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Artist Profile: Bronwen Heilman – Ghost Cow

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tikisA woman of many talents. Glass…music…metal…mom…creative dynamo! Her glass work is an inspiration to so many. And with good reason. It rocks!!! So allow me to introduce you some of the many facets of her glass work, with using bottle glass as her newest adventure. Check out the tikis…so cool. I have a tiki collection so I have a sweet spot in my heart for tikis. And these are made with bottle glass. So cool. Wait, I said that already. But it’s so true. Recycled glass…go Bronwen! And eco friendly! Check out her web site www.ghostcow.com. You can find out more about Bronwen, her glass, shows and of course her band, Ghost Cow. I’ve seen them play and they rock too!

Bronwen is based in Tucson, AZ, but does make her way around for shows and classes. Her next class is at Blue Moon in Austin. She’s going to teach you about enamels. Check out this other piece…n570264301_1103399_7773

This is made in multiple stages with glass painting and fusing. Just awesome. Can I gush about her work enough? It’s just that it’s so unique and cutting edge. And the beads she makes with this painting technique and then doing roll-ups are amazing! Needless to say, if you get the chance to check out her work or one of her classes you really need to. And her band too! One last piece of hers here to swoon over. From her beach glass series. Simple beauty.

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Book Review: Cable Knitting Stitch Dictionary

Stitch dictionaries are a fun way to learn new-to-you knitting stitch patterns or to take a deep dive into a particular technique. Debbie Tomkies offers 100 cable stitch designs and thoughts on how to incorporate them into projects in her Cable Knitting Stitch Dictionary.

Each stitch pattern is shown in a large swatch photo and with written and charted instructions. Any special stitches are included on the page. The stitches are rated on a difficulty scale of 1 to 3, and the pattern notes also indicate how many extra stitches you should add to a project if you’re going to work this cable (since cables pull the fabric closer together you need to compensate for that) as well as how many stitches and rows are in the repeat if you want to design a project yourself.

The cables are arranged into sections: classic cables, combinations, all-over panels, creative cables, motifs and panels and cabled edges and borders.

It’s fun to flip through the designs to think about projects you can add a single cable or two to or make with an allover cabled design. Or you could make swatches of different cables and sew them together into a pillow cover or a throw.

At the back of the book there’s a section on general cable knitting techniques, reading charts, working swatches and avoiding errors (though it mentions working the wrong number of rows between cable turns, it doesn’t share how to count rows between cables to avoid this mistake).

It also talks about how to design your own cables, combine cables in a project, choose the right yarn and needles and determine how many more stitches you need to cast on when working cables instead of stockinette stitch. There’s also a glossary of symbols and abbreviations you may find in cable knitting and other patterns.

The book provides a good overview of things you can do with cables, as well as some fun things you might not have tried like infinity cables and horizontal cables. It’s a great book for a designer who likes to work with cables or a knitter who wants to play with different stitches in their projects.

About the book: 176 pages, paperback, 100 stitch patterns. Published 2024 by David & Charles. Suggested retail price $26.99.