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Giveaway: Warm Days, Cool Knits

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warm days cool knits

Stefanie is the winner!

After a really wet beginning to the summer where I live, it finally really feels like summer, with baking hot days and not-very-cool nights. This is the south, after all, and like other southerners I sometimes find it hard to find the will to knit — or to wear something knit — in the heat of summer.

Corrina Ferguson is a knitter in Florida who actually didn’t start knitting until she moved south. She’s had to come up with ways to still knit and wear knits in a climate that is not in need of bulky wool, and some of the results can be found in her fun book Warm Days, Cool Knits.

The book is broken down by season, starting with winter, which offers a couple of long-sleeved sweaters, a hat and a pair of lacy socks. Moving through the seasons, sleeves disappear and more lace is added, but there are also shawls to warm those shoulders in the evenings (or in too-cool rooms).

These projects are pretty and sure to delight knitters in all sorts of climates. You should know that they all use pretty lightweight yarns, but the designs mostly aren’t too challenging and you certainly shouldn’t let skinny yarn stop you.

If you’d like to win a copy of this book (it will be a print edition if you live in the United States, or a PDF if you live elsewhere), leave a comment on this post before the end of the day Sunday, July 27. I’d love to know where you live and what the temperature is today.

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

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Comments

  2. I live in the mid west and it seems to finally be summer sometimes a bit too hot but today it is supposed to be 88 and humid and some rain possible in the evening.

  3. This looks like a great book for Summer projects! I live in Western New York and the temp today is expected to be in the high 80’s. Combined with the high humidity we’ve been having, it’s hot!!!

  6. I live just outside of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and its a beautiful sumny day (not too hot, not too cold). It’s currently 21 degrees C (about 70 F) with a high of 25 predicted.

  9. i would use a book for cool knits. It has been in the upper 90’s here in Alabama for the last 3 weeks. It is suppose to be over 100 the next couple of days. Thank you.

  10. It’s a lovely 77 in Wahoo, Nebraska right now. It’s supposed to get close to 90 later, so I better get out and mow the grass!

  12. I live in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley…and I’m very pleased to tell you that it’s only about 24 C (75 F) today, which is MUCH nicer than the 38 C (100 F) it was over the weekend! 🙂

  13. I live in NW Indiana and the temperature is 83 today. It is very humid. Definitely, summertime weather here.

  14. I live in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada and the current temperature is 18 C (65F). Its been around 25 C (77 F) all week so I’m ok with the cooler temp 🙂

  17. I live in Atlanta, Georgia. Recently I checked the temperature and it said it was 89° but with himidity its 105! Even with air-conditoning larger projects like afghans can make your lap a puddle.

  18. I also live in a warm climate. In SC it is VERY warm right now and our winters are short and mild.

  20. I’ve seen previews and reviews for this book and I would be ecstatic to win a copy!!

  21. Minneapolis Mb 76° today. I would love to win a copy of this book, it’s definitely already on my wishlist.

  24. I am laid up with a broken leg in Connecticut and would love to be knitting something cool and airy. The book looks absolutely wonderful!

  26. I live in Oregon, about 40 miles inland from the coast. Today it will be 85, much nicer than the nearly 100’s we have been having. Summer knitting is definitely in the works!

  27. I love the two tank top patterns as these are hard to find. This is a book I would love to have.

  29. I live in the Great State of Michigan, and it’s been a balmy 84 degrees today!! We’re supposed to drop in the 70’s tomorrow, which makes me a little sad, but this book is perfect, since I did read my favorite word — shawl!!! Thank you for the wonderful giveaway!! Always love to make new items for myself and others!!

  30. I’m in NYC and the temperature is 91! But I loveeeee knitting! This book seems like the perfect solution to this conundrum 😉

  31. I live in the South, but I am vacation in Maine today! Sadly, it’s 90 degrees and humid here today. This book is full of great patterns. Thanks for another fabulous giveaway! !

  33. I live in Upstate NY.
    It is now 76 degrees.
    Refreshing after 100% humidity
    and in the 90″s last weekend.

  37. The temperature hit 91 today in Ohio. Pretty hot and muggy. Thanks for the chance to win the book.

  38. I live in Phoenix, Arizona now but my knitting started when I lived in michigan. I am excited by this book and can’t wait to take a closer look!

  39. I live in Phoenix Arizona. 9:30 at night and it’s 95 degrees. Don’t know what the high was today, but tomorrow is forecast as 105 degrees.

  44. Georgia, where it is over 100 degrees today. Construction workers had some kind of accident and our power was out for 6 hours. You wanna talk about hot? Try 100 degrees with no fan or air conditioning. And then have a hot flash. It is a wonder I have not incinerated!

  46. I live in Italy and is very very hot at the moment! 40 degrees Celsius, it looks like is 104 Fahrenheit .

  49. Louisville, KY and in the 80s here today. Pleasant after heat of last few weeks.

  50. I live in Oregon. We’ve had a lot of really hot days this summer, but today is lovely, with a high of 79.

Have you read?

Yarn Cozy Knitting Patterns

I’ve been toying with the idea of making a yarn cozy or yarn ball holder on the circular knitting machine, but I haven’t gotten to it yet. In the meantime, here are some yarn cozy knitting patterns you can make with knitting needles. Use yarn to hold you yarn!

In its simplest form, a yarn cozy is just a sleeve or a little basket that holds your yarn when you’re working with a center-pull ball so it doesn’t fall apart when you knit. The easiest ones I could find are from Love in Stitches KN, which has a regular size and a mini size. They’re worked with sock yarn and there are options for making them with ribbing, faux cables and with self-striping yarn.

For bigger cakes there’s a project called We call it the “bail holder” from Nicole LeBlanc. This pattern is available on Ravelry and you can use any yarn and make it any size you like. It features an I-cord edging that has a loop in it so you can thread they yarn through the loop to keep it extra contained as you knit.

Another large one that has a slightly fancier pattern is this one by Mareike Meye. You can use any yarn and any gauge, and slip stitch pattern worked in different colors on the sides makes it a little more fun and uses a bit more stash. A strap buttons across the top to hold the ball in place and you can add a buttonhole to the middle of the strap to thread the yarn through. Check this one out on Ravelry.

Adding lace to a yarn cozy makes it fit a wider variety of balls and expand or shrink a bit as needed. Jennifer Sugarman’s Ball Sack uses sock yarn and is made to hold sock yarn. It has the option of making I-cord or using ribbon or cord you already have to make a drawstring at the top. You can find this pattern on Ravelry.

Another lacy option is the yarn ball holder from Frugal Knitting Haus. This one uses worsted weight yarn and has an easy mesh lace pattern and an I-cord drawstring that’s sewn together at the ends so you could loop it over your wrist while you knit if you like. This pattern is also on Ravelry.

Speaking of wrist yarn holders, I also found this one form Knituition. This one uses sport weight yarn and has a spiral rib pattern on the body. The strap is attached to the bag with D-rings, or you could make it a little longer and just sew it into the bag.