It’s October ~ Let’s Give Something Away!

Hey all!  It’s October – One of my favorite months of the year! It starts cooling down and feeling more like Fall, Halloween is near – as is my birthday and my youngest daughter’s birthday. It’s the start of the giving season – feeling thankful for what we have and sharing in giving to others.

This October, I’d like to give a copy of Vampire Knits away!  I’ll draw a name from those who comment on this blog entry.  I’ll draw names next Friday, and if it’s an overwhelming response, I might give away two!

Just for fun, leave your name and the name of your favorite bloodsucker!

Vampire Knits Events!!

Hello everyone! I want to let you know about a few Vampire Knits parties going on at Yarn shops around the country!

For those of you on the West Coast, Unwind is hosting a Halloween party!!

Here are the details:

Unwind’s Vampire Knits Halloween Party
$10.00
Join Unwind for some other-wordly fun at our first ever Knitters’ Halloween Party!

Featuring drinkable potions and crunchy munchies, pull up a chair (or a coffin) and knit the night away at Unwind.

We’ll be celebrating the publication of the bloody-good, new knit book, Vampire Knits. Author Genevieve Miller will be on hand to show off projects from the book and sign copies on site. Red ink anyone?

Your $10 reservation fee will be applied to purchases made that night. Guests who purchase Vampire Knits at Unwind during the event will receive 10% off other purchases made that evening.

And we’ll have a special sale — 15% off on all black, orange, red and sparkly yarns that evening.

The appealing and easy-to-knit projects found in the book range from cool sweaters to cozy neck protectors, blood-drop socks to a werewolf hat for your favorite shapeshifter. Gloves inspired by Bella Swan, blood-red jewelry, stylish vampire capelets, and a beautiful diary cover are just a few of the timeless items crafty vampire fans have been clamoring for.

Vampire Knits includes more than 25 projects by vampire and werewolf fans across the country and beyond.

Unwind Halloween Haunt & Vampire KnitsParty
Friday, October 29
7:00 – 10:00 p.m.

If you’re in Utah, come to Kamille’s in West Jordan to meet designers Ashley Fay and Teri Christensen from Vampire Knits!

And if you’re on the East Coast, come to Webs in Northampton, Massachusetts on Thursday October 14th!

Vampire Knits Trunk Show
Thursday, October 14th, 6 pm – 8pm
Come meet a few of the contributors to the new Vampire Knits book by Genevieve Miller, who introduces readers to the dark arts…and crafts…through her book and its many vampire/werewolf themed projects. Contributors that will be here with their garments are Sara Delaney, Kimberly Dijkstra and Bethe Galantino.

Hope to see some of you there! I’ll be at Unwind in Burbank for sure!!
~Genevieve

Misprint information

Hi all! I hate to be the bearer of some bad news, but there are a few boxes of books floating around the universe that were misprinted. Luckily, it’s not a large amount, but unluckily, they still exist.

If you notice that some pages are missing and some pages are duplicated, please call Random House customer service at
1-800-793-2665.

Designer Spotlight – Tanis Gray

Meet Tanis Gray!!

How long have you been knitting and how’d you get started?
> I have been knitting since I was 8 years old. My mom was knitting a sweater for me and I had always seen my grandmothers knitting and crocheting. I wanted to do it, too! My mom taught and got me started on the obligatory garter stitch scarf. We would spends our winter breaks in northern New Hampshire and she and I would go knit at the local knit shop up there to learn new skills and buy yarn. The woman who ran it immediately put me on DPNs and had me knitting mittens weeks after I learned to knit. The following year she had me knitting fair isle sweaters.
>
> How did you start designing?
> I started designing my own mittens almost immediately after learning how to knit. I could never find exactly what I wanted and having an artist mother, she encouraged me to design for myself. It was a great lesson in trial and error because if it didn’t work, it was just a mitten and I could rip it out. If it did work, I could knit up another and have personalized mittens. Having an unusual name meant I could never get little things with my name on it like my friends could, so I was thrilled to be able to make things my own.
>
> What was your first design?
> My first published design was an aviator scarf done a few months after starting my Yarn Editor job at Vogue Knitting for knit.1. I now have over 150 published patterns and also enjoy self publishing patterns on my own or in a bundle with friends as well as through knitting magazines and books. Designing each pattern is a unique experience.
>
> What did you design for Vampire Knits? What inspired you?
> I designed a head scarf, Tru Blood bottle cozies and a got blood? pillow. The head scarf idea came from my long hair always being in my face and the constant need for sparkle in my life. The red and silver were a nod to blood and silver bullets. The Tru Blood bottle cozies came from watching the show while drinking tea. The idea was like the paper cuffs Starbucks puts around their cups, but this was more fun. I’m fascinated by blood types and thought it was an interesting twist. The got blood? pillow was an inside joke since I am very lactose intolerant and the constantly successful ad campaign milk has is still prevalent. Everyone knows the tag line and there are so many spin offs.

>
> Who’s your favorite vampire, or what’s your favorite vampire story?
My favorite vampire is a toss up between Dracula and Eric Northman from Tru Blood. One one hand you have the original bad ass vampire, the granddaddy of the undead and on the other an attractive vampire with authority issues. It’s a tough call.

Vampire Party

To celebrate the book’s release, my wonderful husband decided we should have a party. Loving parties, I agreed and quickly set up plans and sent invites. My amazing mother brought gorgeous flowers and candelabras and cake stands to help make the party look extra vampy!

If anyone out there wants to have their own Vampire Party (Knits or otherwise), these were fabulous – and a big hit!

-Find candelabras at an antique shop or flea market and burn some red candles, letting the wax drip down.

Flowers are always a nice touch. My mom brought black-red roses and flowers called Amaranthus, also known as “Love Lies Bleeding” – perfect!

Fun candies- gummy fangs and personalized m&ms!

We had a lot of guests, so we ordered a taco truck which was fabulous! Enough food for all and then some!! I highly recommend one – and if you’re in the L.A. area, Gina’s Tacos are super!

For some vampy refreshments, what better than Sangria? (After all, sangre = blood.)

We had a few copies of the book available for a raffle, and I drew 3 names. We put them out with a few of our buttons, and a handmade Twilight-themed picture made the table complete.

I also bought some awesome vampire bite tattoos as little favors, and had a little station set up. The tattoos are from Electric Pink Pirate on Etsy. The kids and grown-ups both had fun with them! As soon as I get some of my sister-in-law’s photos back, I’ll post some pics of the kiddies with their bites!

All in all, it was a wonderful party, and I highly recommend themed parties – especially Vampire parties!!

Vampire Knits Reviewed!

Hey all! Have you picked up your copy? Have you had any problems finding it? I’ve heard some interesting stories about where it’s showing up and how some people are having a hard time finding it. Don’t forget it’s on Amazon, Knitpicks, Amazon UK, Borders, and Barnes & Noble.

The day of the release, a good friend and I went to our local bookseller and found Vampire Knits right up front with the Halloween display!

Now that it’s out, we’re seeing reviews come in!

HERE’s one at KnitCircus!

And one from Knitting Scholar HERE

And Suite101 HERE.

Let me know if you read any more!

Interview

Happy Release Date!!! I went to our local bookstore and was delighted to find Vampire Knits right up front with the Halloween displays! Yay!!

Remember when I talked about Comic Con?

Well, here’s the interview I did.

Hope everyone’s having a great day, and picks up their copy of Vampire Knits!!

One Day More!!

One more day til it’s out! Although I’ve been told some stores have put it on shelves already. Interesting. It’s taking all I have not to go to my local bookstore and take a peek. But I won’t! Instead, I’ll give you a little taste of every project in the book!

And, if you’re on Ravelry, here’s our page.

Meet Designer Rilana Riley-Munson

There’s so much going on right now!! THREE days til the book release! There’s also a contest going on at Knitpicks to win copies of the book. They’re drawing 7 names from those who comment on the post – try your luck!

And if you look at the designs in the Contest blog post, you’ll see the gorgeous Countess Bathory Scarf, designed by Rilana Riley-Munson. And without further adoo, here’s a bit more about the designer herself!

How long have you been knitting and how’d you get started?
I’ve been knitting for over six years now. My mother taught me to crochet in my teens, 20 years ago. I stuck with it over the years. So, I was already yarn-crafty to begin with. In February of 2004, my husband was due to leave on a two week business trip. I did not want to be bored, sad and missing him the entire two week period. So, I decided to buy myself a How-To Knitting book, a ball of yarn and a pair of US # 8 straight needles. I was determined to learn how to knit while I had two weeks of evenings myself. I made a really awful lavender garter stitch scarf…and the rest they say is history. I taught myself to knit. I have been knitting ever since. It also turns out that I prefer knitting to crochet. I knit and crochet right handed, despite my being a lefty.

> How did you start designing?
It was quite by accident. I began posting free hat and sock patterns on my blog, to share with my knitting friends. I wasn’t too serious about designing knit patterns, at the time. I was working as a Website and Graphics designer, instead. In 2007 I discovered Ravelry, and it sort of “blew up” from there. I think Ravelry opened a lot of doors for me to connect with other knitters, designers and opportunities. Currently, I am designing knit patterns for KnitPicks as an independent knit designer. I am open to other design opportunities as well…

> What was your first design?
My first published pattern was the Vintage Girl Cloche in the Stitch ‘N Bitch Page-A-Day Calendar 2008, by Debbie Stoller. It is now a free pattern on Ravelry.

> What did you design for Vampire Knits? What inspired you?
I designed the Countess Bathory Scarf for the book. The history of the “Blood Countess” inspired the scarf. She was very human, but likened to a vampire for drinking and/or bathing in human blood to remain young. She was one of the most prolific female serial killer in history. There aren’t many “vampire” stories about females. I also like the vintage ascot-style scarves and wanted to create one of my own.

> Who’s your favorite vampire, or what’s your favorite vampire story?
As a kid I loved the classic Dracula tales. I loved reading scary stories. Bram Stoker’s Dracula has always been a favorite novel. My most favorite vampire of all time…the Viking babe, Eric Northman, from the Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris and HBO’s True Blood. Go Team Eric! I obsessively watch True Blood these days. Love that show…

You can find more of Rilana’s designs (vampish and otherwise) on her Ravelry projects page:

MKL Cowl

Alice Chic Beret

Urban Bat Sweater

Canis Lupis Scarf

Meet Designer Ashley Fay

In her own words, here’s Ashley Fay, designer of the fabulous project you just got a peek at!

I have been knitting for almost 3 years, I had always wanted to learn how to knit, so, on an impulse, I bought a kit with a book and knitting needles, and I taught myself, and I haven’t put down the needles since. I have known the basics of crochet for a long time, so that helped, and just a week or two after I learned the basics of knitting, I made my first project, a colorwork hat with earflaps for my brother, which came out surprisingly well, considering that in the beginning, I didn’t know anything about needle size or gauge, I just bought needles in my favorite colors.

I started designing when I came across the Ravelry Message board which was the very beginning for ideas and discussions for what became Vampire Knits. The ladies on the board were discussing different things to design, and I thought that was something I could do. I have been modifying patterns since I made that very first colorwork hat, so it was a natural evolution to just designing exactly what I wanted instead of changing patterns all the time. I came up with a few ideas for patterns that would fit the theme and I began working on them. I’m so happy that I happened upon that message board because it has turned into such a joy for me, I love designing patterns, now I have too many ideas in my head and not enough time to design them all!

My first ever design was just a peace sign chart with written instructions to make a scarf with it, I knew nothing about pattern writing at the time. My first real designs are in Vampire Knits. I love seeing the finished projects made with my patterns and I have so much fun designing.

My designs for Vampire Knits are the Sidhe Shrug, Be Still My Beating Heart Capelet, and the Sitio Lace Stockings. I was inspired by the more stylish, modern vampires, and the names are inspired by vampire legends. I imagine young fashionable vampires would like these patterns, while still appreciating the tongue-in-cheek designs, they’re all very dramatic, like vampires seem to be, but the designs are still fresh and cute.

As for my favorite vampires, I simultaneously love and fear vampires, and with all the vampire books and movies, it’s impossible not to have a few favorites. I have seen Interview with the Vampire at least a dozen times, and I have been watching True Blood lately, I also enjoy the Twilight series, and, of course I love the classics Dracula and Nosferatu.