I’m freshly back from our Knit Stars Season 10 filming trip to Los Angeles, still recovering from jet lag, and back in your inbox with another in our popular “picture postcard” series…

In which I am too tired from the trip to write much, so I let the behind-the-scenes photos do the talking! 😅

The first unexpected surprise was this…

Sure, you probably know London Kaye as the world’s leading “yarn bomber.” You might know she has an adorable baby boy named Leo. But did you know she has a baby crochet book coming out later this summer?

“Crochet Baby” is a colorful board book introduction to the world of crochet for little hands and big imaginations. Let’s get them started early folks! You can pre-order your copy here (ships in July 2025).

Boy howdy, had London done her homework! She had this whole board covered front and back with notes!

And by the end of her workshop, she had me fully bitten by the yarn bombing bug.

I’d always thought of yarn bombing as more subversive…a way to make a social statement. But London showed me that it can also be all about simply spreading joy.

Now I can’t stop thinking about how I might be able to yarn bomb the beach where I live, bringing even more joy to beach-goers each year. And it turns out, London has a bunch of great patterns to spark your creativity (see Project Watch section for a couple of my faves!)

It’s easy to forget how sprawling L.A. really is until you’re there in person. London’s masterclass was filmed in Silver Lake, while Dominique Calvillo’s was filmed in Covina, and our hotel was in Pasadena. Which meant lots of Uber knitting time on my daughter Mallory’s first published design, the “Effortless Cloud Cardigan.”

And next came another unexpected surprise…Dominique is expecting!

Even though she was already glowing, her makeup artist added a little extra glam for her shoot.

I enjoyed authentic Cuban pastry (her husband Alexis is of Cuban descent) and had a look around while Brad prepared the workshop set, inside Dominique’s “stylist closet.” This is where she keeps samples of her amazing crochet couture creations, which often get rented out by celebrities for red carpet events. 🤩

In addition to designing patterns, Dominique is in high demand for her custom red carpet creations. Just think…you can learn to make your own runway-style piece from affordable cotton yarn, in Knit Stars Season 10.

Get ready to shine!

Another fun perk of the L.A. trip was Mallory was able to fly from her home in Denver and meet me there (plus take some social media shots while she was there). With all 3 of my kids living far from me, I really savor every minute that we get to be together. 💕

And before I knew it, I was back home with my youngest “baby,” Charles Barkley!

Next week, I’ll meet Brad in New Jersey to film with Samantha Brunson and then onto New Hampshire with the legendary Norah Gaughan. Thanks for reading…if you enjoyed the newsletter, I’d love for you to forward to a friend…and watch for another picture postcard in your inbox soon. 😘

xoxo,

I already knew Dominique Calvillo was a genius with crochet couture. But I was surprised to find she also designs really cute pieces that can slide easily into your everyday wardrobe.

Her Marigold Sweater and Laura Top were two of my favorites when I saw them in person. It all made me want to step up my crochet skills ASAP.

You can shop all of Dominique’s designs here.

And you’ll want to take spin around London’s site, too…where you’ll find a bunch of fun yarn bombing patterns like this “Thought Bubble” design. Most of them are free, too.

And I was more than a little obsessed with her Bucket Hat design. I’ve already gone stash diving to find a hand-dyed skein that might work up with the same effect. Super cute!

Shop London’s patterns (and pre-order that baby book) here.

The Big Knit Stars Meet-up is shaping up to be even bigger than we ever dreamed! With more than 200 in-person meet-ups scheduled, plus two online meet-ups, it’s going to be a wild and woolly weekend, July 18-20!f

Many are being hosted by Knit Stars, like Season 7 Mary Martin whose event is in Toronto.

Mary wrote me this week: “Selfishly, this meetup is great for me, Shelley. I’m happy to do it. I’m usually too shy to talk to people at festivals and I want to meet more knitters in person. This gets me out into the fiber world in person.”

If you’re like Mary, this is your moment! Click here to browse the worldwide events and see if there’s one near you. If not, join us for one of the online meetups!

recipe and photo courtesy of NY Times Cooking

Miso Chicken

Lately, Luke and I have been having a miso moment. It started with a miso-based salmon dish, and we ended up with a big tub of white miso in the fridge…so we went looking for more recipes. This Miso Chicken uses just 5 ingredients and really elevates the humble chicken thigh. Packed with flavor and so easy! We served it up with roasted veggies but any starch would go well, too.

Ingredients:   

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• ½ cup white miso
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar (do not use seasoned rice vinegar)
• Black pepper, to taste
• 8 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs, approximately 2½ to 3 pounds

Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Combine butter, miso, honey, rice vinegar and black pepper in a large bowl and mix with a spatula or spoon until it is well combined.
2. Add chicken to the bowl and massage the miso-butter mixture all over it. Place the chicken in a single layer in a roasting pan and slide it into the oven. Roast for 30 to 40 minutes, turning the chicken pieces over once or twice, until the skin is golden brown and crisp, and the internal temperature of the meat is 160 to 165 degrees.