Knitted Dinosaurs, Wee and Whomping

It's awfully exciting to come to work in the morning and find a box on your desk containing a knitted dinosaur. It's even more exciting (and, okay, a little strange) when that happens every day for a week! But alas, there was a reason I came to work each day last week to find a new knitted dinosaur waiting for me: We had hired knitters all over the country to make samples of all shapes and sizes from our new book, Knitted Dinosaurs, for display at Vogue Knitting Live (last week) and for TNNA (this coming weekend).

Our favorite part was seeing how different yarn weights can change a dinosaur so much! In the photo above are a Pterodactyl and Stegosaurus (on the right) and a giant T-Rex named Petunia (who has a few miniature Troodons riding on his* back), all of which were made from delicious Blue Sky Alpaca and Spud & Chloe yarns. Petunia was made with Spud & Chloe Outer, a super bulky weight yarn, and came out a whopping 42 inches long and 34 inches around...almost three times bigger than he is when made with a DK-weight yarn! The beautiful thing is that the patterns in the book work no matter what your gauge, so you can make the dinosaurs any size you like.

We also loved seeing the way that two different yarns at the same gauge could subtly alter the look of a stuffed dino. The Pterodactyl above was made with Spud & Chloe Sweater yarn, which is a fluffy, cuddly wool blend, while the Pterodactyl below was made with Spud & Chloe Fine Sock yarn, which gives the fabric a tight, sleek look.But best of all was seeing how each individual knitter interpreted the pattern and put her spin on it. Each dinosaur was stuffed to a different degree of firmness or squishiness; some had flirty eyelashes to match their colorful button eyes; and the placement of the legs or arms was just slightly different on each one. It's funny how all of these details gave each dinosaur a distinct character, reflecting the person whose hands had made it.

If you'd like to see the knitted dinos in person, be sure to stop by the Unicorn booth at TNNA this weekend. A few of them will be hanging out with the rest of the STC Craft books. And word has it that Petunia and a few of her pals are heading over to Knitty City for the rest of January. So, if you're on the Upper West Side in New York City, go for a visit. Knitty City is walking distance from the American Museum of Natural History, where some other pretty famous dinos reside.

*Though it may seem counterintuitve to name a boy dinosaur Petunia, I was told by his maker that yes, he is indeed a boy.

STC Craft at Vogue Knitting LIVE New York

The second annual Vogue Knitting LIVE NYC is this weekend, and if last year's show was any indication, midtown Manhattan will transform into a knitter's mecca come Friday. STC Craft is excited to be part of the festivities. If you're attending, we hope you'll check out our author events! Here's the full schedule:

SATURDAY, JANUARY 14TH
9am - 10am
Lecture by Norah Gaughan (Knitting Nature, Comfort Knitting and Crochet: Afghans): "A Design Retrospective"

3pm - 4pm
Signing at the Knitty City booth (#2301-2307) with Norah Gaughan (Knitting Nature, Comfort Knitting and Crochet: Afghans)

SUNDAY, JANUARY 15TH
9am - 10am
Lecture by Kaffe Fassett (Kaffe Fassett's Simple Shapes Spectacular Quilts): "Kaleidoscope of Color"

10am - 11am
Signing at the Knitty City booth (#2301-2307) with:
Melanie Falick, publishing director of STC Craft and author (Weekend Knitting, Knitting for Baby)
Kristy McGowan (Modern Top-Down Knitting)

10:30am - 11:30am
Lecture by Norah Gaughan (Knitting Nature, Comfort Knitting and Crochet: Afghans): "A Design Retrospective"

12pm - 1pm
Lecture by Debbie Stoller (The BUST DIY Guide to Life): "Lace Exploration"

3pm
Free panel with STC Craft authors Melanie Falick, Debbie Stoller, Norah Gaughan, and Kristy McGowan, along with Trisha Malcolm, Erin Slonaker, Betsy Perry, Laura Zander, and Kirsten Kapur: "When Knitting Becomes a Career"

4pm - 4:30pm
Signing at the Knitty City booth (#2301-2307) with Debbie Stoller (The BUST DIY Guide to Life)

MONDAY, JAUARY 16TH
12pm - 1pm
Lecture by Debbie Stoller (The BUST DIY Guide to Life) "Lace Exploration"

Also, stop by Blue Sky Alpacas' marketplace booth at any point throughout the weekend to check out an adorable display of prehistoric pals from our book Knitted Dinosaurs.

Hope to see you there!

Image by Thayer Allyson Gowdy from Knitting 24/7 by Veronik Avery

The Gift of Handmade from Our Friends at Open Road

A Guest Post by Laura De Silva, Open Road Media

Christmas Eve is only two days away, and December 28^th is the final night of Hanukkah this year. Did the holidays sneak up on you, too?

Right about now, many of us are frantically wrapping up our shopping and finishing those handmade gifts we’ve been leisurely approaching until this week. If you, like me, still have a long way to go on that item—whether it’s a scarf, a hat, or (Heaven forbid!) a sweater—you might be cursing yourself for biting off a little more than you can chew this year.

If you’re running out of steam, here’s a little inspiration to help you make it through that last mile of yarn. Watch STC Craft’s Melanie Falick, Joelle Hoverson, and Andrea Price speak about the specialness of giving handmade gifts. Give yourself the gift of a moment with this video, and get back in touch with the reasons why we go to all this trouble in the first place:

I hope watching this video inspires you to share why you make handmade gifts in the comments. (Personally, I give handmade gifts because I love seeing my loved ones wear them—even when the weather doesn’t call for it!)

Ready to jump back into your project now? Needles up . . .

Wishing you and yours the happiest of holidays!

Laura

P.S. If you still need a gift for that friend who loves her Kindle, Nook, iPad, Sony Reader, or Kobo Touch, you can always get her one of the ebooks from STC Craft | Melanie Falick Books! Watch below to learn how to gift an ebook—a great last-minute gift that doesn’t require any swatching).

STC Craft Gift Guide and Special Holiday Giveaway

UPDATE: In the spirit of the holiday season, we've decided to extend the contest through Friday, December 23rd. We'll be picking three lucky winners that day at noon so after you've left a comment, be sure to tell your friends to enter as well!

Have you run out of time to make crafts for the crafty people in your life? Then keep it simple and treat them to a beautiful craft book. And while you're at it, leave a comment below and you will be automatically entered in our free book giveaway! Just tell us your favorite holiday craft—whether it's ornament-making, cookie baking, or making lavish handmade gifts. The contest closes next Wednesday, December 21, at noon EST. If your name is drawn, you'll win a book of your choice from our online catalog.

For those who love to make toys: Knitted Dinosaurs & Wee Wonderfuls

For those who love to read about knitting (and make a few things too): My Grandmother's Knitting & A Knitter's Home Companion

For sewists who want to take their stitches to the next level: Stitch Magic & Sewing Basics

For knitters who want to take knits and purls to the next level: Loop-d-Loop Lace, Reversible Knitting

For holiday crafters: Have Yourself a Very Vintage Christmas Crafting a Meaningful Home

For crafters on a budget: PS I Made This and Repurposed Library

For crafters who want to make everything: Bust DIY Guide to Life

For backyard enthusiasts: The Complete Kitchen Garden & Beekeeper's Bible

For culinary crafters: Home Made, Sugar Baby, Canning for a New Generation

For those who love to make children's clothing: Oliver + S, Knitting for Baby, Vintage Baby Knits

For top-down knitters: Custom Knits 1, Custom Knits 2, & Modern Top-Down Knitting

For weekend crafters: Weekend Knitting, Weekend Sewing, Weekend Handmade

For procrastinators: Last-Minute Series

Handmade Holidays Memories from Kelly Wilkinson, author of Weekend Handmade

A Guest Post by Kelly Wilkinson

 

For me, the telltale smell of Christmas isn’t gingerbread or eggnog--but the smell of a hot glue gun. 

We were one of those annoyingly Currier & Ives families who actually made our holiday gifts and invited people over to sing carols around the piano and, get this–-reenact the story of Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem. I kid you not. My dad always played the tax collector and sometimes doubled as the donkey.  I know, I know: I can practically HEAR your eyeballs rolling. You can’t get much more wholesome, which is probably why my sisters and I each cultivated a pretty healthy streak of snark.

Naturally, these traditions became unbearably embarrassing once we entered middle school and beyond. But now, there is nothing I love more than an old-fashioned sing-a-long, led by my insanely musical mother.  Another holiday tradition that I still cherish is crafting up homemade presents for my family. 

This year, my husband and I are travelling back to Virginia and the renovated barn I grew up in for the holidays. And while I’ll try to have all my presents made by the time we ship out, I’m sure that my down-to-the-wire personality means that you’ll find me in my Christmas pajamas, tucked into a cozy corner of the barn, soldering or sewing or wrapping. 
 
And in all truthfulness, there’s nowhere else I’d prefer to be. 

Above, left: Kelly expectantly hanging her stockings in 1979; above, right: The Wilkinsons, wishing you a Merry christmas sometime in the early 1980s.

Inspired to craft your own holiday presents? Check out Kelly's book Weekend Handmade for plenty of fresh, simple, and fun ideas.