My latest work of knitting goodness which is featured in Knit Local by Tanis Gray.

Cabled Car Coat by Sauniell Nicole :: Copyright by Sixth&Spring/Tanis Gray - Knit Local :: Photography by Scott Jones

A few years back, Tanis contacted me about a book that she was putting together based around US-based yarn companies. The premise of the book is using local yarns to reduce the impact on the environment and support farms that take great care of their animals. I liked the idea and enjoy working with Tanis so it was a no-brainer.

The sweater is made in Farmhouse Yarns Andy’s Merino. I enjoyed using this yarn and really liked the color. I would honestly recommend this yarn for it’s softness and great colors.

If you get the book, you’ll see the story of why I chose this design but I’ll share it here too….

Back when I was in high school there was this Polo Car Coat that I desperately wanted. I had never heard of a “car coat” before or that there were coats specifically for driving. Only in America. And since I was learning to drive I felt it was most important that I have this “car coat”. The coat was $250 which mother thought was a ridiculous price for a coat for a teenager. Instead she took me to a fabric store on the other side of the city and bought me $50 in fabric & buttons to make the coat. I LOVED that coat! This cabled car coat is my homage to that coat.

The added bonus for me, is that when I envisioned this coat, I pictured this city/country version of the coat and even sketched it out with the girl in tall boots….

so you can only imagine how much I’m loving the photography for my project.

Cabled Car Coat by Sauniell Nicole :: Copyright by Sixth&Spring/Tanis Gray - Knit Local :: Photography by Scott Jones

The book is available on Amazon, in bookstores, and at your local yarn shops

I wanted to share some pics of the one thing I’ve actually finished in 2011 thus far….

It’s a blanket for my 4th (yes 4th) godchild. That makes 3 boys & 1 girl. It’s my tradition that each child gets a knit blanket for their christening/baby dedication. At such a young age I feel that clothing & toys get lost along the way but things like a blanket make it into a child’s everyday life for years. Originally I found it challenging to come up with boy blankets because I don’t like lacy blankets for boys and I’m careful about the color schemes. Plus I hate “baby” colors. So this go round I decided to pick a few colors and go free form with the stripes. I had to add a tubular edge on side to hide all the floats. I started to do a crochet edge but it wasn’t hiding things the way I wanted.

WWKIPD – World Wide Knit In Public Day

WWKIPD is Saturday June 18. If you take the time to look around I’m sure you’ll find many people huddled in groups, knitting on that day. I will have the opportunity to knit in public while sitting at the table for Soho Publishing at the Brooklyn Central Library @ noon in honor of Tanis Grey’s book Knit Local , which I have the pleasure of being a part of.
If you get a chance, come out and see me. They will have projects from the book and pictures for viewing.

In that time I had the chance to see my friend Avril’s Alicat Fall 2011 Runway show. Avril is handbag designer who also design all the clothing for her runway shows to highlight her bags. I’ve been helping her develop her website in anticipation of this show so it was great see all the hard work she’s been putting in forth for the show (take a look)

I also had a chance to be an extra in short film for Randy Wilkins. I had the opportunity to work with Randy before on his Osvaldo’s film project, so I was more than happy to be a part of the creative process. It wasn’t until the morning of that I remember that I have no aspirations to be an actor and had no idea how I was supposed to “act” as an extra. Nevertheless, I channeled my acting skills from all the childhood plays I was in (I was the child that could memorize everything & my mother says I was a dramatic child). In reality, all I had to do was stand there but in my head I was acting

During that weekend I was also able to make myself some jeans, leggings, and finish the cabled sweater (as seen in the previous post) and a Presidents’ Day apple pie. With all those things finished I was ready to dive into the next set of projects.

This past Friday, I stopped by Purl to pick up some yarn for baby blankets. It was my first time visiting their new space and it was interesting. The space is nice and definitely more spacious. Maybe it’s just me but they definitely give off that “we are the cool kids” vibe now and I don’t ever remember anyone asking me if I needed help even though I had questions. The old space may have been small but I felt like the women that worked their realized you were actually in the store. Nonetheless I bought some Cascade 220 Sport Superwash for baby blankets because I didn’t know of another place in the city to get it. The red will be for a solid lacy baby blanket for a girl and the other colors will be used for a striped boy’s blanket.

I also spent some time working on a pattern dress jumper for myself. If it turns out well I’m considering grading the pattern and making a couple of pieces for sale.

And to end off my weekend I’m making some soup for dinner (and lunch this week). During the winter I really enjoy making soups. It’s a great comfort food and the leftovers are great for lunch. This week’s soup is a chicken potato leek soup. It’s cooking as I type.

I’m off now to enjoy some soup and knit a bit before heading to bed. Happy work week everyone. And if you don’t have to work…..lucky you. I’m jealous.

- I spent the winter knitting a sweater from navy blue merino wool yarn. It’s almost all put together and I don’t like it. I’ll take pictures of the pieces and then take it apart. It’s the only thing I knit all winter.

-Why is it that as the weather gets warmer I’m getting slightly more inspired to knit? Seems a bit out of order.

-I’m working on a sweater for another book project. It’s due at the end of April.

- I went to Oakland,CA last weekend for a wedding. It was my first time to the Bay Area and it was cold.  I was not pleased by this discovery. The wedding was wonderful though and I was able to see some old friends from NC.  I also saw the Golden Gate Bridge and got cupcakes.(I’ll do a cupcake chronicle’s update in a few days.)

-I wish for a new digital camera. I live in denial about the capabilities of my camera phone. Please see above pics for actual proof. Plus I have no pictures from the wedding b/c they all came out blurry. I have a digital camera which is actually pretty good but it’s too big to carry around on a daily basis. Someone please send me a camera fairy.

Earlier in January I had the chance to sit down with someone that I consider a fashion mentor. She is the person that I interned under and taught me everything I know when it comes to knitwear design & manufacturing for the fashion industry. She shared with me that she was starting her own fashion line and that if I had the time she would like me to help out. Needless to say I said YES!!!

So for the past couple of weeks I have dedicated my free time to helping a truly great design team create what is now known as “Act.1: art+craft” by Sally Wu.

Let me start by saying that fashion and fashion shows are not all glamour and lights. The43 is A LOT of hard work…tons of running the streets, getting fabric, cutting, sewing, sewing on labels & buttons, etc. And the amount of dedicated people it takes to make it happen is key. Sally had the fortune of being surrounded by a great group of supportive and hard working people.

On Wednesday February 17, Sally Wu presented her line of 20+ looks at the Chamber Fine Art Gallery to a crowd of over 200 people.

These are just a few of the looks that she presented. (You can see more pics in my Fall 10 Fashion Week Flickr Set)

The premise of Sally’s design concept for this line was to create pieces with hand-crafted details through the use of different textured fabrics/knits in a color palette that included black, creme/nude, and burgundy.

I was able to lend my skills  in hand-knits to help craft the scarf and vests made in tulle. Both styles were made with strips of tulle, large needles, and a varied stitch pattern that was very organic and in the moment.

I am glad I had the opportunity to be an intern and help with this line and hope to do more in the future.

Thanks Sally!