Honestly, I’ve never been able to work up a lot of interest in brioche stitch — to me, it seems like a lot of extra knitting fuss for not a lot of payoff. I readily admit this is likely shortsightedness on my part, and am sure someone will make a compelling case for its unique merits in the comments! In any case, I always figured sooner or later a pattern would come along that would challenge my views on that, and suddenly there have been three in a row. First was Oshima, which I’ve become increasingly preoccupied with since trying it on, although even there I’ve found myself wondering if you couldn’t just do it in twisted rib or heel stitch, or something less fussy but similar looking. But then along came these two, and it’s the undulating brioche that’s really captured my attention:
LEFT:Brioche Vest pattern from The Purl Bee — I love the way the deep trenches of the brioche look as they trace the outlines of the armholes (free pattern)
RIGHT:Windrow cowl pattern by Bristol Ivy — she’s right that those twisting, turning rows of brioche look like “the lines and furrows” of farmland, but it also just looks like a lot of fun to knit (portion of proceeds going to flood relief; see the pattern page for details)
I also want to note that I got a big box of the Bento Bags on Saturday afternoon (talk about speedy!) so if the size or color you wanted was sold out last week, go get it! Back orders are being filled this morning, and big thanks to everyone who wiped me out of those so quickly!
I’ve been keeping a really funny little secret for several months now, and can finally unburden myself of it. Last spring I got an email from a producer at Stephen Fry’s UK quiz-comedy-panel show “QI.” He said they were working on an episode with a knitting theme and wanted to know if I’d let them use the images of my Morse Code Cowl for the show. I told him I’d send him the whole cowl if he liked, and shortly thereafter the little cowl boarded a plane and flew off to hobnob with Stephen Fry and friends in London, while I sat jealously at home. (I was invited to attend the taping, but being in California made it difficult to take them up on it.) And then I waited. The very nice producer I’d been working with apparently moved on over the summer, and his replacement didn’t respond to my query, but the internet led me to believe the “Knits & Knots” episode would be airing on October 4th. Alas, a nice fellow called @MikeLikesCheese alerted me on Twitter that it aired Friday night!
It’s on BBC 2, will be airing again this evening (right now?) and is also available online, but you have to be in the UK to view it. Which is killing me. Past seasons have been on YouTube — I know because I watched quite a bit of it after that initial contact — so maybe this will wind up there at some point as well? (Pirated versions are being quickly pulled.) But if you’re in the UK, please, I beg you to watch and give me a full account. Does the cowl actually make an appearance? In what context? And what else goes on? I need to know!
UPDATE: Thanks to @helloyarn I’ve now seen it! Screengrab above. And Rachael in the comments linked this YouTube version which so far has not been removed. If you’re watching it online, the knitting segment starts around the 10-minute mark, and he holds up my cowl around 11:15.
I really love these patterns, y’all. They’re the kind of quick, simple yet satisfying patterns I would have been thrilled to find when I was first knitting, and that I still love as palate cleansers (or “snack knitting” as Ann Shayne calls it). And I think all of the finished goods are so cute and timeless — as fun to wear as they are to knit. Plus this yarn is just an absolute joy in (and on!) the hands. So I’d like your help in spreading the word about them to your Ravelry friends.
To that end, as I mentioned, I’m giving away two skeins of Anna yarn from Fringe Supply Co. to one lucky winner*, in your choice of colors (subject to availability). Here’s how to enter:
Step 1: Hit the “add to favorites” button on any of the three Ravelry pattern pages (listed below) Step 2: Leave a comment below saying which one you favorited, and what your Ravelry username is
You can enter up to three times by repeating those two steps for each of the three patterns. Of course, I’d also love for you to Pin, Facebook or Tweet them, but this giveaway is based on Ravelry favorites. On Monday night, I’ll choose a winner at random from all of the qualified comments on this post.
I’ll announce the winner here on Tuesday morning! So get clicking:
UPDATE: THE GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED and the winner, chosen at random, is blithespirit. Thanks again for your support and your help spreading the word!
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*This contest is open to readers around the globe. I don’t have any family members on Ravelry, as far as I know, but they would not be eligible to enter.
OK let’s face it, there are (at least) two things I can’t get enough of: this Anna yarn and tubes with thumb slits. What can I say? I mentioned when I posted the Stadium Mitts and Stadium Hat patterns that I had enough yarn left to knit another pair of the mitts. But when I picked that yarn back up, something else came off my needles.
I’ve had this very simple idea in my head for a long time, and the ebony and ivory Anna seemed like the perfect yarn to finally make it with: a pair of knitted tubes with the thumb slit placed dead center, colorblocked half and half. So there’s no top or bottom — you can pull them on thisaway, thataway or one of each. I couldn’t be happier with how they turned out, and I still have 50 yards of the natural left to play with! (It’s like the fishes and the loaves, this yarn.)
Although it’s just a few simple mods from the other mitts, I’ve written out the pattern details below for the benefit of beginners or anyone who just wants to cast on and go!
For these mitts (and the coordinating Stadium Hat and Stadium Mitts) you can use two skeins of Anna in any color combination. You could also use four different colors, or omit the colorblocking and knit them solid, or whatever your heart desires. The beauty of a project this simple is how easy it is to make it your own!
Construction notes: The thumbhole portion of these mitts is worked in flat rows (with two stitches of garter at each end), treating the three needles holding live stitches as if they’re a single left-hand needle, and turning the work with each row, before rejoining in the round at the top of the thumb opening. In order to be able to wear the mitts either direction, as pictured, it’s critical that the cast-on and bind-off edges both be stretchy. I’ve used the long-tail cast-on and Elizabeth Zimmermann’s sewn bind-off, but you may use whatever stretchy cast-on and bind-off you like. Directions for EZ’s sewn bind-off follow the pattern.
Materials:
approx 60 yards (30 yards each of two colors) of Anna or other aran-weight yarn
double-pointed needles in size US8/5mm, or size needed to obtain a fabric you like — the stretchy ribbing will fit a wide range of hands regardless of precise gauge
tapestry needle
Measurements (after wet blocking):
Gauge is 5 stitches and 6.25 rows per inch in rib stitch
Circumference (unstretched) is approx 6 inches; length is 5.75 inches
DIRECTIONS
With color A and a US8 needle, and using the long-tail or other stretchy cast-on method, CO 32 stitches, then divide onto 3 DPNs (12, 8 and 12 sts). Make sure stitches are not twisted around needles, and join for working in the round. Use your tail (or pin a marker) to keep track of needle 1.
Knit in the round Rounds 1–12: *k2, p2; repeat from * to end of round
Create thumbhole (For this worked-flat portion, all odd-numbered rows are WS rows, and all even-numbered rows are RS rows) Row 13: turn work (WS); *k2, p2; repeat from * to last 4 sts; k4 Row 14: turn work (RS); *k2, p2; repeat from * to last 4 sts; k4 Rows 15–17: continue alternating WS and RS rows as above Row 18 (RS): Switching to color B, knit all stitches Row 19–22: resume alternating WS and RS rows in pattern as established in 13 and 14
Rejoin and finish knitting Round 23: rejoin in the round; *k2, p2; repeat from * to end of round Rounds 22–34: *k2, p2; repeat from * to end of round Bind off using Elizabeth Zimmermann’s sewn bind-off (below) or other stretchy bind-off.
Weave in ends. Repeat from beginning for second mitt.
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How to work Elizabeth Zimmermann’s sewn bind-off: Wrap the working yarn loosely four times around the mitt, add a few inches for a tail to weave in, and break the yarn. Thread this long tail through a tapestry needle. Step 1: Pass the needle purlwise through the first two stitches on the needle and pull the tail through, leaving the stitches on the needle. Step 2: Pass the needle back through the first stitch knitwise, dropping that stitch off the needle, and pull the tail through. Repeat these two steps until one stitch remains on the needle. At this point, my method when binding off in the round is to pass the needle purlwise through that last stitch plus the front leg of the first bound-off stitch, neatly closing up the round. Then pass it knitwise back through the last stitch, drop the needle, and weave in the end.
The first photo I ever saw of these exquisite little Bento Bags — cleverly designed for carrying produce — was of apples spilling out of the natural linen one (the only fabric available at that time), and my mind’s eye instantly replaced the apples with yarn balls. I ordered two on the spot and they’ve been in constant rotation as knitting project bags ever since. But they’re also great as lunch bags, for organizing smaller items in your suitcase, lining your bread basket, or even as a reusable gift bag. I love them for how spare they are — so functional, but just as natural, unfussy and unobtrusive as you can get. And I’m so happy to finally have them available at Fringe Supply Co. I just know you’re going to love them.
One other shop-related note: New to the Stockists list is Black Sheep Knitting Co. in Needham MA. If you’re in the neighborhood and looking for the Fringe totes bags or stitch markers, do drop in!
A sweater and shorts is one of my favorite spring/fall combos. I usually wear mine with dark tights and ankle boots, rather than fishnets and platforms like Russian fashion editor Natalia Alaverdian, but I love what she’s done with the tucked-in sweater, demure white shirt, and the sportcoat thrown over her shoulders. And who couldn’t use a perfect little black cable sweater, to be worn a thousand different ways? The best cable sweater pattern I know is actually the brand new one from Jared Flood, called Bray. You could knit it in the prescribed yarn, Brooklyn Tweed Shelter, in Cast Iron, which is a tweedy near-black. Or for a true black, try Shibui Merino Alpaca in Abyss, which would also make a garment with a little more drape. To top it off, you could even knit yourself a coordinating Bray Cap in Shelter/Fossil.
Depending on just how big of a knitting nerd you are, you may or may not know about The New York Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck NY (aka simply “Rhinebeck”), to which devout knitters from across the globe make their annual pilgrimage. I swore I would get there this year, but haven’t figured out how to make it happen. And now it’s too late anyway, because if you know anything at all about Rhinebeck, you know that no one arrives without having plotted, discussed, planned, knitted and blocked the perfect wow-’em Rhinebeck sweater. Ysolda Teague took it one step further, inviting eleven other designers to join her in designing their perfect Rhinebeck sweater and modeling them (at last year’s Rhinebeck) for her new book, The Rhinebeck Sweater, which, by the way, happens to have the most charming schematics I’ve seen. (Boy, type the word Rhinebeck a few times and it starts looking truly bizarre.) I got to see the collected garments at the trade show in June, but I don’t remember seeing this one, which turns out to be the one I truly love. It is Aunt Fred by Pamela Wynne, named for her Aunt Fred and inspired by the namesake’s goldenrod kitchen. I love a shawl-collar pullover, but I especially love how extra nerdy chic this one is, thanks to the colorwork pattern and color choice. Then again, think how lovely it would also be in a nice ivory and steel grey combo. Bonus points for the seamless set-in-sleeve construction.
