Knit Stars | July 14, 2024
🧶Something new is blooming…
BY SHELLEY BRANDER
Happy Sunday, beautiful reader!
Do you ever have those moments like I do, when you’re scrolling social media, and an image makes you stop and audibly gasp – causing anyone else in your household to run in and see if you’re ok?
This past week I had one of those moments, and (after assuring said housemates that I am just fine, thank you) I instantly reached out to the designer because I had to know more about what my eyeballs were taking in…
That designer is Carolyn Bloom, and she happens to be one of the Stars of our upcoming Knit Stars Masterclass Season 9.
Her class is on her latest passion, using embroidery to personalize your yarn makes.
“The reason for embroidering is as makers, we’re all interested in making pieces that are bespoke and unique,” Carolyn explained. “And this is an opportunity, after that process is done, to make something even more special, even more unique to reflect the personality of the maker and the wearer.”
I asked Carolyn how she got interested in embroidery in the first place. Her answer was oh-so-relatable… 😉
“I had gone to Vogue Knitting Live, the next to last one before the pandemic, and of course, it’s the vortex of temptation,” she said. “And I walked by a stand selling little canvases and hoops and threads, to make an embroidered family tree. And for some reason, it found its way into my cart – it may have been the fumes of the Marriott…”
“That purchase laid around for six months as it does, never getting to it, until I finally cracked that thing open and started stitching with the eggplant-colored thread, but I ran out halfway through! I said some choice words, then ran to the craft store, finished the eggplant-colored tree outline, opened up the next color, and ran out of that one as well!”
“Had more choice words, finally opened the directions, and realized you’re supposed to pull the threads apart before you work with them. Well, that annoyed me and I didn’t like being penned in by a hoop anyway, so I put the whole thing back under my bed. And then it hit me…why not embroider with YARN on things I have knit or crocheted?”
“What’s so exciting to me is to be a Knit Star, 20 years almost to the day from when I learned to knit!” Carolyn said. “I was a stay-at-home mom to a 2-year-old when I enrolled in a knitting class at Westchester Community College. I had been tending to the needs of others all the time, but this was all mine. I fell into it lock, stock, and barrel.
“Then five years later I was at the library looking at books and stumbled across the crochet section and thought, I’ve gotta learn to crochet now. Picked up a Debbie Bliss how-to book. Had to be patient and give myself permission to make mistakes. So now I’ve been embroidering on both of those mediums – knit and crochet – for five years, and been designing for 10.
What’s on the dress form at the top of this newsletter “is a compilation of all of that.”
Carolyn’s “Not Your Granny’s Granny Square Cardigan” is a modern twist on the usual granny square, with some stylish elements that make it look elevated.
“I love the act of crocheting more than the act of knitting, but I strongly prefer the look of a knitted piece over crochet – with the exception of this particular project,” Carolyn added.
“There’s so much room within the canvas to make it exactly what you want it to be, and you can allow the artistry of the dyer to shine through the creating. Granny squares are incredibly simple, and the belt is time-consuming but it’s kind of the crown jewel.”
“I’ve made four of them so far, and in the blues version, there are maybe 20 dyers represented!
A couple of skeins had been sitting in my stash for years and years and years – I think I bought them because I had a fleeting five-minute sock phase. They were quite variegated and I didn’t love the look when they were knit, but BOY aren’t they pretty when they’re crocheted!”
“Underlying all the embroidery is a simple 1×1 colorwork pattern, which becomes the postmarks for where you do your embroidery,” she said. “It’s meant to be approachable to all levels of knitters. If you’ve not done colorwork it’s a welcoming pattern, and if you’ve done lots of colorwork there’s something exciting for you to do at the end, with the embroidery. The yarn for the original cowls (the gradient and the two colors) were provided by Marian of Marianated Yarns. She always has kits ready to go and is an all-around amazing dyer and person. ”
While there is not a pattern available for the shrug specifically, you can do what Carolyn did by starting with her Interval Training Cowl pattern, measuring your bust and adjusting the cast-on accordingly, then working from the bottom up and eventually reducing the stitch count to create the turtleneck.
You will need double the amount of yarn called for in the cowl, to make the shrug. A limited number of kits are available from Murky Depths Dyeworks (all links below). “It’s a DK weight MCN and it’s delicious!” Carolyn enthused.
Or just go stash diving…
For the embroidery, “All you need is yarn and a darning needle!” Carolyn said. “No need to separate the yarn, no need for a hoop. Just pick up your yarn and get to business.”
These pieces are so special and bespoke, Carolyn has begun to offer the finished pieces for sale – and she has some words of wisdom for others who might consider doing the same.
“People need to be cognizant of their expenses, not just materials but also time spent. My starting point as a minimum is minimum wage per hour. Truth be told, my prices don’t cover all of that. There’s some creative accounting going on for my time (laughs). But I’m hopeful more people will be accurate in how they price their pieces so that the value of unique handmade items becomes more in keeping with the time spent,” she said.
Helpful links:
- Carolyn has written three newsletters about the variations of the cardigan that she has made. They are filled with information, tips, and links on how she made the sweaters. As with all of her newsletters, the information is provided gratis to subscribers and is available for a nominal amount after the newsletter has been distributed. For a description of what is included in each newsletter, please read the listings on her website. Click here to learn more.
- For Carolyn’s “Interval Training Cowl” pattern, click here.
- For the “Interval Training Shrug” yarn kit offered by Murky Depth Dyeworks, click here.
- For Carolyn’s “Interval Training Pullover” pattern, click here.
- To follow along with Carolyn’s journey and shop her bespoke pieces, click here then scroll down to join her newsletter list.
Last but not least…if you want the perfect place to start with Carolyn’s unique techniques, sign up for Knit Stars Season 9! Carolyn’s course early releases in October. The embroidered scarflet pattern included in her Knit Stars course is “a lovely stepping stone” into more complicated pieces like the belt for her granny cardigan.
I first learned about Carolyn from Gaye “ggmadeit” Glasspie, who told me the class she took from Carolyn at VKL was by far the best she’d ever taken…
So I was surprised when Carolyn told me, “If you hadn’t called I don’t know if I would have taught again.”
“I loved teaching during the pandemic,” she said. “I was teaching and writing patterns and working 70-80 hours a week because it was the only thing that was keeping me sane. Then I hit that wall and began to re-evaluate…”
“But when Knit Stars calls, you answer the phone and you say yes!” Carolyn said.
She – and we – are so glad she did.
If you’re not yet enrolled in Knit Stars Season 9, you can click this link for a reminder when signups re-open later this month. This is Carolyn’s affiliate link, so it’s a great way to support her work while getting access to a lifetime of learning and inspiration!
xoxo,
‘
Seven Layer Cookies
We ask Carolyn for one of her favorite recipes and she had this one to share: “It’s for my grandmother’s “Seven Layer Cookies”. They are wildly popular with my friends – and their kiddos. I’ve become a one hit wonder because this is all people want me to bring to events. I do so happily because I know it would please Granny to know I’m still making them. ( : ”
Ingredients:
- Graham crackers (I like cinnamon)
- Butter (I like salted)
- 12 oz chocolate chips (I like dark chocolate and the only thing better than one bag is 2)
- 12 oz butterscotch chips
- 14 oz sweetened coconut flakes
- 14 oz almond slivers or slices
- 14 oz sweet condensed milk
Instructions:
For the crust:
- Crush enough graham crackers with a rolling pin to cover the bottom of a 9×13″ glass pan. (I used to say a sleeve of them would get it down, but “shrinkflation”. You can test that you’ve got enough by crushing them and spreading out on the bottom of the pan before you grease the pan or add butter to the graham crackers.)
- Melt a stick of butter and mix with your graham crackers. They should be damp, but not soaked. You might need a hair more butter if they’re still dry.
- Grease your 9×13″ glass pan with butter or baking Pam. Put your graham crackers into the pan and pat them down evenly.
For the cookies:
- Mix together butterscotch chips, chocolate chips (I use dark chocolate and invariably add more – like 1/3 of a bag more. Give the people what they want! More chocolate!), 1.5 cups of coconut flakes, and about 1.5 cups of almond slivers or slices
- Then add one can of sweet condensed milk. (Unsolicited 2 cents here: I like Eagle brand. It’s a little more spendy, but I find that it tastes better and there seems to be more in cans labeled as having the same 14 oz.) You’ll need every bit of this milk, so plan on getting out your spatula and scraping!
- Mix all the chips, flakes, and slices together with the milk thoroughly.
- Pour on top of the graham crackers.
- Bake at 350 for about 27 minutes. Keep an eye on them those last few minutes. You want the almonds looking lightly toasted. They go from pasty to burned absurdly quickly.
I like to make them one day in advance. Let them cool. Sit in the fridge overnight. Pull them out the next day and come to room temperature. They’re easy to cut then. Pull the whole thing right out of the pan and cut on a cutting board.
If you make these and enjoy them, please let me know @bloomhandmadestudio. Although my grandmother has sadly passed, her daughter (my mother) is still alive. We would both love to know that Granny’s legacy lives on! xoxo
