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Giveaway: The Very Easy Guide to Fair Isle Knitting

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fair isle giveaway

Melody is our winner!

I have been cleaning up my office recently and I moved my pile of giveaway books from one shelf to another and this book ended up on top, which is reason enough to give it away this week.

The Very Easy Guide to Fair Isle Knitting by Lynne Watterson is an easy-entry, step-by-step guide to getting stranded knitting, covering everything from yarn choices to working with two colors in a row, ribbing in two colors and classic fair isle patterns.

It also includes 11 patterns for things such as fingerless mitts, a beret, a bag and pillows, which you can work through to learn the concepts and design principles behind stranded knitting. If you used this book as a workbook, you would definitely get comfortable with fair isle quickly. And isn’t summer (or winter for that matter) the perfect time to learn something new?

If you want a chance to win this book, leave a comment on this post before the end of the day Sunday, June 28. I’d love to know if you have any big plans for the coming season, wherever on earth you happen to live. We’re holding out until the end of next month, then spending what’s sure to be a fabulous week in Florida.

Thanks for visiting, commenting and sharing, and good luck!

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Comments

  1. I have wanted to learn how to knit. My grandmother use to and it amazed me. As for the upcoming season, I just want to spend as much time with my kids as possible enjoying them.

  3. I have a trip planned to visit my parents in July. I haven’t seen them in over a year so it should be fantastic 🙂

  5. Fair Isle has been the bane of my life but I won’t give up! Friends from Italy coming over to UK so a chance to speak Italian again – what bliss!

  6. My goal this Summer is to learn Fair Isle. I’m sure this book would be a great help!

  7. I would love to receive it! Just looking the cover can we guess the beautiful patterns and pictures inside. Thanks!!

  8. Have started the season with the first of 3 reunion/wedding trips. Love being with family and old pals!

  9. Summer is being taken up by house remodeling Windows next week than finishing floors.

  10. Home, sweet home is the best place to be in the summer…where a cool swim is just a short drive away. Fathoming the depths of fair isle would be a wonderful summer diversion. Fingers crossed?!

    from ‘neath the bright blue skies of VT,
    the Vermonster

  11. fair isle has always interested me but it looks quite scary, maybe this book would set me at ease. We are having a lot of family coming this summer. What could be better? I live in Washington State in the country 35 miles out of Portland Oregon, It’s like living in a vacation spot.

  13. I am looking forward to our knitting guild first weekend retreat the last weekend in August. We have rented a cabin on the river which will sleep 15 people. We will be having classes on two color brioche and making stitch markers.

  15. My kids work in the corn fields of Nebraska through the whole month of July, so we are hoping to get a road trip in to Michigan (and maybe Canada) before school starts up again in August.

  16. No plans just trying to get by one day at a time. Hopeful that my cancer is not coming back. Thank you for this wonderful giveaway.

  17. would absolutely love to win this fair isle book, need to learn about doing it the right way.

  18. Just got back from road trip to Colorado. Had a wonderful time in Manitou Springs. It is beautiful there.

  19. We just have a camping trip planned this summer in Wisconsin. Thanks for the chance to win – I love fair isle but need a lot more practice in getting my stitches even.

  20. Have just returned from Dominican Republic for my daughter’s wedding, and will have to wait now till November when we are going to Egypt.

  22. We are traveling in July and August. We have to head home because my brother is getting married and I’m a bridesmaid in the wedding! I’m so excited!

  25. I would love to give Fair Aisle a try!!! I’m heading with family to Cape San Blas in Florida for a week on July. I have never been to that area. 🙂

  26. Just had major surgery on March 31 and now am healing and already scheduled for total hip replacement on October 5th. Going to be spending lots of time knitting over the next few months or so.

  27. Next month going to a conference on essential oils. Spending my summer raising frogs.

  28. I have a reunion coming up which includes a trip with my grandkids. I’m looking forward to that.

  29. I have no Big plans this summer. A whole summer to do whatever comes to mind. Gardening, small home projects and some much needed down time to organize my new Fiber Studio. Its awesome not having plans this year!

  30. we are camping for one entire week and being camp hosts at a National park in our area!!! It is going to be awesome!! I’m thinking that a knitting project would be perfect and winning this book would be fantastic!!!

  32. Just got my own apt after splitting with my husband of 25 years. Now i can do what i want when i want knitting here i come!

  33. No big plans, just lots of yard work and organizing the garage. And knitting, lots of knitting.

  34. My sister-in-law and brother-in-law will be visiting from Australia for 2 1/2 weeks in July. We are going to do all kinds of touristy stuff in our area and we are going to NYC and DC. 🙂

    Thank you for the giveaway. Fair Isle is my next big adventure so this would be very helpful.

  35. My goal thus summer is to knit a pair of toe up socks. Travel plans include a week with the grandchildren.

  36. I’ve wanted to learn Fair Isle knitting for a long time and this book sounds like a great one to learn from!
    We have a family wedding in July in Duluth MN and we are looking forward to seeing Duluth and the North Shore again.

  37. Fair Isle patterns are beautiful and one has to pay attention to the pattern.

    I love the idea of a challenge and this is one. I’m hoping to spend some quiet afternoons with friends working on knitting projects. And while watching our grandchildren

  39. My big plans for this summer are to knit several baby trousseaus. What I should be doing is packing, but what’s the fun in that?

  42. Looks like a lovely book. I recently started two color mittens and realized that stranded work is not as hard as I thought it would be.

  46. No big plans but taking my daughter to various Universities so she can choose where to spend the next four years!

  47. We are Americans living in China and we get to be back in the States for 6 months starting July 1st! I do a lot of knitting shopping while in the states, so,this give away would be a great jump start.

  48. Recovering from surgery, so vacation plans on hold. Home bound right now, doing lots of knitting.

  50. No big plans here. But we are so happy because my granddaughters are coming to visit us!

Have you read?

Book Review: Brooklyn Tweed’s Knit & Crochet Blankets

Blankets are a great blank slate project that you can change up in a million different ways. From color to stitch pattern to size, the possibilities are almost endless.

Jared Flood, the designer behind Brooklyn Tweed, was inspired by a log cabin quilt his mother made in 1995 to re-create that design in knitting, which led to more blankets and ultimate Brooklyn Tweed’s Knit and Crochet Blankets, which includes 25 patterns from an array of designers using different skills and techniques to make cozy, pretty blankets.

The patterns are divided into three aesthetic themes: traditions, minimalism and colorplay. The patterns are rated on a scale of one to five, with one being the easiest, and there aren’t any pieces rated five. Two blankets are rated one, 14 are two, eight are three and one is four. 

In addition, three of the 25 patterns are crocheted, but they either use single crochet or granny stitch, so they are pretty easy even if you don’t do a lot of crochet. You can see all the patterns on Ravelry.

Some of my favorites include Rattan by Rastus Hsu, a chunky blanket worked in knits and purls with simple crossing stitches to make a raised woven look; Homewood by Seth Richardson, covers in dramatic, loopy cables; Ainur Berkimbayeva’s Tessellate, one of the beginner projects that doesn’t really look beginner but is totally worked in knit and purl stitches; Warp + Weft by Aist? Butkevi?ien?, which is mostly knits and purls but makes a fun woven look fabric that blew my mind a little bit; and the same designer’s Canyonland, a multicolored blanket with wavy stripes.

The patterns tell you how to resize them for different dimensions and include information on pattern repeats where it is possible to make a totally custom size.

Many different techniques are included here such as cables, lace, shadow knitting, intarsia and other colorwork techniques, as well as modular knitting and lots of sewing pieces together. The patterns are all presented with charts, but there are line by line written instructions available on the Brooklyn Tweed website if you need them.

The book ends with a deep dive into log cabin knitting, telling the story of the quilt Jared’s mom made and how he made it in knitting, as well as the multitude of variations you can make if you want your own log cabin style design.

The back of the book includes a little written information about some of the special techniques needed, but there are no photos.

This is a lovely book full of inspiration for knitting and crochet blankets for any skill level. If you like to make blankets as gifts or aspire to have a handmade blanket in every room of the house, these designs would be a great place to start.

About the book: 192 pages, paperback, 25 patterns. Published 2024 by Abrams Books, suggested retail price $24.99.

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