October Authors Who Knit: Yours Truly!

Someone bugged me the other week that they didn’t know my own answers to the author feature questions I’m always asking other people.  Since I’ve got a book releasing November 1 (which may already be on the shelves in your local bookstore or supermarket), I decided to accept the challenge.  So this month, the “Author Who Knits” is...me.

What’s on your needles right now?
I’m currently working on the Mapes shawl from Lovin’ Knit, the KnitAlong from my visit to Atlanta.  It’s a lovely mix of stockinette and a decorative stitch that requires a little more attention.  

What feels like your favorite/greatest knitting accomplishment?
There was a sock from FiberWild! in Galena, IL that really challenged me.  All kinds of cables and spiffy gussets and complicated patterns. It’s absolutely lovely, but it’s also absolutely lonely--I could never muster the courage to make the second.

What feels like the worst knitting mistake/foible/wrong choice you’ve ever made?
There was a blue sweater that I created using Elizabeth Zimmerman’s formula method.   Great in theory, not so great in execution.  The color was wrong, the fit was a poor choice, and we will not discuss what happened when it found its way into the dryer by mistake.  Let’s just call it a mercy killing.

Straight or circular needles?
I own dozens of needles, but I keep coming back to my KnitPicks harmony circulars.  They tuck nicely in the mesh bags I stash in my handbag so I’m never without knitting.

Metal or wood needles?
I seem to prefer wood, although I do love my Signature needles, which are almost like jewelry they are so beautifully made.

White chocolate, milk chocolate, or dark chocolate?
Dark.  The darker, the better.

Coffee or tea?
Coffee!  Now that my doctor has asked me to cut back, it’s cold-brewed, low-acid, half-decaf, but it’s still coffee.  I treasure every drop now.

Have you written a knitting character? 
Several!  I manage to include a knitting character in about half my books--more in the Gordon Falls series since prayer shawls feature in the plots.  The shawls show up in all the books, but play a sweet role in the newest release, THE FIREFIGHTER’S MATCH.

What’s the last thing anyone would suspect about your most recent book?
That I discover new things about the characters with every book, and don’t plan it out in advance.  Violet Sharpton started out as a minor character, but she’s become rather beloved.  I never know quite how this sort of thing happens, but it’s one of the great pleasures of writing for me.  Authors are never really in charge.

My Raverly name:
Alliewriter

My favorite local yarn store:
As you can imagine, I have great relationships with several Chicago area stores, but my “home turf” is:
Knitche

5221 Main St  

Downers Grove, IL 60515

630-852-5648

www.Knitche.com

Hey, that was fun!  Next up, I cast on the Mapes shawl I mentioned earlier.