The 10,000 Giveaway

Nope. I am not giving away 10,000 things. Although how cool (and slightly overwhelming) would it be to have 10,000 skeins of yarn? Yikes! Maybe I'll settle for the idea of 10,000 yards of yarn instead.

Shortly after my last post, the my blog reached and surpassed 10,000 views. In celebration, I will give away a beautiful skein of yarn from my lovely stash.

In order to be in the running to receive this skein, you must post a comment about summer crafting. What type of crafting do you like to do in the summertime? And why?

Spud and Chloe Fine in the Glow-worm colorway

This time of year usually has me sewing more than knitting. I'm eying up a few projects from my Pinterest board already. Plus, the Craftsy courses are calling my name too. If only there were more kid-free hours in the day... sigh...

So take a moment to write a comment about your favorite summer crafting activities sometime between now and next Wednesday at midnight. I will pick a winner using the Random Number Generator and let you know Wednesday morning.

Happy crafting!

I've been notified that some readers' comments won't show up. If this is the case, send me a message via Facebook (Meg Roke) or PM me on Ravelry (Mooch) to let me know and I'll assign you a number. Thanks!

Garter Stitch: The Latest Obsession

Sometimes when I am gardening, after stuffing my pots and beds with flowers, I take a step back and realize that I have planted one color. One color. Now, there may be many shades of this one color, but at the end of the day I have a purple garden or a white one...or a pink one (those seem to be the ones I gravitate towards).

It's the same with knitting. Overall, I really like to pick different color yarns for very different projects using (you guessed it!) different stitch patterns. However, while flipping through my project page on Ravelry, I noticed a color theme...

Hmm, are you seeing blue-green (or green-blue) everywhere too? Maybe it's time I start buying a different color?

Color aside, I now have a new obsession, which I only discovered about 2 minutes ago: garter stitch. I have never been a huge fan of garter stitch. It doesn't block as well. It grows easily. It makes a thicker fabric. I could go on... however, I just finished Jane Richmond's Rae (which is a super fabulous and simple pattern, by the way. I highly recommend it.) in a Kelly green superwash merino yarn with neps. And I absolutely adore it! I want to wear it all the time. The yarn is what makes this pattern pop. There is something unique about garter stitch, a looser gauge and shawls that works. This is the perfect marriage of characteristics. It creates a softer, drapier and cozier fabric, making you want to reach for the same shawl to wear again and again.

So now I find myself looking through my Ravelry queue to see what other simple patterns featuring garter stitch, like Rae, are out there to highlight some of my fabulous stash yarn.

And here are the project-yarn pairings which I am considering to make next:

pattern: A Little Ruffle by Jennifer Lang

yarn: Peruvian Highland Tweed

pattern: Trillian by Martina Behm

yarn: Handmaiden's Casbah Sock in Rose Garden

pattern: Study Stripe Shawl by Veera Valimaki

yarn: Isager Strik Alpaca Merino 2

By the way, it looks like I am dangerously close to hitting my 10,000th view! In gratitude, I do believe I will have to host a give-away.. yarn? pattern? To be determined very very soon.

Happy knitting!

Knitting in Movies

As I've mentioned in the past, I love to knit while "watching" a movie. I have been known to watch the same movie (or program from Masterpiece Mystery) over and over and over again just to keep my knitting mojo going. There are a few films I simply cannot get enough of... as soon as the credits appear and the opening music swells, I am transported away from the daily stress to a Knitter's Neverland. Ahh...

Below is a list of movies or television shows which feature knitting.

Love, love, love Myrna Loy in The Thin Man series.

After the Thin Man (1936)
The Women (1939)
Now, Voyager (1942)
Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)
Foul Play (1978)
Miss Marple (all seasons and films from the 1960s to the present)
Enchanted April (1992)
Little Women (1994)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
Jane Austen Book Club (2007)
Dan in Real Life (2007)
Upstairs Downstairs (2011)
Call the Midwife (all seasons which began in 2012)

Call the Midwife

Can you think of any more out there? Please share! I am always on the look-out for more film inspiration.

And just for kicks, here is a list of movies that make me want to knit. I don't believe there is a single stitch knit in any of these films, but they each have that certain something that makes me subconsciously reach for my needles. I am easily inspired by the weather (the green hills in Circle of Friends and the rolling waves in Deeply), the music (Cole Porter tunes in Easy Virtue) and the clothes (Mona Lisa Smiles).

Holiday Inn (1942)
White Christmas (1954)
Charade (1963)
Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea (1985, 1987)
Pride and Prejudice (1995)
Persuasion (1995)Circle of Friends (1995)
Deeply (2000)
Gosford Park (2001)
Mona Lisa Smile (2003)
Down With Love (2003)

Miss Potter (2006)

Easy Virtue (2008)
Sense and Sensibility (2008)
Little Dorit (2009)
Downton Abby (2011-present)
Poirot (any show with the great David Suchet)

This list could go on for ages, so I'll stop there. What do you like to watch while knitting?