Remember Me?
Posted on | September 9, 2011 | 1 Comment
Yes, I am still here! The book is coming along well, but is sucking up all of my time for the moment. My first deadline is a little over a month away and I am a little nervous about that. So, I don’t really have as much time to spend here, there, or anywhere for that matter.
Even though working on a book is extremely labor intensive, it has been an interesting process. Scheduling my time accordingly has been the hardest part. Not so much that it is hard to sit down to knit and work, but that my full-time work schedule has been a little more involved than I would have liked. Summer is usually a slow time in the fashion industry, but this year it just wasn’t so. In fact, it seems like I was just whining about missing out on the summer fun, I blinked, and now it’s fall (or just about anyway)!
I can’t wait for it to get just a touch cooler so I can start pulling out all of the hand knits. Fall truly is my favorite time of the year: apple picking, turning leaves, Halloween, Rhinebeck …… so many things to look forward to.
And speaking of something to look forward to, I just might have a new pattern that will be available soon. I have been working on it for quite some time, but with my world spinning around it has taken a little time for me to finish it up. I will tell you that it was knit up in Madelintosh tosh merino light and will make a nice layering piece for the fall. I hope to post some preview pictures in the next week or so. Hopefully the weather co-operates this weekend for picture taking!
Spin Expo 2012
Posted on | July 20, 2011 | No Comments
Occasionally my full time job brings me across something interesting enough to share with you on the blog. Spin Expo is a yarn show for the manufacturing end of the industry that is held in Shanghai and New York every year. It’s kinda like our TNNA to compare it in hand knitting terms – only not as cool or fun.
With the way the yarn prices have been lately (ie: through the roof) I usually can’t do anything more than dream of using most of these yarns for my collection. I design for a price conscious Junior label, so yarn cost is everything. Even though most of the vendors are out of our price range, it’s always helpful to check out what the new trends and hot yarns are for the next season.
This year, two hand knit companies had booths, which was a nice surprise: Alchemy Yarns of Transformation and Knit Collage. Typically hand knit companies don’t cross over in the machine knit business, but with the trendiness of hand knit garments right now they fit right in.
In the trend area of the show, the key themes all seemed tied together by the idea of hand knitting and crafty ideas – very interesting for a show that revolves around machine knits. Crochet was very well represented along with chunky knits. The Heritage theme (which has been in the pipeline for some time) also made an appearance – chunky cables, naturally dyed yarns, plaid, and color work.
In a separate section of the trend area was a nice presentation on eco-friendly and naturally dyed yarns. While eco-friendly isn’t exactly a new idea, it’s been slow to be adopted by the mass market part of the industry. While cost shouldn’t be an excuse, sadly it is a reality when cost is so closely monitored.
In the main show area, there was also a great booth set up by Mohair South America with the winner and two runners up of the design competition they held earlier in the year. I believe the designers have been be profiled in the Early Fall 2011 issue of Vogue Knitting. The winning garments were absolutely stunning. Particularly the second garment. It is in Hand Maiden Fine Yarns Maiden Hair and is hand painted!
I will now leave you with a bit more eye candy:
Knitscene Fall 2011
Posted on | July 7, 2011 | 5 Comments
Summer has officially begun only a few short weeks ago. Over here in the US, we have just celebrated Independence Day complete with BBQ and fireworks. And I know that it’s only July, but it’s already time to start thinking about your Fall knitting! One source that you should definitely check out is the new Knitscene which will hit the newsstand officially on July 12th. I also happen to have a design within its pages: Mariposa Mitts [ravelry link].
The idea for these mitts had been in my sketch book for a little while, but when I saw the themes for the issue, I thought the design would be a good fit for the “flamenco dancer at home” story. And what does every flamenco dancer at home want? Ruffles of course! Small ruffles are inserted when the mitts are finished on either side of a fake placket with buttons.
The mitts are knit up in Malabrigo Lace and it was the first time I used this yarn. How I went this long without knitting with it, I don’t know! The yarn gives the mitts a really nice soft drape and is perfect for the ruffles. Whenever working with gathering details (ruffles, pleats, or shirring) I like to keep the yarn on the thinner side to keep the piece delicate looking.
Whether Fall knits are on your radar or not, remember it’s never too early to start planning!
Fun Happenings in NYC
Posted on | June 8, 2011 | 4 Comments
Work for the book is coming along slowly, but surely! I received the first of my yarn late last week and have been busy swatching away. While I can’t show you what I’ve been working on, I can tell you about some fun happenings going on in NYC over the next two weekends!
Renegade Craft Fair – June 11-12
I missed Renegade last year because I was at TNNA, but I’m too busy to go out to Columbus this year. So sad! But it’s ok because I can take a break from my work and go out to Renegade instead. Lots of etsy sellers from all over the US will be there and it’s a great way to see all the goodies in person. I’m especially looking forward to checking out The Sweatshop of Love and all the fun knitty goodness she has to offer.
Check it out: Renegade Craft Fair McCarren Park June 11 – 12 11am – 7pmThe Big Circle Project – June 11
June 11th is also World Wide Knit in Public Day! Knitty City will be hosting the Big Circle Project in Bryant Park from 12-4pm. The goal is to have up to 75 knitters knitting red yarn “in the round”. Knitting experience is not needed, and volunteers will be on hand to happily teach participants the knit stitch.
Brooklyn Fiber Arts Guild WWKIP Day – June 18
The Brooklyn Fiber Arts Guild will be holding its 3rd annual World Wide Knit in Public Day on June 18th. The event is taking place on the steps at the Grand Army Plaza Library in Brooklyn. There will be music, raffles, knitting authors, and activities for the kids. I hope to be able to check it out with some friends for the first time this year!
Check it out: Brooklyn Public Library – Central Library
New Pattern: Voussoir
Posted on | May 31, 2011 | 10 Comments
Last week, a new pattern of mine went live for the Tunney Wool Company, the distributors of O-Wool. I was asked to design something in Legacy DK that involved color work and wanted to challenge myself a little bit on the design end. The final result? Voussoir [ravelry link], a Fair Isle cardigan knit totally in the round, sleeve caps and all (and did I mention there are pockets!!).
all pictures copyright Tunney Wool Company
Totally knit in the round you say? But it’s a cardigan! Yes, yes it is. That is where the steeks come in!
Now before you freak out and say “but I could never cut my knitting! What are you crazy!” (Or as one of my friends say “steeks rhyme with eek!”) I say, give steeks a chance!
I have to admit, when I first designed this cardigan, I was a little apprehensive myself. This was my first steeked project and was a design (with a deadline) to boot! Before I cast on, I thought about the alternatives. What were they? Well, it involved knitting back and worth in one piece and having to work some of the fair isle pattern on wrong side rows (trust me, I’ve done it. NOT. FUN. AT. ALL.) or knitting in pieces and having to deal with seams, not very neat edges, and ends to weave in (and again, working fair isle pattern on wrong side rows). Knitting in the round was the best answer, needles down.
I took a few pictures of the steeking process and hope to have a little tutorial up within the next few weeks. Then you can see with your own eyes that it really works and isn’t as scary as you think it is.
This project was probably one of my favorites to design and knit. I wanted to do a fair isle design for a little while now, but kept putting it off for one reason or another. I suppose reason number one was designing an interesting fair isle design from scratch is hard! Each section of the design has to work together. Then once that is worked out, it all has to make a nice even repeat. Even after all of the details are worked out on paper, swatching needs to be done to make sure the design translates well from paper to yarn.
In the end, all the hard work was worth it. Now, I just need to knit one for myself! I have some O-Wool Legacy DK in natural and charcoal just begging to be knit up. If only I had the time to cast on……
I’ve Been Keeping a Secret
Posted on | May 6, 2011 | 33 Comments
If you have been following my tweets over the last month and a half or so, you’ve probably seen that secret projects have been flying off of my needles left and right lately. Hence the very long absence from the blog.
For most of January, February, March and April, I’ve been working on finishing up new designs for O-Wool, Knitscene, Twist Collective, and neoknits – plus another sweater or two. And speaking of Twist Collective, I still need to write a post about Quintet…..
I have also been busy preparing for two workshops that I am teaching at Fibre Space in Alexandria, VA in a few weeks. This will be my first formal teaching experience in front of many students and I’m really excited! I’ve taught a few one-on-one design classes before, but having a class full will be a completely new thing for me. My topics for the day will be finishing techniques and how to modify patterns, two of my most favorite subjects.
Plus I’ve been super busy working on a huge secret project. I’ve been wondering when the perfect time would be to let you in on the secret and I think this beautiful Spring day is the one.
Speaking of Spring, thank goodness that long, cold winter is over! Or at least it is in this part of the country. But where was I?
Oh yes, the big announcement!
Last month I signed a contract with Interweave Press for a book!
I had been thinking about possibly putting together a book proposal for about a year, but the timing just wasn’t right – until now. It will be interesting holding down a full-time job and knitting about 20 sweaters in 12 months (not to mention all the writing), but I know I will have plenty of support. My husband will officially be a complete yarn widower, but I’m hoping he’s gotten use to it by now. Thank goodness he also knows how to cook and do the laundry……
So wish me luck! My first deadline is October! That may seem far away, but I assure you, it is not.
Knitscene Summer 2011
Posted on | March 29, 2011 | 5 Comments
The preview for the first ever Knitscene Summer issue is up! I’m happy to say that I also have a design in the issue, the Sigma Tee [ravelry link].
The Sigma Tee is only my second ever top down raglan design. Working from the top down isn’t one of my favorite construction methods, but when it makes sense to use it, well, it just makes sense to use it! Plus, going around and around in stockinette stitch can be so meditative, especially coming off a busy deadline season. Knitting in the round was a welcome break.
When designing this tee, I wanted something simple and unfussy for the warmer months. However simple doesn’t mean it has to be boring! The added drop needle detail at the raglan lines adds just the right amount of interest to the design.
Thankfully, the Sigma Tee was also a quick knit. I say thankfully because I knit the sample twice. Yes, twice. I wasn’t paying much attention when knitting up the first sample and didn’t try it on as I went. Once I finally decided to try it on, when I was at the bottom hem, I realized that the armholes were WAY too long. Heartbreaking, but no time for tears when you are on a deadline! I had no choice but to rework the numbers for a much better fit and re-knit the sample. Yes, I could have ripped back to the armholes, but I took the chance to rework the neck a little too since I didn’t feel it was “perfect”. I should know better than to fly through a sample, and it certainly isn’t the first time I’ve done it. One of these days I will learn my lesson!
A Visit with Kate Oates and a New Design
Posted on | March 18, 2011 | 7 Comments
Long time, no write! Hope all of you had a good St. Patrick’s Day and are feeling well today. Despite the 2 million visitors to NYC taking part in the festivities yesterday, I decided to keep it simple (ie: I tried my best to avoid them all).
Instead, I headed up to Knitty City to visit with Kate Oates, the designer behind Tot Toppers. She had a bunch of her really cute samples with her. My favorite? Definitely Jimmy & Millie Monkey! (All images “borrowed” from Kate Oates with permission!)
My other two favorites were a little more serious. The Master Charles Sweater and The Gramps Sweater (which Kate just released today!) Leather patches and cables, nothing says “serious” quite like those two details. The Gramps sweater is #5 in Kate’s “1 Every-day Week” Pattern collection in which all the designs feature O-Wool yarn.
Master Charles by Kate Oates
Gramps Sweater by Kate Oates
And speaking of O-Wool yarn, I’m a little late on posting about my newest design, Parseval! It’s worked up in O-Wool Balance, a nice organic cotton/organic wool. I love the way the dye takes up differently with each fiber creating an almost tweedy look. [Ravelry link]
Parseval
Parseval has minimal finishing for those who like that sort of thing. It’s knit in the round up to the armholes, then worked back and forth for a smidge. The sleeves are also knit in the round up to the armholes, the cap is then worked flat. The only sewing that needs to be accomplished is putting together the shoulder seams and placing those lovely sleeve caps into the armholes.
I’m working on a second Parseval for myself in malachite that I’m pretty excited about. All that I have left to do is sew in the sleeves and knit up the cowl. I’ll try and share some pictures soon!
Vintage Modern Knits + Giveaway
Posted on | February 18, 2011 | 77 Comments
Welcome to the next stop on the Vintage Modern Knits blog tour!
During my VK Live recap, I mentioned picking up a copy of Vintage Modern Knits by Courtney Kelly and Kate Gagnon Osborn (who also happen to be the lovely ladies behind The Fibre Company). I have been waiting for this book ever since I met Courtney at Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool in 2009 and saw the awesome beret she was wearing. I had to drag the information out of her, but found out it was “something for Interweave” and I would have to wait till 2011 for the pattern to be published.
Bramble Beret
I was a very patient knitter, but when I came across the book at Knitty City (which apparently was a special pre-sale for VK Live – lucky me!), I purchased it that night. Now I could finally make the Bramble Beret that Courtney was wearing that cold day in Rhinebeck.
Then I started to flip through the book. It was gorgeous. The projects, the photographs, the styling. All of it, gorgeous. Courtney and Kate are both very talented designers and have such a great eye for fit, color, silhouette, and detail. However this isn’t just another book filled with pretty patterns. A significant amount of research went into finding interesting knitting techniques that have been passed down through the ages.
Yvette (using the Roositude technique)
Each design focuses on a traditional knitting technique or style that is modernized in a number of different ways. The more well known Aran cable, Icelandic yoke, and Fair Isle are all represented, but so are a few lesser known gems. I was particularly fascinated by a technique called Roositud, an Estonian inlay technique which sort of looks like embroidery. I also learned about twined knitting, Tyrolean knitting, and Faroese shawls.
Some of the projects that caught my eye in particular?
Well, I would love to knit Yvette to learn more about the Roositude technique.
I would also love to knit (read: NEED to knit) Yangtze, a 1950s style cardigan. This sweater would get tons of use in my wardrobe rotation.
Yangtze
I also love Rhodes Point, a modern gansey, Vorderrhein, a twisted cable hat, Whitby, knee high stockings, and the gorgeous cover sweater, Adelaide.
Actually, there are a lot of other projects I would like to knit also, but we’ll stop there for brevity’s sake! You can check out the rest of the projects from the book on Ravelry. After all, I don’t want to totally spoil it for you!
Giveaway
The lovely folks at Interweave have sent me an extra copy of Vintage Modern Knits to give away to one lucky neoknits reader. Leave a comment below, maybe about a traditional knitting technique that you can’t get enough of or tell me what your favorite project from the book is (as if you could just pick one!). I will pick a winner via random number generator on Monday February 21st at 10pm EST.
Other Stops on the Blog Tour
Make sure you check out these other great blogs and podcasts for more info about Courtney and Kate!
2/5 Ready, Set, Knit podcast (WEBs) http://readysetknit.yarn.com/
2/7 Knitting Daily http://www.knittingdaily.com
2/8 Knit and Tonic http://www.knitandtonic.net/
2/9 Winged Knits http://cecilyam.wordpress.com/
2/10 Narrating Life http://mirandawalker.blogspot.com/
2/11 Knitbot http://knitbot.com/
2/14 Knitting School Drop Out http://www.knittingschooldropout.com/
2/15 Never Not Knitting podcast/ interview, giveaway http://nevernotknitting.blogspot.com/
2/16 Knitgrrl http://www.knitgrrl.com/
2/17 Sunset Cat Designs http://www.sunsetcat.com/
2/18 Neoknits http://www.neoknits.com/blog/
2/21 Tenten Knits http://margauxelena.typepad.com/
2/22 Lolly Knitting Around http://lollygirl.com/blog/
Crochet Bowls!
Posted on | February 10, 2011 | 2 Comments
I’ve been so busy with all of my knitting deadline projects, I almost forgot to post a few pictures of the crochet bowls I made as presents for Christmas like I promised. This is bowl number 2, which was allowed to dry naturally. This was much easier without Christmas breathing down my back.
This was a really fun (first!) crochet project for me. The bowls worked up so quickly and were interesting to make. They were a great way for me to use up extra single balls of yarn lying around. I still need to make one more though, which I feel really terrible about. Here we are, it’s February and my Mom hasn’t gotten her lacy bowl yet. Guess it’s good she lives in another state! Mail? What’s that? Sorry Mom, too many deadlines right now.
My pretty flowers that my husband lovingly had wrapped up to transport from NYC back to NJ.
Just so I could enjoy them while I was home for Christmas break. He’s such a good boy.
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