Making Memories Pattern Book: Review & Giveaway!

Making Memories Review Claudia Quintanilla

Available at EweKnit here, or  Laine Publishing (hardcopy OR digital download!), and MANY yarn stores around the world!

Not available on Amazon.

Claudia Quintanilla is the owner of Eweknit, quite possibly the prettiest yarn and craft store in all of Toronto – and their instagram account definitely shows the vibe! She has been designing knitting patterns for a long time, both adult and children’s, and this is her first book collection- Making Memories: Timeless Knits for Children. The book is a gorgeous cloth-bound hardcover, full of gorgeous photos and detailed patterns of 25 different knits (9 pullovers, 7 cardigans, 2 pairs of socks,  2 blankets, two pairs of mitts, one vest, one scarf, and one hat).

Here are some of my favourite designs from the book:

Making Memories Review Claudia Quintanilla

Top row, left to right: Catedral, Piscucha, Galicia

Bottom row, left to right: Luca, Panda Cardigan, Wheat

Browse all the patterns on Ravelry, here

Size Ranges?

The patterns are all sized for newborn to ten years old, which is a great range to cover all your baby and kid knitting. The knits can be very unisex (arguments can be made that all clothing is unisex, but these can be conventionally unisex!). I’m currently knitting the Alex pullover from the pattern collection in the newborn size, and I’m loving it- top down, seamless, delightful.  I’m all done having little ones myself, but I know I’ll be squirrelling this away to refer to the next time I’m thinking of knitting something to welcome someone’s new baby! Baby knits make great gifts.

Making Memories Review Claudia Quintanilla

(Yarn is La Bobineuse Merinito in Vert Almande)

Talk to Me about Techniques and Designs

There’s something for every preference here- gorgeous yokes featuring colourwork or lace, patterns that include embroidered elements, loads of texture, or simple stockinette with small, original details. I love that some patterns include simple embroidery as well- perfect for trying out on little knits! There’s also patterns that incorporate crocheted trims and edgings. As for skill level, I would say that intermediate knitters (you’ve knit a garment or two for a baby, dog, or adult) will be just fine with the techniques here. New knitters, you’ll need to work up to it.

Am I really going to use this?

You’ll keep this book forever, I’m quite confident. It really does have a timeless quality to it, not just in the physical book itself- Laine Publishing really outdid themselves here- but in the timelessness of the designs themselves. I can see myself turning to this book again and again in the future when I want to knit something really special for a little kiddo.

You Said Something About a Giveaway, Right?

Absolutely! This book makes a fabulous gift for any knitter, but of you have kiddos you like to knit for, this will be one you’ll treasure forever.

Thanks to the fabulous folks at Eweknit, a lucky commenter will win a hardcopy of the book! Please leave a comment here let me know which pattern from the collection you are most excited to knit. You can get an extra free entry by leaving a comment on the Instagram post about the giveaway, too!

Contest will close at midnight Eastern Standard Time on Sunday, July 2nd. Winner will be announced Friday, July 7th!. 

Review and Giveaway: The Art of Knitting Hats

Stashbusters rejoice!

The Art of Knitting Hats Review & Giveaway

Amazon.ca | Amazon.com  (but if you find it at a local independent I urge you to buy it there instead!)

If you follow FlynnKnit on Instagram – and I highly recommend her account, the photos are very, very stylish and beautifully done- then you’ll recognize these amazing hats. This book is a collection of 30 different hat patterns, all ranging in yarn weight from super bulky to worsted weight. Her beautiful photo are in the book, as well as great modelled photos of some of the hats.

Stashbusting? Stashbusting.

The patterns all feature at least two colours, with lots using many colours! This gives a lot of opportunity to play around with stashbusting, and interesting colour combinations. While the pattern here feature a lot of bold, bright colours, you could also use a more minimalist and low-key palette of neutral shades. Whatever your colour preferences, they can work.  If you have a stash of leftovers or some nice one-off skeins of worsted weight and higher, then this could be just the thing for knitting lots of fun things with those smaller portions of yarn.

Here are some of my favourite designs from the book:

The Art of Knitting Hats Review & Giveaway

Top row, left to right: Blossom, Flash Dash, Level Up

Bottom row, left to right: Heartstrings, Flip Side, Carousel

If you haven’t seen Courtney Flynn’s photography style before, you can get the feel for it in the above photographs! I personally have always wondered if she lives on a really big property with loads of trees and gardens,  possibly near a garden center. That pretty Blossom and Heartstrings pattersn had me looking at the sheer volume of petunias used for the photos for a solid minute before I even saw the hat! Did she take every bloom from her flowerbed? Does she just have a stadium-sized garden with more petunias than anyone? Mysteries.

What If You are New to Colourwork?

This is a nice, gentle introduction to colourwork, and hats are a great place to start if you are haven’t done colourwork before. While the book does open with lots of instructions tips on knitting with more than one colour, if you feel like you’re stuck at any point you could easily search out some how-to videos that will get you rolling in no time.  If you love hats and are colourwork-curious, this would be a brilliant place to start.

What If You’re NOT New to Colourwork?

All the more reason to experiment and go wild! You could adjust the brims, making more double brims  if you wanted, or experimenting with textured stitches thrown in (imagine Flash Dash Up there with the contrasting stitches purled), if you were feeling adventurous. And you could make matching mittens with the charts!

What About Sizing? Not All Heads Are the Same!

The patterns are all written for one size (adult) ranging in circumference from 44cm-50 cm (17 inches – 20 inches), so checking gauge will be important, especially if you find hats a little tricky for fit. But adjusting needle sizes is always an option.

You Said Something About a Giveaway, Right?

Absolutely! But also, holiday season is approaching and if you know someone is looking for a gift idea for you, maybe send them a link to the book. Then you’ll get something you definitely want!

Thanks to the fabulous folks at Page Street Publishing, a lucky commenter will win a hardcopy of the book! (Canada and US only) Please leave a comment here let me know which hat from the collection you are most excited to knit, and if you would do brights or neutrals! You can get an extra free entry by leaving a comment on the Instagram post about the giveaway, too!

Contest will close at midnight Eastern Standard Time on Sunday, November 6th. Winner will be announced on Tuesday, November 8th. 

The Art of Knitting Hats Review & Giveaway

Review and Giveaway: Charming Colorwork Socks!

Calling all colorwork lovers! Meet Charming Colorwork Socks!

Amazon link  | Ravelry link

I really adore the patterns in this book- they are whimsical and fun, and seem they would be a total joy to knit as well as wear.  The book has loads of photos, and charts are full colour with the pattern written out in easy to read sections. Charts are laid out upside down, as they would be worked for cuff-down socks, but you could easily just turn the book around if you were working your socks toe-up instead. There’s a nice mix of all over stranded designs as well a ones that feature details at the ankle and toe.

It was REALLY difficult to pick favourites from this collection- 25 different designs meant there were a lot of choices, and there were socks for all seasons. I love the whimsical, fun designs, and a lot of the elements felt mix and match- I can see that these would work well with solids, some striping yarns, and speckles.  Here are my top 6 (although I’m not entirely sure this is my top 6. So may great choices, it was really hard to choose.  I still regret leaving the bats off this, as well as the roses. And the coffee cups? You’ll see what I mean – to check out all 25 of the designs, you can look through all the details on Ravelry, here. Also great for seeing the yardage requirements and details for each pattern!

Top row, left to right: Blooming Lavender, Swan Lake, Christmas Eve Skies

Bottom row, left to right: Forget-me-not, Gelato socks, Eggs for Easter

Is this book just for sock lovers?

Not at all! The charts are very inspiring, and if you enjoy knitting colourwork anything, I bet you’ll want to have this book on hand for the charts alone. Think how beautiful those swans would be around a sweater yoke, or how fun the ice cream cones could be around a cowl, worked in different colours/flavours in different stacked rows! The allover floral designs for mittens! The possibilities are pretty endless. You could even take a photo of any of the charts, flip it in your camera app so that the chart is mirrored, and you could have swans or chickens facing the other way, too. If you wanted to stripe them in alternate directions, like for a cowl.

Side note- you could really play around with bright colours in these as well. Most of the designs show solids or tonals, but I can see how fun brights could absolutely shine in most of these designs.

Stashbusting Potential? How About Mini Skeins?

Yes and yes. Many of these designs lend themselves to multiple colours, and if you have a nice little collection of sock yarn and fingering weight, you’ll be tearing through your stash and minis in no time, matching of the colours you want to put together. You’ll probably still need the odd complete skein of sock yarn here or there, depending on your sock size and how long you are making them. Only one pattern out of the collection is DK weight, the rest are all fingering/light fingering weight.

Follow Patterns As They Are, or Go Wild?

I think these charts lend themselves very well to mixing and matching, and if you  love riffing on a pattern and using charts in inventive ways, I bet you would really get a lot out of this book. Even the cover image below, I could see being reversed and working the flowers in more of a solid and the background colour as self striping yarn. There’s a lot of room to pay around with the infinite combinations of sock yarn out there. It also is a great book for any sock lover who hasn’t tried colour work yet but would like to – the directions are very easy to follow and understand, and the beginning pages has a lot of good information on choosing sizes, how to manage floats, choosing colours, and colour dominance.

You Said Something About a Giveaway, Right?

You can purchase this wonderful book  on Amazon here.  But you know, independent booksellers are always the best place to buy your books, if you can! And your local yarn store might have it too!

Thanks to the fabulous folks at Page Street Publishing, we are having a giveaway! (Canada and US only) Please leave a comment here let me know which pattern from the collection you are most excited to knit! You can get an extra free entry by leaving a comment on the Instagram post about the giveaway, too!

Contest will close at midnight Eastern Standard Time on Thursday, October 6th. Winner will be announced on Monday, October 10th. 

Review and Giveaway: Wardrobe Embroidery

I’ve been a big fan of Warunee Bolstad for a little while now- her stunning embroidery on knitwear is so inspiring, and at the same time feels accessible. So I was squeaky with excitement when the publisher of her book reached out about doing a review! This is Warunee Bolstad’s book, Wardrobe Embroidery – Knit & Embroidery Projects for Upcycling Clothes.

Wardrobe Embroidery - Knit and Embroidery Projects for Upcycling Clothes

So, spoiler alert- I adore this book completely. This is the book I have ALWAYS wanted and didn’t know it until I saw it. As someone who is really into both knitting and embroidery, this felt like the perfect thing at the perfect time, you know?

The book includes a getting started guide that has instructions on working various embroidery stitches in the book, as well as some tips and tricks for embroidering on different types of fabric that are really helpful to anyone just starting out with embroidering on their clothes. Then it opens into a great section with embroidering on different types of fabric for upcycling clothes- jeans, dresses, tops, you name it.  There are also 9 knitting patterns included, with designs for embroidery as well- the 9 patterns are for 3 sweaters, 2 cardigans, a top, a headband, a jacket, and a neckwarmer. The embroidery designs could easily be worked on a variety of items, so while certain items are shown with a particular embroidery design on them (15 embroidery design templates are included in the book), you could easily switch them out for others in the book, and mix and match.

Here are 2 of my favourite embroidery designs from the upcycle projects, although it was hard to choose!

That floral design on the dress fronts are such a showstopper, aren’t’ they? This is the Dress with Flower Meadow design, and would be so beautiful on just about anything.

I particularly love the branches and buds design on the Little Black Dress with Leaves, which looks so pretty worked in a single contrasting colour. Those branches could also be worked all over for a scattered effect.  Would be pretty on a sleeve, too.

And out of the 9 knitting and embroidery patterns (it was so hard to choose favourites!) These are my top picks:

This Rendezvous Sweater is working with fingering weight yarn held double with a strand of mohair for a soft-as-a-cloud effect, and the lace yoke is a fully charted design. I love how the embroidered flowers nestle into the the garter stitch panels in the yoke, such a pretty effect, don’t you think?

This Headband with a Twist is a brilliant stashbuster for small amounts of yarn, and is also fingering weight held double with a strand of mohair. The flowers are stitched on with the leftover yarn for a subtle floral, although you could work it in contrasting colours, too!

I love the scattered floral effect on this Three Day Cardigan, so named because Warunee actually made it in three days! I love the deep V neckline, and the scattered, almost cherry blossom effect of the flowers fluttering down the cardigan. It’s just so dreamy.

The Botanica Sweater is a quick knit in a bulky weight yarn and 6mm (size 10) needles, and how beautiful are those embroidered flowers around the yoke?! The embroidery is worked with standard embroidery floss, and you could really have fun with different colour ideas and arrangements around the neck and shoulders of this sweater.

Should I get This? I Should Get This.

If you love knitting and embroidery, or even just embroidery, then YES, you should get this. It’s the holiday season, so feel free to send book links to people who are looking for gifts ideas for you- this would be a perfect holiday present for you or for a friend or family member that you know would love this.

Suitable For Beginners? Yes!

Most of the embroidery techniques and the knitting patterns are suitable for adventurous beginners, with some of the knitting patterns requiring skills for place knitting or cables that might be a little more challenging for a brand-new new knitter. But the simple, classic shapes of most of these garments make these great beginner-friendly patterns, if you’ve got a few knits under your belt so far.

These Are All Amazing, I Want to See More!

Warunee Bolstad lives in Oslo, Norway and has an eco-friendly knitting accessory brand, as well as being fantastically creative with knitting and embroidery! Her Instagram account has been a favorite of mine for a while- check out lots of embroidered knitting inspiration here.

You Said Something About a Giveaway, Right?

You can purchase this wonderful book  on Amazon here, or for international orders, on Book Depository (also owned by Amazon) here.  But you know, independent booksellers are always the best place to buy your books, if you can!

Thanks to the fabulous folks at Zakka Workshop, we are having a giveaway (International)! Please leave a comment here let me know which pattern from the collection you are most excited to knit/embroider! You can get an extra free entry by leaving a comment on the instagram post about the giveaway, too!

Contest will close at midnight Eastern Standard Time on Thursday, December 2nd. Winner will be announced on Monday, Dec 6th. 

 

New Free Pattern – The Book Review Scarf

Looking for an easy, free ribbed scarf pattern? I got you.

Pattern: Book Review Scarf (by me!)

Yarn: Berroco Mercado (partial skeins for all 4 colours)

Needle Size: 8mm /US 11

In the summer, I wrote an essay about the parallels I find between knitting and poetry for Taddle Creek Magazine, and created a beginner-friendly ribbed scarf pattern that would go with it – the Book Review Scarf. The concept is that you choose 4 different yarn colurs, assign them each a star rating from 1-4 (4 stars being you loved the book, 1 star being you didn’t finish it or didn’t like it) and you create your stripe pattern based on that. Each scarf is unique, because chances are your striping pattern is the only one quite like it.

This would be a super easy gift idea, a great way to track what you are reading in a thoughtful way over the winter, or just a super quick and pretty way to destash leftover yarn that you have kicking around in your stash.

It doesn’t have to be just books, either – this would also work well for movies, too! And if you are a Hallmark Chirstmas movie fan, you could even do it based on that- get as niche as you want with it, it’s a really fun way to combine your knitting and your reading or viewing together for something interesting, that also happens to keep you cozy & warm. 🙂

You can find the essay and the free pattern on the Taddle Creek magazine website now – here it is!

And you can find the Ravelry link (why not add it to your queue or favourites?) right here.

I hope you enjoy it! Check out this deep summer photo from when the issue was first getting prepped- we were following the stay at home orders so it’s just my patio wall! Never have I wanted to dress up my patio wall so badly….