You Make My Day

Krissy of FreeRangeKnitter and Mel of PurlingPlans both gave me some "You Make My Day" recognition and it's time for me to spread some blog love around.

Krissy and I communicated while she furiously worked to have the first completed Henley Perfected (my pattern from the winter Interweave Knits issue) on Ravelry. Check out her lovely version here. Mel is a budding designer who's already turned out some very lovely work. Her shrug was my favorite pattern in August's Magknits and since then, she's paired her creative ideas with Sanguine Gryphon's exquisite yarns. It's an exciting collaboration that's sure to yield more fruit.

The blogs who make my day are:

Following Veronique's example, I'll cheat a little and reference the entire Spiders list. They're really a bunch of inspiring women - knitting, sewing, cooking, photography, jewelry design - these categories barely scratch the surface of what they accomplish.

Angela is an in-demand designer with work appearing in Knitty, Magknits, Interweave Knits, and Vogue Knitting, as well as under her own imprint. Her blog offers insight into her design process (giving tantalizing glimpses of swatches, sketches, and in progress projects) *and* gives me an opportunity to practice my flagging Italian, what can be better than that?

Julia of Mind of Winter always writes thoughtful posts whether they're about her projects, her dogs, her designs, or her meditations on life.

Kat has a quirky, fiercely independent style that shines through in her blog, her designs, and her art. I can almost always pinpoint a Kat Coyle design by sight - and that's a good thing.

Chrissy's blog really inspired me when I first started thinking about designing. In it, she generously shares her experiences navigating the sometimes tricky world of independent knitwear design.

Jody is wonderfully geeky in the best possible way. Her site has tutorials galore with just the right balance of exposition and photos.

Parikha always has the most gorgeous photos. Whether they're of food, knitwear, or places, they instantly make me want to cook/eat, make, or go to where ever she points her lens.

Vanessa is also a very gifted shutterbug. Armed with her camera, she helped whip up a Habu feeding frenzy and convinced hordes of knitters to knit Juno.

Stef is wickedly funny and irreverent. No topic is safe. Witness her list of general gripes from September '07: funny, funny stuff. Plus she knits and designs. I heart her Judith pullover.

And last, but not least, Lauren (who's probably receiving these tags by the truckloads), who has the uncanny ability to instantly transport you to different places via a perfect marriage of sharp writing and luscious photos. Her posts run the gamut from travelogue to instructional to inspirational. I can't wait to see what she does next.