Pattern Radar March 2015

Posted on March 29, 2015 by knitigatingcircumstances

It’s been a while since I’ve written a Pattern Radar post. It is rainy, grey and blustery outside my window this morning – just the right day to be thinking about little spring sweaters. New Spring patterns seem to be published almost daily right now; here are seven that have caught my eye.

This is the lovely Violetta by Vibe Ulrik Sondergaard, published in Rowan 57 (all links in this post are to the Ravelry project page).

Here is the back view:

I love the swingy lines and casual vibe of the Swingback Hoodie by Amy Gunderson, published in knit.purl Spring/Summer 2015:

I am a big fan of the patterns coming out from Shibui Knits. Here is a lovely example, called SS15 Square by Shellie Anderson:

Here is a close-up of the side panel:

Kidsilk Haze is one of my favorite yarns, and I love the way that Marie Wallin uses it in Philomena, from Rowan 57. My wardrobe could use one in every colour.

I love Drift, by Kristen Finlay, for Skein Designs. (I just happen to have some beautiful Skein yarn in my stash. Hmmm…..I see you, Drift.)

If polka dots are your thing, you can’t beat the lovely Lus by Mer Stevens for the Pom Pom Quarterly, Sring 2015:

When the talented Lori Versaci designs for Shibui, you know the design will be a knockout. Here is her Mix No. 28:

To really appreciate the design, you need a close-up of the neck detail:

This is something of a drive-by post as I am immersed in writing papers this weekend, but its been fun to take a break and dream of Spring!

Knit one, crochet two

Posted on March 21, 2015 by knitigatingcircumstances

I am going to come right out and say this: I like knitting much more than crochet. Now, please, dear Readers, hold off on the lynch mobs. I’ve seen tons of beautiful crochet, and I’ve also seen tons of horrid knitting. And, back in the day, I dabbled in crochet myself, even once making a beautiful filigree blouse in fine white cotton. It must be said, however, that both aesthetically and as a creative process, I prefer knitting.

A few months ago, when I had the very good fortune to go to the Headquarters of Rowan Yarns in Holmsfirth (you can read about it here), I was given a goodie bag. In that goodie bag was a new pattern collection by the fabulous Marie Wallin, called Filigree, Collection 3, subtitled “10 crochet designs for women by Marie Wallin”. Five of these designs are made by combining knitting with crochet. And I mean this not in the sense that I normally see, in which a knitted sweater has a crocheted edging, but rather in the sense that for each of these patterns, both knitting and crochet feature as a design element. The combination of the two modalities is an intrinsic part of the pattern. And I have to tell you, these designs are gorgeous!

I’ll show you my three favorites here. To look at the others (including the five crochet patterns which are also lovely) go the the Ravelry page for this booklet, or to the Rowan page. Here is a lovely cardigan pattern called Buttercup:

I tink this is a charming mix of sweet and sexy. I can imagine this styled so many ways. It’s a nearly perfect summer cardigan. Even so, I must admit to liking the next one even more. Here is Anemone:

I love how this is so crisp and sharp but still girly and pretty. Regular readers will know that I have a thing for patterns that are architectural – as soon as I saw this pattern I thought about iron filigree bridges.

In order to demonstrate to you what I meant I did a search for “iron filigree bridge” and found this lovely photo:

This is a photo of the Iron Bridge at Coalbrookdale, which was built in 1779 and is “the oldest surviving cast iron bridge in the world.” The photo and quote come from a post from the blog The Happy Pontist: A blog from the UK about Bridges and Bridge Design. I have only read this one post, but you can bet that I will be giving this blog a serious look. Many years ago, I used to work on Wall Street and live in Brooklyn and I would walk across the Brooklyn Bridge to get to work. I just love a beautifully designed bridge.

Is it just me or can you see this too? Buttercup is, well, buttercup-y – all soft and flowery, but Anemone is sharp and edgy with hard edges, but incorporated into a soft package. I love it.

I think my favorite, however, is this one, Tulip:

The use of crochet in this pattern feels very innovative to me; it is interesting and fresh. The Knit rowan site writes:

Designed by Marie Wallin using our beautiful soft matt cotton yarn Summerlite 4ply (cotton), the main section of this top is knitted in a cable and lace stitch with an unusual welt section made up of double crochet strips.

If you can, zoom in on the crocheted section. It is really a cool design. The design makes me think of a modern, crisp take on a 1920s flapper dress.

I love these patterns. In fact, I love them enough to overcome my crochet bias. I am thinking that only the amazing Marie Wallin could do that!

When to put your knitting down

Posted on March 15, 2015 by knitigatingcircumstances

I have been a little obsessed lately with the Rowan Kidsilk Eclipse yarn I bought up in a pale, shimmery gold shade called Virgo. It knits up into a barely there, transparent fabric that is fluid and molten.

For months, I have spent most of my weekends and evenings studying for the MBA. This leaves little time for knitting and other relaxing things. Last weekend, I downloaded an audiobook I had been waiting impatiently for, and spent a day in utter, decadent luxury – sitting in bed, listening to my book and knitting away.

I am knitting a sweater in piece work; knitting bottom-up, flat. I realize that most of my sweaters the last few years have been knit in-the-round, which means I try them on frequently and know that they fit. Last weekend, my book was great, I was in the zone, and I kept knitting up the back piece of the sweater, merrily making waist decreases till I hit the waist, and then increases up to the armhole. I am not really following a pattern and was mostly operating on auto-pilot. At some point, I took a small break, stretched the piece out to admire it, and realized that it looked small. Really small. Not going to fit me small.

I spent at least an hour taking measurements – measurements of me, of the piece, of nearly every sweater that I owned – then I tried on nearly every sweater that I owned, re-measured everything, and concluded that, sadly, I needed to rip. I had cast on enough stitches, but had added too many paired decreases, at too sharp a slope. I needed to rip out 11″ of knitting.

Well, it goes without saying that ripping is sad. It is frustrating. It is discouraging. Anyone who has ever ripped out mohair will know – it is also a royal pain. Ripping out lace-weight mohair that is plied with a metallic thread – not nice.

I ripped and ripped, sighed a bit, put the stitches back on the needles, put my headphones back on, and began once again to knit. I knit six inches, and had finished my third pair of decreases when I stopped for a minute to count my stitches. It is easy to lose a stitch with laceweight mohair – its always best to count occasionally. I found, however, that I had too many stitches. Twelve too many stitches; how could this be? Smart readers may have already figured it out – I made three sets of paired increases instead of decreases!

Aarrgghh! I had to rip out another six inches! I don’t know whether it was the book, which I could NOT stop listening to, or the yarn, which was hypnotizing me. Probably both. But the result was hours of wasted knitting, copious amounts of ripping, and the killer – a flare-up of my repetitive stress problems. (I have deQuervaine’s tenosynovitis; which I blogged about here.) I had to forego knitting for the next five days to try to settle it down, and will have to take it easy for a while to keep it under control.

The moral of the story: Do not be seduced by great yarn and a great book; Know when to put your knitting down!

Spring Projects

Posted on March 8, 2015 by knitigatingcircumstances

Yesterday was a gorgeous day; the kind of day that said “Spring is here!” The sun was shining. There were lambs in the fields. The outdoor cafes were filled with happy people. And I got spring yarn in the mail!

This is the yarn that I special ordered weeks ago, in the cold bite of winter, anticipating spring kntting. It is Merino Silk Fingering by The Uncommon Thread, a blend of 50% wool and 50% silk in the shade called Citrus. It is mouth-wateringly yummy, sunshine-y and zesty. It makes me happy.

A few posts ago I was lamenting the fact that I had nothing on my needles; I was on the prowl for some new projects. Now I have three projects for spring. Yesterday, Doug photographed all my new yarn just for you. See how gorgeous and rich the orange is in the sunshine? The secret is that the wool and the silk take up the dye differently, giving amazing depth to the colour. And look at the beautiful Rowan Kidsilk Eclipse – I love how sometimes you can see the metallic sparkle and sometimes you can’t. See the hint of sparkle in the above photo?

And here they are mixing with the heathery grey of the Brooklyn Tweed Loft. Three pretty yarns, three spring sweaters (all for me)! So what am I making? The Loft will be Escher – a lovely lightweight geometric cardigan designed by Alexis Winslow for Brooklyn Tweed. I am knitting it in the same lovely shades of grey (such a shame this beautiful phrase has been co-opted) as the pattern photo:

I love the above photo; it makes this cardi look so light, soft, cozy and stylish.

I ordered the orange yarn specifically to make Aisance, a beautiful spring cardigan designed by Kirsten Johnstone:

I love the idea of knitting this in a bright pop of juicy orange. The silk blend will give it drape and swing and fluidity. It’s the perfect cardigan to wear with a pretty summer dress.

What about the Rowan Eclipse? I’ve been busy this week, knitting away:

I am pretty captivated with the yarn which literally knits up light as air. It is a chameleon, changing in every light.

But what will it be? Shhh….it’s a secret!

Knitigating Circumstances

Because knitting is excuse enough

Monthly Archives: March 2015

Pattern Radar March 2015

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Knit one, crochet two

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When to put your knitting down

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Spring Projects

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