Fun
Knit to This: In the Studio with Dee Hardwicke
Fellow knitters, we have a great conversation for you today: Kay and Ann visit with Dee Hardwicke, the designer starring in the new Field Guide No. 25: Botanica.
Bring your easiest knitting, so you can gaze properly at the samples and design notebooks Dee Hardwicke shares in this inspiration-jammed, color-packed hour. Click above to watch.
And if you just have to start exploring watercolors once you see what Dee’s up to, we got you. Our Botanica Watercolor Kit is an MDK exclusive: the finest watercolor set, with a book, brush, and pencil. Last week, DG showed you what he’s up to with his set. As for me . . .
Don’t tell my mom, but I’m working on a book of plant and flower paintings for her Christmas present. Dee’s combinations of detailed sketches, notes, and graphic motifs have inspired me to make this little volume a real celebration and exploration of our palette of Case for Making handmade paints.
A Giveaway!
The prize? Field Guides Subscription 2023! It’s never too late to get in on the fun and benefits of being a subscriber.
Click here to flip through Lookbook 25 for the designs and bundles of Field Guide No. 25: Botanica.
All three Field Guides of 2023 are yours when you subscribe. In January we launched Field Guide No. 23: Glow with four instant-classic designs by Arne & Carlos, and Field Guide No. 24: Spark launched in June with five spectacular designs by Olga Buraya-Kefelian! Subscribers save 10% off all shop purchases, and Holiday Shop 2023 will open first to Field Guides subscribers.
Already a subscriber? Thank you. If your comment is picked, you’ll get to Make Your Own Field Guide Bundle of three Field Guides. Browse the MDK Patterns Library and the finest, knit-it-now designs. You can search it by Field Guide, fiber, yarn weight, gauge. Explore.
How to enter?
Two steps:
Step 1: Sign up for MDK emails, right here. External Link. Opens in new window.. If you’re already signed up, you’re all set. We have a new option for texting, so when you sign up for those, you’ll get a coupon code good for 10% off your next MDK order.
Step 2: Which is your favorite design in Field Guide No. 25: Botanica? Let us know in the comments.
Deadline for entries: Sunday, October 1, 11:59 PM Central time. We’ll draw a random winner from the entries. Winner will be notified by email.
Come Shop With Us
The shawl with the botanical stripe. It’s perfect: all the colors, and then the intricate stripe. Brilliant!
The Blossom Stripe shawl and the cottage throw.
Love the cottage throw!
The Autumn Garden Shawl, with the Blossom stripe shawl a close second!
The flora arm warmers – love the color combo!
Autumn Garden Stole!
I am mesmerized by Dee’s Autumn Garden Stole. Elegant. Timeless. Gorgeous!
It has to be the Autumn Garden Stole. I’m really looking forward to embarking on that project!
The Blossom Stripe shawl is lovely as is Treeline Cowl.
I love the CottageThrow, since it has all the patterns and all the colors. It is just gorgeous.
The Autumn Garden Stole is the winner followed closely by the Cottage Throw!
The Autumn Garden Stole. So elegant.
Cottage Throw. Such a work of heart!
I gotta go with the throw. I’ll probably tweak the colors because I can’t help myself.
The cottage throw!
Oh my so many good ones! I will say the cottage throw is my fave
COTTAGE THROW
I love the Autumn Garden Stole. The palette is soothing and the shape looks ideal. A lovely embrace of flowers.
The cottage throw is incredible! (I mean, they all are, but that’s especially stunning.)
Cottage Throw
The classic and timeless Autumn Garden Stole.
I think Cottage Throw is impossibly beautiful. Since I know I will never make it myself, I can dream that someone would make it for me. Gorgeous!
The Autumn Garden stole is lovely
Oh, I have to pick……
Ugh
I’m kinda dreaming about combination of COWL right now.
S
That Blossom Stripe Shawl is gorgeous.
The Autumn Garden Stole has stolen my ❤️.
The Blossom Strip Shawl
Climbing vine mitts! I could wear them every day in the winter.
I like the fingerless gloves.
The cottage throw is so beautiful!
Cottage throw! Why settle for one of these beautiful motifs when you can knit them all?!
The cottage throw. A beautiful piece to pass along for years to come.
Love love love the autumn garden stole!!!
I’m loving all of the designs in Botanica, but my fave is definitely the Autumn Garden Stole. Usually I’m drawn to bright colours and complementary colour pops, but the quiet overall rhythm of AGS just really really speaks to me! Perhaps I’ll explore one in subtle late autumn neutrals and then explore a reinterpretation in exuberant early spring vibrancy!
Love the Autumn Garden Stole!
Oooh, Dee liked my cowl! Fan girl alert! So excited.
Definitely cottage throw
Hands down, the Autumn Garden Stole is the winner! I would love to see it in more colors.
I LOVE the Autumn Garden Stole!
It’s a toss up between the cottage throw and the flora arm warmers.
Cottage throw
Definitely the blanket — it’s always the blanket.
The Blossom Stripe Shawl. Beautiful!
My favorite kid the Autumn Garden Stole, but for me the mitts and arm warmers are probably be what I make . I wear mitts year round. I like the fact I can take any motif and use as I want .
I immediately loved the Treeline cowl but am also mesmerized by the Garden Stole.
Oh my goodness!
The Cottage Throw
My paintbox arrived, is unboxed, swatched and the water and paint has hit the paper. First up, a path over a beach dune … because fences and me are gonna work till we get along. It’s a process… maybe more paints… or more yarn. ⛱️
Toss up between Autumn Garden Stole and Cottage Throw.
Oh, it’s the wrap, the Autumn Garden Throw. Just beautiful.
I think the Autumn Garden stole is stunning but I love the Blossom Stripe shawl as well.
I would say the tree line cowl, because it’s more likely to become a finished object than the throw!
I like the Autumn Garden Shawl.
The blossom stripe shawl is my favorite. I love the stripes together with the band of intarsia.
The Autumn garden style. It speaks to me!
The Climbing Vine Mitts! I wear fingerless mitts almost all fall, winter, and spring here in SW Canada and I can’t resist another fun pair to knit.
The Cottage Throw bundle!
The Autumn Garden Stole
The Cottage Throw is a showstopper!
Autumn Garden Stole for me. Although probably in jewel tones, maybe even a mini rainbow anchored with a neutral… although the palate Dee created is gorgeous and tempting.
Autumn Garden Stole!
Blossom shawl
Definitely the climbing vine mittens and the blossom stripe shawl.
The Autumn Garden Stole is my favorite, but I suspect I’m more likely to knit the Climbing Vine Mitts in the near future.
Tree line cowl. I wear cowls almost every winter day, so it would be well used. I love the whimsical motif and think I could manage creating my own palette. The stole is a close second, upsized to a throw.
Hard to choose – I love them all. But I’m going for the Autumn green stole first, so I guess that one!
The Cottage Throw is stunning. All the designs are. What’s not to love?
Autumn Garden Stole
Love the treeline cowl. & maybe matching fingerless mitts.
The patterns are beautiful and it’s hard to pick a favorite. So many colors. Maybe it’s the time of year that is influencing me, but I have to say the Autumn Garden Shawl.
Treeline cowl
The Autumn Garden Stole is my favorite. Classic!
Cottage throw, although I don’t know how long it would take. I love all of them
I love the Cottage throw. Dee and her designs are so delightful.
While I love the Cottage Throw the Autumn Garden Stole, especially in those colours, has me in awe! I wish there was a digital only Field Guide subscription as I know international shipping makes a physical subscription unreasonable
Hi, Chelsea – while there’s not a digital subscription option, you can always purchase a digital version of any single Field Guide whenever you want! Including FG 25: Botanica. Just choose “eBook only” in the dropdown. It’s quite a bargain that way!
The autumn garden stole for me!
I would love to make the Flora Arm Warmers!
I like the Autumn Garden Stole the best.
I love the Blossom Stripe Shawl! It’s surprising to see stranded colorwork with stripes! ❤️❤️
the Autumn Garden Stole is my favourite!
Cottage Throw!
I love the cowl. What a beautiful fall addition to your wardrobe. So many things could be done with color ways.
Cristine, your mom is going to LOVE that book for Christmas. She is so lucky!
My favorite design in Botanica is the Cottage Throw. An heirloom if there ever was one.
Treeline Cowl
Gotta be the Autumn Garden Shawl – all those restful, elegant grey notes — so lovely!
My favorite is Climbing Vine Mitts. It was hard to choose just one!
Autumn Garden Stole.
I like the climbing vines mitts
I love the Autumn Garden Stole!
I love the Cottage Throw. I don’t think I would have the skill or patience to complete it but I like to dream. It’s just lovely. It reminds me of Liberty cotton prints.
The Autumn Garden Stole just takes my breath away!
The Blossom Stripe Shawl, the Bosc color palette is stunning!
My favorite that makes me swoon is the Autumn Garden, but the one i’m most likely to wear again and again is the Treeline cowl. Maybe I need to make Autumn Garden in a cowl!!! Beautiful patterns that are inspiring!
1. Hands down by me: Treeline cowl, in different colors of Atlas than shown!
2. The shawl, also in slightly different colors, and with an extra botanical stripe. Not sure yet where that will go
I love the design and colors in your Treeline Cowl sample. My second favorite is the Blossom Stripe Shawl. Both seem like something I could tackle.
i love the autumn garden stole!
Autumn Garden Stole. Beautiful! I make stoles for at least 2 charities.
I love the autumn garden stole, very classy.
Hard to pick a fave but…that Autumn Garden Stole!
Cottage throw! All the things
The Cottage Throw.
Love the shawl! I would make that an afghan size.
That Cottage Throw is the one. It has it all!
The Blossom Stripe Shawl – stunning!
They’re all so gorgeous, but I adore the idea of snuggling up with the cottage throw.
Omigosh, the Cottage Throw, obvs 😉
I’d have to start smaller though, I haven’t done a lot of colorwork lol
Autumn Garden Stole! I love a rectangular wrap and neutral colors.
Absolutely love the Autumn Garden Stole!
The Treeline cowl! But I have on hand Tutu, Truffle, Peat and Pear, beckoning to me!
I believe the Autumn Garden Stole…actually I already have two items begun! Thanks for the inspiration.
The cottage throw is a wonderful bit of aspirational knitting but the Autumn Garden Stole has stolen my heart because I love autumn and gardens. it is what I need in my wardrobe as it gets cooler.
Love from Ireland 🙂
All projects are beautiful, stunning, I can see doing all of them. This field guide may be my very all time favorite. Dee, wow. I met her at a workshop in Puget Sound years ago, she was so lovely and approachable.
So hard to choose, the Autumn Garden Stole does it for me, love the neutral palette. It would be a long term knit, and in the mean time I’ll do the cowl, the arm warmers. Color is a challenge for me, and Dee makes it all so easy.
I’ve already got the Blossom Stripe shawl on my needles and ready for my trip.
The Climbing Vine Mitts with the Autumn Garden Motif.
I like the versatility of the Autumn Garden Stole.
I love the colours in the Blossom Strioed Shawl!
Love the cottage throw!
I love! the Autumn Garden Stole. It has the right level of symmetry and calming colors shown in the photo to pull me in. I picture me on my deck on a fall Minnesota morning, snuggled in with my cuppa my favorite tea and a good knitting book. Sigh.
The garden stole is my favorite, I’m thinking about turning it into a blanket.
Bloom stripe shawl
Cottage Throw!
Difficult to decide, but the Autumn Garden Stole is my #1 pick
I love the Treeline Cowl. All the designs are beautiful.
The Autumn Garden Stole. Just lovely.
I like the climbing vine mitts. I love to do colorwork!
Love the cottage throw and the arm warmers
Oh that Cottage Throw!
The Blossom Stripe Shawl, I love making shawls. Though I do like the Climbing Vine Mitts.
They are all fantastic, but the Treeline Cowl is the one I’d like to make first
Blossom stripe shawl
I love the cottage throw; I quilt as well as knit and it reminds me of quilts. I also love stranded colourwork so much so it was hard to choose a favourite!
I seem to be making a lot of cowls lately so my favorite is tree line cowl though all of them seem to call to me!
The Climbing Vine mitts would be my first knit from this lovely booklet. My sister would love them, too!
Climbing Vine mitts
I love the colors of the floral hand warmers. So warm!
the cottage throw is so unique and colorful, it’s my fav
the autumn garden stole is fabulous!
Cottage Throw – wow
Autumn Garden Stole
Cottage throw!
The Autumn Garden stole!
My favorite is the tree line cowl – thinking mitts to match. It’s rarely cold enough here in Atlanta for many designs, but cowls and mitts work.
I love the autumn garden shawl, with the cottage throw a close seeond!
The Blossom Stripe Shawl
Blossom Stripe Shawl
My favorite design is the Treeline Cowl.
The autumn botanical stripped wrap keeps drawing me in. I like to think they are drag on flies( which means joy and luck) . To wrap myself in that would be healing .
They are all so beautiful but I especially love the Autumn Garden Stole!
My favorite is the autumn garden stole! I think all of them are amazing!
Blossom stripe shawl grabs me. I’m a sucker for the colors but this would quickly become an everyday wear.
Love the Blossom Stripe shawl in the colors shown.
The autumn garden stole looks so pretty!!
I love the orange in Flora Arm Warmers. It reminds me of fires on fall nights–not really cold enough for sweaters, but just needing a bit of warmth!
The Blossom Stripe Shawl!
Both the cottage throw and the Autumn garden stole look really good. I guess if I have to vote, it’s for the stole.
Definitely the cowl. Beautiful and accessible.
I absolutely love the color work in the flora arm warmers ❤️
The striped shawl is my favorite, it would look beautiful on me
I’m going with the Treeline Cowl on this, but I also love the throw, just gorgeous! I can see myself knocking out several of the cowls in different color variations. Beautiful field guide, thank you!
I really like the treeline cowl
cottage throw
Blossom stripe is my fav! Flowers AND stripes, can’t go wrong. Thank you MDK and Dee!!
The Autumn Garden Stole. STUNNING! Close second is the Cottage Throw. Stunning in a whole different way.
Blossom Stripe Shawl
I love the cottage throw. Throws were one of my earliest knitting projects back in the 70’s. I made lots of them for friends back then. I don’t think I’ve made one since 1980. I think it’s time to make another.
Climbing Vine Mitts, love the blue green colors!
The Treeline Cowl is my favorite pattern in Botanica.
the long handwarmers are so cheerful as well as appropriate
Unfortunately I was not a fan of any of the designs in that issue. Actually the designs aren’t too bad it’s just the colors, I’m not into such bright colors.
Oh my, the Blossom Stripe Shawl is screaming at me! It is my favorite
Oh my, the Blossom Stripe Shawl is screaming at me! Stunning and looks so fun to make!
I love the treeline cowl and cottage throw!
I love the Autumn Garden Stole! I typically knit in neutral colours, light greys and charcoal blacks and all shades in between. I love the Deep Winter where the world becomes quiet. This is why I’m so drawn to those moody colour palettes. The Autumn Stole is my perfect item, to knit, to wear.
Then there is the symmetry! Love it. I love colour work, the intricacies of it. But this shawl/stole is like someone saying ‘Calm the Chaos’ and this brilliant piece of knitting appears. It is beautifully restful to the eye.
Blossom stripe shawl
They are all gorgeous, but plan to start with the cowl.
Tough call! I’d probably choose Blossom Stripe Shawl as what I feel I could most easily accomplish as a rather new/intermediate skilled knitter, but am wildly attracted to the Autumn Garden Stole.
Autumn garden is my favorite! So many color possibilities!
The blossom stripe shawl is so fun!
The Autumn Garden stole.
The Treeline Cowl is my favorite.
Hands down the cottage throw. What a glorious piece that will be the one thing everyone wants to inherit.
I think I’ll have to go with the Cottage Throw! Gorgeous and looks like a lot of fun to knit.
The Autumn Garden stole is stunning!
I really like the Autumn Garden Shawl. I fear that if I start, it will become another UFO. I’m working on all those projects that are taking over my house.
Blossom stripe shawl
Love the Autumn Garden Stole!!
The BLOSSOM STRIPE SHAWL is my favorite because i like the way a floral element interacts with the stripes.
The black-edged Climbing Vines Mitts. I liked that color combination better than any others. Maybe it was the photography but, so sorry to say this, to me, the red was just a little too orange to work well with the blues in that collection. I liked the patterns, but would use my own colors.
The Blossom Stripe Shawl! (Although I also love the Cottage Throw.)
That blossom stripe shawl is stunning, so much more so in the pink/red/turquoise version!
Autumn Garden Shawl. So elegant with your subdues color choices.
I love the Cottage throw most of all
I LOVE the cottage throw! All of the colors and different patterns make me happy!
Autumn garden stole
Climbing Vine Mitts! So gorgeous!
Autumn Garden is lovely. I like the subdued colors.
I like the Autumn Garden Stole pattern but think I would change the dimensions and make it into a blanket or possibly a pillow.
The Autumn Garden Stole is comforting and interesting at the same time, a Perfect play of patterns and color.
The shawl — though I’d never have thought to pair the barn red, seaglass, and tutu, but… I like the result.
Such a difficult decision but I would have to say the cottage throw. It’s exquisite!
Autumn garden stole.
Autumn Garden Stole! I am not elegant enough to wear it, but I love the design…
Cottage Throw
How to pick a favorite?
I want them all!
But, Autumn Garden first!
My favorite design is the Cottage Throw. I love the idea of having such a graphic blanket!
The Cottage throw is stunning.
I love the Autumn Garden Stole! It’s elegant and I love that it’s a rectangle! Bonus points…I prefer the word Autumn over Fall. 🙂
The Tree Line Cowl, the design is unique and full of character!
Love the Autumn Garden Stole!
My fave is the Autumn Garden Stole! While I haven’t had much success learning stranded knitting, I’m thinking I can do it in mosaic.
That’s easy! The Autumn Garden Stole is dreamy.
I think the Tree Line Cowl is my favourite of the designs!
The Autumn Garden Stole is my favorite. I don’t think I’m patient enough these days to make it, but it’s certainly a show stopper.
So hard to choose a favourite as they are all absolutely gorgeous but if pressed I think it would be the Flora arm warmers. What a brilliant idea
Gotta go with the Cottage Throw! Gorgeous!!
The autumn garden stole is gorgeous!
Autumn Garden Stole is my favorite! I’d probably be sorely tempted to upsize it to a throw. So cozy!
The cottage Throw is fabulous!
I love the color restraint of the Autumn Garden Stole. I would never pick out those colors to knit with (even though I should!) but the color palette is something I would pair with just about any outfit! And I love that there’s a range of the grays in the pattern. I also want to knit the mittens….
Love the cottage throw!
I quite like the arm warmers, but the Climbing Vine mitts may be my favorite
The Treeline Cowl. Those motifs are so whimsical and each one acts like an icon to a happy memory for me. Beautiful!
I love them all, but I would make the Treeline Cowl first! That Cottage Throw is spectacular!!
Blossom Stripe Shawl is my favorite!
Love the autumn garden stoll!
The throw!
Blossom Stripe shawl
Autumn Garden Stole–hands down.
The climbing vine mitts are my choice. Fingerless and almost thumb mitts were among my first knitting projects when I began knitting five years ago. They weren’t very good and have disappeared. Time to try again.
I am having a hard time picking between the Autumn Garden shawl and Blossom Stripe. So, I guess I would make them both and be very happy.
Autumn Garden Stole for me. Although it might morph into a couch size blanket…..
I love the cowl. The toughest decision would be what colors to use.
I love the cottage throw!
My favorite is the Cottage Throw.