Hi Spud & Chloë Friends,

There are lots of fresh and fabulous new knits going on out there in Spud & Chloë land, including at my house. I am giving you a sneak peek at my latest creation. I am having so much fun winding a simple clean hank of pure white worsted weight Sweater, grabbing my tape meaure, calculator, pencil and sketchbook and digging into this peanut of a project. I adore the simplicity of knitting and the fact that you really need so little to make something fabulous. This project is just what I needed right now.

I am calling this one, Hello Baby. This morning I am trying to finish up. It’s all in the finishing touches in my book. Not only is the cardigan design brand new, it is also simply sized for a brand new baby. It’s the project I will go to next time I hear someone is having a baby!

I pulled out TC’s button collection which has merged with my old button collection. Right now these little strawberries are looking farm fresh to me. Yum! I am loving the entire project and the button selection is probably my favorite part. Button choice can make a sweater neutral, boyish or girlish in a snap.

Details will be coming soon! However, if you are clambering to knit this one you can purchase 2 hanks of Sweater in your desired colorway. I am doing an applied I-cord edging with hidden buttonholes (á la Meg Swansen) in a contrasting color. I have selected the freshy-fresh white Igloo colorway for the tiny cardigan and the soft buttery Toast colorway for the edging. You only need a small amount of the contrasting color for the edging. Any color combination of Sweater or one color of Sweater would look sharp.

The raglan cardigan is knit from the top down and is seamless. It is easy and super-slick. I was thinking about working the entire thing in garter stitch but then changed my mind. I may do another completely in garter stitch at a later date. That would be fun and maybe a bit more boyish.

A newborn hat to go along with the sweet cardigan will follow and will help use that second hank of Sweater right up.

I’d like to share a couple fun knits that have popped up on our Ravelry group (see the sidebar for all of our corresponding group links).

Aren’t these gorgeous? The mitts are knit in our Spud & Chloë Fine and I love them.

Click here to find out more about the free pattern for the Pressed Flower Mitts by Meredith Ramirez!

And finally, this mitten made me laugh! Outer and owls seem to be a good combination.

Click here to find out more about Antenzella’s Hoot Mittens to go along with her daughter’s Hoot Hat!

Carry on!

Hi Spud & Chloë Friends,

Last week a small package arrived on my doorstep. To my delight the package held my preview copy of Spud & Chloë at the Farm. Our new Spud & Chloë book will be available for purchase in yarn shops, online yarn shops and book stores on April 21st, 2011. As we get closer to the release date I will be sharing bits and pieces of the book with you right here on Spud says!

I want to encourage you to pre-order the book with your local yarn and book shops. We love our local shops and want to support them in every way. The book is available to shops through their wholesale book distributors just like any other knitting book or it is available through our publisher, Workman.

It is also available in all of the usual places online. You can check it out here on Amazon!

Spud & Chloë at the Farm has been in the works for almost 2 years so to see it come to life in book form is really an exciting moment. The book takes the characters Spud and Chloë and makes them jump off of our logo as fully knit characters. We felt their first adventure together should be, appropriately so, in a farm setting. The book contains 13 adorable farm-themed projects.

One of the aspects of the book I am most excited about is the “knit and read” part of the book. On each of the pattern pages there is a cartoon frame that plays out a sweet little story about Chloë taking her reluctant sheep, Spud, to visit a friend’s farm. It is fun because you meet all of the knitted characters from the book along the way in photographs and in an animated cartoon form. It really brings the knit project to life in a fresh, new way.

With my last toy book, Itty-Bitty Toys, I have had knitters constantly telling me how their kids would flip through the pages admiring the toys and placing orders like it was a catalog. I loved hearing how the knitters were interacting with their kids and grandkids and the book together. It was an aspect I hadn’t thought of before the release of the book but I was pleased to hear about later. Spud & Chloë at the Farm takes this idea one step further. Now there is an actual story to go right along with the projects. I will share more about the cartoon and story later.

Today I want to share with you a little about the star of the show, Spud! Spud is a wonderfully chubby sheep with an enormous personality.

In the story, Spud is a lovable curmudgeon in the best way. He is a bit shy and cautious about new situations and meeting new friends but his trusty owner Chloë knows how to bring out the best in him. I love how I can just look at him and know what he’s thinking. I think you will fall in love with him just like I have.

I always enjoy seeing a designer’s home photos of projects so I am happy to be able to share some of my own photos with you here.

Now for a little project detail. Spud is knit in our Spud & Chloë Sweater in Ice Cream and Toast. These are the most perfect sheep-y colors around. The bow tie is made in the Firecracker colorway.

Spud’s wooly coat is made by doing a twisted loop stitch. This stitch takes a little extra effort but it is well-worth it in the end. When you hold Spud in your hands he feels like no other knitted toy I’ve come across. He feels substantial and unique, like he is more than just a knitted toy somehow. Spud’s wool has a really cool texture-y feeling that is hard to describe.

Spud proudly stands at about 8 inches tall and about 5 inches wide.

I love seeing a toy from all angles. Spud spent a lot of time sunning himself in my living room when he was at my house.

I’ll be back soon with more book project previews. I am so excited to finally be able to share this new book with you!

Happy Valentine’s Day to all of you from all of us at Spud & Chloë!

Here’s to hoping you are having a loving day filled with family, friends and of course, lots of yarn.