December Authors Who Knit: Danica Favorite

It's especially fun for me when I get to introduce you to one of my knitting author friends.  DestiKNITters, take a moment to meet debut author Danica Favorite!

Danica, what’s on your needles right now?

Well, Allie is going to laugh at this, because she helped me with a similar project, but here goes: I am working on making knitted chickens. I haven’t yet found a size that makes me happy, so I don’t actually have a finished chicken. Just a bunch of weird size ball things. So, I have an almost finished, too-small chicken on my needles.

What feels like your favorite/greatest knitting accomplishment?

I made this really great spiral knitted bag. I took a class at my local yarn store (A Knitted Peace, featured on Destiknitions) and that was the project we did. Best thing I’ve ever made. Maybe I need to find a “how to knit chickens” class.

What feels like the worst knitting mistake/foible/wrong choice you’ve ever made?
I made this super huge, super ugly shawl. It was a great idea and really pretty, but it was an important lesson in gauge. The thing is a behemoth and I used *cough* three times as much yarn as my pattern said. That should have been my first clue. However, it was one of those stubborn moments of I WILL DO THIS, so I finished it. I almost ripped it out and called it good, but my daughter loves it, even though it’s like a giant ugly blanket. 

Straight or circular needles?

Circular. 

Metal or wood needles?

I only have metal circular needles, since the wood ones are pricey. But I really love the feel of wood. That said, I’ll knit with anything. I have these big clunky acrylic needles I love, too.

White chocolate, milk chocolate, or dark chocolate?

I’m not allowed to have chocolate or dairy, so my treat of choice is cinnamon bears.

Coffee or tea?

Tea

Have you written a knitting character?

Um, sort of. I had a great scene in the book I’m writing right now involving two characters learning to knit, but my editor made me cut that section of the book. ☹ I guess I’ll need to be more intentional about making a knitting character.

What’s the last thing anyone would suspect about your most recent book?

That when I pictured my heroine from Rocky Mountain Dreams, I pictured Nellie Oleson from Little House on the Prairie. I’ve always thought that Nellie could be a good person deep down, so I decided to write a character who was already a good Nellie. 

Give a shout out to your favorite local yarn store:

A Knitted Peace
5654C S. Prince St.

Littleton, CO 80123

aknittedpeace.com

If you’d like to be friends with Danica on Ravelry, you can reach her at: DanicaDream.  If you'd like more information on Danica and her book, visit her website.

November Authors Who Knit: Mindy Klasky

I had the great pleasure of meeting Mindy in person at a writers conference recently.  I'm delighted to introduce this talented and charming knitting author to you!

Mindy, what’s on your needles right now?

I am currently working on a throw, a lap blanket of simple garter stitch squares, intended to keep me warm through the long winter nights. It's easy and quick, good for a mind distracted by all the work associated with bringing out the last books in my Diamond Brides Series!

What feels like your favorite/greatest knitting accomplishment?

Answer one:  Teaching myself to knit!  (My mother wouldn't teach me, because she knits continental and never knew anyone else who did. My friend tried to teach me, but she's left-handed.  YouTube to the rescue!)  I learned to knit because I married a man who loves baseball – and I had do to something to fill the time spent watching all those games.  (Ultimately, I wrote a romance series about baseball, too!)

Answer two:  My first lace shawl, where I taught myself how to increase and decrease – and then (over a year later, because I was terrified) how to block a finished piece.

What feels like the worst knitting mistake/foible/wrong choice you’ve ever made?

Cringing at the price of the hand-dyed mercerized cotton yarn recommended for a shawl pattern I loved and choosing to go with a less expensive wool instead.  The shawl is lovely – don't get me wrong – but it doesn't have any of the magic or sheen of the recommended yarn.  (Which just means I need to make it again.  Or make something else.  Or both ☺)

Straight or circular needles?

Depends on the project, but usually straight.

Metal or wood needles?

I vastly prefer wood, but I own an inexpensive set of metal interchangeables that I use most of the time.  I'm thinking of splurging at my next big birthday, or career milestone, or something, and buying interchangeable wood needles to keep me happy forever.

White chocolate, milk chocolate, or dark chocolate?

Dark.  But not above 72%.  I'm picky ☺

Coffee or tea?

Tea.  Lots and lots of tea.  (Right now I'm in love with Bigelow French Vanilla, but Lemon Lift was my first love ☺)

Have you written a knitting character?

Not yet.  But I'm planning one for my next series, Lawyers in Love.

What’s the last thing anyone would suspect about your most recent book?

As a romance author, I'm always fighting the battle, trying to get people to understand that my characters are imaginary, and that the things they do are not necessarily the things that I have done.

That said, the heroine in ALWAYS RIGHT is very similar to me in some ways – not in the being-bankrupted-by-her-gambling-addict-father ways.  And not in the accidentally-blackmailing-someone ways.  But Amanda Carter is a litigator who knows how to argue for what she wants.  I suspect that people who meet me now never suspect my deep, dark litigator past. ☺

Give a shout out to your favorite local yarn store: 

I only get to my favorite yarn store on vacation, but it's:

Knitting Addiction

3708 N. Croatan Hwy #2

Kitty Hawk, NC 27949

www.knittingaddiction.com

If you'd like to know more about Mindy and her books, click on over to her website.

October Authors Who Knit: Elizabeth Boyle

It's the third Wednesday of the month, which means it's time to meet an author who knits!  This month we meet Elizabeth Boyle.

Elizabeth, what’s on your needles right now? 

A pair of thick and cozy slipper socks. The pattern is a free one from Lion Brand that I’ve knit over and over again for myself and as a quick gift. I usually knit it with two strands of Homespun held together because it makes a good thick fabric. 

What feels like your favorite/greatest knitting accomplishment? 

Any time I master a new skill—be it a mobius cast-on, or recently an i-cord cast on, I love that more than the project itself. Thank goodness for knitting books and YouTube, the two places I head when I see a pattern call for something beyond my skill set.

What feels like the worst knitting mistake/foible/wrong choice you’ve ever made? 

It is always is a color or yarn choice. Once it was a variegated yarn that I made into entrelac mittens. Egads, it looked like my hands were covered in clown barf. LOL. That got immediately frogged. 

Straight or circular needles? 

Pretty much always use circs, but I do knit dishcloths on straights. 

Metal or wood needles? 

Both. Each has its place, depending on the pattern and yarn. With a plain stockinette, I love metal because then the stitches just fly off, but if a pattern has lots of cables or I am doing fair isle, then I prefer wood. 

White chocolate, milk chocolate, or dark chocolate? 

Dark. There is such a wonderful depth to dark chocolate that the others are missing. 

Coffee or tea? 

Coffee. But I do love a periodic cup of Earl Gray.

Have you written a knitting character? 

Yes. Felicity Langley from Love Letters from a Duke, knits her own socks. Red ones that the hero finds amusing. Felicity is one of the most practical characters I’ve ever written and so it just seemed natural that she would knit. Since I write in the Regency era, I’ve always been fascinated with the small purses, known as Sovereign purses, that young ladies often knit and gave as gifts—I even designed a pattern based on one that a friend of mine, Candice Hern, had collected. The pattern, A Bag for Jane, can be found on Ravelry. 

What’s the last thing anyone would suspect about your most recent book? 

That I had a heck of a time writing it. I was having trouble with carpal tunnel, so I had to balance my knitting and writing to keep my wrists from flaring up. The knitting is essential to writing because that is my meditative time and of course the writing is essential to getting the pages done. Both feeds the other. It became a very delicate balancing act. What I recommend is finding a good hand therapist to help, and then massage therapy. It has worked wonders for me.

Your Raverly name: Elizbo. I love finding new friends on Ravelry. The Friends Activity page is my first stop in the morning—I can’t get enough of seeing what others are stashing, favoriting and casting on. 

Your favorite local yarn store:

Seattle Yarn

5633 California Ave SW
Seattle, WA 98136

www.seattleyarn.com

If you'd like to know more about Elizabeth and her books, visit her website here. 

August Authors--and characters!--Who Knit: Denise Swanson

It's always something new over here at DestiKNITions.  Today, we're not just talking to an author who knits, but her character!  

Author friend Denise Swanson has many fans of her Scumble River mystery series, and several of them are knitters.  It's no surprise then, than Denise's newest release is Murder of a Needled Knitter.  So instead of Denise taking the questions, our answers come from May Dennison, mother of the series' amateur sleuth heroine, Skye Dennison.  May is a proud member of the Scumble River String of Purls club. She has managed to sneak onto her daughter’s honeymoon by manipulating the groom into booking the same cruise as her knitting club.  If that doesn't sound like a plot fit for entertaining chaos, I don't know what does!

May, what's on your needles right now?

I’m making a baby afghan. My son and his wife are expecting my first grandchild any minute now.

What feels like your favorite/greatest knitting accomplishment? 

A knit blouse in a very fine gauge with lace in front. It took me 6 months, and as anyone will tell you, I’m not a patient person.

What feels like the worst knitting mistake/foible/wrong choice you’ve ever made? 

Although this wasn’t really my fault, when I first started knitting I bought a kit in the clearance section of a big box store. The yarn was the tiniest, fuzziest yarn and knotted something fierce. Plus there wasn't enough yarn to complete the project and the instructions had so many mistakes I nearly went out of my mind.

Straight or circular needles?

Depends on the project, but I like the feel of circular better, they put less strain on your hands.

Metal or wood needles? 

I like nickel-plated needles as they seem faster.

White chocolate, milk chocolate, or dark chocolate? 

Dark!

Coffee or tea? 

Black coffee.

Now we come to a few questions Denise herself can answer:

Have you written a knitting character? 

In my Scumble River series, my sleuth’s mother, May Denison knits and in my Devereaux’s Dime Store books, Dev hosts a group called the Knittie Gritties in the craft nook of her store.

What’s the last thing anyone would suspect about your most recent book? 

I’m hoping it’s the identity of the killer. ;)

So, if you're looking for a new fiction series that might serve up a few characters who love knitting as much as you do (hey, you already know about my books), check Denise's books out.  You can visit her website here.

Next up, DestiKNITions visits a pair of Cleveland suburbs; Aurora and Chagrin Falls Ohio.

July Authors Who Knit: Marsha A. Moore

It's time to meet this month's author who knits. DestiKNITters, say hello to Marsha A. Moore!

Marsha, what’s on your needles right now? 

I’m currently finishing up a small shawl, Jig by Annie Claire, with a pretty scalloped shape. I have a large shawl, the November Ruffle Wrap I’m doing in Madeline Tosh pashmina, waiting patiently for me from a few months ago. Also, I have the last humongous ruffle border rows to finish on a lovely Milk Run Shawl. That will be so welcome this fall. And I’m about to start a Gaia shrug that I need to go with a few dresses I’ll wear on vacation in late August.

I used to do one project at a time until I started publishing. Now, I find having numerous projects of different difficulties or sizes is better to meet whatever free time opens up. I’ve always had at least one active project going during the last thirty years, no matter what else life brings.

What feels like your favorite/greatest knitting accomplishment? 

When we lived in NW Ohio, I made many sweaters with intricate cables. They aren’t of much use here in Tampa other than for an occasional cold night, but I can’t part with them and keep them stored safely in two cedar chests.

What feels like the worst knitting mistake/foible/wrong choice you’ve ever made? 

I made a shrug that was double-stranded with mohair and viscose yarns. The viscose yarn snagged and misbehaved so much that I thought I’d never get the project finished. I did survive. But never again.

Straight or circular needles? 

Both. I like 14-inch straights because I can prop one needle against my thigh and work faster. Lately I’ve made a series of shawls and become quite attached to working with Addi-Turbo long lace tips circulars.

Metal or wood needles? 

Either.

White chocolate, milk chocolate, or dark chocolate? 

Dark chocolate.

Coffee or tea? 

Definitely tea. I have at least fifty varieties.

Have you written a knitting character? 

No, but I have a character who knits planned for my new series called Coon Hollow Coven Tales. The first book, The Witch’s Moonstone Locket, will release in late autumn.

What’s the last thing anyone would suspect about your most recent book? 

That a book about yoga could be scary.

Give a shout out to your favorite local yarn store: 

I’m sad to say that my favorite local yarn store, Knit n’ Knibble, in Tampa, is closing this month. I have yet to find a new favorite.

If you're on Ravelry, you can connect with Marsha at MarshaAMoore.  To learn more about Marsha and her books, visit her website.

June Authors Who Knit: Diane J. Reed

Today we'll meet another of the authors who will be joining me for "Get Crafty With an Author" at Denver's ROMCON later this week.  DestiKNITters, meet Diane J. Reed.

Diane, what’s on your needles right now? 

Big chunky scarves in fun and silly colors! I love adding a little extra flair to my sweaters in the winter with charming scarves, and I really enjoy soft textures around my neck. Plus with two young kids, short projects like scarves are something I can actually finish in between writing, school volunteering and heading up Boy Scout outings :D

What feels like your favorite/greatest knitting accomplishment? 

Without a doubt, my greatest knitting accomplishment was a green Aran sweater with complex cabling called the "St. Brigid" design by Alice Starmore, which I knitted for my beloved twin sister for our birthday. Lord have mercy, that one took quite a while, but what a beautiful sweater it is! She wears it on foggy days when she rides her horses, and it always makes me proud. I also love an ivory sweater that I knitted from wool I brought straight from a farming woman in New Hampshire who sheared and spun wool from her own Romney sheep. It was really fun to meet the sheep that the wool came from! 

What feels like the worst knitting mistake/foible/wrong choice you’ve ever made? 

I have one word for you: Acrylic. I'm not a big fan of acrylic fibers because after all the work you put into knitting, it tends to ball up on you and make you feel like you're wearing a plastic bag. It simply doesn't breathe well. So even though it costs less to buy, for me it's always been a mistake to go cheap and knit with acrylic. I love the feel, durability, and breathability of natural fibers like wool, cotton and linen.

Straight or circular needles?

Circular! That way my projects don't fall off my needles as easily.

Metal or wood needles? 

I love metal because those points slip through fiber so easily and you can knit really fast. I just like their sleek feel.

White chocolate, milk chocolate, or dark chocolate? 

Dark! I could eat unsweetened chocolate bars, especially if they're made by Callibaut, and I often buy 85% chocolate by Lindt or Ghirardelli.

Coffee or tea? 

Both! I still have tea parties with my imaginary friends ; )

Have you written a knitting character? 

You know, I never have, but a lot of my characters have hand quilted. I can't help but put some form of homespun art into my novels! For me, they represent beautiful pieces of soul, and the quilts often have hidden, spiritual meanings.

What’s the last thing anyone would suspect about your most recent book? 

Stone of Thieves appears on the surface to be a sexy, new adult romance that's a thrill ride in terms of action. But underneath, it's a piercingly soulful book about a young woman discovering who she really is through learning from an older gypsy how to truly become a woman and rely on her intuition. Of course, it doesn't hurt that her hot boyfriend is there every step of the way to keep readers interested! 

If you'd like to learn more about Diane and her books, visit her website.  Just to be clear: Diane's books cover mature themes and are not suitable for younger or more sensitive readers.

May Authors Who Knit: Sheri Cobb South

Sheri is one of several knitting authors who will be joining me at ROMCON in Denver in June.  For this month's Authors Who Knit, let's meet this versatile writer:

Sheri, What’s on your needles right now? 

A lap robe. My church (Faith Evangelical Presbyterian in Loveland, Colorado) has a group called KnitWits, and one of our projects is providing lap robes for patients at a dialysis center, where the rooms are kept at a rather cool temperature. Unfortunately, the pattern I’m using takes double strands of worsted-weight yarn, and since it uses two colors, it means I’m juggling four skeins of yarn. Sometimes I feel like I spend as much time untangling yarn as I do actually knitting! I have to remind myself it’s all in a good cause.

What feels like your favorite/greatest knitting accomplishment? 

A baby blanket I made for my great-niece won a blue ribbon at the fair. A sweater I’d crocheted also won a blue that year. Since it was the first time I’d entered any needlework, I was rather pleased with myself!

What feels like the worst knitting mistake/foible/wrong choice you’ve ever made? 

Other than choosing a lap robe pattern that requires me to juggle four skeins of yarn? Hmm, I don’t remember exactly what I did, but I once had to take over a hundred stitches off the needle, rip out several rows, and then thread all the stitches back on. I have to say, crocheting is much more “forgiving” than knitting, as far as correcting one’s errors!

Straight or circular needles? 

I can use either one. The aforementioned lap robe is on a circular needle.

Metal or wood needles? 

Metal. I know some people don’t like the noise they make, but to me the soft clicking of the needles is one of the subtle joys of knitting.

White chocolate, milk chocolate, or dark chocolate?

I prefer dark, but I like milk chocolate, too. I tell my husband that I don’t believe in white chocolate; if it doesn’t contain cocoa, it isn’t really chocolate!

Coffee or tea? 

Usually coffee, although I can drink iced tea, too. And, being a Southerner born and bred, I take them both strong and sweet!

Have you written a knitting character? 

Sheri's current release

Aunt Hattie, the heroine’s ditzy aunt in my Regency romance Of Paupers and Peers, is very big on charitable works. When we first meet her, she’s fretting over her knitting. She’s been making gloves, and one of them has come out with only four fingers. (Did I mention she’s ditzy?) She’s hardly a poster child for knitting, but she was great fun to write about.  After the glove fiasco, she turns her attention to a project to send candles to English missionaries in darkest Africa. When our heroine, her niece, asks her why candles, she says, “My love, you cannot have been listening! Darkest Africa, you know!” 

What’s the last thing anyone would suspect about your knitting? 

I’m a lefty and I knit left-handed, so everything I make is actually a mirror image of what it’s “supposed” to be. In most projects it doesn’t matter, but with, say, a sweater with buttonholes, I have to be careful to reverse the pattern or the holes will end up on the wrong side.

DestiKNITters, if you'd like to know more about Sheri and her books, visit her website here.

February Authors Who Knit: Katie Startzman

Every once in a while we stray from knitting fiction authors to those lucky people who get to write all about knitting!  Here's one of those now.  Katie and I met at the Kentucky Book Fair last year where I picked up a copy of her nifty new book on knitted slippers.  I knew right away I'd want the DestiKNITters to meet this talented lady.

Katie, what’s on your needles right now?

I’m swatching all sorts of things for my next book project--many different textures and weights--it’s a fun process to just see the glimmer of new ideas come together. 

What feels like your favorite/greatest knitting accomplishment?

I knit a sweater for my twin sister for our 30th birthday several (7) years ago, and it was really tough for me to keep it a secret from her. We share all our creative projects with each other. She was really surprised and pleased! More recently, coming up with 30 different styles of slippers for The Knitted Slipper Book was difficult and rewarding. 

What feels like the worst knitting mistake/foible/wrong choice you’ve ever made?

I bought a cheap set of interchangeable knitting needles and really should have saved up and bought some Addi Turbos. I curse my penny-pinching ways every time I use them.

Straight or circular needles?

Hmmm.. straights if I HAVE to choose one. Actually, double points. My size 10 1/2 Brittany wooden double point needles have knit miles of yarn--that’s the main size I use to knit worsted weight wool that will be felted. 

Metal or wood needles?

Wood, if I have to pick one. 

White chocolate, milk chocolate, or dark chocolate?

Couldn’t be too dark for me!

Coffee or tea?

Coffee that someone else makes for me is my favorite morning drink.

Have you encountered a knitting character in a novel that you liked? 

Not really, I think there should be more knitting in novels! Or maybe I’m reading the wrong books. 

What’s the last thing anyone would suspect about your most recent book?

When I mailed the samples to Japan for their “beauty shots” (the large images of the slippers with models...) some of them were still damp! I’m a bit of a last-minute worker.

Your Ravelry name: katiestartzman 

Give a shout out to your favorite local yarn store: 

Rebelle

225 Rosemont Garden, Lexington, KY

http://www.rebellegirls.com

IF you’d like to learn more about Katie, visit her website at  duofiberworks.com

December Authors Who Knit: Charlene Ann Baumbich

DestiKNITters, it's your lucky day!  Today you get to meet a fellow author and my dear friend, Charlene Ann Baumbich!

Charlene, what’s on your needles right now?

Tricky question, because the exciting project on my needles is one I can’t talk about. I’m currently helping Santa out and I have a few snoopy relatives. ☺  I can tell you it’s my first adventure with circular knitting needles. It’s also a project that’s been as much unraveled from my needles as worked on them. 

Oh, I’m also crocheting Christmas gifts for two certain girls’ American Girl dolls. I switch to those projects when my hand movements and shoulders need a break. I find knitting much more stressful on my body than crochet. Go figure.

What feels like your favorite/greatest knitting accomplishment?
Back to that current project on my needles (okay, it’s a hat, but Sssssssh!), I learned how to do a stretchy cast on using two needles! We live in such a handy time: I Googled “stretchy knitting cast on” then watched one of the videos about a dozen times until I conquered it. (Rewind. Rewind. Rewind.) I’m feeling proud—even though last night I had to rip out three hours of my first work because I missed the very short opening instruction after the “cast on 100” that said, “rib 1X1 for 2.5 inches”. I’ve recovered nicely, though, and am nearly two inches into the next attempt. The good thing about starting in the wrong place is that I already know I can master the cable pattern when I get to it For Real this time, since I’d been working it before the Big Rip. ☺

UPDATE: I returned to this blog post draft for a tweak or two, boy OY! What’s happened since! Once again, I had to unravel another three hours of work! This time I’d somehow accidentally added a stitch (HUH?) and messed up the cable pattern. That’s what I get for feeling so proud. I am currently 2.5 inches into the redo, which means the ribbing I forgot the first time has now been done for the second time.

What feels like the worst knitting mistake/foible/wrong choice you’ve ever made?
I’m 68 now, and I was 19 when I suffered the foible attack. Yes, some memories die hard. 

I was pretty broke at the time, so I decided to make gifts for my favorite people. I bought knitting needles, a bag of yarn and a pattern (assembled as a kit), plus two other bags of yarn with free patterns. I took a free knitting class, since I didn’t know how. (Do you see the wind-up for failure here?) But the most “special” of the three gifts would be the cable knit sweater for my beloved dad. 

Well, I learned how to knit alright, but I didn’t get the sweater done in time for the holiday. Mostly because I set the project aside “for awhile” to crochet my mom’s sweater, which turned out to be more time consuming than I’d imagined. (I already knew how to crochet.) Christmas morning my mom received a lovely sweater; I handed Dad one-and-a-half front sweater panels and the rest of a bag of yarn, which, after the festivities, I retrieved to finish. Before his death in 1998, with a twinkle in his eye, he still occasionally asked if I thought I’d ever finish that sweater I’d started him decades previous. I lost the still unfinished project in the great flood of 1972. The End.

As for that other bag of yarn gift? That project never even got started. I think I finally gave the yarn away.

Straight or circular needles?
Before I started my current project, I’d have said straight. But I have to admit, I dig no seams and am less afraid of dropping a stitch on the circulars. Not sure why that is …  Do keep in mind, however, I’m fully capable of accidentally adding a stitch on them. Grrr. Also, I am NOT looking forward to when I have to switch to four needles during the decreases for the top of the hat. (The down side of no seams.) I’ve tried working four needles twice previous. All I produced was dropped stitches and gnashing teeth. I hope I have more success this time.

Metal or wood needles?
Before my current project, I would have said metal, but I’m loving the feel of unbleached bamboo. Although I kind of miss the clacking sound of the metal needles, there’s something satisfying about the bamboo. 

As for crochet hooks, I’d say metal, although I recently purchased a bamboo size F crochet hook for an American Girl project and found it worked fine.  

White chocolate, milk chocolate, or dark chocolate?
I’m not a big chocolate fan. Given a choice and made to eat a few pieces, though, I’d choose dark. I’m more of a Twizzler and/or caramel person, although to be honest, I’d choose chips and dips over any sweets.

Coffee or tea?
Tea. Absolutely tea. And then more tea. Not tea in a bottle, which isn’t tea. Not instant. Gimme fresh brewed tea. I don’t care about the caffeine element. I brew as much decaf as anything and make my own iced tea. I love experimenting with different flavor combinations.

Have you written a knitting character? 
Not an exclusive knitting character, but a gung-ho and very creative and clever crafter, whose projects include knitting. In fact, Jessica Joy has nearly melted herself over-extending her crafting obligations. She’s a very dear young mom, a main character in my Dearest Dorothy series.

What’s the last thing anyone would suspect about your most recent book?

How many months I spent asking, begging and pleading with Sasha, my main character who showed up in my mind’s eye, to please go away, out of my head. What did I know about ballet? Especially what it would be like for a renowned ballerina to suffer a career ending injury? But she absolutely insisted I explore her story, pestered me until I put my hands to the keyboard. Much to my surprise, a couple pages in, a second character, one who hadn’t been “talking” at all, showed up and the story quickly became about their amazing friendship.

Give a shout out to your favorite local yarn store:
Yarnology
65 East Third Street
Winona MN 55987

http://www.yarnologymn.com/

Their FB posts are really fun, as is their newsletter https://www.facebook.com/pages/Yarnology/160087154026630

If you want to learn more about Charlene and her books, visit her website.

September Authors Who Knit: Amy Alessio

It's time to meet this month's author who knits, Amy Alessio!

Amy, what’s on your needles right now?
I have three going projects at the moment: my portable baby hat project, a large ripple afghan for my niece at college, and another checkerboard blanket for a church ministry.

What feels like your favorite/greatest knitting accomplishment?
For years at the library where I work I helped coordinate a teen charity knitting group. With that group one year we made dozens of baby hats. I tried to match them and made about 42. Inspiring 30 girls to knit over time really felt good.

What feels like the worst knitting mistake/foible/wrong choice you’ve ever made?
When I’m working on squares for a community blanket, mine never turn out the size needed, no matter how many times I’ve used those needles and that yarn. Recently I was doing a big square with a pink ribbon for a breast cancer awareness fundraiser and had to rip it out and go two needle sizes smaller. It turned out better the second time, though!

Straight or circular needles?
Circular – otherwise my couch seems to eat the straight ones.

Metal or wood needles?
I do like the Teflon ones with the big projects for sliding stitches forward. I like the shorter straight wooden ones for scarves and quick projects.

White chocolate, milk chocolate, or dark chocolate?
Yes, please.

Coffee or tea?
Tea (getting up to get more). 

Have you written a knitting character? 
I am working on a new series of short stories with a character who enjoys doing vintage patterns and crafts. She likes to knit. 

What’s the last thing anyone would suspect about your most recent book?
My fall 2013 publication will be a teen mystery called Taking the High Ground (from 4RV Press). Joelle is a sixteen year old girl who is embarrassed by her family’s Civil War reenacting hobby and there are descriptive scenes of the elaborate hoop skirt dresses. No one would suspect that my husband and I did reenacting for years and really enjoyed it!

Give a shout out to your favorite local yarn store:

Never Enough Knitting

119/121 N. Main Street
Wheaton, IL 60187

DestiKNITters, if you'd like to learn more about Amy, her books, and her Vintage Cookbooks and Crafts blog visit her website at  www.amyalessio.com