Review and Giveaway: ISLAND

 ISLAND collection: Arbutus (far left), Strathcona (center), Renfrew (top right), Rathtrevor (middle right), Grace (bottom right).

I've been a fan of Jane Richmond's designs for a while- her knits have a clean, minimal aesthetic that is very modern and very timeless at the same time, traits that I really admire. When Jane first starting talking about doing a collection on her blog, I was excited to see it- I knew ISLAND would be gorgeous.

The photographs from the book are all beautifully done, and the layout is really inviting. The book feels very thorough and is consistent in the experience of the book, which truly evokes a west coast vibe, true to Jane's Vancouver Island roots. I have a really tough time picking a favourite:

  Arbutus is fascinating in it's construction and looks very wearable, and Grace looks like a perfect raglan cardigan that would go with absolutely everything. I was especially interested to see a table of information for all the sizing measurements and stitch counts for Grace, the sweater. I've never seen a more thorough outline of the specifications for a sweater, which makes is perfect for altering to customize a perfect fit, and if you are beginning to think about sweater design, shows just how much work goes into crafting a well fitting garment.

You should check out all the amazing FOs from these patterns on Ravelry. When you see all the beautiful FOs from this collection it is clear that the knits speak for themselves.

Would you like a chance to win a copy of this beautiful book? I bet you would! Leave a comment (including your Ravelry ID or email, so I can get in touch with you if you win!), comment on Facebook, or tweet about it! You can get extra entries to win if you comment AND facebook/tweet. The winner will be posted Sunday, Feb 3rd.

Product Review and Giveaway: Jordana Paige Tool Butler

I'm sure many of you are familiar with Jordana Paige's knitwear designs and bags, possibly even seeing them at your LYS or online. But have you seen their new Tool Butler?!

I chose Bronze (it comes in 4 colours), and I love it.

See, I'm not the most organized with my knitting tools. I have a vase for my straights, a pouch for my circulars; and my crochet hooks, dpns, and stitch markers run amok in the coffee table drawer:

(that coffee table drawer is my secret shame. Now the secret is out!)

So... I was in need of some organizing. Enter the handy Tool Butler.  First off, I can tell you that the ways to use the Tool Butler are probably limitless- I bet you could round up one hundred Tool Butler owners and every single one would be organized differently. Even when organizing my own, I found myself wondering if perhaps the dpns should go in the zippered pouches, or the best way to use the cards for labeling, etc. There is no right or wrong way to organize the Tool Butler, which I really appreciate.



The mesh pouches are really handy- you can see through them, so you don't need to unzip every single one when you are looking for something.

I also love how it is exactly the right size to hold a pattern printed on normal A4 paper, folded in half. If you had a lot of projects on the go, you could have notes, patterns, needles and notions for each project in it's own distinct pouch. But here, I have my circular needles corralled in the pouches, according to size.



I'm really impressed with it's overall good looks, too- it resembles a stylish clutch evening bag more than a tool caddy of any kind, and it is that exact stylish-ness that makes me feel so much more professional about my knitting. Of course, when your previous system is a coffee table drawer, this is really a huge step up.

Now, let's have a giveaway for one of these amazing Tool Butlers! To enter, leave me a comment letting me know 3 things:
- your contact info
- which colour you like best (check out the product page for the full details)
- what you most want to use the Tool Butler for (e.g. organizing crochet hooks? WIP tools and info?)

Deadline to enter is 12:00 p.m. (EST) on Thursday, May 17th. I'll announce the winner then!

Hold Your Needles 1& 2: Review and Giveaway!!

 I recently heard about Hold Your Needles 1 and Hold Your Needles 2, two remarkable pattern collections
from Finnish designers Mari Muinonen and Suvi Simola. The first collection has 12 patterns and the second collection has 10 patterns, all for very reasonable download prices. Both collections feature lots of texture and many have gorgeous (I mean, really) cable details.

Hold Your Needles 1 has a great mix of patterns, including two for men, two hat/mitts combo patterns, and  some for kids/babies. Most of the patterns call for heavier weights of yarn, which helps them knit up really fast, as well as keeping you and your loved ones nice and toasty warm.


My personal favourites from Hold Your Needles 1:

 Clockwise from top left: Lumme, Muikkuset, Reha, Muffeli

Hold Your Needles 2  maintains a similar design aesthetic, focusing on the heavier weights of yarn that knit up quickly, as well as lots of rich texture and beautiful cables.You really need to click on over to Mai to check out the amazing details (and it's grown up version, Juuli)- those pockets are amazing!

My personal favourites from Hold Your Needles 2:
Clockwise from top left: Paju, Friika, Kiedo, Mai

Both of these collections are filled with thoughtful details and clever designs, and when you look at the FOs from other knitters, you can see they have consistently strong results- which is extremely important! It's easy to have great pattern photos, but the proof of a great pattern is in it's ability to deliver consistent results. 

Suvi and Mari have very generously offered to do a giveaway- 3 lucky winners will receive the e-pattern books for both Hold Your Needles 1 and 2! Just leave a comment on this post telling me which is your favourite pattern from 1 AND 2 (so- you're telling me the names of 2 patterns, one from each collection). The deadline for entering is Thursday, January 19th at midnight (12:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time). I'll announce the three lucky winners on Friday- good luck everyone!

Goodbye 2008, Hello 2009

I had to do it- the mosaic tool in flickr for the TeamKnit 2008 knits in review. To be honest, although I'm happy with my knits (most of the time), I think I could have knitted more this year. And there are some projects that really should have made it into the 2008 grouping that will have to wait until 2009, but such is life. I'm not usually one for resolutions, but I think I'm going to make one this year- I resolve to use me time more wisely. In 2009, I want to knit MORE, blog MORE, use my time BETTER and not waste it puttering around on the internet and watching tv (often at the same time, like right now, for example.... good thing it's still 2008 and have a few more hours of slacking off....) and somewhere in there... plan my wedding, and get married in August. ;)