Liebster Award

I am so thrilled to receive a Liebster Award nomination from Linda Marveng, an accomplished knitwear designer whose designs I greatly admire. My particular favorite is her Mohair Poncho, which is elegant, chic and dramatic — truly a statement piece.

The purpose of the award is to discover new blogs, which is always fun. Here are the requirements:

When you receive the award, and choose to accept it, you post 11 random facts about yourself and answer 11 questions from the person who nominated you.  Then:

• Pass the award on to at least 3-5 other blogs and ask them 11 questions that you have created.
• Make sure that you let them know that you have nominated them!
• You are not allowed to nominate the blog that nominated you!
• Make sure that the blogs that you choose have 200 to 3000 or less followers. This is a broad range!

Here we go, with 11 random facts about myself:

1. My first knit project was a garter stitch scarf for my grandmother in Japan. I chose garter stitch because I couldn’t figure out how to purl!

2. Before I received a sewing machine at age 12, I hand-sewed clothes for my Miss Piggy doll. She had a great wardrobe (well, from a style perspective but not from a sewing perspective!).

3. I’ve been knitting for more than 20 years but I’ve never made socks or mittens/gloves.

4. I am a Peet’s coffee addict. I also love their cream current scones.

5. I like to have a hair band around my wrist so I can readily pull my hair into a quick ponytail.

6. Most days, I seem to have on at least one clothing item from J. Crew.

7. A special black cat named Elvis turned me into a cat person.

8. I struggle with gardening — I don’t have a green thumb and, at this point, it is unlikely I will develop one.

9. The colors of the ocean as well as pinks are my favorites.

10. I’m a huge fan of music from the ’80s. Now that I have satellite radio in my car, traveling anywhere with me is like going back in time — drives my husband crazy!

11. My favorite sewing tool is my awl and my favorite knitting tool is my pack of Clover stitch markers.

Here are my answers to the 11 questions posed by Linda:

1. Where are you right now? I am at home drinking a mug of Peet’s coffee with a cat on my lap.
2. If you could beam yourself, where would you go in this exact moment? I would like to remain here. So comfortable — just wish I wasn’t sick!
3. How does your usual Sunday look like? We have our coffee and leisurely read the Sunday New York Times.
4. How do you relax? I exercise to relieve stress and knit/sew to relax.
5. If you were to learn a new craft/hobby what would it be? I would like to learn different hand-dying techniques — fabrics and yarns.
6. What inspires you? Nature, magazines, travels
7. Name your favorite yarn or flower, if you could only pick one? Tulips
8. What would be your dream job? Designing and making beautiful clothing
9. What is your worst craft/hobby disaster, that you can reveal? I’ve had so many it is difficult to choose just one! I recently knit a simple cardigan in a tweed stitch. It turned out well — until I mistakenly put it in the washer/dryer and it shrunk into a mini cardigan!
10. Worst task you have to do? Cleaning the house.
11. What is your favourite garment? It can either be a type or one you wear whenever you have the chance? I love tailored jackets, coats and cardigans.

Now here are a few of my favorite bloggers that I would like to nominate. I don’t know if their “number of followers” falls within the award requirements, but I think they are wonderful blogs that I would like to recognize.

• Jacqueline from Jacqueline’s Blog: I love her beautiful and intricate knits. Her shawls and wraps are just amazing.
• Silvia the Sewing Princess: Her garments are well-made and so wonderfully styled. I learn so much from her blog — often I’m learning along with her, which is really fun.
• Elise from Honig Design: She sews garments with super creative details that truly make them special. Very inspirational.
• Kay the Sewing Lawyer: I love her knits and sewn garments — her fit and tailoring are impeccable, and I aspire to be so talented.
• Lisette from La Cubanita Cose: She knits, sews and makes creative costumes for local stage productions. Her work is wonderful.

And here are the 11 questions I would like my Liebster nominees to answer:

1. If you could take a trip to anywhere in the world, where would you go?

2. What historical figure would you most like to meet and have coffee with?

3. If you could work as an assistant to any designer, living or deceased, who would you like to work with?

4. If given the option, would you travel back in time or forward into the future?

5. What skill would you like to learn or improve?

6. What are your favorite tools for your favorite craft/hobby?

7. What book, movie, song, etc. has most inspired you in your life so far?

8. Do you have a magazine or other regular periodical that you absolutely must read?

9. Do you prefer to learn from face-to-face classes and books or online courses/video tutorials?

10. Do you have a dedicated craft room or do you carve out space somewhere in your house?

11. What is the most difficult project you’ve worked on so far? Is it one that you are most proud of?

Thank you, Linda, for the nomination, and I look forward to paying it forward!