This is my 4th, and last, knitting book giveaway (tomorrow is a different kind of craft book) – Mother-Daughter Knits: 30 Designs to Flatter & Fit, by Sally Melville & Caddy Melville Ledbetter.
This book is all about making knits custom fit to your body, and includes a whole chapter on shapes and body types and getting the most flattering results. The patterns, all designed by mother-daughter team Sally and Caddy, are mostly garments, as you’d expect, but there are a few fun accessories thrown in for good balance:
The garments include a wide range: shrugs, coats, pullovers, cardigans, shirts, tanks, vests, skirts, and dresses…
I like this Altered Austen Jacket a lot:
You can browse through the patterns on ravelry to get a good feel for the book. I think it would find a good home with any garment knitter who wants to be able to modify patterns to get the best personal fit.
Enter to win this book by commenting on this post… I’m running out of ideas for questions to ask you… Just share either why you’d like to have this book, or tell a story about your mom (or grandma), or daughter, and knitting, or other kinds of crafting… My mom taught me basic knit and crochet stitches when I first wanted to learn (in college), but then I was mostly self-taught. I really wish I’d met my dad’s mom and been able to knit with her – she was a super amazing knitter but died before I was born. I’m very anti “not your grandma’s knitting” kinds of slogans – grandmas’ knitting was/is awesome! Ok that was a tangent, but comment with anything related to any of that to win this book!
I’ll pick a winner (at random) next Monday (April 5th) around 3pm. I’m sorry, but I need to limit these giveaways to within the US to keep my shipping costs low.
(Since I’m giving away 5 books this week, and I really want each of them to go to a home where they’ll be used and enjoyed, please only comment to win the books that you want. If this book doesn’t appeal to you, see if some of the other books are more your style, and only comment on those – thanks!)
Lee Does Stuff 
My mother used to sew, and to paint, and was quite good at both. I've always found it sad that she stopped (though she doesn't seem to, so perhaps I'm being presumptive), and felt a bit guilty myself- after my parents divorced, she worked full-time and went back to school to support my sister and I, and I think that loss of free time was the final nail in her creative coffin. I try to make her things to make up for it.While I'd call myself an intermediate knitter, I'm only beginning to learn to modify fit (with eventual hopes of creating my own designs). This book sounds like it would be very useful in my quest.
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My mom taught me how to crochet when I was about 8 (I'm guessing on the age, here), and it stuck. My first project: an afghan! 😀 But she also taught me how to knit at about the same time, and that didn't stick. I had to “learn” several more times before I got the hang of knitting.
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Ooh, I like that Jane Austen sweater too.I learned how to knit from a knitting class, but my grandma and aunt both taught me to crochet. It's so important to me, especially since she's not with us anymore; my relatives constantly tell me how much I am like both of my grandmas (both were crafty cooks who were more than a little feisty), and it always makes me so happy/proud.
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I've actually been wanting this book! I love those legwarmers/spats!My mom doesn't even know how to knit, aside from basic garter stitch which she taught me. I learned the rest on my own. However, my grandma, who lives on the other side of the Southern US border, does knit, but not often since it doesn't get too cold in Mexico. She once made me and my sisters the warmest scarves, big and chunky and in non-traditional colors like wine, teal and pearly-white. Wearing them is like having her warm hug when it's cold.
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This book has always seemed awesome to me. I'm a very short and somewhat wide knitter, so patterns as written never fit me. For that matter, clothing at stores rarely does. Anyway, any tips I could get on better fit and modifications would be very handy indeed.Thanks for your generosity with all of these book give aways!
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I've often thought about getting this book. I wonder how generous the sizing is. Cute patterns though!
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this would be lovely for my mother in law!
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my mother in law taught me how to knit by buying me books and needles and answering my questions over email. i still prefer crochet, but she helped me love to knit as well!
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When I was about 14 my Mom taught me how to knit a fun fur scarf (this was when they were 'in' I swear!). I didn't do anything with knitting for years and year, but when I picked it up a couple years ago I used what my Mom taught me. This Christmas my Mom wanted to knit a hat for her almost first Grandbaby… She came to me to help her out. It was funny having it turn around within a few years!
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I just received a bunch of sewing stuff from my Grandmother. Finished quilt squares, fabric, so many tape measures, and other quilting/sewing stuff. As I was pulling this stuff out, I noticed some knitting needles that had a project attached to them, it was from my Great Grandmother who passed away when I was 8 years old. She always knitted and crocheted and loved when new babies entered the family because then she would make them things. I still have a cardigan she crocheted for me when my Mom got out of the hospital with me almost 30 years ago.
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My mom taught me how to crochet when I was about 8-years old, but I loved going and visiting grandma to spend afternoon crocheting with her!
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my mom has always been a knitter, and taught me the basic stitches when i was very small. but i was a rebellious young thing, and showed no interest until november of 2008 (by which time, i had two girls of my own, aged 12 and 11). when i got the bug though, i got it bad. and i am an incurable yarn snob. i just don't see the point to knitting with nasty yarn!anyway, my mom is now far more interested in the quality of yarn that she is using than she ever was before. we have moved her away from the 100% acrylics for all but a few baby blankets for colleagues' grandkids. and now we have three generations going to knit-night together at our local yarn store — mom, me, and my younger daughter.my parents live with us, and i know that all three of us would love to share this book!
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I'm incapable of knitting for my mother. Every time I cast on something for her, I seize up, start worrying she won't like it, and fail to finish the project. Deeper issues at work here? Probably!
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I just (almost) finished knitting my second ever garment, so this book could be fun to have. I like the idea that it has tips for fitting, since that's what I'm always nervous about when I'm knitting a sweater…I never know if it'll fit until I'm nearly finished and can try it on. Family knitting stories? Well, my mom was an incredible knitter, and I was lucky enough to grow up wearing hand-knit socks and picking out what ever sweaters I wanted from the knitting magazines. But me knit? Everything but! I finally got around to teaching myself to knit several years after my mom passed away. I would love to be able to proudly show her my first cable-knit vest, talk knitting with her, and get some blocking tips.
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My mom also taught me to knit the basic knit and purl sts. when I was 5. I remember we started to make long swatches. Hers were in one color and mine were in another. We were going to sew them together to make a wonderful blanket. However I’m not quite sure what happened to that idea. Thankfully since then I have finished knitting a lot more projects than that blanket and am I am really greatful I learned this craft at such a young age.
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Wow…I'm feeling a strange urge to knit those legwarmers.
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Wow…I'm feeling the urge to knit those leg warmers!
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My aunt taught me to knit when I was about 5, and my mum helped me as I was growing up with harder stitches/patterns. I still 'borrow' her knitting gear from time to time, and love when she knits my birthday and Christmas presents. My paternal granny sewed all her life, but didn't like knitting for some reason. Strange!
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I love the idea of a book based around garment shaping… I always try to fake my own, but I'd love to know actual methods for it instead of just k2tog here and there.Story: When my grandmother was in the hospital with breast cancer, my family found a new love of knitting. There was a lot of time spent at the bedside, so my mother and my aunts all began to pick up the craft, working on various different scarves, perhaps a shawl or two. At the time I was an angsty youngin, and didn't participate- and I really wish now I had, since I've embraced the craft and it would be lovely if I had been part of that knit circle.
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My mom also taught me to knit the basic knit and purl sts. when I was 5. I remember we started to make long swatches. Hers were in one color and mine were in another. We were going to sew them together to make a wonderful blanket. However I'm not quite sure what happened to that idea. Thankfully since then I have finished knitting a lot more projects than that blanket and am I am really greatful I learned this craft at such a young age.
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Haha, actually it was my aunt who taught me how to knit originally. However, my mom did have a phase where she knit everybody scarves out of that awful fuzzy novelty yarn. (I still have two.) No offense to anybody who likes that sort of yarn, but that stuff makes me cringe- and I still can't figure out how to knit with it, haha. And that's my knitting with mom story.
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I love her work and have her previous books. I would love to add this to my collection.
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I love this book offering the most. The wrist warmers are great! thank you for offering so many great giveaways!
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oh, this is the book i want! i am really just starting to get into garment knitting, about half way through my first sweater now. but i'm perplexed as to how to make sure that it really will fit me, short of trying it on and crossing my fingers! i'd really like to learn how to craft knit garments to fit my body. the only mother/daughter-related thing i have about knitting is that my mother loves me to knit her fingerless mitts, and she'd probably like the ones pictured above…
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OOOO I'm a mom!! I have a daughter!!! I would love!!
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Wow, this is an awesome looking book! I've got two very crafty moms. I knit, my mom does a lot of bead work and my mother in law sews and crochets.
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I've had my eye on that Altered Austin jacket for awhile now & I just posted a story about my grandma on my blog: http://ohsaraho.blogspot.com/2010/03/mondays-wi…
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I love these garments! I am a beginning knitter and completely self taught. I want to start working with garments but the last thing I want is to make things that look frumpy or boring. I don't have any mother-daughter knitting stories for you though. My mom was a total tomboy, so not interested in crafts at all. But learning to crochet and especially learning to knit has really been fantastic. It is so fulfilling for me and I aspire to be a master some day.
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I love this book! My mom crochets and I knit, so we have all of the big needlecrafts covered.
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Ooh, this book looks like it's right up my alley!My Nana was really into crafts like needle-point, latch-hooking, and cross-stitch. My Aunt was super big into quilting and crochet. My mom taught me the knit stitch when I was young, but never made anything beyond a tiny Barbie-sized dishcloth our of string. I think it's funny that the women in my mom's family were so crafty, but I fell in love with a craft that none of them enjoyed! Ah, well. I'm sad that most of them aren't alive any more for me to share my new skills with. I know they would have enjoyed seeing my projects anyway.
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Sally Melville! What a designer. I attended one of her classes last year and it was great. I taught myself to knit at age nine. I was home sick with strep throat and my wonderful non-knitting Mom bought me a do it yourself kit. She never learned to knit but she loved seeing my projects over the years.
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My mom taught me how to crochet when I was a kid, and about ten years later I taught her to knit. We're really, really different people, and now that I think about it our love of yarn is just about our only commonality. And it's nice to have that, something we can talk about for hours – even if it is sort of superficial, at least it gets us talking.
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My mom taught me to crochet as a kid, and about ten years later I taught her to knit. My mom and I are very, very different people, and though we love each other, we struggle at simply finding things to talk about. Now that I think about it, our mutual love of yarn is just about our only commonality. And it's nice to have that; even though it may be superficial, at least it keeps us talking.
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My mother has this amazing ability to pick up just about any craft or hobby and excel in it in such a short period of time. I find this so admirable. This was especially evident when she started knitting a few years ago. It seems every month or so she's sending me copies of patterns asking me to pick out one I like because she “needs a new project.” Her granddaughters, daughter-in-law, and daughter are so very lucky that she enjoys knitting and sharing it with us.
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My mother has this amazing ability to pick up just about any craft or hobby and excel at it in such a short period of time. I find this truly admirable. Perhaps what exemplifies this most is her decision to pick up knitting a few years ago. Now, she's always asking us to pick out a new knitting pattern that we like because she “needs a new project.” Her granddaughters, daughter-in-law, and daughter are so very lucky that she has such a passion for knitting and loves to share it with us.
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This one looks interesting!My mother picked up a renewed interest in knitting a few years ago, after I'd come back to it big time. She had never done socks before, and began knitting them around the same time I did. (We live 350 miles apart, and don't share what we're working on very often, so this was a spontaneous coincidence.)For the next several years, she grew fond of knitting socks, but stuck with inexpensive sock yarns from big box craft stores for the most part.My husband and I visited for Thanksgiving in 2009. I brought knitting, of course. My mother looked at the socks I was working on and saw the price of the yarn, and commented that I buy much more expensive sock yarns than she does. I think she liked what I got for the money, though. When we went shopping at local yarn stores the next day, she bought three skeins of locally-made, hand-dyed sock yarn!
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You win!! Wooo! I'll be emailing you soon to get your address…
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