Spud & Chloë at the Farm

Hi Spud & Chloë Friends,

Last week a small package arrived on my doorstep. To my delight the package held my preview copy of Spud & Chloë at the Farm. Our new Spud & Chloë book will be available for purchase in yarn shops, online yarn shops and book stores on April 21st, 2011. As we get closer to the release date I will be sharing bits and pieces of the book with you right here on Spud says!

I want to encourage you to pre-order the book with your local yarn and book shops. We love our local shops and want to support them in every way. The book is available to shops through their wholesale book distributors just like any other knitting book or it is available through our publisher, Workman.

It is also available in all of the usual places online. You can check it out here on Amazon!

Spud & Chloë at the Farm has been in the works for almost 2 years so to see it come to life in book form is really an exciting moment. The book takes the characters Spud and Chloë and makes them jump off of our logo as fully knit characters. We felt their first adventure together should be, appropriately so, in a farm setting. The book contains 13 adorable farm-themed projects.

One of the aspects of the book I am most excited about is the “knit and read” part of the book. On each of the pattern pages there is a cartoon frame that plays out a sweet little story about Chloë taking her reluctant sheep, Spud, to visit a friend’s farm. It is fun because you meet all of the knitted characters from the book along the way in photographs and in an animated cartoon form. It really brings the knit project to life in a fresh, new way.

With my last toy book, Itty-Bitty Toys, I have had knitters constantly telling me how their kids would flip through the pages admiring the toys and placing orders like it was a catalog. I loved hearing how the knitters were interacting with their kids and grandkids and the book together. It was an aspect I hadn’t thought of before the release of the book but I was pleased to hear about later. Spud & Chloë at the Farm takes this idea one step further. Now there is an actual story to go right along with the projects. I will share more about the cartoon and story later.

Today I want to share with you a little about the star of the show, Spud! Spud is a wonderfully chubby sheep with an enormous personality.

In the story, Spud is a lovable curmudgeon in the best way. He is a bit shy and cautious about new situations and meeting new friends but his trusty owner Chloë knows how to bring out the best in him. I love how I can just look at him and know what he’s thinking. I think you will fall in love with him just like I have.

I always enjoy seeing a designer’s home photos of projects so I am happy to be able to share some of my own photos with you here.

Now for a little project detail. Spud is knit in our Spud & Chloë Sweater in Ice Cream and Toast. These are the most perfect sheep-y colors around. The bow tie is made in the Firecracker colorway.

Spud’s wooly coat is made by doing a twisted loop stitch. This stitch takes a little extra effort but it is well-worth it in the end. When you hold Spud in your hands he feels like no other knitted toy I’ve come across. He feels substantial and unique, like he is more than just a knitted toy somehow. Spud’s wool has a really cool texture-y feeling that is hard to describe.

Spud proudly stands at about 8 inches tall and about 5 inches wide.

I love seeing a toy from all angles. Spud spent a lot of time sunning himself in my living room when he was at my house.

I’ll be back soon with more book project previews. I am so excited to finally be able to share this new book with you!