done by Donna Armey), with a closer look at their dyeing process, inspiration and so on.

I'm always happy to see patterns designed especially with handpaints in mind, and this is a well-presented, versatile collection of terrific sock patterns to help you use up those beauties in your stash. You can purchase the book at Amazon.com, download it via Ravelry or order a signed copy directly from Chrissy here.

Summer travels

I know there is a common perception (i.e. in the mind of, say, various of my family members) that I basically spend my days sitting around knitting and surfing on the computer.  Well, I do some of that, but lately, the days have been so jam-packed and busy that before I knew it, I realized it had been quite a while since my last blog post.

One reason the month of August seemed like a whirlwind for me was traveling. In between shore trips with my family, I flew out to Chicago to teach at Stitches Midwest. Whenever I go on teaching trips, I am lugging so much stuff I don't take my good camera. So you'll have to put up with photos from my cell phone, like this one of the view from my hotel room:

One of the things that freaked me out at first about the room was this:

It's a screen that is somehow built into the mirror of the bathroom. It shows whatever is on the TV, or if you don't have the TV on, it shows the events that are going on at the hotel. (In fact, if you look really hard, you can see that it is advertising a talk by Nicky Epstein.)  Very Big Brother but also kind of cool....unless it comes on while you are using the toilet, in which case, better tip the chambermaid well.

I had a wonderful time: good students, lots of fun knitting friends to catch up with (waves to Shannon Okey), and Brooke Nico (lace designer extraordinaire and co-owner of the Kirkwood Knittery, in St. Louis) was my most charming roommate.

Brooke participated in a designer challenge on the first day of Stitches involving knitted skirts, and you can see her wonderful design next to her, along with some of the others.

As usual with a Stitches event, there is a preview of the vendor's marketplace the night before the marketplace is open to the public  Here is what the line looked like Friday morning:

When I got to the show floor, I wasted no time meeting and greeting some of my favorite people. I promised that I would stop by Lost City Knits to meet the lovely Denise:

This is us at the Lost City booth.  (Wow, I already look tired and this was taken Friday!)

Of course I visited my pals at WEBS, and got to check out the two newest yarns from WEBS.  This is Buckman, a gorgeous chainette wool-silk blend:

I was also tempted by the new sportweight wool, too.....nom nom nom. All too soon, the weekend flew by and I was back at O'Hare:

I love this underground walkway with all sorts of cosmic lighting effects....or maybe it was fatigue and yarn fumes that made the walls look wavy?

Now all the summer travel is done and we are getting ready for the kids to go back to school and for the big fall knitting season. Late summer is a cruel joke for people in the industry because there is so much to get ready for, and at the same time as vacations are planned, weather is nice, and the kids are underfoot. We've already been shopping for school supplies:



while Elvis just started the dreaded Band Camp....

Hmmm. This post sounds a bit more disjointed than usual, so I'll sign off. I do have some more book reviews in the pipeline, and very soon we'll begin the Sock Yarn Studio-a-palooza, with a blog tour, giveaways and all sorts of merriment. Enjoy the last few days of summer, and I'll be back in rare form soon.

Spinning and a winner

When I was last at the beach, I toyed with the idea of bringing along my sewing machine. I decided against it, even though I don't get nearly enough time playing with fabric, because I thought it would be too hard to know what to bring with me in terms of fabric and thread. Instead, I opted for my handy-dandy spinning wheel, an Ashford Traveler, which is really designed for portability.  I popped a few extra bobbins and some roving in a bag, and I was good to go.


I haven't been spinning much lately and I really enjoyed getting in the groove of making yarn. One of the rovings I played with happened to be a roving that I dyed a few weeks ago. It was a gray-brown fleece and I played with adding some color to it, while preserving a good bit of the natural color.

I was pleased with the way it came out, and am trying to figure out what it wants to be knit into. I suspect it will knit at around aran-to-chunky gauge, so scarf or hat or mittens, maybe.

If you're interested in playing around with some similar rovings, with some of the natural color peeking through the dyed colors, I've got four batches up in my Art Fire Studio.

Two are shetland wool; two are coopworth. And for the next four days, use the code "FRIDAY10" for ten percent off your order (one time per customer).

WINNER

My last post was a review and giveaway of Hunter Hammersen's new book, The Knitter's Curiosity Cabinet. The random number generator selected Bonnie C., of Indiana, as the winner.  I've sent you an email, Bonnie, so make sure it doesn't get caught in your spam filter.)  Congrats to Bonnie and thanks to Hunter for making the giveaway possible!

Giveaway & No-Bull Book Review: The Knitter's Curiosity Cabinet, by Hunter Hammersen

What do you get when you combine botany, vintage prints from natural history texts and knitting?  You get The Knitter's Curiosity Cabinet: 20 Patterns Inspired by Vintage Botanical Illustrations, by Hunter Hammersen (Pantsville Press 2012; MSRP $26.95 through the link above). Hunter contributed a wonderful pattern to my upcoming book, and so, knowing how talented she is, I was delighted to receive a review copy of her brand-new book.

Having consulted that eminent source, the interwebs (Wikipedia to be precise), I discovered that a curiosity cabinet was

an encyclopedic collection in Renaissance Europe of types of objects whose categorical boundaries were yet to be defined. They were also known by various names such as Cabinet of Wonder, and in German Kunstkammer ("art-room") or Wunderkammer ("wonder-room"). Modern terminology would categorize the objects included as belonging to natural history (sometimes faked), geology, ethnography, archaeology, religious or historical relics, works of art (including cabinet paintings) and antiquities.

It's a fascinating idea, and a perfect theme for a designer who has collected knitterly things--edgings, lace patterns, twisted stitches and cables--and used them to great effect in her patterns.

Speaking of which, let's take a closer at those patterns. Exactly half (ten) are sock patterns, while the other half are coordinating accessories. It's fun to see the same botanical inspiration used in two slightly different ways. For example,

the Crocus vernus socks use a gently-arching lace motif that echoes the lines of the crocus flower. The Crocus Vernus mitts use a slightly thicker yarn and a lace motif that reflects the shape of the leaves of the plant:

In another example of patterns that coordinate stylistically without appearing matchy-matchy, the Linaria bipartita socks feature a lattice-like petal shape

in a divine handdyed yarn colorway called Chocoberry, while the Linaria shawl is done in petal pink, with long vertical elements and a center motif.

Other lovely socks that caught my eye are the Polypodium vulgare:

the Rubus suberectus (with "erectus" in the name, how could I not love them?):

the Loasa lateritia:

and the Narcissus pseudo-narcissus.

I also was quite taken with the Polypodum cowl (love that handdye, too, with all those subtle gradations of color)

the Rosa mitts:

the Pinus silvestris cap:

and the floaty Loasa cowl:

The book is a softcover, with tons of gorgeous color photos (taken by Brett Yacovella of Making the Moment), and all the amenities one would expect in patterns of this nature -- charts, close-ups of design details, tips, definitions of the stitches/symbols used, and reproductions of the lovely botanical prints that inspired the patterns prefacing them.

It's exciting to see relatively new designers putting out such high quality products, and it's fascinating to see how self-published books like this one are really raising the bar for all of us who publish patterns, regardless of medium.  This is a beautiful book full of appealing patterns, and if you are a knitter interested in:

• sock knitting
• accessory knitting
• small portable projects
• great uses for handpainted yarn
• botanical prints and flowers
• lace and lace motifs

then you will want to check out this book. Note that it is available in printed form, but also in electronic download format (for $18.95) and if you buy the print book via Hunter's website (linky link here), you will get a free Ravelry download of the patterns along with your purchase.

And bless Hunter's heart, she's offering a free copy of the book to a reader of this blog! Please leave a comment and make sure that there is a way for me to reach you (either via your Blogger profile or by leaving an email in the comment -- no way for me to get hold of you and I have to disqualify your entry until my psychic address-finding powers develop more fully). Leave a comment no later than midnight, Sunday, August 12th and I'll pick a winner the next day.