I am the author of Grounded and the editrix of the What Would Madame Defarge Knit? series of knit (and crochet) pattern books where the patterns are based on characters from classic literature.
You can find out more about my young adult novel Grounded: The Seven, book 1 including sock patterns based on the characters in Grounded here and at the book’s official website.
In my new role as the luckiest person EVER, I got to go to TNNA last weekend. One of the many nifty things was getting to go to Marly Bird’s marvelous dinner, sit with wonderfully winning people, see old friends, make new ones and—beyond my wildest dreams of avarice—score some free goodies.
These things do not come without the hope of we lucky recipients spreading the word and so I will dutifully be testing and trying out the little nifties and passing the info on to you. I’ll also be raffling some bits off to readers.
More on that when I figure out what to raffle!
The Fabulous Stitchy, Amy, and Caro admire the gorgeousness.
As I prep my calendar, I wanted to let you know that I am still Destashing!
The rolling sale on eBay continues to make my husband happy.
More, more, and more very soon!
Knitters Outraged After U.S. Olympic Committee Squashes Knitting Olympics—and Disses Knitters.
Oh you really MUST read this.
I posted this on Facebook shortly ago with the note for non-knitters that:
All of the patterns that the Olympic committee is picking on (yes, I understand trademark infringement, fair use, etc, read on…) are NOT designed by Casey. NO ONE is making money off of them. These are patterns made up by Just Regular Folks who wanted to have fun while while watching the Games.
I don’t think they’ll be watching now.
TWO MILLION VIEWERS the Olympics may have lost.
Hello?
Advertisers?
Can you imagine how precedent-setting this COULD have been?
“Hi Casey, yeah, technically its and infringement, but we know this means all y’all will be watching so we’d like to achieve a little detente here. We’d like to ask that no money be exchanged for the Olympics-symbol-bearing patterns or if money is exchanged, that 70% of it be sent to This charity. We look forward to seeing what everyone makes while they’re watching our awesome Games. Thank you!”
Right?
But NNNnooooooo, y’all gotta go piss off two million knitters with pointy sticks.
I pity the fool.
I really do.
UPDATE: Oh My Goodness. I’ve never seen so many replies. I hope the good people at Wait! Wait! and Mo Rocka are following—and patting themselves on the back. They knew how to behave (and Mo got a sweater out of it!).
* * * Newsy bits * * *
Cheddar!
What’s a Cheddar, you ask?
Cheddar is my new buddy. I’ve got two (well, the second is getting his tail this evening). It was time for CraftLit to have a mascot, enter…
Cheddar Upon Avon
Cheddar, the CraftLit Critter (pattern)!
or get it by Subscribing (i.e., committing to a monthly payment) to CraftLit
Or
Purchase a completed, knitted Cheddar from Penny for $36 via little acorn creations (coming soon!)
He is knit in one piece (because I HATE SEAMING!) and uses Judy’s Magic Cast-on for the nose, grows like a sock toe, then short rows build the top of his head and neck. I weighted the base on mine and my boys agree—Cheddar is a Weeble. He will wobble but won’t fall down.
I’ve knit him with both leftover Koigu KPPPPPPPPPPPPM and with March Hare Sock Yarn (somewhere around 90yds of yarn) on US 0/2mm needles (one set of dpns and two circs—was easier switching b/t the two). I recommend (a) a color that won’t show fiberfill too terribly and (b) knitting at the tightest gauge you can. I give instructions for everything in the pattern, but if there’s something that confounds you, please let me know and I’ll get an instructional video linked in there asap.
Cheddar--Intrepid Stash Diver
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SFF Audio—I’ve hit the big time!
Listen to The New Mother here and SFF with me here. And then go take a look at Tara Swiger’s book Market Yourself. Love! Her!
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Defarge 2—What (else) Would Madame Defarge Knit?—this time in color!—is in pre-orders! 25+ patterns of yarny goodness (sweaters, mittens, a devilishly cute layette, and more all await you!). The good people at Cooperative Press have found a local printer who can bring you our new book still printed in the USA! Mwah!
Have I told you how much I love indie publishers?
And speaking of Cooperative Press! Two new goodies for you! First, the CP Sock & Mitt Club. Second, the CP Mag! Both of which yours truly will be working on! Yay! What is CP saying about the Magazine?
Let me share what CP says:
Our intentions are as follows:
- as with all things CP, we compensate our contributors fairly, work with indie designers and dyers, and generally keep great content coming at you;
- we will be publishing 3x per year (though we’re doing a special “issue zero†in time for TNNA, the big pro fiber arts tradeshow in June) via our own app. This app will eventually also offer other Cooperative Press content, too. Ebooks, special issues, etc.;
- by popular demand and in response to some early feedback, we’ll do a PDF version of the magazine, which will be available via our website and Ravelry. It won’t have the video/audio/interactive functionality of the main version, but for readers who aren’t interested in reading via app, it’ll offer access to most of the content;
- each year, we’ll collect the magazine content into a book book — think the way Food&Wine or Martha Stewart republishes their “best-of” each year.
Hopefully having multiple access points for the content will make everyone happy. And by having several digital options, it makes it possible to buy it from anywhere (even Australia and the UK!), because as we’ve learned selling books, not everyone feels like paying the (frankly absurd) postage rates these days. It makes me ill to have to charge half again the cost of a print book just to ship it to Europe, and from a purely capitalistic perspective, I’d rather you put that $12 towards another one of our ebooks! 🙂
And, more happiness—the husband gets more good press for his book, too! Yay books! Yay literate people!
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And my new pattern (that I’m so proud of!): Hunger Games-inspired Life and Death socks—designed for those of us who tend to give their socks a beating (more details on knitting blog).
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Ehren, I think you’ll agree, rocks the Gulliver text.
And, of course, I’m racking up moments of the usual start-of-book zeitgeist. (Have you seen the advertisement yet? Thank you, Jill!)
I have a new pattern for you—one that induced my husband to start calling me a Yarngineer.
for Katniss Everdeen from the Hunger Games series.
This sock is for the adventurous intermediate or expert knitter (or for a new knitter who hasn’t been told that socks, cables, and double knitting are hard, the therefore is able to do anything)
Skills—
Size—
Gauge—
Yarn —
Needle —
Notions—
Sole knit first—Instep knit-on after
Pattern Notes
The construction of these socks is unique. The entire sole is knit first and, thus, is completely replaceable. It is knit with fingering-weight yarn held double to create a toe-up, form-fitting arch which will give you a very firm, cushiony, comforting bed upon which to rest your weary feet.
Top-of-Foot—arrowheads and three-strand cables
The instep is decorated with lace, not out of vanity—the one thing Katniss doesn’t wrestle with—but for breathability. The instep and leg are knit after the sole, starting at the toe and working up the leg. The first and last stitch of each instep row are used to “seam” the instep to the sole stitches.
The leg pattern ends with an optional, secret, double knit-pocket. This pocket is effectively double knit flat while knitting in the round — detailed instructions are provided.
Adjustments to Sizing:
The lace pattern on the instep has a limited number of options when calculating other sizes. The sole, however, is more flexible. You will be best served to measure around the ball of your foot (where you flex when standing tip-toe) and compare your foot to the measurements given in the pattern. Sole numbers are provided for three sizes (S,M,L). The lace instep includes instructions for tailoring to your size.
Back-of-Leg—cable forest
The use of two circular needles while knitting this sock will facilitate trying on the sole as you go, particularly during the seaming process, which will give you the ability to achieve a more precise and comfortable fit.
Links
As per the What Would Madame Defarge Knit? books, links in the PDF pattern are live, allowing you to find linked-to tutorials and to move easily within the electronic version of the pattern, jumping to charts from text instructions and back again, as needed, while knitting.
The charts are constructed to work easily in Knit Companion for the iPad (only one chart will need to be rotated).
Buy now for $6 via Ravelry | Craftsy | Crafting A Life Inc. Shoppe
I’ll own that I’m no Cinna, but if you are a girl on fire, these socks will at least give you a comfy place to land.
Ah, the mythic Hair Clip Cap! The post that time forgot.
Sorry, I’d had this scheduled as a draft and didn’t get to it in time.
So!
I wrote a pattern for a hair clip hat.
Why?
Because I wear my hair up in a banana clip and I can’t fit a hat over the clip!
What you need to know to knit it—
Skills​
Size​
Gauge​
Yarn ​
Needle
Notions​
Right now I have the pattern on Ravelry (where the link below will take you) but I’ll be adding a link to the Shoppe soon, too.
I hope you like it as much as I have. On the windy days I think it could use an iCord tie, but 99% of the time, the bonnet structure holds nicely and it’s easy to get on and off.
$4.00
Enjoy!
Free things for you!
I’ve been working on adding patterns and goodies to my Ravelry store and CafePress shops for CraftLit and WWMDfK?. There’s always more to do, but so far I have a lot of free things for you (and a couple that aren’t free but I thought I’d throw them in as they are related).
Free
This free eBook gives you everything you need to know about knitting socks in one easy-to-follow place. The eBook has been created to be read on a tablet or computer screen which means it is “sideways” or landscape view.
download now
Free
This free eBook gives you everything you need to know about knitting socks in one easy-to-follow place. Like the above, this eBook has also been built in landscape view.
download now
Free
This ribbed sock is knitted toe-up and includes charted color-work and was designed for the 2007 Hogwarts Sock Swap.
download now for free from Ravelry
Free
This bag is an easy first double-knitting pattern which gives you, at the end, a lovely little bag in which to put soap odds-and-ends. Waste not, want not. It can be knit in one night of relatively boring TV (you need to pay attention a little bit) and gives instructions for double knitting. A video tutorial for double knitting is also available below.
download now for free via Ravelry.
Free
This bag is knitted for the little one in your life who is eagerly anticipating a visit from the Tooth Fairy. This pattern is worked flat, is seamed, and utilizes the intarsia technique.
download now for free via Ravelry.
These heels started at Sea Socks ’08, matured at Sock Summit ’09 and are now part of my classroom repertoire. However, I can’t teach everywhere so it seemed right to pass on as much information as I could in the little eBooks. If I scoot through your area and teach the class, I promise there will be more than just what you find here; I can’t include everything from a six hour class in an eBook.
But this is a darn good start!
Once you are familiar with the basics of knitting a sock (see above if you need more generalized sockiness) you can branch out and begin to customize exactly for your needs. The beauty of hand knitting is that if a particular part of a pattern does not work for you, it can be modified. There are many different ways to knit sock heels. There are many different feet. This works out well. If you want to read more about the genesis of this Sock Heel book series, please continue reading » ».
 Dutch Heel eBook$2.50This generic heel generally fits any foot. |
 German Heel eBook$2.50The extra garter stitch edge to the heel flap helps eliminate saggy gussets and provides a snug fit. |
 French Heel eBook$2.50This rounded heel is perfect for those who are sensitive to tags, snags and lumps. |
 Welsh Heel eBook$2.50This is a very hard-wearing heel that leads the knitter on quite the adventure along the way but arrives at a beautifully sproingy heel. |
| Sherman Heel eBook $2.50 coming soon |
Toe-up Flap Heel eBook $2.50 coming soon |
$10.00 coming soon |
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Double knitting is knitting both sides of a fabric at once. This is what you see in the video. The other nifty thing double knitting does is create a tube.
For the double knitting used in the little bag here—knitting a tube without any color patterning—you will knit the knit stitches which are facing you and slip the next stitch which has the purl side facing you. The pattern in your head is like any sock heel, “knit, slip, knit, slip…” the only difference begin that you slip with yarn in front of the purl stitches (this way you’ll be keeping the yarn on the inside the bag as you’re creating it). End your row on a slip. Knit and slip back to where you started.
The video shows a two colored scarf being made—one side red, the other side white. For this video, the red stitches will all be knit stitches, followed by it’s partnered white stitch which you will see purled instead of slipped (this is because the color patterns have to match and it’s easier to do the patterning all at once). It helps to remember that all stitches are knit side facing out and purl side facing in to the tube you’re creating (genius, no?).
And it makes a LOT more sense actually watching it.
More on this can be found on my Double Knitting tutorial page.
You’re all very sweet and tolerant of my long-ish pauses on this blog while I write and edit another knitting book, write a novel, podcast, and design patterns, but for a long time now I’ve wanted to try to tie this blog into the rest of that lot a bit better.
What better way to start than with Game of Thrones?!
Meg Warren, who you may know from What Would Madame Defarge Knit? and The March Hare yarns, has designed the most luscious pair of mittens with lovely Stags on the back. The pattern is charted but straight-forward and Meg (who is, shockingly, just Meg on Ravelry) is always there to help.
Still not sure?
$4.00
Knit from the cuff up, with a plaited edge, the pattern includes a link to a plaited edge tutorial as well as internal links, helping you move between instructions and charts if you are on a tablet.
Line numbers match for use with KnitCompanion on the iPad.
And the stags of which we spoke.
I know, gorgeous, right?
Okay, I have more patterns for you coming this week, but now I have to run.
I just returnecd from signing books at Vogue Knitting Live absolutely brimming with design ideas and new book plans and there just aren’t enough hours in the day. I am SO excited! What gloriously wonderful people I met absolutely everywhere I went (even at the Irish Pub where I had breakfast on Sunday! He wasn’t a knitter when we started talking, but now that we spoke… who knows?).
I’m going to be posting a few patterns this month, some free, some inexpensive, and a biggie next month. I also have the next Defarge book on its way. OH MAH GOODNESS—such lovliness I’ve got coming to you. We’ve found such marvelous designers for you!
If YOU are interested in submitting for an upcoming Defarge book, we’ve got Defarge does Shakespeare, Defarge does Chaucer, Defarge does Sherlock, and What Would Madame Defarge Knit? Vol 3 all in the pipeline. I’m updating the submissions page to reflect the rolling deadlines, but you have a little time to get your brilliance in.
In that same realm, if you are interested in beinga test knitter and/or sample knitter (with yarn support) please email me or post a comment here with info on how to contact you. Lots of goodies cooking up out here. Pictures on their way!
Last year on the Dickens blog hop we offered this over on the What Would Madame Defarge Knit? website.
Now it’s here for you!
A gift from us to you—Christmas Cards from the Good Madame
(who is only interested in righting wrongs and vanquishing injustice, after all…which is almost sort of in the spirit of the season…mostly…)
Based on the art used in the Crachette Pattern from the Dickens of a Christmas Blog Hop—
—what could be better than a selection of sweet, printable cards to send to your creative comrades, handmade for you by our book’s artist Jen Minnis? Here you will find full-color versions of the cards along with b&w cards you can color yourself if you or you’re kids are feeling crafty.
The sets below print at 2 cards to an 8-1/2″ x 11″ page and can be used with Avery template 3266. If you would like half-fold sets, we have pdfs which fit Avery #3378 templates in color and black and white.
There are many styles to choose from. Or you can download a PDF that includes them all!
| Color Sets | B&W Sets | Complete Sets |
|---|---|---|
 Consider Yourself |
 Consider Yourself |
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Check out more of Jen’s work at Jen Minnis’ Art Blog.
And if you’re so inclined, you might want to know that Just the Books is now paralleling CraftLit in real time—for Dracula only. We’ll be uploading the books between Pride and Prejudice and Dracula as time and space allow.
A frightening number of friends of mine have gotten ill lately. We’re all generally of a certain age (post 35, shall we say…) and all getting oddly ill.
Kind of out of the blue.
To refresh–I had hand tremors for 2-1/2 years, the need for Prevacid for 1-1/2 years, then suddenly 9 weeks of migraine (not migraineS–one loooong migraine. No joke). My MOTHER (not a doctor) diagnosed the gluten problem.
(more…)
MamaO is Heather Ordover, author, designer, mother and knitter... not necessarily in that order. You can get posts from this blog sent directly to your inbox by signing up below, Follow her on Twitter and Like her on Facebook if you're feeling friendly-like.
Vogue Knitting Winter 2013/2014
Hugely gratifying beyond my capacity for speech is having Vogue Knitting Winter 2013/14 give praise to my new book, Grounded. Read more...
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