We are Cecily Glowik MacDonald and Melissa LaBarre, co-authors of the upcoming book New England Knits (Interweave, Spring 2010). We both live in Massachusetts, but at opposite ends of the state. We've known each other since before knitting ever took over our lives, but our shared love of the craft has made us a team.
What’s Happening with New England Knits?
The photo shoot is over and the garments and patterns are being tech edited, so, what are we doing now? Writing the book!
We met the other day to discuss the content and introductions for each of the three sections of New England Knits. When designing the garments in the book we used some of the inspiring things about New England: the beautiful ocean views, the historic city streets, and the still-working farms. Our designs are inspired by
these locations—now it’s just a matter of putting that inspiration into words. We’re looking for some inspiration to describe our inspiration!
We’re also working on polishing up our technique descriptions, as well as providing some knitterly tips. It’s difficult sometimes to properly explain a technique, especially when you’ve used it so many times that it doesn’t require much thought anymore, but we’re focusing on trying to present them clearly, in a way that even a newer knitter can understand.
Although there is still much to do, we are getting closer to completing our work on New England Knits. The fantastic thing is, we are still having fun and it is still amazing to us that we are going to have our book published! Everything has come together even more wonderfully than we could have imagined, and the great team at Interweave has been incredible.
This weekend is the Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, New York. Though technically, Rhinebeck isn’t in New England, it was a crisp fall day at that very same festival last year that inspired the first discussion of our book. This weekend must be our anniversary then -- exactly one year since we began our book journey. Time flies when you’re working hard and having fun!
We are planning on taking many pictures at the festival and posting them when we return, so check back here next week to share our Rhinebeck adventure. —Melissa and Cecily