Knit Aid!

"What a great book! [Vickie] really covers everything and I love the small size, I can definitely see myself keeping this book at my fingertips.  Good job!"--Brett Bara, Editor, Crochet Today

Well, it's official, Knit Aid: a Learn It, Fix It, Finish It Guide for Knitters on the Go has hit stands!  As I've said before, I'm really excited about this book because unlike my others which really catered to very specific knitters, this one has a little something for everyone (as is illustrated by the handy-dandy table of contents below! )

Now please, if you will, sit back, relax and allow me to give you a little video blog style introduction to my wee how-to guide.  Give me 4 minutes of your time and I'll give you the knitting world!  I kid.  I joke.  But seriously, in lieu of my usual written rambling today, I rambled on camera from my messy office.

 

Have I sold ya, yet?  Well then, why not let your fingers do the walking over to Amazon or Barnes & Noble.com.  They've got it now, and are shipping asap.  Snag it here!

Lastly, big mushy gushy thanks to my editor of Knit Aid and all of my books over the past 4 years, Jo Fagan.  She's recently moved on to pursue other professional opportunities, and I'm going to miss working with her.

Happy book-ing!

xo,

Vickie

P.S.  If you wanted to *ahem*, you know, tell a friend or blog about Knit Aid, I would totally love you long time. :)

Mag Winners

Austin allergens are not my friend today, so I'll keep this post short & sweet.  Thank you so much for all of the great ideas that we can all use to lead more environmentally conscious lives!  I'll definitely be adding some of your suggestions to my eco-arsenal. :)

Ok, so picked at random, the winners of a year's subscriptions to my favorite parenting publication, Kiwi Magazine are: Scoutj and Tina!  Ladies, please e-mail your full names and mailing info to:rebecca@vickiehowell.com, so we can get you set up.

Thanks for playing along at home and until next time: Recycle, Reuse, Recreate!

xo,

Vic

P.S.  Psst!...Just heard that Knit Aid is now available on shelves at Barnes & Noble.  Woo hoo!

Today in Craft Gossip

Today I feel like dishing the latest in craft community news.  This of course, is because I'm avoiding editing a promo video at all costs.  Now, I know that me procrasting comes as a huge shock to most of you, so I'll give you a moment to collect yourself and grab some coffee before I begin. ;)

*waiting*

Ready?  Ok good.  In no particular order, here you go:

• First and foremost, a big hooray for fellow Austin Craft Mafia member Susann Koehane (and her hubby John) for being preggers!  May she have a healthy, happy pregnancy filled love and celebration.  I have a feeling that she's just the first of us to jump on the inevitable baby train in our group (Jen A. and I don't count because we're ol' veterans, at this point).   Doesn't she look SO beautiful!  *happy sigh*

• It's Administrative Assistants week which of course, means that a big ol' sale is happening over at Naughty Secretary Club!  My pal Jennifer has slashed prices by 25% for the entire week (hurry, only a couple more days left!).    I personally find her latest revamped vintage necklaces, worth the price of admission themselves!

• Speaking of Ms. Perkins, yesterday she officially announced the anticipated arrival of her very first book:  The Naughty Secretary Club: The Working Girl's Guide to Handmade Jewelry.  It's not out until August, but you can check out her blog now for info on what's inside and how to pre-order.  I've seen most of the book's content and let me tell ya, it's soul-hurting cute--I'm so proud of her!

• Although the beloved Adorn magazine is alas, no longer, Knit.1 (put out by the same publisher) is still holding on to hopefully, a long life.  Sadly though, printing has gone done from 4 issues a year to 3.  Viva las printed publications!

• Kathy Cano Murillo and her husband Patrick Murillo have teamed up to create a life size installation piece called "La Casa Murillo: A Life Size Shadow Box".  If you're in the Arizona area, you'll be able to see all 900 sq ft of it at the Heard Museum for the next 6 months!  A family that arts together, is a family who stays together. :)  Oh, and you can find more Crafty Chica goodness at the Phoenix Indie Craftorama!

• Jenny Hart's going to be at the ICE craft fair in Atlanta this summer so if you're planning on going too, make sure to search her out!  While you're at it, check out her latest project : Sublime Stitching Craft Pad.  It's got more than 75 embroidery patterns for only $12.95--that's like 17 cents a pattern!  That my friends, is some stitching goodness.  Jenny's also in the line-up of guests for the 2nd season of my podcast, CRL!

• Speaking of CRL, I'll be doing a larger annuncement + giveaway post sometime over the next coupla weeks.  In the meantime though, if you'd like a preview of guests and show dates they're available on my website here.

• The latest hot gossip for me is that I just signed on to be the needle arts expert for the Lifetime Television website!  I'll be hosting five, 5 minute holiday project videos that you'll be able to click & see as of this summer (make sure to check out Kathy's though, in the meantime)!  As you've probably figured out by now, there's not likely to be anymore new Knitty Grittys so I'm thrilled that I'll still be able to craft in all of your homes with you, via the web.  I'm also working on some possible mobile phone programming and Barnes & Noble videos so not to worry, I'm not going anywhere!  Oh, and don't forget, the Knitty Gritty 1-hour special will be airing this summer. :)

• Lastly, I'm SO excited that Knit Aid is finally in the warehouse and headed my way so I can fill all of your signed-copy orders (I hear that Amazon has already started shipping their orders)!  Next week I'll try and post a little sneak preview of the inside of the book.  I'm really proud of this this one.  It's informative, fun to read & learn from (at least I hope), well laid out, and really useful--more so than any of my other books (and half the price!)  I apologize in advance for the gajillion "aid" related puns in it (what can I say, they entertain me during the writing process) but in return for you bearing with me on that, I'm donating a percentage of royalties to the Red Cross.  

Order your signed copy here NOW for only $7.95+ $3 shipping!

Oh, and I've recently succumbed to the voyeuristic time-sucker that is, Twitter.  If you're interested in following up-to-the-minute updates from the likes of myself, Craft Magazine, Etsy, Jennifer P, Crafty Chica, etc.--just got to Twitter.com to sign up.  Here's the link to follow me: http://twitter.com/VickieHowell.     Trust me, you're not missing anything on my part--just boring daily routine posts.  Snory Mc Snorville.  The Craft one is worth it though because they post links what seems like hourly, to projects on their site.

That's it for today.   Peace.  Out.  Craftside!

xo,

Vickie

P.S.  ATTENTION: PATRICIA GUERRERO!  If you're reading this please contact rebecca@vickiehowell.com with your address.  Yours is the only one I don't have from the Stitches West orders.  Thanks!

Happy Earth Day!

Environmental consciousness is a top priority for me, which is why I've been working hard to incorporate it as much as possible into my professional life. I write an eco-craft column, am partnered with (alternative fiber pioneers) Southwest Trading Company to create my own line of hemp, soy, organic cotton and bamboo yarns and, am co-writing a book on "green" knitting & crochet.  In my personal life though, I find that I have to work even harder at reducing my family's carbon footprint on our earth.  Ironically, the demands of a career focusing more and more on sustainability, makes some of the conveniences that ultimately do the most damage to our world harder to give up.  It's all a work in progress, I suppose.   

I thought I'd take this Earth Day opportunity to exchange information about different ways households across the nation (and beyond?) are beginning to do our parts towards living a bit more consciously.  Here are a few of ours:

1.  Replacing all of our regular lights with compact fluorescent bulbs.

2.  Being vegetarians.

3.  Rinsing out and recycling all cans, bottles and plastic containers.

4.  Using a filtered water pitcher to replace the 36+ plastic bottles a week, we used to go through.  

5.  Bringing reusable shopping bags with us to the grocery store.

6.  Washing almost all of our clothing in cold water.

7.  Instead of disposable juice boxes for the kids, we've recently opted for "litter free"(aka reusable) juice containers.

8.  Choosing organically grown food options, whenever possible.

9.  Supplementing our wardrobes with "thrifted" clothing.

10.  Finding responsible recycle locations for environmentally sensitive electronic equipment. 

This obviously isn't enough, but it's a start.  In hopes of slowly doing more, I've love to hear what it is that you're doing to live greener.   Post now (even if it's only one thing--baby steps, still count!) and not only will we all benefit from info swapping, you'll also be entered into a drawing to win a year-long subscription to the fantastic, healthy parenting magazine, KIWI!  

xo,

Vickie

Sweet Quilting Skillz (Oh, and contest winners)

Yesterday, I took a Quilting 101 class at Craft-o-Rama with my friend Jaime. Although, I can't say that I'm a full convert (my attention span, or lack thereof, doesn't necessarily lend itself well to the tediousness), I did have a ton of fun and totally *heart* the table runner I made there. 

I'd been wanting to take a class for a long time so I'd know how to do the actual quilting part of the baby blanket I pieced the front together for, oh, maybe 3 years ago. Well, and also to add it to the ol' crafty arsenal, as it were. I REALLY want a big quilt for our bed too, and am in love with all of the Denyse Schmidt designs but in the interest of time and sanity-- I may just make pot holders and cards. ;)  Speaking of time, I'm almost out of it, so I'll make this more of a pictorial post:

The Final Five

 There were a ton of fabric choices available at the store so making a life decision on which 5 (required amount for the class project) would co-mingle on my table forever was probably, the hardest part of the whole day for me!   Oh, but aren't they delightful?!  Can you tell what color phase I'm going through right now?  My quilt totally coordinates with both my kitchen and the cover of Knit Aid (look to the right of this post.) ;)

Step 1, c'est fini!

Following a chart, we cut different length pieces and laid them out accordingly.  I've said it before and I'll say it again:  my favorite (non-knitting) craft tools EVER are a rotary cutter, quilter's square & self-healing mat.  They're found in the quilting section of craft stores, but are applicable to a range of crafts.  I use mine a a lot to cut up strips of fabric, plastic bags, etc, before I turn them into "yarn".

Baster's Choice

I don't enjoy the hand-basting so my new favorite tool find, is bent safety pins which make getting the pin through all layers without misshaping the piece, a cinch!  Who knew?  Incidentally, I also love the bent tapestry needle (I think Clover makes them) for seaming knit & crochet projects.  But I digress.

Elbow Grease

I might've been too short to be able to put the body weight needed to cut through both fabric & batting, for a last-minute fix.  Good thing I believe in full-body crafting!

Q/F/Fs 

Me with Elizabeth (the instructor), Jaime, Lisa (classmate) & all of are almost-done quilts.

As I'm typing this, I'm suddenly missing working on my beloved quilt-ette. Heh, maybe I was wrong. Who am I kidding?  I'm totally a convert, after all!

On a different note: thanks to everyone who participated in the Jelly Yarns contest!  The winners of this giveaway are (totally picked at random): FUJI MAMA & AMY!  Please e-mail your mailing info to: jellyyarns@3dimillus.com.

Since I've gotten back up on contests (see former post in lack of planning), I'll already be having another one happening tomorrow.  This one's for you parents out there!

Speaking of parenting, I'm off to pick up the kids from school!

Crafty kisses,

Vic

P.S.  For more pictures for the quilt class (including an FO shot of mine), see my Flickr Pool

Pre-Summer Giveaway!

I've never really been much of a summer-lovin' kind of gal.  Growing up in a beach town, you'd think that I'd be all about the mid-year rays.  I so, totally am not. I blame this on a string of immobilizing sunburns obtained in my tween and teen years (while attempting to keep up with my blond, baby-oil lathered, tan skinned friends) and the Casper references often directed my way whenever I made an outdoor appearance.  Alas.  What can I say, I'm Irish (or rather, "Spirish" as my Spanish father explained was the term for the convergence of the two sides of my heritage.)  I mean, my people are made for cool, misty moors --not dry, unforgiving, sweltering heat!  I'd become a vampire, but my vegetarianism is potentially problematic for blood-sucking survival.  Alas, again.

If I had it my way living in Austin (which ironically is summer for a good 6 months of the year), I'd live in some self-induced state of bio-domedom.  As a parent of young children though, inevitably around this time every year, I have to come to grips with the fact that trips to the pool, day camps, and nature-filled play dates are in my near future.  Alas, thrice.

If you can't beat 'em though, join 'em--and while you're joining them, you might as well accessorize.  Start planning now (wait, did I just use the "p" word?), and knit yourself the perfect waterproof bag for toting around a hat, sunscreen &  bottle of water.  How, pray tell, do you do that you ask?  Well my poolside pumpkins, you've got a couple of choices!

You can run right out and grab a copy of Not Another Teen Knitting Book, featuring this purse made from that same plastic lacing that you might've made lanyards from as a kid (I never actually went to summer camp, but I've heard lore that said lanyards were the craft of choice there.)

OR, you might want to choose from the plethora of color and style choices of fiber thin, plastic yarns from Jelly Yarns ! These came out right around the time my book came out and I remember thinking, "Man, I wish these had been around when I was making the Spring Break bag--look at all the colors!" 

This yarn is perfect for all of your summer-y needs, as it is durable, waterproof, and will work for anything from flip-flops to yoga bags!  Oh, and note to parents: THERE'S A GLOW IN THE DARK OPTION (of which I'm definitely going to need to get for trick-or-treat bag making, later in the year!)

As part of my Knit Aid release countdown, I have yet another giveaway for you!  Get started on your own, beach-bound booty now by letting your fingers do the walking over to the JY site and/or posting here now for your chance to win one of their great, Jelly purse kits.

Two lucky stitchers will get supplies needed to make either one of the below pictured bags.

Crocheted Black Heart Purse Kit

Knitted Small Market Bag Kit

What are you waiting for?  Post.  C'mon, everyone does it. ;)  Winners will be chosen via a drawing and notified on Monday.

Good luck & happy Friday!

xo,

Vickie

P.S.  If your posting under "Anonymous" you WILL NOT be eligible unless you sign your name at the bottom of the post.  Thanks!

Knitting by the seat of my pants.

I am not a planner.  I don't memorize things, I'm more comfortable with improv-ing, I work better under the gun, I enjoy game plans in concept only, and rarely finish anything before the 11th hour.  This trait often makes those closest to me crazy, but it's part of my own brand of "plate-overfilled" denial.  It works for me.  

In true "me" form, at 4pm the day before a scheduled Austin Craft Mafia photo shoot--I embarked on what in hindsight was probably, an unrealistic task.   I decided that I a.) wanted something new to wear so, b.) I needed to hand-knit (I'm still at the knotting and cursing stage with my knitting machine) that something (a cardigan) out of my Vegas yarn.  Yes, for the next day. Less than 22 hours from then...and, I wasn't planning on staying up all night to work on it either--because nobody likes a puffy-eyed white girl in pictures. ;)

I cast on and knit.  And knit.  Then slept.  Took the kids to school.  Then knit some more. About 2 hours before Jennifer was picking me up to meet the mag peeps I had to come to grips with the fact that my cardi, was going to have to be more of a "cardette".  I looked over at my mom who was in town for a vist and batted my eyelashes at her, asking if she minded finishing the ribbing on the sleeves so I could take a shower.  Thank the yarn Gods for crafty moms (and the top-down version of sweater design) or man, I would've been completely SOL!  She worked on the cuffs while I threw on some make-up and did the runner's-stretch (aka the, "seriously, could you be any tighter?!" move ) in my newly washed jeans.  We're now down to 45 minutes and I still haven't fully accepted the fact that I don't have a button band, ends aren't woven in, there's no way to close it, etc.  

Unfinished, rolled edges are totally the new black, I decide--so I sew on a button under the boobage area and poke it through a non-existent hole on the opposite side, to get it to stay on me.  This is NOT good knitter's form I know, but a gal's gotta do what a gal's gotta do, right?  

It's 10 minutes before lift-off and I'm still not happy with the way the top's laying.  Maybe curling edges are more of the less-trend-setting brown, rather than the newer-and-hotter black?   Drat.  Think Vickie, think.  5 minutes.  

Earrings!  Yes, earrings always make everything better.  I scrounged around an old jewelry box in my closet, scored a sparkly stud from my PGE (Pre-Ginormous Earring) stage, and poked it through the collar of my cardette.  Success!  Was it comfortable?  No.  Did it stay put, if I moved around my neck too vigorously?  Not so much.   But did it do the job for the time being, while creating a saucy, peek-a-boo neckline?  Why yes, yes it did.

Last minute Cardette, knit in Vegas in color: Casino

ACM at Craft-o-Rama

Since this picture was taken, I've unraveled the bottom band and the bust darts, picked up stitches and worked on knitting a torso. She'll make her repurposed debut in normal-lengthed, cardigan glory in an upcoming video gig I'm working on.  As my best friend Tammy always says, it all works out in the end--or it doesn't. One way or the other. 

This time, it did. Sort of.

xo,

Vickie

K.1 2nd Annual Green Issue!

The new issue of Knit.1 Magazine is finally available!

Click here to preview issue!

For obvious reasons, I love the content in their eco issues but this one especially, means a lot to me. Here are a few reasons why:

• First and foremost, this is the last issue with my dear friend Adina as the editor.  As always is the case with her work (and the rest of the K.1 team), the styling, content, and design influence is all goy-geous!   So, even though this is technically "the Green Issue", from this moment forward I'll be referring to it as the "Adina Klein Commemorative Issue." ;)

• Secondly, I REALLY appreciate her sporting a sweet cardigan, made out of her namesake color in VHC Craft yarn.  You can find the pattern on their website here and the yarn to make it with is available now on the SWTC site (you can also reach them through the yarn pages on my site).

Lastly, but not leastly, my lovely friend Adrienne is the feature of this edition of the celeb knitting column which ended up planting the seeds for our upcoming joint-venture: Eco-Stitch (working title), an environmentally conscious knitting & crochet book!  More on this, later.

Check out the article for Adrienne's insight on earth-friendly fibers, her knitting history, her new sustainable living shop (also featured in the April issue of Lucky Magazine--the one with Hilary Duff b tge cover) and pictures shot especially for us by her photographer sister, Natalie Redpath.

Alright, I'm off to get a Skype phone so I can finally do the new CRL podcast interviews...and a new pair of Spanx (because frankly, I've worn my other pairs out) for the Austin Craft Mafia Southern Living Magazine shoot tomorrow!

Happy mag reading!

xo,

Vickie

Read another celeb knitter interview, here!

This weeks winners!

Note to self:  for all future contests, do not put yourself in the position of having to choose winners in ways that don't involve either a hat, or a number system.  It's too difficult.  

Thanks to all of you who entered the Knitter's Block contest!  Man, it was tough choosing a winner.  So much so that after reading all of your posts, Julie (aka Coco Knits) was touched enough to donate a 2nd kit!  Soooo, without further ado, the winners are:

1. Boston Becca because seriously, a chuppa?  For you gentiles out there who may not know the size and commitment involved in making one of these things (especially a freakin' lace version!), a chuppa is the actual canopy that Jewish couples get married under.  You may remember Owen Wilson's character in Meet the Parents, carved one out of wood for Greg & Pam's wedding.  Of course later, he accidently burned it to the ground. But I digress.
2. Kounting Sheep because, I'm a sucker for Odes, Haiku and people who have the ovaries to stick with college when they're broke.  

Ladies, please e-mail your mailing into directly to: knit@cocoknits.com and Julie will get your prizes out to you.  Congrats!

The rest of you can send hate mail to: vickiesucksfornotpickingme@vickiehowell.com.

Thank you for playing along at home. ;)

xo,

Vickie

No More Blocker's Block!--CONTEST

Let me start out by saying that admittedly, I am not a blocker.  In fact, in the past I've tended to avoid projects that require blocking especially, if they needed more space than an ironing board provided.  I'm also prone to avoiding details, but that's really beside the point.  Anyway, thanks to the brilliance of Coco Knits, I no longer have blocker's block!   

Picture this if you will: a modular blocking system that adapts to any size garment, is usable virtually anywhere, is self-contained AND easy to store!  No, can't visualize?  Yeah, I suck at that too.  No worries, just scroll down to see the amazing KNITTER'S BLOCKS!

I came across this bit of blocktopia at Stitches West when I escaped from my SWTC post to run and introduce myself to the Article Pract (Oakland LYS) gals, and bought one immediately from their booth.    As you can see, it's the same concept as those puzzle play mats for kids except that this version is heat resistant & waterproof.  The kit comes with everything you see pictured. Well, except for the purple tank top, which is mine (the pattern however, will be available in the Summer issue of Knitty. ;))


Why am I telling you all this you ask?  Well, a.) because I'm a firm believer that if you find something good, you should spread the word about it and b.) Coco Knits has been kind enough to donate a Knitter's Block kit for me to giveaway in this week's Countdown to KNIT AID Contest!

Post now with the reason why you neeeeeeeed Knitter's Blocks (Are you a lace knitter, without a a big table & lots of taped down towels?  Do you live in a small apartment, devoid of carpet and space?  Whatever, I want to hear it!) and/OR your current method of blocking without this tool. Over the weekend, I'll pick the most deserving (or possibly entertaining ;)) candidate to receive one of these BLOCKbuster beautes.  Sound good?  Good.

Peace.  Out.  Knitside.

xo,

Vickie