New Spanish translation of Shalom!

Well, the previous Spanish translation of the Shalom pattern mysteriously went off line, and Tejer Bien gratiously volunteered to retranslate it! Very sweet! The new version can be found here. Muchas Gracias!

Sweetgum Duncan is up at Popknits!

My latest pattern, Sweetgum Duncan, is now available for free at Popknits. Click here to see!

Sweetgum Duncan--a new knitting pattern

Confession time: I've been keeping a secret from all of you. While I distracted you with pretty pictures of food and whatnot, I knit an entire sweater and wrote a knitting pattern! The pattern is called Sweetgum Duncan--an homage to a friend of mine who loves anything with red and white stripes. I'm especially pleased with this design, as I have written the pattern in sizes XS to XL, and it will be published in the spring issue of popknits! Click here to see the preview. The free patterns will be available March 4, 2009. [Ravelry link.]

Minimalist giveaway

Over my holiday in Chicago, I was thinking a lot about minimalist living. Now, this is something that is frequently on my mind, and I've probably mentioned this here before. I think what triggered this latest stream of thoughts was a visit to my friend TG's house. She has this great minimalist decoration thing going on in her apartment. Her furnishings are all very nice--and mostly unique vintage pieces and artwork--and I think you notice their uniqueness all the more because each stands on its own, free from clutter. I am constantly torn between wanting to have only the bare minimum in possessions, and my love of stuff--especially unique vintage finds, and items I picked up while traveling the world. That being said, I know that I have a lot of things in my life that I don't actually need, and can part with, and so I think it's time to do a little spring cleaning.

Luckily for you, I've decided to offer some great things as giveaways here on my blog! I'm hoping to do this semi-regularly (perhaps even weekly) but won't commit to a time frame since I know my schedule will become very hectic shortly.

M I N I M A L I S T G I V E A W A Y # 1

Free to a good home is this sewing pattern from 1967. It makes an A-line dress with either a side-tied collar, or round collar. The pattern is uncut, and appears to still be factory folded. Instructions are complete, pattern appears complete. The pattern is size 16, bust 36. It's a great pattern, but it's not the right size for me, and I don't love it enough to figure out the alterations.


Rules:
-leave a comment below to enter the giveaway--one comment per person, please.
-you MUST give me some way to contact you (email address, blog, flickr, whatever).
-a winner will be chosen at random in one week (1/10/09).

feel free tell your friends!

Victoria and Albert Vintage Patterns

Have you seen the fantastic free vintage patterns available on the Victoria & Albert Museum's website? There are a couple cute sweaters, including the excellent one above, as well as a variety of hats and gloves and other things. I'm thinking this would look excellent in yellow and white stripes.

Shalom Cardigan

The Shalom Cardigan pattern is now available as a free PDF download.  Please enjoy!

Download Shalom Cardigan Pattern (english)