purlsandmurmers

Vogue Knitting

I collect Vogue Knitting.  I think I have every issue except one, and I suppose if I were truly a collector I would be out searching for that one issue, but so far I just keep putting it off.

So despite the fact that very few of the patterns in the new issue thrill me, I am happy to have it.  And there were some interesting articles this month. I very much enjoyed the interview with Sandra Backlund whose work is fascinating although ultimately unwearable, at least to my eye.  I remain fascinated though, and there is some part of me that occasionally wants to throw some completely off the wall and yes, perhaps unwearable idea into the mix.

There is also an article about Sonia Rykiel whose work is much more wearable and just as interesting.  I've been a fan for a long time, although more of the kind of fan who just drools, face pressed up against the window.

So, what will I knit?

Well, I love this jacket.  The only reason I am not running right out to start it is because I have a huge cabinet full of other patterns I love for which I have already pulled out the yarn.  It might make it for next fall.  I see I shall have to make a wait-list for the queue, just to make sure things get on schedule when space opens up.

Now that is sad isn't it.  I have a waiting list for the waiting list.

There are also two pairs of gloves.  But as I have already mentioned I also want to knit some mittens, and the mittens really are going to be first off my needles, first off before gloves that is, not necessarily next in line.  I still have yarn issues.

These cabled gloves by Jared Flood are fabulous.  There are better photos over at his blog, Brooklyn Tweed, but then I am sure you already know that. That blog is truly drool-worthy; beautiful things exquisitely photographed.  

The picture here (like all of today's pictures) is scanned in from Vogue, which prints rather poor quality photos. They used to scan much better, but now the photos are all grainy.  I am sure it is cheaper for the magazine, but it is one of my two pet peeves about the magazine at the moment.

My other peeve is that they have started putting many charts on the website instead of in the magazine.  Yes I can see that this does make printing cheaper.  But I buy the magazine and save it so that I can have the patterns for the future as well as the present.  It is a pain to have to go download the charts.  I would be willing to pay more for a beautiful magazine with complete instructions including charts.  But I am probably in the minority here.

This is the other pair of gloves I would knit.  Aren't they elegant. This winter I have been wearing violet elbow length gloves with a black and white jacket I made a couple of years ago.  I really think I would love some more long gloves.  Again, something to add to the list.

Vogue Knitting Holiday 2008

The new Vogue Knitting arrived last weekend and I have been looking through it daily, reading it a little here and there, looking at the pictures and patterns, perusing the ads (I always love studying the ads) and just generally entertaining myself.  

I find that I am getting much more focused in terms of my pattern choices. And these "arm cozies" or fingerless mitts immediately caught my eye.  

Just days before the magazine arrived I had purchased some Plymouth Baby Alpaca DK in color 1300, which is a light bright yellow green with the intention of knitting a scarf and some gloves or mitts as a gift.  The timing was perfect, and I started a swatch almost immediately.  It took me a week to actually get started simply due to gauge issues.  It seems I did not own any size 3 double point needles.  I started with size 2, since I am usually such a loosey-goosey knitter that I have to go down a size.  The swatch was too small, way to small.  So I tried the size 4's in my stash.  Too large.   After a run to the store I finally got a working swatch and cast on yesterday.  These will be worked alternately with the Gedifra vest, because the smaller needles are much easier on my hands.

The second sweater that really leapt out at me, and the one that I think is my hands-down favorite sweater in this issue is Laura Bryant's opera coat. There is a part of me that just wants to stop everything and get that yarn. But I know it would take  a while and I can't imagine knitting the sweater in some  other yarn.  That is not surprising considering how much I love Prism yarns and just ooh and ahh over Laura Bryant's colors.  But it will have to wait.  There is no Laura Bryant opera coat in my immediate future, except in the land of dreams.  But have not doubts that the opportunity will arise and I will make it someday.

So what are the more practical options?

I love both of these sweaters.  Tanis Gray's sweater with the swallows would look fabulous on me now, but as I am actively working on loosing weight I am not sure if it would be the right size or look as good on me then.  I don't mind knitting for the current me, but I don't want to start something that may be questionable by the time I finish.  This sweater would have looked good on the younger thinner me, but one thing I have learned is that the new thinner post-menopausal me, is not necessarily going to be arranged the same as my youthful predecessor.  So on this one I will wait.  

 Shiri Mor's fabulous cabled loopy cardigan is something that I truly adore and it reminds me of a sweater I once had.  At this point in my weight loss, this is not my best sweater choice, but it is possible that it will look good after a few more pounds.  It is certainly worth saving for inspiration and encouragement.

This stunning fair isle with the bell sleeves and the peplum is something that will look good on me now and will probably look good in the future too.   I think I keep saying that I need sweaters in variations on this shape and this one is certainly worthy of adding to the queue.  

Did you think I didn't notice the Brandon Mably? Shame on you.  I love this sweater, and it has shaping.  It would look good on me now.  It would have looked good on my pre-weight gain, pre-menopausal self.  I don't yet know if it will look good on my post-weight-loss-post-menopausal self, primarily because I have come to terms with the fact that the new me is simply going to be bustier than the old me, no matter what happens to my weight (well perhaps not if I became truly scrawny, but I enjoy cooking and eating too much for that to ever happen).  So again this is a pattern worth waiting for.   And I love the idea that Vogue put of a photo showing alternate colorways, as that is always the kind of thing that I spend hours and hours mulling over.  

I love the photo of the different colorways as well and find them very inspiring.  At the moment I am drawn to the magenta version but it would have to be worn with just the right thing, and the turquoise is also thrilling.    I wish I was able to find that information about the colorways and additional commentary by Mably that Vogue says can be found on the website, but I just can't find it.  I don't really need to find the exact colors anyway, I just love the picture because it inspires me to think of colors I might not have chosen previously.

In the end, if I knit a sweater for myself from this issue, and I probably will eventually, the most likely candidate is one that I actually passed over in my first perusal of the magazine.  It was so simple, versatile, and wearable that it just disappeared behind all the more dramatic styles.

This little scooped neck, ribbed top is just fabulous.  It is the kind of think that I would, and do, wear all the time, but also the kind of thing I just rarely think of knitting.  I am always drawn to the fun patterns, not necessarily to the practical patterns.  I should knit it.  I think I will knit it.  I increasingly love my own knits more than anything I can buy, so it seems obvious that I should knit the kind of things that I love to wear.  

It is simple enough to knit that it should go rather  quickly.   I will have to lengthen it, but that does not take any particularly difficult math.   And it will always look good.   A woman needs a few basic sweaters that will always look good after all.

I'm knitting as fast as I can

And it still isn't fast enough.

I continue to be overwhelmed with the number of sweater patterns showing up this fall that I want to knit.  I honestly don't know if there are actually more patterns that I like than usual, or if I am just more receptive to wishful thinking and dreaming.    I can't even index things fast enough.  Of course part of that is a time problem as well.  Still I am constantly revising my lists of what I want to knit this fall.  What I really should do is stop dreaming about future projects and just knit.

The new online magazine Twist Collective debuted this month and was really lovely and interesting.  There were quite a few patterns I found intersting given my general weakness for patterns.  Just call me a pattern slut.  Anyway, these are the ones that have most caught my eye (at the moment anyway):

Only the last two are a definite yes for me at the moment.  Both of them use stash yarn (yeah!) and both of them have been added to the queue. Actually I was kind of wavering on that last, a-line sweater, until I turned around and noticed that I happened to have just enough Classic Elite Waterlily in the perfect deep maroon shade.....

Well, obviously it was meant to be.

Actually, I am torn between Jaali (the orange sweater) and Bonnie (the green one).  You get better pictures of the detail of Jaali in the magazine, Bonnie also intrigues and would just be perfect for tramping around the woods and farms.  At the moment I am leaning more toward the former than the latter, but no commitments have been made.

Actually in the interest of full disclosure, I should have just written about all the patterns I like in the Vogue Knitting because already I am changing my mind.  I am falling in love with tons of long cardigans this season and it looks like the long cardigans I posted in my previous post will not be high on the list for this fall.

Although the cabled hoodie in chunky yarn remains near the top of my list, I am also reconsidering the beautiful cabled square wrap cardigan by Angela Hahn.   Angela's blog is one of my favorites but I was a little behind on blog reading.  When I looked at the photos of this sweater on her blog I knew I had to knit it, the photo in the magazine really does not begin to show the beauty of this sweater.  Angela also answered some of my questions about fit/alterations by giving more information and some corrections to  the pattern as written in Vogue.

And so here are the other patterns in the fall Vogue that I am still intrigued by.  Obviously I am incapable of deciding which sweaters I am actually going to knit when I read the magazine, so I might as well just list them all.

Fall Rowan and Vogue

Perhaps it is that I love clothes too much.  Or perhaps it is that I suffer from a lack of discrimination (better that than a lack of taste).  Either way, I know that I am finding tons of inspiration and interesting patterns in the new batch of pattern books and magazines.  I believe I see more than I want to knit than I have in any one year for quite some time.  I see so much that I am feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the sheer abundance.

Take the fall Rowan, book #44.  

This issue is filled with inspiration.  I could knit from this book alone for years.

Most of the patterns here are things that I can easily see myself making and/or wearing at some point or another.  Many can be adapted to work very well, many others are just perfect as inspiration sweaters even if I never make them.

This book is so chock-full of good things that I am having trouble making up my mind.  Even though there are a few things that stand out, I am not yet decided.  Perhaps it is because there is so much.  Perhaps it is because I tend to dress in outfits and I am trying to pay more mind to matching my knitting to other garments in wardrobe (and at this point I have no idea what my fall wardrobe will contain).  Luckily it is easier to sew something to go with a sweater than the other way around, although I have been known to do both.  I feel I should keep this book by my sewing table as it is so perfectly suited to rounding out several different outfits.  At any rate, I know that I can imagine myself making most of the sweaters in this book, or at least some variation on most of the sweaters.   This is a 30th anniversary issue that I could probably use for the next 30 years.

 Vogue knitting seems to blow hot and cold.  The big anniversary issue (last year) left me completely cold.  This issue however has quite a few things that have tickled my fancy.  Most of them aren't really practical for me -- and there are quite a few in which I like the idea  more than the I like the problem of altering extensive cabling or color work for length issues.

I am thrilled that there are many long sweaters and especially thrilled that there are some long cardigans.  Even though I will not get to all of these this winter, long cardigans remain my favorites and there are many seasons worth of new sweaters here.

These three cardigans in particular are nice, although I can't really decide which one, if any, I will make:

The first two, with the cables along the front bands, feature more prominently in my thoughts at the moment, but this could change.  Any decision will probably depend on the choices of yarn and yarn color as well as whether the fall and winter wardrobe presents itself with specific gaps that need to be filled.

Then there are the sweaters that really fill my imagination at the moment:

I love this cabled sweater.  The color work at the top which draws the eye upward, the lengthening cables, the A-line shape:  These are all pluses in my book.  This is a sweater that will make me look long and lean, or at least feel like I look long and lean.

No small part of the fascination is the A-line shape, which is good for me and which seems to be an obsession at the moment.  I am collecting a-line and fitted and flared sweater patterns at a truly amazing rate. 

The next sweater on my list also includes a little more color work.  This one is not long, but I love the way the color work bodice is done, working from center back to cuffs.   The shorter sleeves make the dolman look much less overwhelming and the broken rib lower body and wide front bands are an elegant touch.

Last but by no means least on my list is this long cabled pullover.  Admittedly I am mostly fascinated by the cables.  But the length is good for me and the style is one that I would wear frequently throughout the winter. 

This sweater is the highest on the list of "must makes" from this issue.  I am already thinking of yarns and colors, although nothing is quite decided as fall yarns are just starting to show up in the LYS.  The only rush is to be sure that I get just what I want.  There is no rush to begin knitting this.  It is, after all, still mostly hot and humid here, and the thought of sitting with mounds of heavily cabled bulky wool is not enticing.

Fall Rowan and Vogue

Perhaps it is that I love clothes too much.  Or perhaps it is that I suffer from a lack of discrimination (better that than a lack of taste).  Either way, I know that I am finding tons of inspiration and interesting patterns in the new batch of pattern books and magazines.  I believe I see more than I want to knit than I have in any one year for quite some time.  I see so much that I am feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the sheer abundance.

Take the fall Rowan, book #44.  

This issue is filled with inspiration.  I could knit from this book alone for years.

Most of the patterns here are things that I can easily see myself making and/or wearing at some point or another.  Many can be adapted to work very well, many others are just perfect as inspiration sweaters even if I never make them.

This book is so chock-full of good things that I am having trouble making up my mind.  Even though there are a few things that stand out, I am not yet decided.  Perhaps it is because there is so much.  Perhaps it is because I tend to dress in outfits and I am trying to pay more mind to matching my knitting to other garments in wardrobe (and at this point I have no idea what my fall wardrobe will contain).  Luckily it is easier to sew something to go with a sweater than the other way around, although I have been known to do both.  I feel I should keep this book by my sewing table as it is so perfectly suited to rounding out several different outfits.  At any rate, I know that I can imagine myself making most of the sweaters in this book, or at least some variation on most of the sweaters.   This is a 30th anniversary issue that I could probably use for the next 30 years.

 Vogue knitting seems to blow hot and cold.  The big anniversary issue (last year) left me completely cold.  This issue however has quite a few things that have tickled my fancy.  Most of them aren't really practical for me -- and there are quite a few in which I like the idea  more than the I like the problem of altering extensive cabling or color work for length issues.

I am thrilled that there are many long sweaters and especially thrilled that there are some long cardigans.  Even though I will not get to all of these this winter, long cardigans remain my favorites and there are many seasons worth of new sweaters here.

These three cardigans in particular are nice, although I can't really decide which one, if any, I will make:

The first two, with the cables along the front bands, feature more prominently in my thoughts at the moment, but this could change.  Any decision will probably depend on the choices of yarn and yarn color as well as whether the fall and winter wardrobe presents itself with specific gaps that need to be filled.

Then there are the sweaters that really fill my imagination at the moment:

I love this cabled sweater.  The color work at the top which draws the eye upward, the lengthening cables, the A-line shape:  These are all pluses in my book.  This is a sweater that will make me look long and lean, or at least feel like I look long and lean.

No small part of the fascination is the A-line shape, which is good for me and which seems to be an obsession at the moment.  I am collecting a-line and fitted and flared sweater patterns at a truly amazing rate. 

The next sweater on my list also includes a little more color work.  This one is not long, but I love the way the color work bodice is done, working from center back to cuffs.   The shorter sleeves make the dolman look much less overwhelming and the broken rib lower body and wide front bands are an elegant touch.

Last but by no means least on my list is this long cabled pullover.  Admittedly I am mostly fascinated by the cables.  But the length is good for me and the style is one that I would wear frequently throughout the winter. 

This sweater is the highest on the list of "must makes" from this issue.  I am already thinking of yarns and colors, although nothing is quite decided as fall yarns are just starting to show up in the LYS.  The only rush is to be sure that I get just what I want.  There is no rush to begin knitting this.  It is, after all, still mostly hot and humid here, and the thought of sitting with mounds of heavily cabled bulky wool is not enticing.

Vogue Knitting Winter 2008

The new Vogue Knitting arrived in my mailbox today.  I was rather sad to see that it was, overall, fairly disappointing.  I have been buying Vogue Knitting since they reintroduced it in 1982 even though I did not know how to knit at that time. I had faith that I would learn.  Since I did not knit I did miss a few issues, but not many, only 2 or 3 issues are missing from my collection. 

I can honestly say however, that never, in all that time, have I been as completely uninspired by any issue as I am by this one. The cover looks promising,  the colors are thrilling, but the patterns themselves do not encourage me to whip out the needles and rifle through the stash, much less fire up the mouse and start seeking out new yarn.

Perhaps it is just me. 

Even the story line entitled "Oh Cables" did not brighten my spirits although I seem to have been tempted by cabled sweaters elsewhere:

Look at this wonderful cabled sweater currently on sale at Net-A-Porter. . Here is something I am inspired to knock-off, although I would change the length a bit to fit me and perhaps change the shape a little bit as well. 

Here is a detail photo of the cables:

The combination of the jacket shape and the hood and the cable pattern makes me itch to find some yarn and needles, although if it continues warm I probably won't need it this year and I already have a generous supply of sweaters that are too warm to wear.

I can't even say that I am attracted only to high-end designer knitwear.  I am also thinking about this cabled sweater from Moda Dea, a branch of Coats and Clarks.  The tie front isn't really for me but that is easily adapted to a simple narrow belt. and I just love the combination of pattern and the lines of this jacket. 

Both of these are styles that I would find fun to knit and would love to wear for a long time. 

The designs in the Vogue just don't pass that test for me.  Some of them are moderately interesting.  And I am not one to shy away from fashionable or trendy designs, but the Vogue patterns don't seem to have either enough spark or enough versatility to capture my attention.

Or perhaps it is just that I have too many one-outfit sweaters and am looking for something a little more basic.

Fall Rowan

Suffice it to say that Passel did not progress as far as hoped during our trip to Knoxville.  Not that all that driving time was wasted:  800 miles each way allows for much knitting time, even if I did somewhat over 1/3 and less than half of the driving.  Instead much of my time was spent on a different project, about which you will hear more later, upon its completion, which is imminent.   

I did finish the back of Passel and am about 6 or 8 rows from the armhole shaping on the right front.  Very little has been accomplished since my return on Monday night despite the fact that I met fellow knitter Gina last night for what was supposed to be knitting time but ended up being chatting time.  My own output came to two rows.

One thing we did discuss was the new fall Rowan magazine, which arrived while I was away, one of many knitting related treats, but the only one I have examined in any detail as of yet.  (You know I MUST be busy).

I love this issue.  There are a lot of cute things in here, a lot of inspiring ideas and a lot of details and designs that make me think differently about knitting or how I make and shape things.  I rate this issue highly for its dream and inspiration factor and in fact there are also several garments that I may knit more or less as shown.  that makes this issue a success on all counts from my perspective.

In fact, there are enough things I like that I keep changing my mind about what I might or might not knit.  These are the patterns of which I am currently enamored (click on image to enlarge):

There is yet another sweater that I am considering more and more, can't get it out of my head in fact. It is this sweater by Kaffe Fassett:

I love the color striping but at first I thought the shape was unwearable.  Now I am not so sure.  The shape is remarkably like my current "I can't wait until Fall so I can wear it" new treat, this dress from Rachel Pally:

Granted the dress is a much thinner, stretchier knit so the look on the body would be totally different, but the way I wear it is not that different from the look of that Rowan sweater on the model.

I am tempted.

But there is an awful lot of kidsilk haze in that sweater and it could be a really expensive mistake, both in cash and knitting time, so I need to play with the idea  a little longer, perhaps work out some kind of mock-up.  But if it works it could be very cool.

If it works it would be way nicer than the remake of that bubble dress in the new Vogue Knititng, the one I made way back when...

Time to start dreaming of fall sweaterrs

It was over a week ago that a friend mentioned getting the new Vogue Knitting.  I started to check my mailbox with an eager hand.  I bet you've heard this story before.  As the week progressed, my forays into the Hyde Park Post Office became an increasingly intense experience, filled with anticipation, and always ending in frustration.

Need I say that the fabled Vogue Knitting has not yet arrived, much to my chagrin. 

Thursday night at group there were copies on the table.  I had managed to avoid looking at copies at every drugstore and newsstand in town, but I could not resist the pull of that magazine lying right in front of me, taunting me.  I am still awaiting my own copy, one that I can pore over and slowly savor the contents.  Also at knitting was a copy of the new Interweave Knits, but on that front at least my prayers have been answered.  The Interweave Knits was at home waiting for me as I walked into the kitchen in the wee wee hours of Friday morning.

I haven't really read it yet, I am saving it for my trip to Tennessee next week, but I have looked at the patterns and there are several that have caught my eye.  I suppose you are not surprised.  I probably have a lifetime's worth of projects to knit and I am still seduced by the promise of the new.

I love these:

There is some Rowan Felted Tweed hiding somewhere in this house that I *know* will be perfect for that wonderful cardigan by Eunny Jang (middle photo) and the others are high on my list also.  But we know how I am with lists, what is high on my list is only as high as the next magazine or knitting book, when my thoughts and dreams become completely reorganized.

There are several other sweaters of which I like particular details, but they are not jumping to the top of the list, and there are that I love but about which I have serious reservations about how they will look ON ME, so they may in fact just remain dream sweaters and never be seen on my needles:

Both of these really intrigue me.  The Teva Durham (on the right) is something I could have worn when I was younger and I am not sure if it will flatter my now bustier figure. 

The little jacket by Wenlan Chia just intrigues and there is a part of me that thinks it may be more flattering than one might think.  But then again, I have been wrong before.....

There is one more sweater that I just *must* knit.  I saw it on the back cover, and it is not a pattern from this magazine, but I have always said that I find the magazines just as valuable for the advertising as I sometimes do for their featured designs.

This sweater by Classic Elite has simply taken my breath away with its simple classic elegance.  The book is already on order.

coffee break

This could become a habit:

Today, the mail brought these two new RYC books as well as the Spring 2007 Rowan.  Sitting down with a cup of espresso and a half an hour of knitting dreams is pure heaven.

There are several very pretty sweaters in this spring's Rowan book and I am sorely tempted.  I love sitting and dreaming of the sweaters I could knit, perhaps even more than I enjoy knitting the sweaters I do knit.  After all, I can knit far more sweaters in my dreams.  As to correlating my dream sweaters to my actual finished projects, well, let's just say that I have never been particularly good at that.

Spring Anny Blatt

Although I was less than thrilled with the spring Interweave Knits, the spring Anny Blatt and Bouton D'or books have proven to be far more exciting and I am actually thinking about spring sweaters.

Both of these sweaters caught my eye immediately.  The green one is from the Bouton D'or book and uses one of their new spring yarns, Selene, and the white one on the right is from Anny Blatt.  I absolutely ADORE this sweater and must knit it.

Here are two more favorite temptations.  I haven't yet decided which ones I am going to knit.  The two white sweaters are both knit from a combination of Anny Blatt and Bouton D'or yarns and might be best completed with the suggested yarns.  The other two -- well I don't know yet.  Both the yellow and green sweaters use the same yarn, and there is only one color that appeals to me so either I will make a choice or I will knit one out of something else, always a possibility anyway.  I will probably pick a yarn, swatch it, and decide which swatch I like best before making any firm commitment.

In the meantime I am progressing nicely on the rice stitch cardigan given that I haven't spent a great deal of time knitting.  I am nearly up to the waist on the back and I must now make a decision as to weather I am making the sweater 28 inches or 26 inches long.  I have been agonizing about this since I started: since I didn't do the alterations to the pattern, or figure out the yardage, and I can't remember the conversation when I ordered the yarn I am not completely certain that I have enough.  I only have the idea that I usually order extra for lengthening most patterns, and assume that it will work.

I shall go for the longer length and hope for the best.

We are flying off to Tucson this afternoon for a long weekend.  Hopefully there will be adequate knitting so that I at least finish the back of the sweater, and armed with that data, I will be able to calculate yarn used and yarn remaining and figure out exactly how much yarn I need and whether I will have enough, or whether I will be restarting at the beginning, or almost at the beginning by the time I rip back.