NEW book: Rowan Modern Family Knits

Such a dream! Introducing my new book from Rowan Yarns + Quail Studio, Modern Family Knits – a collection of 21 hand-knit designs for you and your family. (Men, women and kids ages 5 up to tween.) If you’ve followed along here for any amount of time, you’ll know that I have been a long-time fan of Rowan, which started when my friends first took me to a local yarn shop and I picked out a few skeins of Big Wool in Glum. (Still a favorite!)

The kids’ knits in particular are some of my favorites. I love knitting for this age group – sometimes knitting books for kids focus on babies or toddlers, and I feel like the older or in-between age group sometimes gets overlooked. So Modern Family Knits focuses on knits for kids ages 5 years up to tween.

The pieces in this collection are inspired by my own family and what we would wear. Casual, contemporary and wearable, many of the knits in the book are unisex and knitted in neutral colors and can be worn by men, women, boys and girls and are sure to become foundation pieces in anyone’s wardrobe.

Modern Family Knits has something for everyone – new knitters may find their first sweater in these pages and experienced knitters will enjoy the combination of textural knitting stitches with modern shapes.

To me, loving the pieces you knit and wanting to wear them often is the definition of hand-knit success – hand knits that your entire family can enjoy. That’s what I hope to share with you in this collection.

Happy knitting!

xo,
Jen

All my beautiful photos are by my talented friend Joelle from Figment Art Photography.

Stour – a Rowan cardigan by Martin Storey

Last weekend, I finished up this ultra cozy cardigan and I already can't wait for cooler weather so I can wear it all of the time. The pattern is 'Stour' by Martin Storey and I knitted it using Rowan Brushed Fleece, which is a gorgeous, warm, lightweight wool that's extremely soft (and not itchy whatsoever.) You have to feel it to believe it.

'Stour' is technically a mens' cardigan, but I really wanted to knit something for myself that was a little bit oversized and easy to throw on. I made the smallest size (which I believe was a 38" chest) and it's really quite perfect.

I fell in love with this hazel-green color (called 'Moor') as soon as I saw it on the shade card. I can see myself throwing this on over practically anything in my closet. I took my time with this cardigan (because I was busy finishing projects for my book) but it really didn't take long at all to knit. Quick knits are my favorite!

I'm totally in sweater mode right now; I have two projects (for myself) that I want to cast on next and can't decide which one to do first. But I also have a sweet little sweater pattern picked out for Bowie. So maybe I'll start with that.

What are you making this fall? If you can decide what to knit right now, check back soon for WEEKEND knit along details – it's going to be fun!

Rowan swatch party (and a giveaway!)

Hey hey! I don't know what the weather is like where you live, but around here we've been seeing a lot of snow. (Like almost 12" in 24 hours.) Which means lots of shoveling, lots of layers, lots of blankets and, of course, it's the perfect time for knitting. I haven't had a chance yet to show off some of my favorite new Rowan yarns from the Autumn/Winter release so I decided to knit up some swatches and let the yarn do the talking. From left to right, we have Brushed Fleece, Rowan Fine Tweed, Rowan Finest, Fazed Tweed and Chenille.

The dark blue swatch on the left is one of my new favorite yarns (of all time.) This is Brushed Fleece – lightweight but extremely warm and not itchy whatsoever. I'm knitting a cardigan (called Stour) with Brushed Fleece right now. The green swatch was made with Rowan Finest, which is luxurious and oh-so-soft. This yarn is a blend of extra fine merino, cashmere and royal alpaca wool. The marled blue and white swatch is a new yarn called Fazed Tweed, and is (in my opinion) the most innovative of the bunch! Fazed Tweed is a mix of wool and fine alpaca with a filled tube-like construction held together with a fine net-like fiber. Finally, on the far right is Chenille, which is absolutely gorgeous in person. Chenille is 100% cotton, very soft and has a great texture that makes it super fun to knit with.

And I didn't get around to making swatches for these guys, but another favorite yarn that I'm loving this season is definitely Rowan Fine Tweed. It comes in a zillion fantastic shades that all work amazingly well together.  This is a beautifully soft, 100% wool, traditionally spun tweed yarn made in one of the few surviving mills in Yorkshire. But again, the colors are what draws me to this yarn ... it's perfect for colorwork and Rowan offers tons of gorgeous patterns that encourage you to let your imagination run wild with color combinations.

GIVEAWAY!

THE PRIZE

One lucky reader will win will get a ball of Chenille, Fazed Tweed and Brushed Fleece. (I might have a few more secret surprises from Rowan to throw in your package as well!)

HOW TO ENTER

• Comment below telling me what you are knitting right now.
• Like Rowan Yarns on Facebook.

THE RULES

• U.S. residents only. (Sorry!)
• Giveaway is open until February 16th, 2015 at 11:30 PM CST.
• Comments must include a valid email address or Ravelry ID so I can contact you if you are the winner. :)
• Winner will be chosen via random number generator and will be contacted within 48 hours after giveaway ends. 

Best of luck and thanks so much for reading!