I have long been a fan of Kristin Nicholas’ work, so I was delighted to have the opportunity to speak with her (via email) last week and ask her a couple of questions about her work and her new book.

Me: You have your own yarn line with Nashua Handknits. I’ve just been over on the website gazing at all the lovely colors. How involved were you in the process of developing the yarn — both the fiber content and the colorways? It seems like it must be a huge undertaking!

Kristin: I think you probably know this but for those readers who don’t….. I was the Creative Director at Classic Elite Yarns for 16 years. Part of my job was to develop new yarns and colorways. I loved working with the mills all over the world, specifying fiber content, twist, yardage – all the “ingredients” that go into making a yarn at a manufacturing level. Because I had developed so many yarns for Classic Elite over the years, it wasn’t hard for me to develop the Julia.

When I was originally developing my Julia Yarn, I knew I wanted it to have wool in it for its resiliency and “knittability.” I have also always loved the mohair fiber – a yarn with mohair always has fabulous sheen. Adding mohair to the Julia would make the colors look richer and luminescent. Julia has 25% mohair which is just enough – it doesn’t slip too much on my needles. The alpaca is so soft and luxurious but I’m not a fan of pure alpaca yarns – they stretch too much. Adding 25% alpaca would make the yarn softer than a pure wool. I worked with a mill I knew in Peru to develop the Julia. I knew their capabilities and trusted them.

When it came to dyeing the Julia, I specified all the colors and ordered “lab dips.” To do this, I collected colors that I wanted to have the yarn dyed in. To collect colors, I look everywhere – at fabric stores for pretty colored fabrics, in craft stores, in my stash. I developed the color range so that all the colors will work with each other. I sent the color snips to the mill in Peru. Their dyehouse “dipped” the colors, sent them to me and I either approved them or tweaked them.

Then the yarn was all set to go! Labels were designed and the Sales Reps for Nashua Handknits headed out to spread the Julia word. I design with the yarn almost exclusively. I love the weight of the yarn and the hand and drapability of the finished garments. Besides colorwork, Julia is also wonderful knit in cables and textured stitches.

Julia is named after my daughter Julia who is now eleven years old. She is just as colorful as the yarn!

Me: Second question — do you have a favorite project in your new book, and if so, which one? and of course — why?

Kristin: Oh wow, that is a really tough question. There really isn’t a project in the book I don’t like. This book is a real representation of my current knitting style. I just love working with colors in Fair Isle and then decorating the fabric with extra embroidery and duplicate stitch. The embroidery adds so much to the projects – putting them over the top. And it is very creative and easy to do. I hope more knitters start combining embroidery with their knitting.

As for the projects, I have a bunch of favorites – mostly because the photos by John Gruen are so lovely. I love the “Best Friends Pullovers” which were modeled by my daughter Julia and her friend Bridget.

I think the photo is just so amazing – the colors leap off the page. The photograph was taken late in the afternoon on a cold November day. The light was just right to make the sweaters really pop.

I love the Op Art Ottoman and the Marrakesh Market Pillows.

Our farmhouse is filled with handknit pillows that I have knit over the years. They are quick to make and really add to a home’s cozy decor. The Ottoman is just plain fun! Don’t you love those turquoise feet?

The other project that is really fun and very easy is the Little Shepherd’s Scrap Yarn Scarf. It is a great stash buster and easy enough for an advanced beginner to try. The photo of it on my little friend Matthew is so pretty with our sheep fading out in the background. And it would look good on anyone – man, woman, boy or girl.

A big thank-you to Kristin for taking the time to answer my questions, and for sending me the lovely photos for my blog review.

(Photos by John Gruen, reprinted from Color by Kristin, copyright 2008 by Kristin Nicholas, with permission from SixthandSpring Books. All rights reserved.)

You can visit Kristin’s blog here, and purchase a copy of this book (as well as many other delightful items) from her “shop” page here.

My Take on the Book

Kristin Nicholas is known for her lovely colorwork, and it is beautifully portrayed in this book.  A quick flip through the book is guaranteed to cheer you up on a grey November day like today.

The first chapter is called “The Joy of Color” and briefly chronicles Kristin’s love of color throughout her life. It explains the concept of a color wheel and how colors relate to one another, and demonstrates the value of swatching your colorwork experiments.

The next chapter is a great crash course in everything you need to know about fair isle knitting. There is a wealth of excellent information packed into these few pages. The chapter finishes with two practice projects to get you started in fair isle knitting: a chill-stopper (a long tube that you can stuff and use to stop drafts at doors and windows) and a child’s sampler scarf. The chill-stopper has explicit instructions for the colors and motifs used and the scarf has suggestions for both, so that you can let your creativity run wild.

Next, the project section. The book has 22 patterns for a very wide range of items — mittens, hats, sweaters, scarves, a shawl, a baby blanket, and a lovely variety of things to knit for the home.

At the back of the book, more treasures: an appendix  of custom edgings and many, many colorwork charts, and a section on techniques and abbreviations.

There’s a lot of great things packed into this beautiful book!

And I have two copies.

Want one? Leave a comment on this blog entry by 4:00pm Eastern time on Monday November 23, and I will invoke the power of the great and might Random Number Generator to chose a recipient.

(Please note that to be entered in the drawing you must leave a comment — don’t pm me in Ravelry, don’t email me using the “contact me” link. When you click on the “xx responses” link, it will show you comments already left, and at the bottom of the page is a form for you to fill out under  the heading “leave a reply.” Leaving a comment here is the only way the Random Number Generator will include you in the number from which it draws the winner.)

Meanwhile, Lucy is practicing for the weekend.

A Droid resting quietly (next to peppermints from The Loopy Ewe):

Still life with banana and pen:

A sock nearing completion:

Possible yarn choice for next sock design:

My supervisor:

If you read my friend Johanne’s blog, Born to Knit, you know she went to Germany last month and entered the hallowed halls of the Wollmeise “brick and mortar” shop. Her post about the visit is here.

Because Johanne told me about her plans to visit the Wollmeise shop beforehand I of course imposed upon her to be my Wollmeise personal shopper.

Johanne packed up the Wollmeise she obtained for me in a box and shipped it to me directly from Germany via DHL.

And yesterday, at long last, this was delivered to me.

Opening the box was almost a religious experience.

Here’s what was inside:

I almost had to go lie down after my initial exposure to all that Wollmeise glory.

Here are the skeins, photographed in twos and threes. If you click on each photo, it will enlarge enough so that you can see the colorway name on each label.

I spend the rest of the evening playing with my new babies, building Wollmeise forts and Wollmeise pyramids.

Thank you, Johanne!

In other news, I’m letting my bangs grow out. They have reached that awkward stage.

And Lucy is just lounging around.

I was all set to purchase the multimedia docking station for the Droid — the one that charges it while displaying weather, time, photos, etc. I figured I’d replace my alarm clock with this nifty little solution that costs $29.99.

Well, you can download a free app from the Android Market called “Dockrunner.” It puts your Droid into multimedia mode without the dock. Here’s my little Droid running multimedia mode and going commando without a dock.

You need to plug your charger in on what is now the bottom of the phone, so you do need some sort of stand for it if you want it to stand up nicely on your nightstand.

I ordered this stand from ThinkGeek.com for $3.99. Beats $30!

I’ve had my Droid for a week, and I am still in love with it.

Current Knitting

I’m working on a sock design using the lovely MacKintosh Iona sock yarn pictured in yesterday’s blog post. Here is the first sock, which I completed yesterday:

I’m calling the design “Thistle and Heather Socks” and it will eventually be available for sale from MacKintosh Yarns.

Or maybe “Heather and Thistle Socks.”

We Have a Winner

The winner of the Nicky Epstein book is Carol R., chosen by the great and mighty Random Number Generator. Thank-you to everyone who left a comment. If your name is Carol R., check your email.

Psssst! I’ll have another book to give away later this week . . .

Meanwhile, Lucy hasn’t done any more mountain climbing.

That’s a Canon SLR camera. It’s an older model — I bought it in 2006. There are newer models now that do much more, but this one works very well for me.

Speaking of stuff that works well, I recently bought the new Boye electric ballwinder. It retails for around $70 – $90, depending on where you buy it. If you do a Google search on “Boye electric ballwinder” you’ll find a bunch of buying options. Here it is in action:

It has a big suction cup on the bottom of it so you can attach it firmly to pretty much any flat surface. And it has variable speed, which you adjuct by sliding the on/off button.

And it does a nice job of winding.

What’s that yarn I’ve wound up?

That is a skein of MacKintosh Yarns Iona fingering weight, which is a blend of 80% superwash merino, 10% nylon, and 10% cashmere. The colorway is “Maude.” I’m doing a sock design for MacKintosh Yarns. But I’ll talk about that later.

That means that I finished my Cloister Socks.

Lucy has taken to mountain climbing. Here she is on top of the wall unit in my living room.

(I had to get up on a step-stool to get her down because she was scared to jump down.)

You may know Nicky Epstein from her many designs that have appeared in Vogue Knitting and other magazines over the years, and from her fabulous edging and flower books. I own a couple of her knitted edging books and the knitted flowers book. (There are also crochet edging and flower books for you crocheters out there.)

This new book is a collection of projects to knit as gifts for loved ones — perfect timing for holiday knitting. It is divided into chapters according to recipients: kids, girls, guys and special friends.

The kids’ chapter has several adorable hats, a baby blanket, a cute little hoodie, and some girly beaded socks. All of these projects are fairly quick knits, so you could whip a couple out as last minute gifts. My favorite project from this chapter:

The Meow Kitty Cap. How cute is that?

The girls’ chapter includes several pretty wraps and a scarf, some bags, a hat, legwarmers, and mitts. I love this tote:

The Cable-and-Leaf Tote, with an appliqued leaf that makes it distinctively a Nicky Epstein design.

The guys’ chapter includes gloves, scarf, socks, a throw, and a cap.

The gloves are Fisherman’s Gloves:

Great for keeping the hands warm while maintaining dexterity for fine motor tasks, perhaps tying a fly?

The Special friends’ chapter is my favorite. It includes a lovely afghan knit in blocks, so it would make a great charity project for a group to knit. There’s also a microwavable neckwarmer, footies and socks, spa cloths, a doggie hat/scarf combo, travel tags, and a scarf. And this:

A kitty play mat, complete with knitted mice. You can felt the mat, or leave it unfelted. Most cats love wool so this is a great idea for a present for your furry little friend. I’m betting Lucy would enjoy snuggling up on a mat of her own.

In the back of the book there’s a guide to organizations that accept donations of knitted items. There’s also a nice glossary of abbreviations, techniques, and sources.

My overall impression? This is a great book for someone who wants to knit for others. You will find something for everyone on your gift list (as well as for yourself) within its pages, and the projects are all original and fun.

As a bonus, here are a couple of tips from Nicky Epstein:

Tip 1: Simple Storage Solutions
Use an empty “Altoids” or any candy or cigar tin for storing T-pins, stitch markers and any other knitting paraphernalia that will fit in the tin.

Tip 2: Yarn Tracking
When using the long-tail cast-on, pull off the extra yarn for the tail to prevent running out of yarn and having to start all over. This extra yarn can be tied up and used for sewing seams later. Also, place a marker every 25 stitches in case you lose count of the cast-on stitches.

Now, I was sent two copies of this fun book — one for me, and one to give away!

Want my second copy? Leave a comment on this post by 4:00pm Eastern time on Monday, November 16, and we’ll draw a name at random to receive the book.

It’s been cold and rainy here for that past couple of days, which means this is what Lucy looks like most of the time:

When she is not in my lap, that is.

I had an LG Voyager previously and the difference between these phones? Wow!

The screen resolution is amazing, and once I got used to it, the phone is incredibly easy to use. Just a matter of learning how to do things. And there are a lot of great apps for it. But no knitting apps yet.

I set it up to use my wireless network at home, which it does automatically. Both on my network and on the 3G, it is VERY fast, unlike the Voyager.

The desktop mount is apparently not available yet — I’ll get that as soon as it comes out. Then I can get rid of my clock on my nightstand and use this instead. It does have a very nice alarm clock app pre-installed — very customizable.

And it’s great how it syncs with your Google account. I have all my contacts in Google, so those downloaded without a hitch, as did my Google calendar.

Speaking of Technology

A couple of you asked what type of camera I used for the weekend photos I posted yesterday. That was the little point and shoot Canon that lives in my purse. It does a very nice job, doesn’t it? It’s the Powershot SD770IS.

One thing that annoys me about a lot of the newer point-and-shoot Canons is the lack of a viewfinder. They have the LCD screen only. I need a viewfinder. If I try to take a photo using the LCD screen, I have to hold it a few inches from my face in order to see that shot, and I invariably shake the camera. With a viewfinder (which this little camera has), I rest the sides of my hands against my face while I take the photo and that stabilizes the camera so I don’t shake it.

Does anyone else have this problem or am I just a shaky old geezer?

Yes, I’m Still Knitting

See?

This is the second sock of the pair, so this project will be done in a couple of days.

Lucy Sez

“Yes, it is a little warm in here.”

I designed this to be their November sock, and it is now available. (As I write this, the Dye Dreams website seems to be down, but check back there if you are interested.)

This past weekend I did my annual trip down to Graves Mountain for a weekend of fun with friends

A photo mosaic of Graves Mountain:

1. IMG_0535, 2. IMG_0536, 3. IMG_0537, 4. IMG_0538, 5. IMG_0539, 6. IMG_0540, 7. IMG_0541, 8. IMG_0542, 9. IMG_0543, 10. IMG_0544, 11. IMG_0545, 12. IMG_0546, 13. IMG_0547, 14. IMG_0548, 15. IMG_0551, 16. IMG_0550, 17. IMG_0552, 18. IMG_0556, 19. IMG_0576, 20. IMG_0577

A photo mosaic of Kid Hollow farm, where we visited on Saturday:

1. IMG_0557, 2. IMG_0558, 3. IMG_0559, 4. IMG_0560, 5. IMG_0561, 6. IMG_0562, 7. IMG_0563, 8. IMG_0564, 9. IMG_0565, 10. IMG_0566, 11. IMG_0567, 12. IMG_0568, 13. IMG_0569, 14. IMG_0570, 15. IMG_0571, 16. IMG_0572, 17. IMG_0573, 18. IMG_0574, 19. IMG_0575

And a photo mosaic of a parade of classic cars that arrived at Graves Mountain yesterday:

1. IMG_0579, 2. IMG_0580, 3. IMG_0581, 4. IMG_0582, 5. IMG_0583, 6. IMG_0584, 7. IMG_0585, 8. IMG_0586, 9. IMG_0587, 10. IMG_0588, 11. IMG_0589, 12. IMG_0590, 13. IMG_0591, 14. IMG_0592, 15. IMG_0593, 16. IMG_0594, 17. IMG_0595, 18. IMG_0596

And this is the little bundle of purrs that was waiting for me when I arrived home yesterday afternoon:

A traveling salesman stays overnight with a farm family. When the family gathers to eat there’s a pig seated at the table. And the pig has three medals hanging around his neck and a peg leg. The salesman says, “Um, I see you have a pig having dinner with you.”

“Yes,” says the farmer. “That’s because he’s a very special pig. You see those medals around his neck? Well, the first medal is from when our youngest son fell in the pond, and he was drowning, and that pig swam out and saved his life. The second medal, that’s from when the barn caught fire and our little daughter was trapped in there and the pig ran inside, carried her out and saved her life. And the third medal, that’s from when our oldest boy was cornered in the stock yard by a mean bull, and that pig ran under the fence and bit the bull on the tail and saved the boy’s life.”

“Yes,” says the salesman, “I can see why you let that pig sit right at the table and have dinner with you. And I can see why you awarded him the medals. But how did he get the peg leg?”

“Well,” says, the farmer, “a pig like that–you don’t eat him all at once.”

Ahem. I told an abbreviated version of that joke when I was in Oklahoma a couple of weeks ago. It was at the end of the day and we were being silly. Keri decided it would be a good idea to cast on for a three-legged pig (using as a base the nose-up catnip mouse pattern I provided in the handouts for my Leftovers class).

Okay, maybe you had to have been there.

Anyway, here is that pig. Keri sent it to me and I got it yesterday.

I love its three little legs.

And curly tail.

Keri included in the package some treats for Lucy from her kitty, Slick, and this:

A limited edition Petite KIP Bag in my favorite Dala Horse fabric.

And check out the handle!

Thanks, Keri!

(Psst! As I write this, there are a couple of Dala Horse Petite KIP Bags in Keri’s etsy shop.)

Tomorrow I’m off for a fun weekend in the mountains with friends. I’ll return home Sunday, but it’ll be late enough so that I’ll not feel like blogging, so I’ll talk to y’all Monday.

Meanwhile, Lucy is in a post-treat state of bliss.

Sidra Vitale asked in the comments:

Because her paws are so furry, does Lucy ever ‘hydroplane’ on linoleum surfaces?

I live in a high-rise condo, and the only parts that are not carpeted are the kitchen, the bathrooms, and the entry foyer. And each of these areas are rather small, so Lucy really doesn’t have room to work up a good hydroplane.

Though no doubt she would given the space to do so!

Last night, overcome with fatigue and ennui, I did little knitting on my sock, so not a lot of progress since yesterday.

I really really love this yarn — Alchemy Juniper. I first heard of it when Clara Parkes did a review of it on Knitter’s Review. Here’s the review. If you are interested in this sock yarn (and if you aren’t, why the heck not?0 go read the review. Clara does her usual thorough in-depth review and explains how such a lovely soft squooshy yarn can be a good sock yarn.

Lucy sez:

“I’m soft and squooshy and it is all good.”