Show and Tell - Product Reviews
By Allegra and Brandy
Show and Tell is a fun feature of our magazine which showcases knitting or crochet-related products, as well as handcrafted products for children. A limited number of products are reviewed personally by Brandy or Allegra for each issue, to ensure that each product is evaluated with the utmost time and care. If you are interested in having your product reviewed, send it to us! We'd love to check it out.
AwareKnits: Knit & Crochet Projects for the Eco-Conscious Stitcher
by Vickie Howell and Adrienne Armstrong
Lark Books
$22.95
Nowadays, everywhere you look you find the words "eco-friendly," "sustainable," "recycle," "going green". This definitely pertains to the craft world, and boy are we lucky that it does! Vickie Howell, self-proclaimed crafty grrrl, and knitter and environmentalist, Adrienne Armstrong joined powerful forces to bring us the wonderful book AwareKnits: Knit & Crochet Projects for the Eco-Conscious Stitcher. The book offers 31 projects for knitters and crocheters using earth-friendly fibers. This book is fabulous and down to earth, giving great descriptions of different eco-friendly yarns and important words to know when "going green." The tone throughout the book is never preachy, but instead, like you are having a friendly, casual conversation with a cool, close friend (or two!). The tips, terms, and most importantly the patterns keep the reader thoroughly engaged; engaged with enthusiasm, without a hint of "text book" talk.
The patterns in the book seem very beginner-friendly, and each includes a star rating for difficulty. The patterns focus on earth-friendly yarns made of wool (organic), silk blends, linen, bamboo, hemp, camel and also include some very cool fibers like corn, milk fiber, jute, plarn (yarn made from recycled plastic bags) and recycled newspaper yarn. I love that the book offers a natural dyeing recipe, using beets, potato peels and turmeric. Other projects include dyeing recycled sweaters with rose petals and coffee. When in doubt, open up your pantry! A whole world of crafting can be found!
There are a lot of fantastic patterns in AwareKnits. I know many will be going into my knitting queue. I absolutely love the blanket, Global Warmth. It calls for organic wool and is a very simple mock eyelet cable pattern, but it really is gorgeous in all of its simplicity. Although I would want one of my own, I think downsizing it a bit would make a beautiful chemical-free baby blanket. Another wonderful project, thinking about the babies once more, is the Rainforest Wrapper. This cute sleep sack made from a soysilk blend (one of Howell's own yarns: SWTC/Vickie Howell Collection Rock), leaves room for little kicking legs! It's a great alternative to crib blankets and other loose bedding, which often cause parents of infants to worry about SIDS. The Treehugger Bag (which graces the front cover of the book) is a beautiful, felted tote. It adds some simple needle-felting as well, giving crafters the opportunity to take their knitting one step beyond a simple felted bag. Some other favorite patterns are the Camisoul: a feminine tank top made from organic cotton; Solar Sweetie: a sweet little dress made from corn yarn; Alter-Eco: a bag made from recycled plastic bag yarn, or plarn; and Greenhouse: a lovely crocheted door mat made from jute, which is very affordable, durable and non-toxic. I could go on and practically name every pattern in this book as a favorite, but I'll save some surprises for you to see for yourself!
This book is really a wonderful overall resource for those that feel passionate about caring for our environment and being able to craft in a more mindful way. My favorite sentence in the book ends the introduction: "Being mindful of your stitching imprint is a new kind of eco-consciousness; it's an AwareKnits!"
A Verb For Keeping Warm
My love affair with Kristine Vejar's yarn line, A Verb for Keeping Warm, began a little less than a year ago, after finally ordering some fingering weight to "see what all the fuss was about" (and because I thought it had the coolest yarn shop name ever!). Wow, it sure deserves all the fuss and accolades that it receives. At the time, I was using her Creating yarn (fingering,100% superwash merino), which was light and wispy to the feel. Her color palette is like no other I've ever seen in yarn. AVFKW uses only natural dyes, from both organic, sustainably-harvested extracts and also from it's own natural dye garden in Oakland, CA. The natural color palette is absolutely amazing, pretty mind blowing, actually. The names of her colors are also enticing: Thai Iced Tea, Filigree, Foxglove, Genmaicha, Octavia and Venus in a Half Shell, just to name a few.
AVFKW is always trying to stock hard-to-find fibers such as organic cotton, camel, cashmere, pygora and rare wools. Whenever possible, they try to work with American and Canadian farmers, mills and spindle makers.
I have had the pleasure to try some of AVFKW's newest yarn: Jannah (fingering) which is 50% baby camel and 50% silk. Oh my. Divine. This yarn would make a gorgeous shawl or scarflette, adding sheen and drape to your project. Some other beauties from AVFKW are Wishing (light fingering, 65% wool, 35% silk) and Metamorphosis (sport, 70% superwash merino, 30% silk). Really, you cannot go wrong when ordering from Verb. There is also a Brick and Mortar shop/studio in Oakland, CA, which carries fiber, yarn and holds classes (including spinning and natural dyeing). So for you lucky ones in the area, you must check it out.
From the writing on the shop site, seeing her yarns in person, and the correspondence I've had with Kristine, her passion for creating beautiful, natural yarns and natural dyeing is very apparent. If ever a yarn or fiber could whisk you away to an ethereal world, it would be from A Verb for Keeping Warm.
Rhythm of the Home
In a time where it seems like e-zines are all the rage, we have been graced recently with another one, Rhythm of the Home. Rhythm of the Home is an online magazine published quarterly which focuses on Montessori and Waldorf teachings as well as living creatively, simply and naturally. This beautiful magazine is the brain child of Heather Fontenot and Bernadette Emerson, both who follow a path of natural and creative family living and Waldorf education.
Each issue is published seasonally, offering projects and articles that focus on the upcoming season and its impact on a family's rhythm. In each issue, there are three categories: Warmth, Celebration, and Play. Warmth offers what we all search for and what children cannot live without; Celebration focuses on ringing in the new season with projects and recipes; and Play offers projects full of creative play and imagination which serve as a foundation for any family.
ROTH's second issue was recently released and after it's gorgeous inaugural issue, it did not disappoint. Lovely articles, photographs, meditations and projects are offered to help us prepare for the Spring Season. Personally, I had been making a list in my head of projects I wanted to do with my daughter to celebrate Spring, and it was as if Rhythm read my mind. I now have a beautiful go-to resource at the touch of my keyboard.
Rhythm of the Home has definitely filled a void in my life, as I'm sure it has for many other readers. It inspires us to take the time to breathe, enjoy our moments of creating with our families and also just being. I look forward to what the magazine offers in the future.
Blue Sky Alpacas Multi Cotton
We love their Dyed Cottons. Now, Blue Sky Alpacas has taken their beloved super soft, worsted weight cotton and kicked it up a notch with new colors that are just so fun and modern. Colors that pop! Colors that sing! The color combination options are so fun and creative, a real warm welcome to spring weather after a long, dreary winter. One of the nicest cottons you can knit with. It knits up very smoothly, and calls for US 7-9 needles, so you get a break from all the smaller gauge baby knitting you do.
Debbie Bliss Eco-Baby
Debbie Bliss has done it once again. She has created another beautiful yarn for children's garments, this time using organic cotton. Debbie's EcoBaby is the newest addition to her FairTrade Eco Cotton yarn line. The organic cotton is manufactured using an ecologically and socially conscious process through the BioRe textile chain. EcoBaby is a light weight yarn, similar in gauge to her popular Baby Cashmerino. In fact, it's entirely interchangeable with Baby Cashmerino, which I think is wonderful! Another aspect of this yarn that will make it popular is that it's machine washable. The color palette of EcoBaby is beautiful: soft, subtle colors which are created with non-toxic dyes, dyed in recyclable water. This makes the yarn 100% eco-friendly and 100% mama approved!
Sewing Green: 25 Projects made with Repurposed & Organic Materials
by Betz White
STC Craft/A Melanie Falick Book
$24.95
Longtime sewer extraordinaire and environmental advocate, Betz White has given us the fresh and modern book Sewing Green: 25 Projects made with Repurposed & Organic Material. This book is full of projects sewn from repurposed fabrics, new organic and sustainable fibers and some neat recycled non-fabrics.
Throughout the book, White gives the reader inspiring information and tips about "treading lightly on the planet" when crafting: how to deconstruct old garments for reuse, how to wrap gifts with leftover fabric (which I love!), and introducing us to "eco-innovators" such as Swap-O-Rama-Rama and Alabama Chanin.
Unlike many up-cycle focused book, Sewing Green has little sections that run throughout the book devoted to eco-friendly companies selling new goods. So if, for example, you wanted to buy some new fabric vs. hunting through flea markets for them, (which is something very hard to do with very young children!) you can take a quick scan through the book to find some earth conscious companies to purchase materials from and know that you are supporting companies who care about how our crafting affects the environment.
The Woodland Draft Buster is one of my favorite projects. The front and back door of my house are always drafty, so why not skip the trip to Home Depot for something very un-appealing and overpriced and instead create an amazing looking piece of art that you get to use every day! Another favorite of mine is the Beach Bag made from recycled placemats. It's terribly clever and the one featured in the book (using Marimekko placemats) is particularly striking. The book includes other classics such as Reusable Sandwich Wraps (using PUL or polyurethane laminated fabric), a pillowcase dress called Girl's Easy, Breezy Sundress, and the Striped Cafe Apron, reusing fabric from men's dress shirts.
Sewing Green is full of so many fun, innovative and classic projects The photography, by John Gruen, is bright and clear, adding to the overall fresh feel of the book. It is definitely a wonderful resource worth adding to your collection.
Woollybottoms
Woollybottoms is a small business run by mom Shannon, where every item is sewed by Shannon herself. Woollybottoms recycles old sweaters to create beautiful, flawless longies (long wool pants), footies (long wool pants with feet on the end) and slippers for your little one. All Woollybottoms products are made with loving care and of exquisite quality. My favorites are classic solid colored cashmere longies (yes, I said cashmere! I have at least 5 pair and love them). For those who cloth diaper, her longies come lanolized and ready to use.
If you don't cloth diaper the lanolization comes in handy for spills because it means the pants will repel spills and keep in moisture from any diaper leaks. The very slight scent in the lanolin she uses is one of my favorite smells (and I am not a fan of perfume), and you can even order some "love spell" lanolizing balm. Another favorite and quick seller is her "skirties" which are super funky and cute sweater bits cut up and combined into a super cute soaker (basically a wool underpant-like-cover to go over the diaper and keep in any wetness) with a skirt attached.
In the online word of cloth diapering, finding a pair of affordable wool longies for your child can be next to impossible. Most run $80 or more. This is what makes Woollybottoms so clever and useful. Not only do they work just as well as the knit longies, you can put them on your child knowing you had a hand in supporting a business that recycles in the most efficient and obvious way possible. Even if you don't cloth diaper, I highly recommend you snag a pair of the cashmere longies. They are so comfortable and cuddly on baby. Become a fan of Woollybottoms on Facebook so you can find out the next time Shannon stocks some of her handmade recycled goodness!
BubbaChic
I recently had the thrill of ordering this beautiful Waldorf-inspired doll from BubbaChic, a SAHM from England, relocated to Oklahoma. She credits her two children for her inspiration of all things crafty, and I would like to extend my thanks to them as well as I just adore Sweet Annie. Annie is 12" and is created in the Waldorf style.
Traditionally,Waldorf dolls are made from cotton interlock knit fabric and wool stuffing. They are often entirely natural. Typically the trademark long hair of a Waldorf doll is made of mohair or boucle. Annie is filled with soft carded sheep's wool and her hair is a soft mohair wool. Not only is the doll crafted beautifully, but her little crocheted shoes and adorable dress (love her choice of fabrics!) are both top notch.
Dee, the owner of BubbaChic, also provides wonderful customer service. She is quick to respond and due to illness in her family, which delayed Annie's arrival to our house, she added in a few very sweet and generous goodies. I definitely intend to buy dolls from her in the future! You can read all about her sweet creations on her blog.
Knit Green: 20 Projects & Ideas for Sustainability
by Joanne Seiff
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
$19.99
Yet another fantastic resource to add to your collection, Knit Green: 20 Projects & Ideas for Sustainability by Joanne Seiff, shares a tremendous abundance of information on how your favorite hobby can support environmental sustainability. The book gives very thorough and thoughtful information on the different types of natural yarns, practicing sustainable farming and buying locally, and among other things, vegan knitting. It is seriously a full exploration of the green avenues and product options available.
With all of this information, you might think that it borderlines that "text book" feel or that the projects would be on the serious side. Not at all! Seiff offers 20 fashion-forward designs, not only to wear, but also for the home. She gives us the tools we need to not only "Green-Up" our knitting, but also our lives.
Some favorite projects include the Zafu: A Churro Cushion, which is knit out of Navajo-Churro Rug Weight Wool. Very beautiful, simple, yet fashionable for the home. There are two patterns for bermuda bags, a basic pattern and also the Pin Check Bermuda. Both were designs with organic cotton. I love how stylish these bags are without all the unneccesary glitz. With such a simple pattern, you can easily jazz it up with embroidery or stripes if you wanted. The Scrubba Scrubba is a trio of patterns, including an exfoliating mitt, washcloth and soap satchel, knitted from Hemp yarn and also Aloo (Nettle). These yarns grow sustainably in Nepal and are handspun by local woman. I have knit with both of these yarns in the past, a little weary of how scratchy they feel as you knit, but fortunately over time, the yarn does soften. The Pixie Mitts are adorable, shown in beautiful colors of Lorna's Laces Green Line (worsted weight yarn). Seiff gives the reader the idea of knitting matching mitt sets for Mama and child. Very sweet. Another wonderful project is the Knitted Curtain with matching button tabs. This was created in some of Seiff's handspun from her stash, and it's gorgeous. So many options for this project. The book includes many other projects, for man, child and also man's best friend. There is something in this book for everyone.
Over the Rainbow (Natural Wooden Stacker) by BeneathTheRowanTree
Straight from Canada, Over the Rainbow from BeneathTheRowanTree one of the most adorable natural wooden stacker sets you have ever seen. The wood is hand dyed with food grade dyes and all the pieces are sealed with a waterbased, non-toxic finish. All natural and safe for your little one, for hours of imaginative play. This particular toy has been a constant source of entertainment at our house. The first few days my daughter spent figuring out the order of the puzzle, now that she has mastered that part she enjoys using all the pieces to arrange them as "caves" and "bridges". Also fantastic for teaching colors and the concepts of "bigger", "smaller" "over and "under". Simply a joy to look at, to touch and to play with.