I am going to deluge you with lots of good stuff over the next few days (God willing). You’ve all been on my mind for weeks. The publishing company was shut down for the holidays (10 days away from the office) but for an editor, we can’t really completely leave the office (if you know what I mean). I MEANT to post this as the package arrived before I left for holiday. These buttons and closures have been carried back and forth for AGES and tonight is the night!
Tomorrow I am headed out the door at 5am to get on a plane and be in Long Beach CA for the TNNA trade show. We are looking forward to the Fashion Show presented by the Yarn Group members tomorrow night. I’ve volunteered to work backstage so it’s super to get to see all the garments up close and personal.
Back to Nicky!
These beauties arrived via Nicky Epstein (www.nickyepstein.com) and JHB (www.buttons.com). This is her entire BRAND NEW collection of buttons and closures. I have to tell you, the corset had me going … so Nicky, you want me to knit a WHAT and keep it snug with THAT piece of hardware??? And then I decided it would make a fabulous belt closure. Or you can be as creative as you like!
There are six types of closures. The largest is the corset (3″ tall x 3″ across at the widest part in the closed and locked position) and the hearts are 3″ tip to tip closed. All the closures have 2, 3 or 4 shank type backs for secure placement on your project.
Nine buttons are also part of this collection. They are all shank-backed buttons. The largest, The Castle, measures 1-1/4″ in diameter. Another fav of mine are the sheep (of course). There are 4 different sheep and views of them (up close and full body).
These pewter cast pieces with antique black are solid and have some heft to them. Do not consider them for “light weight” knitted fabrics! They would look stunning on worsted-weight and up projects, especially accessories!
Another interesting design element is how dimensional these pieces are. Take The Knight button. The facial armor protrudes 1/2″ from the circle. A buttonhole would not dare creep around that guy!
Here is a close up of the Lilies closure and the Corset. The Lilies use the same “hook” method as the Corset. Please note that the Corset isn’t closed in this photo but the pieces meet as beautifully as the Lilies.
There is a lot of attention to detail in each of these pieces from the designer. Nicky seems to have this endless wealth of creativity in all her work. You can just imagine each one in her sketchbook! Turn over the closures and you will find her initals “NE” on each piece. Very nice touch.
Watch for them coming soon at JoAnn’s and your local yarn shop. Or you can go to Nicky’s site (www.nickyepstein.com) for more info as well as Nicky’s teaching schedule and her blog.
MORE NICKY NEWS
In today’s mail came two of Nicky’s books now available in paperback: Nicky Epstein Knitted Flowers and Nicky Epstein Crocheted Flowers published by Soho. The press release indicated a February 2010 launch but I just looked on Amazon and they are taking pre-orders or pester your local yarn shop to get copies. It’s a great price point and a GOTTA GET for your knitting library.
Until next time – enjoy your knitting!
– Penelope
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