Still here! Or..somewhere!

I'm still here and this blog is too!

Fast link to places I am teaching photo for makers coming up SOON maybe you'll join me???

Columbus OHIO 4/27/24 and Chicago IL 5/4/24

 

 Here's a little behind the scenes from a Berroco photo shoot we did in late fall.  It's a really wonderful fresh crochet collection, the theme was Summer Festival wear --and it being way beyond the summer festival season IRL, we created this kitschy set .  And yes I want her boots!

 We purposefully lit it to be as bright and pop as the astro turf and fake backdrop. I really love the collection.

Wait till you see the next season of collections  we shot for Berroco that will be out soon for the Fall 24. All shot  on location in amazing places, fab moels and styling and such good designs and yarns.

Some fun trends: more and more good crochet design made with good yarns. And more and more shades of yellow greens! And more attention paid to yarn sources and sustainability.

These three are from a photo shoot for the Hudson Valley Textile Project, showing off member products. 

I'm even finding myself drawn to a bright almost not-quite  yellow green!  What colors are you falling for lately?

3 things since the last time I posted

Well, that gives me plenty of leeway, right?!*

1) Quality and Quantity Time at Home - Work returned to a pretty much full-time pace for most of 2021, although I'm traveling much less.  Which gives me plenty of time to hang around the beach and....well...hang around at the beach. Often with friends in the neighborhood. It's not a bad thing!  Among many unexpected habits I picked up in 2020 was making sunset photos at the end of my street and posting them on the neighborhood Facebook page. I started doing it out of boredom during quarantine in 2020, kind of a buswoman's holiday.  My neighbors were (and still are) so appreciative that I keep doing it. This was a couple of days ago. January sunsets are the best.

2) Possibly my fave project of 2021 was ...crocheted?! It's my Ziggy Interrupted Scarf .  I impulsively joined a CAL for it last spring.  I thought it might be fun to go through all my small amounts of fingering weight yarn left from other projects. Or given to me as samples or in goodie bags. I was right.  I had a blast putting the color combos together, using really small yardages that I inexplicably saved...I think I used 30 colors on it, and the only thing I bought was a Freia Minikin green/aqua. It was an epic and fun project. I worked  in sections so I could bring it wherever I went, attaching them all at the end before adding the all around edging. And now I can crochet fingering weight yarn, something I'd never done before.  Highly recommend!

                         

3) Spent lots of time with my all time favorite human, Zoe. She turns 10 in a couple of weeks. How crazy is that? Also shown here, changed our formerly dark and very multi-colored cluttered living room into a light filled, less cluttered space. Best of all,  the old dangerous fireplace/unlined chimney situation is now a gas remote control hearth that helps heat the house. So bougie and I love it!

 

We had a neighborhood plunge on January 2nd. It was fabulous! 

_________________

*It's nice to be back. I don't know how that happened. The last couple of years have been...weird for us all!

at altman's needlearts in mattituck ny

Did this amazingness catch your attention? It got mine.  More about it follows.

A couple of Sundays ago I boarded a ferry bright and early to go teach at Altman's Needlearts in Mattituck, NY.  I was happy. Any gig that includes ferry travel turns out fabulously, in my experience.

The shop is delightful. It's full of great yarn, interesting materials for other maker/needlarty pursuits, fun displays, tools, patterns and handmade gifts and cards. (Really great cards, among other snobbery, I am a card snob)..... Kate Altman fills her shop well.

She invited my co-author Kirsten Kapur and I to teach, and booksign Drop Dead Easy Knits. The only thing missing was Mary Lou Egan our third partner, who lives way off in Minnesota. (we wave, sadly).

Kirsten taught the Glama Wrap project. I caught part of the class and wish I could have sat through it all. Kirsten brought swatches showing ways to think about modifying the pattern, how it would look in different yarns.....seriously, I have been living with this pattern since we started the book three years ago, you'd think I'd know all this, yet I still saw it in new ways. I love how she teaches. 

I taught a 10 Tips for Photographing Your Knits class.  This is Rachel, who works at the shop, sitting in as a gorgeous model for us when we did a little shooting. We did the class on our smartphones, allowing  me to crunch in some iphone-ography editing tips as well. Totally fun! My only regret (cringing to admit this)--I forgot to turn on the  bluetooth in my phone, so my selfie-stick missed the group class shots. Rookie error! 

This was my first trip to Mattituck, on the western edge of the North Fork of Long Island. It is so worth a  trip to this shop and charming little village--the block with Altmans also has  a winetasting room for a vineyard, a cheese shop, a chocolate shop and a really good sandwich and salad deli. There was coffee too. Like...couldn't you just live there? The beach isn't far away so..let's see, yarn, coffee, wine swimming..yeah. I'm good.

 Then I noticed these stunning crocheted blankets in the shop.They remind me a bit of the gazillion pieces I've pinned by French artist Sophie Digard..,,but these were different and wholly original. Kate pulled out more and more. They're the work of Evy Leonard, a crochet artist in Brooklyn who really has brilliant color & design instincts and a lot of fingering weight yarn. Let me blow your mind with a few more, OK?

I mean...even if you had a pattern that showed you the motifs for the squares, and suggested the yarns, you still couldn't replicate the blending mixtures of solid, hand dyed, variegated and speckled yarns and scraps she uses to make these. Did I mention they are fingering weight?

I almost overlooked this one, which is more neutrals and duller shades. It might be my favorite. 

All of them are a  good argument for never throwing away a scrap. And also for buying someone else's handmade brilliance when you find it. (contact Kate at Altman's if you feel the same way). 

Sailing home. A brilliant day. My theory about ferry travel gigs held up.

granny squares with doc mason's edge

Four days and a long round trip drive to Chicago later.  It turns out that I only needed to bring this one project along, it held my attention and was a perfect companion.

Over the first seven hours of the trip, when I wasn't driving, I made the last five squares, to bring my total to 42. ThenI ripped out the first three squares and made them more interesting. Followed by having a stern talk with myself to prevent ripping out and re-doing any more.  Somewhere around Ohio, with just one painfully expensive speeding ticket in the glove compartment, and just as we finished the last chapter of S-Town *(recommend!), I grabbed the Doc Mason's yarn and started crocheting the outer edges, through to Indiana and then Illinois.

I seriously love this yarn. It's totally working to bring the squares together tonally. Some are relatively muted, like these two, some have, let's say, more punch than I really would like.

Yarn with that farm-y sheepy glow. Don't you want to huff the lanolin fumes? I'm dreaming a whole sweater of it now. I was lucky to get the last of the 2016 Doc Mason's but keep an eye out, Ellen is poised for  another trip to the mill, you can see the clip ready to roll from the link. 

My favorite sight from the trip was these three together again, if only for a few hours. Two of us drove out to Chicago, two flew. The four of us not in the Navy drove back together. Quality togetherness.

* We were completely absorbed by the S-Town podcast, to the point that Dave doesn't even remember seeing most of Pennsylvania, which  let me tell you, is a long long section of the trip. I found it the best kind of reporting and storytelling, and so brilliantly edited. We failed to latch on to any other podcast after it---but did discover that there's a Pandora station called Road Trippin' that was good for three hours of punchy-tired  singalong to mostly early 70's hits and got us home by 2am on Sunday.

long drive project options

Tomorrow morning we are hopping in the car and pointing it at Illinois, a lonnnng drive, to witness our younger son graduate from Navy boot camp.*  

But that's not what I'm here to blab about,(mostly). I'm here to consider my options. As we all know, the great joy of a 900 mile drive each way is car knitting time.

Do I take all of these? Some? One? And...what podcasts would you be listening to?**

option a) The granny squares!  Seen above, I have 37 of 42 done in a kaleidoscope of  Noro Silk Garden scrap and leftover mixed colors. Five more won't take long to complete.

 I decided on the wonderful farm-y natural Doc Mason's yarn to edge them all, and bring them  back to earth. Above, two test squares-. I tried iton squares with especially bright rounds,  to see if I like the punch + earthy combo. I do! I can edge and weave in ends for miles and miles....

option b) that 2nd brioche cowl. It's hypnotic and rewarding (fast growth and cool looking stitch) ..but if I fuff it up by distraction, could be trouble.

option c) Dave's Zacapa. I love this knit. Pro: I've got most of one sleeve and half the body done. Con:  He will not wear it till next October at best.... Unless my fantasy trip to  Norway happens this summer...which would be...make-believe amazing .

option d) My Half-Hansel just needs to have the edging knit on. Such a dreamy knit. It's a series of triangles with simple lace that repeat, attached to the body of the shawl as they are added. I put it aside when things got chaotic and busy last Fall-- this might be a good stretch of uninterrupted time to get the repetition going.

option e) wait, did I mention my beautiful big bump of  Jill Draper Makes Stuff Empire?  It's for a Farmhouse Cardigan by Amy Christoffers.  Pro:  It would be a perfect long trip knit.  Con:  I  feel guilty jumping into a new knit with these  others unfinished plus.. I haven't wound off any of the yarn yet!!

So what would you bring?

*That's right. These hippy vegetarians have two sons. One a butcher. The other in the military, a new sailor planning to become a Navy medic. I am totally proud of them both and love them to pieces. They are good people.
That's parenthood for ya!

 ** We've got S Town queued up so that's a good chunk of time. I already listend to Missing Richard Simmons (loved it), and I have lots of Fresh Air, WTF and The Moth on tap but I'd love another long form podcast if you know of any great ones.

granny square revival + Mohonk Mountain House

It started innocently enough: I was invited to teach at the Mohonk Mountain House Knitting Weekend March 17-19th with Jill Draper, Kirsten Kapur, Cal Patch, Clara Parkes and Paula Kucera of White Barn Farm. Yes please!  I've always wanted to go to that grand old lodge in the Hudson Valley of NY, and this is a group of knitters I adore.  They'll teach knitting and I'll teach Iphone-ography and Learn to Make Granny Squares. Kirsten and I will also give our slide show/multi media Drop Dead Easy Knits talk, with trunk show and booksigning. Lovely!

Didja catch that? I'm teaching granny squares! Oh, the humble granny square. So strangely satisfying. So old fashioned but bold. So fun to play around with color and contrast.  So much not what I usually teach. 

Which explains why I thought I'd play with leftover Noro Silk Garden to make samples, showing how crocheting yarn with long color changes makes easy squares, with beautiful color but no need to stop and think about changing colors or make any decisions. 
Three squares in, I had to be honest. They looked mushy. The geometry of the granny square wasn't shining through.  I ripped out all but that one on the left, above.   I switched it, as shown on the right: Changing colors every round, mixing the leftover bits and skeins I have on hand. So much better. I figured I'd make 4 squares. 
But I can't stop. I was away last weekend, took a sweater project that went untouched. But granny squares? Oh yes.

I've moved fully into can't stop/won't stop.  How serious is it? I am starting to stalk Ravelry for small destashes because my bag o'Noro bits is almost empty. (Do you have any to get rid of? No!just kidding!  But..not really..... I mean, I'll use small amounts.....)  I'm having a blast with it.

FYI: I thought I'd be super clever and use only my iPhone to shoot these granny squares. Get it? Because those are my two classes at  Mohonk Mountain House Knitters Weekend.I really can't wait.

There are just a few spots left . Its fabulously timed to treat yo'self. See you there?

november post 4: that granny square hat

In which I share two topics dear to my heart: granny squares and the virtue of having an ongoing series photo project (ha! You thought I was going to say Zoe and Bobo, two topics also dear tomy heart. OBVIOUSLY).

The usual suspects. She put the plastic rats, shown under her arm, on his head after the hat came off.

A while back I saw this granny square hat on Pinterest, called the Rainbow Beanie, which linked to a tutorial. I love me a granny square project on the side of the knitting, it is all about playing with scraps of color. I figured why not use leftover yarns from Zoe's blanket to make her one.The tutorial itself comes down on the super chatty side of things, but it'll get you going.  Sometimes less is more, in the instructions, if you know what I mean. The hat itself is a keeper- and gets pulled out of the  basket by the front door with some regularity.  Year round, whether she needs a hat or not (I am sure many would agree with her, that you always need a hat).  I am tempted to make a less Grateful Dead-ish one for myself, like Fiorella by Courtney Kelley. Though I suspect it'll still have that hippiechick look on me.(Even worse, aging stuck in time hippiechick. Not a pretty category).

This photo was  in my Instagram feed (I am @galezucker on Instagram), it's part of a series I started 18 months ago  #dailyzoe   Zoe, the easiest kid on earth has one thing she is particular about. It began as soon as she could point and grunt. She likes to put together her own clothing. She has opinions.  Since I care not at all what people think of her outfits, and she's been dressing herself since she 2, this works out well for us all.

It's more than a little overindulgent, I get that. But just as I always have a granny square project going on, I like to have a little photo series underway, something that I can keep adding to, that can be a signature of sorts, and a little bit of a challenge, trying to keep it from getting too repeititve . It's all shot on my phone cam,so it's short and sweet and easy to upload to Instagram and FB.It's a creative doodle, who doesn't love a creative doodle? You can see more at #dailyzoe  on Instagram.

FO (day before)friday: wingfeathers

 Wingfeathers by Cal Patch, in Rifton yarn from Jill Draper. And my new Chucks! 

Shot before the snowstorms started, a week ago.

Were I a more restrained blogger, I'd simply caption this "What Beverly said". 

But, I am not. Still, go over and read her story of the shawl.
More and more,  I make things with meaning attached to the materials. A special yarn, a pattern that's suggested or created by a friend, colors that remind me of a very specific geography,  the handwork done in a moment that stays with the piece forever.  This? Has it all.  
The Rifton yarn is a joy to work with, I wish you could see the subtle speckles and color blends. It's softened,  drapier now, a week after blocking, than in these photos. The color is exactly the Atlantic in winter,  the views I never get tired of.

550 yards, almost down to the last yard. I added a picot edge. I am no ace crocheter--I may hook out a Big Ass Granny Square blanket now and then, but I rarely follow a crochet pattern. That may change, I enjoyed this so much.

Three Wingfeathers underway, mine on the left, in two Rifton colorways. The yarn comes wrapped in a muslin cloth, a lovely detail. It's a limited run, so if you feel inspired, go get it now.
oh and about those sneakers..they really have knitting on them! An impulse purchase while in NYC. Love. Pretty much them and the Wingfeathers=my winter uniform. Except , of course, for the 2+ feet of new snow on the ground making real boots a necessity.

gravity of color: lulu cowl

Happy 2014! Instead of  waiting for the  "start as you mean to go on" thing , I got a jump on my resolutions- if you insist on calling them that- in December.  Like, finishing projects.  It has been a march down FO Boulevard, a road that keeps on going.  My other intentions are to put things away as I use them, and keep the kitchen table clear. * Oh yeah , and keep moving** . And do more yoga.  .

One of the finished:  my sister Lulu's cowl, gifted to her last month.A a field trip to the New Britain Museum of American Art, to see the Maruice Sendak exhibit  gave us a chance to shoot it.

Also, gave us this perfect backdrop, an installation entitled The Gravity of Color made entirely of paper and plastic cups , by Lisa Hoke. It's breathtaking in person, so unexpected. I wouldn't normally choose an intensely colored and textured background but we both felt it the minute we saw it.

This cowl is my own design--to the extent that I can say that --I mean,  it's basically granny square stripes in the round, with big picot edges. Lulu dropped by the day I was blocking the last Big Ass Granny blanket and  wanted something granny too, but to wear around her neck at work. Further, she wanted it to be very colorful, in her colors,  to make a conservative blue jacket she'd just bought more handcrafty and artsy/funky looking.

Specific enough?  Anyhoo, she loves it.   And I love when someone loves what I make for them, don't you?  It came out about 6 1/2 " wide (including the edging) and about 72" in circumference. Lulu is even shorter than I am--she's a bit over 5 feet-- if that gives you  some perspective for the photo on top.

I used mostly worsted weight yarns, partial skeins: Cascade 220, Cascade Eco wool,  Brown Sheep Lambs Pride,  Berroco Ultra Alpaca , Berroco Peruvia and  some Aruacania that I seem to never ever ever ever run out of. And finally some handspun that Rebecca Hatcher gave me in a yarn swap.  All told it weighs about 600 grams, which is (I think , I'm a little sketchy at this) is about 1000-1100 yards.

It totally does the job of de-preppifying the blue jacket. Goal met.

Next I hope I'll be show you my finished Shellseeker. I have been wearing it so much that it already looks like a legacy sweater,. You would think a  professional photographer would have someone to help her get a decent sweater shot, wouldn't you? 

Meanwhile will I see you at Vogue Knititng live in NYC on the 17th or 18th? My Friday morning class is getting pretty full (if not full up) but the noon lecture, which is a fun one hour romp through  tips & tricks to your photos, is still open ( unlimited in size).
...and now the footnotes>>>>>>>>>
*keeping my kitchen table clear sounds like a metaphor but I mean it literally. It is in the dead center of the first floor of our house, in an open space, and everyone including me drops stuff on it as they pass by. Drives me nuts.
** Fitbit. My little friend/tyrant.  Recommended.

I am going to start replying to comments in the comments--after all these years, a little change for the new year!

book reviews & giveaway #2

Back at you with two reviews and another giveaway. On a roll! Still time to leave a comment for 50 Sunflowers by Krisitn Nicholas . You can enter every giveaway I'm doing this month, once for each.

Keep crawling back-I just received more books to share. 
Today: all about the kiddos. Two very different books.Giveaway info at end.

I wasn’t  familiar with Kat Goldin when I was sent this book from Running Press, her publisher, but I am a fangirl now. You can find her in Scotland, or on Ravelry from her name link above, and on her blog Slugs on the Refrigerator.
The projects in her wonderful book are all crocheted. They are not too difficult, if, like me you are more of a knitter who crochets when she feels like it.

They are cheerful, colorful, and reflect Kat’s modern graphic style.  Not a fussy one in the bunch: Beastie Feet, the Mermaid Tail baby cocoon,

the Star rug--all fun, clever, something kids and adults can both enjoy looking at. Crafting at its best.

The photos are by Kat too, and just like those on her blog---little snippets of everyday life, that show kids using the projects in the way kids do, rumply and real, with wonderful use of saturated palette and texture.  Simple, graphic, colorful.
I'm glad to be introduced to Kat Goldin. Keep an eye on her,she's busting out with ideas and new projects.

Another hardworking , talented blogging/publishing mom is Brandy Fortune. Her new book Just Like Me Knits: Matching Patterns for Kids and Their Favorite Dolls from PotterCraft, is today’s giveaway.  Brandy is also the creator of Petite Purls magazine, and the Pixie Purls blog, too.   She not only authored this book but also did all the photography, using primarily her own little daughters as models. Honestly, that is a big accomplishment-- I can tell you  from first hand experience. 

Every design in the book comes in a child/toddler size and also in a toy size,

so the kiddos can match their dolls. It is so sweet. There are girly-girl designs, fairy tale related designs, and things real life boys would wear.

Boys love their dolls too- even boys who grow up to be macho wrestling/kickboxing dudes--more firsthand experience in that department (but that’s another story).  The patterns trend toward ruffles, embellished, pastel styling.  The knits are very accessible , mostly simple projects but with enough going on to hold your interest.

Like Kat Goldin, Brandy Fortune did her own photography. The photos are in what I think of as a Pinterest-y (that’s an adjective, right?) child portrait style.  It’s done beautifully, and sweetly.  This book would either be a perfect gift for knitters with little children in their lives', or, perfect for you to make gifts.

To enter a giveaway for a copy of Just Like Me Knits, leave a comment below telling me a kid’s name you like, or were surprised by, or have heard lately. (Ok, let’s expand that- it could be a pet name-I’m an equal opportunity namer).
I'm giving away this book by mail , leave a comment below, by 6 pm Sunday night December 7th , with  your email address* or your Ravelry name.  I’ll choose a winner by random number generator.
___Stop by again soon, I'm going to keep reviewing and giveaway-ing all month.__________ 
*my blogging platform doesn’t reveal your email address with your replies normally, so I need it. if you are worried about it attracting a ‘bot scanning for addresses, feel free to leave it as JaneSewAThotstuffDOTCom  ok? Thanks