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Giveaway! New England Knits

by

What do you think of when someone says “New England”? Myself I think of storm swept beaches and rocks jutting out into the ocean, snowy landscapes, rolling hills in every color imaginable, big red barns, and of course cozy fisherman sweaters.

This book has all of that and more.  And not just sweaters but  vests, hats, bags and mittens too.

Cecily Glowik MacDonald and Melissa La Barre have teamed up to bring us 25 patterns with classic wearability and contemporary style for knitters of all skill levels.

This book is available over at Interweave Press on July 1, so you’ll be one of the first to get this. To enter, tell me what you think of when someone mentions a “New England Knit“. What’s the first thing that pops into your mind?

Leave me a comment! This giveaway is good until next Friday, July 2, 2010 (yes, I know, July already… deal with it!), when I will, with the help of my 65 lb lap-puppy pick a winner.

Ready, set, go……

Comments

  4. I would so love to know some of the wonderful patterns that this book includes.

  6. I think of the Newhart show, becasue of the sweaters Joanna and Stephanie wore, and lots of caps, scarves and mittens also come to mind.

  7. I definitely think of fishermans sweaters and cables. And though a little non-traditional, I think of cotton yarn.

  8. I love New England and knitting, so I’m sure I’d enjoy this book. What I really want to know is…how is your dog going to help pick the book winner? I’m picturing choice by drooling, LOL!

  9. Hee! I’ve been ogling the patterns in this since they went up in Ravelry.

    Honestly? I think of mittens, mostly because I’m in one of the adjacent mid-Atlantic states, and when I think of cold weather knits, my mind automatically turns to everyone’s favorite snowball throwing, sidewalk shoveling, frostbite fighting winter accessories, and what oddball things I can do to make them more interesting. 🙂

  12. When I think of New England Knits I think of “fisherman’s wool” sweaters.

  14. I think of that first cold day in the fall when it’s really crisp and you see your breath for the first time. The dogs are wild in the cool air and your coffee tastes soooo good and that great sweater is just the right thing for a morning walk.

  15. I’d love a chance to enter – I’m thinking of warm sweaters and accessories 🙂

    Thanks!

  17. Knitted goodness is my FAVORITE thing about living in New England. Mittens and scarves and sweaters, Oh My! This book looks fabulous. What a cool giveaway. And for those of us who are snails-pace knitters, now is the time to prepare 🙂

  20. Wow! The book looks great. Even though it is very warm outside I think it is time to get out the needles and get ready for the cold. brrr. I know these patterns will keep me busy.

  23. One can never have too many knitting books! I’d like to add this one to my stash. Thanks.

  24. I think of Fall and a New England knit sweater….I’d love to win that book…. :o)

  25. I think of walking along stone scattered sand on a cool windy day wrapped in a hand-knit shawl in the perfect blend of purple and gray.

  26. New England, storms, rocky coast, beautiful old homes..they are all Katherine Hepburn movies to me. I live in Australia, so just have to imagine what such a place really feels like. The jumper on the front of the book is snuggly but stylish, so perhaps that would be a good place to start an imaginery roadtrip!! Thanks
    Jane

  28. When you say New England Knits – I think of crisp white cotton and blue or red accent – sailor style – soft cotton knit tops with lovely style and border knitted patterns

  30. I think of a lovely warm gansey with mittens and a toque. I’d actually love the sweater on the front cover! Thank you for a chance to win!

  31. I think of clam chowder and light houses. I’m originally from New England and would love to win – thank you for the give away!

  32. Ooo I just saw some of these patterns on Ravelry and they look terrific – thanks for the opportunity to win the book! 🙂

  33. After living in New England for many years I would have to say that fisherman sweaters jump straight to my mind. What a lovely idea for a book!

  34. I immediately think of all beautiful fall days I would spend sitting on my front porch knitting in New Hampshire. I lived there for two short years and miss it dearly!

  37. New England Knit makes me think of a nice warm sweater for a cozy winter. Thanks for the chance!

  38. I think of navy blue wool, either in a classic raglan crewneck sweater, or in a bulky Aran style knit. This book looks great!

  40. What first comes to mind
    is a warm, cuddly sweater
    to put on when the wind
    blows, while by the sea.
    Thank you.

  46. Oh wonderful. I love Melissa’s designs, so I’d love to win a copy of this book =)

  47. I think of fisherman sweaters, like the ones grandma would knit for my grandpa (he’s a legit fisherman, away for weeks at a time).

  49. I think of fall, colorful leaves, warm beautiful sweaters, and long walks along the beach with my dog. Then starting a new sweater from the book that I just won! Wow! Have a great 4th of July!

Have you read?

Knit a Leopard Print Shawl and Learn about Yarn Substitution

When I was looking around for free knitting patterns to share recently, I came across this fun leopard print wrap from Yarnspirations. 

This fun bulky wrap gives you tons of practice with instarsia and makes a bold statement while keeping you warm. It’s rated for intermediate knitters and the design is charted but pretty easy to follow. And it’s only 50 rows and worked in bulky yarn, so it wouldn’t even take that long to knit. (You can grab the free pattern from Yarnspirations.)

So what’s the problem? The yarn that the pattern calls for has been discontinued, and it’s not a yarn that a substitute for immediately springs to mind. 

The original yarn was Patons Alpaca Blend, a single ply bulky yarn that was a combination of acrylic, superwash wool, nylon and alpaca. 

My first thought was Lion Brand Hue + Me, which is an acrylic and wool blend, with two plies instead of a single. It looks like it has the colors you would need to make this fun shawl. 

But as I was thinking about it, I thought this would be a good opportunity to introduce you to YarnSub if you don’t already know about it. This website is a giant database of yarn that can consider the qualities of the yarn you want to substitute and offer potential substitutions. 

It’s not only thinking about yarn weight, like I was, but also fiber content, number of plies, gauge and even the difference in yardage between one ball and another. It even looks at the price and can be filtered by your price range or preferences about fiber content (if, say, you’re sensitive or allergic to wool, for example, or don’t want to you acrylic). 

When I plugged in Alpaca Blend, it gave me a lot of different options, though many of them were self-striping or multicolored, which wouldn’t work for this project, and I don’t see a way to filter for solid colors only. 

Still, it’s a good tool to give you some ideas you might not know about or might have forgotten about, and it tells you how the new yarn is similar to the old one and how it differs, allowing you to make smarter choices when substituting yarns. 

[Photo: Yarnspirations]