At Knitting Today's retreat last spring I won the DVD of how to make the Elizabeth Zimmerman Ribwarmer. The DVD is wonderful. The pattern is simple but Meg (Swanson) takes you through all manner of ways to improve your knitting. My favorite parts are when she does something then holds the garment up, looks at it and says no,it would look better if... and then rips back. Knitting isn't about blindly following directions but about looking at what you are doing and seeing better ways. I thought I had explored all ways to work I-cord so as to avoid getting the little peek through of color that you get when applying the I-cord to different color edge but Meg shows a very easy and efficient method that looks (lays) just right. And in the background, as Meg is knitting are shelves stacked with wonderful hand knit sweaters.
This child sized Ribwarmer is knit from "Shepherd's Wool" that I got from Knitting Today. It's a nice soft merino in wonderful colors- I like the "pin drafted" shades, the colors are very rich and complex. And someone really thought about the label- it's got peel- off stuff on the back (like the Hello My Name Is name tags that you can stick on your shirt) so you can stick the label in your knitting journal for future reference or on a card if the garment is a gift.
I'm finishing up a Ribwarmer for myself- there are directions for super sizing it- and I'm looking forward to making the Butterfly Jacket (visual and written directions included) later this winter.
For someone who "never wins anything" I really hit the jackpot this time.