Giveaway - The Ohio Knitting Mills Knitting Book

This past Christmas, my mother gifted me The Ohio Knitting Mills Knitting Book.

I'm a sucker for vintage and vintage-inspired patterns, so I requested it, thinking it might have a few fun patterns. The photography looked amazing from the promo pictures online, and I love a knitting book with great photography - just inspiring, you know?

I was not prepared for the wealth of information this book contains! Not only does it have great vintage-inspired patterns with gorgeous photos (for men and women, both), it includes the entire history of the Ohio Knitting Mills. From inception to designers and designs, there are lots of interesting details about running a knitting mill in the early 20th century. Each pattern is inspired by not just one sweater, but many, and there are great photos of these lovely vintage sweaters. 

Now, if you're like me - you'll love the mix of interesting history and hip patterns, with a great visual aesthetic. Lucky for you, when my mom ordered this book for me, she accidentally clicked twice, and ordered two. So you can thank Jean M. Canavan for this giveaway. 

To enter:

• Just leave a comment! 
• For fun, tell me which decade inspires you most (I love the 60's. So much fashion packed into 10 years!)
• Leave your email in your comment - written like this: katie (at) gmail (dot) com
• Open to everyone

The giveaway will close Tuesday, May 10th at 9am. I'll pick the winner randomly at that time. If you're bored, hop over to my mom's blog and thank her for accidentally sponsoring this giveaway. She's a really talented watercolor artist, so there's lots to see!

Good luck!

Pyrex find!

A few weeks ago I met up with my friend, Susan, to do some knitting. Instead of actually knitting, we ended up eating cupcakes and shopping. That counts as knitting, right? .... 

As we were perusing some fancy antique stores, Susan excitedly cried out, "Katie! I read your blog, and... they have Pyrex here, and I think it's your pattern!"

Sure enough, stashed down on a junky shelf in the back of the store was this:

A nice addition to the collection! And an excellent example of a good friend. 

Liberty Crochet Collar Top

All my careful planning has come to an end and I present to you:

The Liberty Crochet Collar Top

That's what I'm calling it, since I'm entering it in Rae's Spring Top Sewalong.

After crocheting the collar, I went on the search for the perfect fabric. I originally planned to use a vintage sheet, but none of them really popped. And then I found this Liberty of London scarf. I bought it last year at Target (Liberty for cheap!), and I loved the pattern, but the drape was just not working for me. It was much to voluminous to be worn as a scarf - it was strangling me. So it was relegated to the fabric stash, and has now found new life as a top.

My first attempt was a complete fail - I cut the body of the top much too large, and it looked... horrible. Like a mumu, but short. I let it sit for a day or two - let my frustration subside - and then ripped out all the seams and started again. 

I cut about 5" off the sides and added a curve to the neckline and back. I gathered the fabric in the front to give it some shape, since I decided against darts. It's completely lined with muslin, so there are no facings. And this time, it worked. 

Muslin lining - Can you tell which hem was sewn by me and which was sewn by the nimble-fingered (machine) employees of Target?

The next version will have a thicker collar (better to hide the bra strap), but other than that, it's perfect! I'm planning to wear it with high-waisted skirts - a favorite summer time look that combines the hippie look with a 1930's aesthetic. 

And look how good it will look when I'm pregnant*! I will probably never wear it like this.

These pictures (except the hem close-up), were taken by my lovely sister, Meghan. And why do I look so unhappy, you ask? Because it was really bright outside, and my eyes are extremely sensitive. I swear - I like the top, sewing, and Meghan, despite my expression.

*I will not be pregnant anytime soon, Mom, don't get excited.

friendship bracelet winner

Everyone's a winner when it comes to friendship, right?

And since only 5 of you entered my friendship giveaway - you all win! 

Congratulations Meghan, Allyson, Sloane, MafiosaGrrl and Nicky! 

I'll send each of you two bracelets of your choice. Look for an email from me later today. 

Happy Easter!

From Katie, Chris and Sir Thomas More (the bun)

ps. adorable outtakes here and here

friendship bracelet giveaway!

Ok, so I got a little carried away...

I started making a few of these finger-knit friendship bracelets to send to some college friends, and I just couldn't stop! They're so fun and easy, and before I knew it, I had a lot. Soooo many. 

I have more than enough to swap, so I want to give some to my online friends, too! Just leave a comment to enter the giveaway and I'll pick two winners next Monday. Each will win two bracelets in the colors of your choice. Huzzah!

giving socks another chance

Back in January I planned out my selfish knitting. I knit a Beatnik and Bella's Mittens, and the final item on that list was a Knit Picks sock kit.

I asked for the kit for Christmas because I'm not really a sock knitter. I know some might consider that knitting sacrilege, but I'm just not that into it. 

But I wanted to give socks another try. Because knitting socks seems very useful, and portable, and non-seasonal. The kit has enough yarn for five pairs of socks, and here's the first.

They're too short, but other than that, successful. I knit them from the top down, and I'm going to knit the next pair from the bottom up and go until I use an entire ball of yarn. 

And how great are those shoes? I got them on sale at the end of last summer and - lucky me! - they're still hip this year. Now if only there wasn't snow on the ground, I'd be able to wear them. 

crochet top progress

After brainstorming on Wednesday, I whipped through the crochet collar for my top. I crocheted 14 round motifs and then joined them together. No pattern - just improv. I used stash yarn and it was just enough - an inch of yarn left over.

I think I'll use this scarf for the blouse part. It's from the Liberty of London line for Target last year - so its like Liberty fabric for cheap! 

And I'm pretty excited because Rae from Made By Rae just announced that she is once again hosting a Spring Top Sewalong! 

If you haven't heard of this - get ready - it's awesome. Everyone takes part with some selfish sewing and in the end the best tops go into a little competition. It's all good, inspirational sewing fun, and I'm excited to enter my top this year. Click over to Rae's blog for more info!

thinking about crochet and spring

It's not quite warm in Chicago yet, but that hasn't stopped me from dreaming about warm-weather clothes. I've been thinking about making a flowy spring top with a crochet yolk. With the magic of Ravelry, I found this: 

The pattern is Floral Motif Yolk Top from Crochet Adorned. How cute would that top be with a rustic leather belt?

The neckline is a bit square for me, though, and I don't like the thick straps. So I turned to ModCloth for some research/inspiration. 

I love the collar shape on this one.

A lacy racer back! A racy lacer back! 

But this:

This one is my favorite. I love the combination of the warm rose print with the cream-colored lace. I think I could use circular motifs laid out in a nice pleasing half-moon shape and then add a scalloped edging. I'm not going for a super lacy look, so I think it will work out!

a touristy weekend in Chicago

This weekend my parents and younger brother came into town and we did some tourist-y things. We ate at Yolk and Quartino (both highly recommended), shopped on the Mag Mile and hit up Navy Pier.

I took this picture of Navy Pier with my iphone while we were out on a boat tour, and I cannot believe how awesome it is! Needless to say, I'm in love with the camera aspect of my phone, and took some portraits of Chris and my younger - but much taller - brother, Patrick. 

  

Now Chris and I are watching Twin Peaks and I'm finger knitting bracelets like mad. Exciting night, eh?