Giveaway

And the Winner Is…

The winner of the Knit Picks Petite Pattern collection is…

Drumroll please…

Post #9!

That would be poster woolytanis, who said “My left over stash just keeps getting bigger but there is so many projects in this book I can see it shrinking. I hate throwing away yarn, it can be used in so many ways even small bits. I can so see me making the sheep clock for a friends xmas gift—not too early to think of them is it lol!”

Congratulations, woolytanis! I’ll be contacting you through Ravelry to arrange shipping of your prize.

Thanks for playing, everyone!

Friday Roundup: Winner, Take 2

Since I didn’t hear back from the winner I picked last week for the Golden Morning book, I went back to the random number generator to choose a new winner:

Comment #4 was Sarah, who said “My knitting changes a bit seasonally. I cannot bear to have a pile of alpaca on my lap during the summer. Lace is always a favorite, and laceweight yarn is a staple in my stash. I think I keep my knitting focus on smaller things that will not cover all of me as I knit them, but if they are large, they need to be light.”

Congratulations, Sarah! I’m sending you an email to get your address details and the pattern book will be on its way to you shortly.

Now to your regularly scheduled Friday Roundup post:

What I’m Knitting

A secret accessory design I can’t show you. I know, I know, I said I was done with these for a while, but a call for submissions that I couldn’t refuse came to my attention a few months ago and I got a design proposal accepted. This accessory is small and fun, though, so I should hopefully be back to something blog-able next week.

What I’m Cooking

I forgot to take pictures of the amazing (if I do say so myself) enchilada casserole I made for my usual crowd dinner on Wednesday, but I managed to snap a few pics of other meals.

Basil was on sale at my local grocery, so I snagged a bunch of it to try a vegan pesto dish from my favorite cookbook, Isa Does It. The pesto was tasty, but the real star of this dish is the breaded tofu on top. I’ve never tried to make breaded tofu before–it was much easier than I thought, and soo00 tasty. My 9-month old son loved it too!

I’ve never been the type of person who can whip up sauces without a recipe (kind of funny, since one of the first things I did when I started knitting was to go “off-recipe” and start making up my own things!). But I tried a almond-milk based cream sauce last week that was completely tasteless, so I started adding things to it (like miso and nutritional yeast, my favorite vegan flavor enhancers). The resulting sauce was so good that I tried it again this week, with different proportions of ingredients and a whole bunch of veggies.

It was amazing. I can’t believe how cheesy a sauce can taste with no cheese whatsoever. I think it’s the umami flavor (pleasant savory taste) that the miso brings to the table. I have a new favorite sauce recipe that I can tweak to my heart’s content! My son also loved this one, even though it was loaded with garlic and onions. He’s definitely my son. :-)

What I’m Reading

Not too much to say on this front either–I’m still working on my writer friend’s manuscript. Baby’s sudden sleep regression = major dent in my reading/knitting time, unfortunately.

Friday Roundup: Contest Winner!

First things first: the winner of the Golden Morning pattern book! Thanks to everyone who entered–it was fun to hear about your summer knitting plans. Lots of you said you were switching over to lace shawls or smaller projects, and a few were working on tanks or tees.

The random number generator says:

Comment number 38 is the winner! That was Deb on 4/13, who said “I have moved to lightweight yarn for warmer weather and airy shawl patterns.” Deb, send me a message through the contact form on this website with your address and I’ll get the book mailed out to you.

Now, on to the regularly scheduled Friday roundup.

What I’m Knitting:

The scrap blanket got a few more rows this week:

I’m loving the way the random stripes look! I’m starting to get a little worried about having enough yarn to make a whole blanket, though, so I may have to revisit the way I’m doing the stripe sequence.

What I’m Cooking:

Not too much action this week on the cooking front, but I did manage to whip up a seriously tasty vegan mushroom cream sauce to go with gnocchi and brussels sprouts. I used to hate brussels sprouts, but then I figured out if you cook them properly they aren’t bitter and actually taste really good. I seared these ones in a pan first, then added 1/4 cup water and covered the pan until the water was gone. Perfect!

We had overripe bananas a few days later, so in the grand tradition of bakers everywhere, I made banana nut muffins:

What I’m Reading:

No details this week, as I’m beta reading another manuscript for a writer friend! I do have several books I ordered on the way, including one written by a writing friend/critique partner that just came out. I’ll definitely post about that when they arrive.

Elva Cardigan and Pattern Book Contest!

My newest sweater pattern is included in Knit Picks’ Golden Morning collection! This is the Elva Cardigan:

Here’s the description from the pattern:

This flowy, lightweight cardigan is designed to be worn open or with a skinny belt. The garter fan pattern, charted and described line by line, adds a gorgeous detail to the sweater back, while easy raglan shaping and flattering lines make Elva easy to pull on and hard to take off.

Constructed from the bottom up, the sweater is worked seamlessly with raglan sleeve shaping. The elbow-length sleeves are worked with a slight flare at the cuff and then joined to the body at the yoke.

I’ve been in love with the laceweight-at-a-loose-gauge concept for sweaters since I knit myself a Featherweight Cardigan years and years ago. It was my go-to sweater when I lived in LA: just the right amount of warmth for overactive air conditioning or a cool-ish night, but small and lightweight enough to fit in my purse. So I thought it was about time I designed one myself!

Bonus: laceweight yarn sweaters are very economical. This one only takes 2-4 hanks of Knit Picks Shadow (a really lovely yarn with subtle heathering that gives the finished sweater shine and depth).

I added a little flair with the fun-to-knit lace pattern on the back:

Knit Picks generously sent me two copies of the Golden Morning pattern book, so you know what that means–it’s contest time!

To be entered to win, leave a comment on this post and tell me what you’re planning for spring and summer knitting. Do you switch over from wool pullovers to lace shawls, or carry on with bulky accessories all year round?

I’ll use a random number generator to choose the winner this Friday morning, so comment by the end of day on Thursday to be entered! I’ll ship anywhere in the world, so this contest is open to everyone. Good luck! :-)

Burnished Pattern Book Winner!

The random number generator has spoken:

Comment #5 is Katinka, who said:

“I usually want to knit all the things, all the time, but one specific fall goal is a red sweater. I just **need** a red sweater — it’s my happy color.
Love your cardi coat! Enjoy the time with your little guy — he’s about to get into a really fun stage of interacting back, if he’s not already.”

Congratulations, Katinka! Send me your address in an email to triona@trionadesigns.com, or a Ravelry PM to otismurph, and I’ll get the pattern book sent out to you!