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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

  1. i can’t wait until this book comes out, i’ve been stalking the photos on ravelry and everything in it looks so gorgeous!

  2. Your description of “New England” is exactly what I picture in my mind’s eye. I think the sweaters would also look delightful with my high mountain desert as a backdrop!

  3. Well, the FIRST thing that pops into my mind is heavy and scratchy, but the second thing is classic styling.

  4. Having lived in New England my whole life, a New England knit is cozy and warm for wearing to November football games or light and airy for wearing for an evening walk on the beach.

  5. I think of sailboats, fishing boats, rugged waters and windswept cheeks. And the wool sweaters to keep everyone warm and dry. Thanks for the great giveaway!

  6. First thing that popped into my head was a big, cuddly fisherman’s sweater, with a turtleneck! Yum.

  7. I think of woolly natural yarns and fisherman sweaters, the book looks amazing btw…

  8. I think of fall back in New Hampshire curling up with blankets made by my Great Grandmother and my Grandmother. I also think of my daughter’s first fall in Maine, snuggled up with those same blankets!! I moved away from New England 2 1/2 years ago, and seeing the patterns in this book reminded me of some of the things I miss most about home! Thank you for such a great giveaway!!!

    Cheers!
    Sharon

  12. “New England Knits”? I think of bulky cable sweaters in cream colored wool, photographed near the shore.

    The projects in this book look wonderful. I’d love to win a copy.

  15. I think of chill winds outside while I am warm with hot chocolate and cozy sweater inside. I would knit everything in this book.

  27. Definitely some cozy sweaters, knit in fall colours with lots of detail. This book looks fantastic!

  32. When I think New England Knits, I think classical and warm outfits. I think of a cup of tea/coffee and knitting my the fire on a brisk fall evening. I think wool and alpaca cuddled softly against my hands as I knit something for my mother, boyfriend, or (selfishly) for me!

  35. I have been drooling over this book ever since the previews were released!

    The title makes me think of stormy ocean waves crashing on beaches. Same as you, I guess!

  38. new england knits brings soft, cozy sweaters and hot tea in the snow to mind 🙂

  44. To be honest, I think of thick, warm, gansey sweaters. Or maybe a novelty sweater with an intarsia lobster.

    …I hope this book really sincerely changes my mind, since I think a New England knit could be quite chic!

  46. Big thick wonderful sweaters for walking by the ocean – that’s what New England sweaters says to me! The patterns are so individual with great lines and design.

  47. Big thick wonderful sweaters for walking by the ocean – that’s what New England sweaters says to me! The patterns are so individual with great lines and design.

  48. When I think of a New England Knit I think of the ocean waves and pretty shades of blues and greens:)

  49. I am really excited about the New England Knits book! There are some awesome sweaters in there!

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]