She spoke on the topic of “A Memorable Yarn”. The essay was a mix of how memories are formed and how we form special yarn related memories when we are knitting. How many of you have bought a skein of yarn on vacation as a souvenir? Or how many of you can pick up a sweater and remember exactly what was going on when it was in the process of being knit? That skein of yarn or sweater can trigger an almost photographic memory and bring you back to that period in your life.

In between, we were treated to a story about Brenda’s second sweater. It had quite a journey that ended up becoming another sweater (after all, you can’t waste good wool!). However, this second incarnation of the sweater didn’t quite make the cut and she planned on reclaiming the yarn once again. At this point, she took the sweater out of her bag and showed us. The audience approved of the sweater, but it was to no avail. She began to unravel the sweater in front of us, which brought quite a bit of panic from some audience members! Her reason for doing so was a simple way for her to attach a new memory to the yarn that had been through so much already. Her reasoning: when she is back in Wales and knitting her new sweater, she will think about all of the people she met on her journey and the new memories that are now attached to the yarn.

To coincide with the event, the attendees were asked to bring in a memory bag. We were instructed to take a bit of yarn that had some sort of memory or meaning attached to it and knit a little bag. Inside the bag, we placed a piece of paper with a story about the yarn and what memories are attached to it. Here is my memory:

About 10 years ago, I submitted a design for a little book called Stitch n’ Bitch Nation. I was fresh out of design school, in my first job as a sweater designer, and I decided to try my hand at something new. I didn’t really expect anything to come of it, well, until I got the acceptance email from Debbie Stoller herself. The. Debbie. Stoller. Wow. Breathe Melissa. Breathe.

The first design that is accepted to any publication always has its own special memories attached to it. I remember jumping up and down a lot and telling anyone that would listen. My knitting group in LIC was ecstatic and very supportive as well. Celebrating your triumph with other understanding knitters is really second to none.

After the excitement wore off (a little), reality set in. “I have no idea how to write a pattern!! What am I going to do?”

While waiting for my yarn, I picked up and started reading every pattern from Rowan magazine in my collection. It probably would have been helpful to pick up some American publications as well, but I wasn’t really as connected to the knitting world then. I didn’t even know that Knitty.com existed!

The yarn finally arrived and I was off! I had chosen Rowan 4 ply Cotton in a pretty teal blue color. I was particularly devoted to Rowan at that time in my knitting life. I was also particularly devoted to small needles as well. Typically beginners go for the larger needles, but not me. My first sweater was on size 2′s. My first design was on size 4′s. Seemed perfectly natural to me.

With a little bit of luck, and some help from Helen in my knitting group, the sweater was finished. I don’t really remember how long it took, but I remember stitching the last seam on the floor of my apartment during the 2002 Winter Olympic closing ceremonies. I also remember being so emotional that I cried. Was I going to miss the sweater or the Olympics? Who knows!

I took the sweater to work the next day, took a few pictures with my co-worker modeling it, and then prepared it to be dropped off. Because I was in New York City and didn’t trust my first baby to be delivered safely in the mail, I decided to go down personally to the Bust magazine office and hand it to Debbie myself.

I walked into the Bust office like a shy puppy. I was shown to Debbie’s desk, but she was on the phone. I quickly muttered something to someone at a nearby desk and practically took off. As I was waiting for the elevator, Debbie came around the corner and thanked me for dropping it off personally and I felt like a total geek for running off. Who knew meeting the Stitch n’ Bitch queen could make me so nervous! If you’ve ever met Debbie, she really is one of the nicest, most approachable person ever.

When the book arrived in the bookstores, the Lucky Clover Wrap ended up being one of the more popular patterns in the book. Maybe I had a career in hand knit design after all! 10 years later, I’d say that is the case. With a few books, magazines, and a self-published line under my belt plus a book of my own coming out next year with Interweave, I’d say I haven’t done too bad.

With these bits of leftover Rowan 4 ply cotton, I celebrate the memory of the unknown opportunities at the time and what is yet to come in my yarny journey!

Up next will be a photo shoot and reviewing the manuscript and tech edited patterns. Reviewing is no small task, but considering I just knit about 10 projects in about 4 1/2 months, I think I’ll make it through.

My fingers are itching to get something new on the needles and I’ve been busy thinking about what’s next. You see, I have a bit more time to concentrate on my hand knit designs now after leaving the fashion industry this past January. It’s been a very big change for me and I hope that with your encouragement and support, I will be able to do what I’ve always wanted: work for myself.

In the coming year, I hope to not only get back to publishing with Knitscene, Twist Collective, and Interweave Knits, but also publishing a bunch of new independent patterns (including the new J knit format). I’m also toying with ideas for a few larger projects as well.

And of course, I hope to get back to posting here regularly! I have a backlog of tutorials and interesting things to share with you. I hope you’ll come back and visit often!

The knitpoint.com store launched last week and I am excited to announce that four of my patterns (Grannie Smith, Cohansie, Sesame, and Idylewylde) are now available in JKnit format, with more on the way! With the recent update to the app, the user now has the option of purchasing patterns already formatted for JKnit along with the typical PDF file you’re familiar with (it now has a PDF viewer within the app).

Can I just say that I absolutely love this app! I really can’t say enough good things about it. JKnit has become a necessary part of my knitting and designing toolbox. To me, it’s one of those things like Ravelry, you don’t know how you ever lived without it. I use it every. single. day.

Previously, the user had to convert their knitting patterns into the JKnit format. The JKnit format is a special way of inputting the pattern so you can use it in the app. Basically, the app has a creating pattern section (available in Pro version only) and a counter section. To knit from the pattern, the knitter uses the counter function to click the counter after each row is complete. As you click each row, the pattern is displayed in a line by line format so you know exactly what to do. It keeps track of any stitch patterns, stitch counts, shaping (it even easily tracks “at the same time” directions!!!), and height “events” (JKnit speak).

If you’re like me and have ever knit a bazillion rows past your shaping because you’re in another world, forgot to do something “at the same time”, or missed starting your armholes when the back measured 15″ long, this app is a project saver. Having a counter that keeps track of where you are means you are less likely to have to frog any of your work back. You still have to remember to click the counter of course, but boy has it saved me a lot of time! Another plus? If you come back to your project a year later, no more wondering where you are in the pattern. Your place is saved for you.

If you’d like to learn more about the app, try the following links:

JKnit – main site

Knitpoint.com – online knitting pattern store

JKnit users group on Ravelry

KnitPoint on Facebook

I spent Saturday and Sunday exploring the marketplace and catching up with friends. There were book signings galore this year, so it was fairly easy to find everyone throughout the day. As for those designers who attended the show as “civilians”, I also managed to run into quite a few of them as well.

Cirilia Rose and I at the Skacel booth

This year, I really wanted to take Catherine Lowe’s couture knitting class, but apparently it is always the first to sell out. At the last minute, I decided to take a class about teaching and creating classes with Tricia Malcolm. While Tricia does not really teach knitting classes, she started her career as a teacher at an all girls school. It was a great class and I would certainly recommend taking it if that sort of thing interests you.

I also walked away with a few goodies, of course:

- Tiny Unicorn Kit from Mochimochi Land

- I loved the Long Island Livestock Company’s booth. Clean design, natural colored yarns, and sheepy soaps and lotions. I picked up some Shepherdess Salve and Bulky Alpaca/Cotswold Lamb – courtesy of Zack.

Yarn courtesy of Zack the sheep

- I just had to restock on Soak, cause it’s awesome. I purchased one of their new scents, Lacey. Apparently it was a pretty popular one, it flew off the shelf! I also finally purchased a soaking basin, I really don’t know why I didn’t pick one up sooner. I love it! I’ve already used it a bazillion times since last week. Ok, maybe that’s an exaggeration, but not by much!

- VK Live wouldn’t be complete without a stop by the Knitty City booth. Last year, I felt like their booth was the heart of the show and certainly didn’t disappoint this year. I popped in on Tanis Gray signing her latest book, Local Knits and Connie Chang Chinchio signing her first book, Textured Stitches. Both books will get a proper review on this blog very, very soon.

Tanis and her new book, Knit Local

Laura Nelkin, Connie, and I with her new book, Textured Stitches

Some other highlights of the show:

Bijou Basin Ranch: their yarns are just so gorgeous, lovely, and fantastic to wear. I particularly fell in love with this felted crochet wrap: Belle Felted Wrap by Jill Wright

Belle Felted Wrap at Bijou Basin

Yellowfarm: it was nice to see more local farms at the show this year. I particularly liked their Jacob wool from Barton Hill Jacobs.

Ysolda: I got to check out her 2 new books: Whimsical Little Knits 3 and Saturday Treat, an accessory collection in Fyberspates yarn.

Yarnpop: Cute little project bags in fun prints.

And finally, a few random pictures cause I thought these dresses were cool:

I rang in the new year knitting up a storm on a book project (surprised?) and I have made fairly good progress the past 3 weeks. It always helps when you are on vacation for part of it!

This year I am more concerned about completing the remaining projects on my plate than making resolutions, but I have resolved that as soon as I am done, I will be knitting at least 2 sweaters for myself. I think it will be an appropriate reward for all the knitting I’ve been doing for other things! Hopefully I won’t swear off knitting entirely for awhile……

However, I am sure a few of you out there have made some nice knitting resolutions for the new year. Maybe it’s the hopeful journey into the UFO pile, knitting a sweater a month, or learning a new skill. Or maybe you just want to be more mindful of your knitting. What will be driving your knitting passion this upcoming year?

(Photo: I spent Jan 2nd basking in all my hockey glory at the Winter Classic in Philadelphia thanks to surprise tickets from my Dad. I am happy that I am able to balance my knitting and hockey time. Definitely can’t live without either!)

But here we are in December and I have a book due in a little over 4 months! I have been working, but it hasn’t gone quite as smoothly as the first half. Mainly this was due to new responsibilities given to me at work. I was told 2 months ago that I was now responsible for the kids sweater division as well as my junior one. Lovely.

Thankfully things are starting to wind down as Chinese New Year draws closer. The factory closes for a month and we all get a little bit of a break and much needed rest!

For me, there will be no rest for the weary, but that’s OK. I am just glad to finally have dedicated time to devote to my book project.

I hope you all have a happy and safe holiday! See you in the New Year!

Our pink Christmas tree at work – because only designers would have a pink tree!

Thankfully, before I started on this massive project, I received some very good advice from designer friends who have been there, done that. Without their frank and helpful tips, I don’t think I could have stayed very calm or grounded during these last few months. Don’t get me wrong, I still had a freak out (or two), but for the most part I stayed cool, calm, and collected.

Before I get ahead of myself though, there is still a lot of work to go! Even though it was my half deadline, half of the projects aren’t finished. I think it will be a little easier to buckle down over the winter months however. Summer days have a certain siren song that soggy, wet, snowy, cold, grey winter days just can’t match. Time to go light the fire and brew up a big pot of tea, it’s gonna be a long winter!

Introducing Adina:

Light and drapey with an interesting construction, Adina is the perfect autumnal cardigan. This clean and modern cardigan is well suited for weekend getaways or early autumn evenings. Worked on larger needles in fingering weight yarn, the fabric is open without being sheer. Neat rolled edges are kept in place with spots of ribbing and the placket and neck trim is worked at the same time as the body. Finally, an eyelet pattern finishes the cardigan at the yoke.

When I sketched out the idea for Adina, I wanted a cardigan that was loose and flowy on the body. I achieved this look with a box like shape that, when hanging, it forms a handkerchief like hem. Madelinetosh tosh merino light was an obvious choice for the fabric of the cardigan. Although the yarn is on the thinner side, knitting it up on a larger needle makes the fabric light and drapy. Using a larger needle also helps speed up the knitting process!

Originally, Adina did not have any stitch interest at the yoke. I had intended this design to be all about the shape of the cardigan and I was going to work it entirely in stockinette stitch. But as I was knitting, I felt it needed a little something to keep my attention. I chose a simple reverse stockinette eyelet stitch that adds a bit of texture (and knitting interest), but still allows the silhouette to speak for itself.

Finished Measurements

30 (34, 36, 38, 42, 46, 50)” bust/chest circumference, buttoned. Cardigan shown measures 30″ and is worn with 3” negative ease.

Materials

Madelintosh tosh merino light (100% Merino Wool, 3.5 oz, 420 yds), 4 (4, 5, 5, 6, 7) skeins Baltic
Size 6 (4 mm): 24″ circular (cir)
Tapestry needle
7 x 1/2” -diameter buttons
Sewing needle and matching thread

Gauge

24 sts and 33 rows = 4″/10 cm in St st with US size 6 (4 mm) needles
To save time, take time to check gauge.

$7.00

Purchase the pattern at One Planet Yarn and Fiber.

Purchase the kit (yarn + pattern) at One Planet Yarn and Fiber.

Sportster is an asymmetric jacket knit up in a heavy worsted wool (think quick knit!). I think my biggest challenge for this sweater design was choosing a stitch that looks good on both the right and wrong sides since both show. In the end, I narrowed it down to the Sand Stitch, which gives a nice texture, is easy to knit, and looks very nice on either side.

When my Mom and Dad were dating, my Mom bought him a fantastic leather motorcycle jacket to use when he was riding around on his Honda. I had my eye on the jacket when growing up, but even with all my pleading he wouldn’t let it go. It fit me fairly well, except for sleeves that were a little too long for my short arms. It would have looked perfect with my high school uniform: a 60′s shift, fishnets with colored tights underneath, and my Doc Martens.

Two years ago, my Dad said he had a surprise for me, we went out to the car and he handed me a bag. I reached in and pulled out the much coveted motorcycle jacket. Sportster is my knitted version of the jacket that I longed for all those years. It’s a shame that I didn’t knit during high school, Sportster would have been my go to cardigan that I would have worn to bits.

Fishnets and Doc Martens aside, Sportster lends itself to many wardrobe choices. It’s easy to pair with a cute striped tee, jeans and ballet flats. Or how about a flared or straight skirt with high leather boots (with cute hand knit socks peeking out of course!). It could also be a cute addition over a dress. My choices below are a little on the edgier side (just my style), but flirty, girly pieces could work too. Try a ditsy floral print dress with flats instead of boots or add more color instead of black.

What will you pair with your Sportster?

The Vogue Knitting Knitopedia is a really great reference book. Whatever knitting (or crochet – they don’t discriminate) question you might have, the answer most likely can be found in its pages – and that is not limited to just techniques. The book’s entries are in true encyclopedic form covering techniques, stitches, knitting history, and people. The best part, since this is a knitopedia, the entries are in alphabetical order. What a huge time saver! While I have my favorite reference books that I go back to time and time again, trying to find the info I need quickly isn’t always that simple.

Want a quick summary on Aran or Bohus knitting? Covered. Confused how chain stitches are counted? Covered. Not sure what the difference is between a saddle shoulder and a drop shoulder is? Covered. Want to know more about Pam Allen? Covered. You get the point.

While it may not be the type of knitting book that you read cover to cover (although who says you couldn’t), it makes a very nice addition to any knitter’s reference shelf. When in a pinch and you need an answer quick, it would be handy to always keep the Knitopedia close by your yarn basket (or yarn mountain – hey I’m not here to judge).