Author Archives: Karen Templer

Yarns in Waiting, late 2017

by

NOTE: Before I start yammering about yarn — make sure you make it to the end of this post for a special offer in honor of today being Fringe Supply Co.’s fifth anniversary!

Yarns in Waiting, late 2017

Had I not gone to Rhinebeck, I might have made it through the latter half of the year without acquiring any new yarn at all. But I’m not sorry these guys slipped into the house as a result—

TOP: On our last morning in the Hudson Valley, we had brunch in Kingston with a bunch of knitters, one of whom was Rachel Atkinson, a revered tech editor who started her small-batch yarn company, Daughter of a Shepherd, a couple years ago. I’d met her once before, and just briefly, but it was clear she’s one of those effortlessly warm and lovely people. That morning, she was dressed all in black, sitting at this weathered wood table, with a cup of milky latté in a white porcelain cup and saucer, knitting cables from the most perfect ball of undyed wool. Which was her woolen-spun Portland, aran-weight. Basically my ideal yarn. Rachel has beautiful hands and the whole scene was like a Vermeer painting. Had it not been unseemly, I’d have sat and stared unapologetically for the duration of breakfast, but I managed to restrain myself to only about half of it. When I got home, she very sweetly sent me two balls. They’d make for a cable beautiful hat, as she was demonstrating, but of course I’m fantasizing about a nice vintage fisherman cardigan. We’ll see.

BOTTOM LEFT: Among my housemates for the weekend were my good friends Kate and Courtney of Kelbourne Woolens. K&C are yarn savants, and I’m beyond thrilled that they’re launching their own! Starting (in a few weeks) with a luscious wool-mohair blend called Andorra. I’m totally fascinated by it as I’ve nothing like it in my stash, and the palette is also not quite like anything else out there. They sent me home with one skein of this beautiful spearmint green, and I can’t wait for its fate to reveal itself to me.

BOTTOM RIGHT: The third one is a sweater quantity (which I mentioned in my recap but need to document here in what has effectively become my yarn queue). While I was stationed in the Harrisville booth that Saturday morning, I was right next to their big basket of the special colorway they’d made up just for the show, and I couldn’t resist buying a sweater’s worth. It’s a dyed-in-the-wool, worsted-weight tweed, in classic Harrisville fashion. From a distance, it looks like a simple denim-y blue. But when you look close, it’s a fairly equal mix of blue, green and purple, with flecks of red. It’s fascinating. And its fate is also still a bit of a mystery.

NOT PICTURED: There was also one more gift skein in my suitcase, which was from Junegrass Batch Two. As you know, I bought a sweater quantity of the first batch last year, which I hadn’t done anything with yet at that time (but since have!), meaning I was not allowed to buy any of batch two. So my eyes lit up when Amber handed me a skein. More on what’s going on with my SQ of J1 later this week.

http://www.fringesupplyco.com/

UNRELATED: 5 YEARS — 3 THINGS!

1. Today marks 5 years since I launched the tiny online pop-up that has grown into the bustling little business called Fringe Supply Co. Five years of reading each order and saying “Thank you, Kim.” “Thank you, Sarah.” “Thank you …” as if you were standing right across the counter. I’ll never stop being grateful for every single order.

2.  To celebrate, a gift from us to you: Starting from 12:01 PT this morning, the first 50 domestic orders of $50 or more* will include a free Fringe canvas tool pouch ($24 value). No code needed! If your order qualifies, the pouch will be added to your package. WHOA, that was fast! As of 7:20 PT, all 50 of the giveaways have already been claimed, so for the rest of the day, it’s 25% off the canvas tool pouch for everyone (worldwide)! Add the pouch to your cart and use code HAPPY5TH at checkout to receive the discount. Thank you SO MUCH, everyone — you guys blow me away!

3.  At long last, the Fringe notebook I’ve always wanted is finally available today! In two sizes and three colors; grid-ruled, brass coil bound, bookcloth covered, thick recycled paper. In a word, fabulous.

*Based on merchandise subtotal, before shipping. Not applicable to past orders or redeemable for cash. Due to customs considerations, offer available to US shipping addresses only.

.

PREVIOUSLY in Yarns in Waiting: Mid-2017

THANK YOU and Elsewhere

by

THANK YOU and Elsewhere

I’m just back from a week in Florida with innumerable loved ones gathered together for a big family event, where I had even less time and connectivity (and knitting opportunity) than I expected — hence my spotty attendance here. Among the many things I’m thankful for at the moment, one of them is finally being able to leave the house with my waxed camo Field Bag after months and months in hiding! But what I’m seriously most thankful for today (after my lovely family) is all of you and all of the support you’ve given to me, and to this blog and to Fringe Supply Co. When I think about how my life has changed since the day I learned to knit and started to blog about it … the mind reels. And I couldn’t do it without you — so thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for your ongoing support.

Since most of you are in the US and celebrating Thanksgiving today/this weekend, I’m including Elsewhere links here today and will resume normal posting on Monday!

First: Remember my post about Stella Tennant and Nov ’96 Vogue? Well, I now have both the US and UK (sorry, meant to say) Paris editions from that month in my possession, and none of those photos are in either one. There is a feature in the US one in which Stella tromps and rows around the Adirondacks, at one point wearing an ivory Ralph Lauren turtleneck very much like the one in that post, but now I’m dying to know where/when those vaunted photos were from. Some other Vogue edition of that month and year, or something else entirely? We might never know — but if you have any leads, please share them!

– 3 designers creating clothes for life — not the runway (thx, Claudia) — Maureen Doherty, especially, is my new idol

– How to wear a yoke sweater (on the beach!)

– If you’re in a group that knits for a good cause, YarnCanada might be able to help you with some yarn

– I love these Love More mittens and what Leigh had to say about them

– These Japanese dioramas blow my mind

– I’m crazy about Jen’s winter sewing plan

– I want a hat that looks exactly like this

– Congrats to Felicia on the launch of Soul Craft Festival

– and Tif has me obsessing over that Markham Collar again

What are your favorite links lately? Feel free to share!

Happy feasting, all — and if you’re in Nashville, I hope we’ll see you at the pop-up on Saturday!

.

PREVIOUSLY: Elsewhere

New Favorites: from BT Fall/Holiday

by

New Favorites: from BT Fall/Holiday

When the Brooklyn Tweed Fall ’17 collection came out, I mentioned there were some sweaters that would come up here sooner or later. I was referring to Galloway by Jared Flood and Voe by Gudrun Johnston. What I didn’t imagine is that, in the meantime, they would put out photos of second samples in their holiday lookbook that are even more stunning in wintry shades of greys and blues. I’m now yearning to have Galloway in my closet in this exact color combo. And while Voe would look terrible on me — I can’t do a motif that encircles the shoulders like that — there is now a Voe Hat! (below) It’s fingering, but maybe I have the patience for fingering-scale colorwork at hat proportions! It’s just so gorgeous.

IN OTHER NEWS! We’re having a holiday pop-up here in Nashville this Saturday, in conjunction with our friends at Mason-Dixon Knitting — the first-ever Taylor Yarn Co-op Pop-up! We’ll both have all of our goods (including our new holiday lovelies and theirs), and we’ll also have some special Field Bags at markdown prices: samples, slight seconds and floor models. (Available only at this event, not online.) It’s happening at 100 Taylor Street in Suite A22 from 10-3, at the same time as the Shop Small Makers Fair is happening, so there will be lots to choose from! If you’re in the are Nashville area, please come see us!

New Favorites: from BT Fall/Holiday

 

Happiness and cheer: The new Fringe goods are here!

by

New Fringe goods for the holidays!

In ten days it will officially be five years since I launched Fringe Supply Co. as a tiny online pop-up shop, and in all this time I have never been so excited about where things stand or what I’ve gotten to unveil for you. My goal has always been to curate a small and steadfast collection of goods that will make your knitting life (and mine!) as simultaneously beautiful, efficient and organized as it can be. Today it becomes a little more of all of that with the addition of two jaw-droppingly great new Field Bags — waxed canvas in camo and black-watch plaid — and three diverse new tool pouch options — a leather envelope, a canvas zip pouch, and a waxed-canvas roll-up — developed in conjunction with Winter Session in Denver, whose work I’ve long admired. I am over the moon about each of these pieces and hope you will be, too. But what they bring to the overall mix is so much more than I can describe in words.

Fringe Supply Co Holiday 2017

Thanksfully, once or twice a year I get together with my beloved photographer-friend Kathy Cadigan and get to express what Fringe is in photos, and this year’s are my favorites yet. As you can see from the glimpses here and in the full Winter 2017 Lookbook, the collection has gelled into the most beautifully coordinated and interchangeable array of bags, pouches and tools for bringing organization, durability and style into your world.

For all of the details and a deeper look, see the Lookbook — or hop straight over to Fringe Supply Co. to check it all out directly. And we also have the gorgeous new Mason-Dixon Field Guide in store today, Sequences.

Fringe Supply Co Holiday 2017

The new plaid and camo Field Bags and the leather envelope pouch are also available today at these fine stores around the globe.

Happy weekend to you, and happy start of the holiday season — may it be filled with happiness and cheer!

.

Photos by Kathy Cadigan © Fringe Supply Co.

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

Log Cabin: Ideas and considerations

by

Log Cabin: Ideas and considerations

The thing about this whole upcoming Log Cabin Make-along is it’s kind of a lot to think about! Am I right? If you’re anything like me, you might be combatting too-many-ideas-itis — debating yarns, color, pattern, what it will turn into. Of course, you can totally 100% keep it simple and knit something beautiful from one of the many great log cabin-inspired patterns in the world. But even then, there are most of these considerations, all of which are fun to ponder—

1. YARN / GAUGE
What yarn you use and how tightly you knit it will determine the character of the finished fabric — this is no less true for log cabin than any other form of knitting. Traditionally, log cabin patterns call for good ol’ garter stitch knitted at a gauge that’s the norm for the weight of the yarn. If you’re working with bulky yarn, that would mean a dense, gooshy fabric, whereas fingering-weight yarn would net a light and drapey fabric. But there’s no reason you can’t play around with gauge! For instance, the Sommerfeld Shawl (included in the Log Cabin Field Guide) calls for lace-weight mohair knitted at a very loose gauge, which takes a traditionally squishy fabric and makes it gossamer instead.

2. COLOR
If your goal is to knit from stash and scraps, you may wind up with a charming crazy-quilt sort of color scheme. Or if you have a palette you naturally tend toward, your leftovers may be inherently cohesive! On the other hand, you may be planning to bust open some fresh skeins for this and exercise complete control over the palette. Will it be bold and graphic, soft and subtle, monochrome, shades of sheep, black and white? Will it involve speckles or stripes? The possibilities are literally endless, and which way you decide to go may depend a lot on the other considerations here. For instance, are you making something to go with your couch or your wardrobe?

3. PATTERN
This whole form of knitting derives from quilting, and quilters are mind-blowing individuals. The myriad ways that simple blocks of color can be lined up with each other to form larger motifs and patterns is its own special rabbithole. With log cabin knitting, there are actually a few different basic blocks to start with — from original log cabin to courthouse steps, ninepatch, etc. Many of these are detailed in the Log Cabin Field Guide, but I recommend googling quilting patterns for inspiration about ways to use color and combine blocks. For example, check out this blog post and scroll down to Log Cabin Variations. The assorted motifs under the Chevron Blocks subhead alone have got my mind racing.

4. SCALE
In addition to gauge, think about how large or small your strips and blocks might be — again, how subtle or graphic. For example, look at the diminutive mitered squares of Marianne Isager’s sweater, Winter, versus the oversized blocks of Mason-Dixon’s Moderne Log Cabin Baby Blanket or Purl Soho’s Half Log Cabin Ombré Blanket. Scale alone can have an enormous effect on the look of your project. (And look what happens when you break up large blocks with stripes, as Terhi did!)

5. SHAPE
And then there’s the question of what it is you’re making! Is it a blanket or wrap, or will you turn your squares/rectangles into something 3-dimensional? Whether that’s a hat, a cowl or a sweater.

I’m working on a post about just that — patterns composed of squares or rectangles that could be filled with log cabin patterning. So look for that soon! And I’ve also started a Pinterest board for Log Cabin ideas, which I’ll continue to add to — although the latest changes to Pinterest mean my notes on the pins are mostly buried. (Why are they so hellbent on making it unusable?!)

Meanwhile, what are you thoughts and ideas so far — do you already know what you’re making? Will it be carefully planned or made up on the fly? Remember, cast on is January 1st! Share your plans below or on Instagram with hashtag #fringeandfriendslogalong.

.

PREVIOUSLY in Log Cabin Make-along: Striped cabin

Top photo © Terhi Montonen, used with permission; pinboard here

SaveSave

SaveSaveSaveSave

Someday vs. Right Away: Mosaic knitting

by

Someday vs Right Away: Mosaic knitting

Maybe the reason I keep saying I want to try my hand at mosaic knitting but never actually do it is that I keep favoriting blankets and scarves, and I apparently don’t knit blankets or scarves! Even Dami Hunter’s Southwest-inspired Kiva wrap (top) isn’t allover mosaic like some others I’ve daydreamed of knitting, and yet it’s a Someday project for me nevertheless. Meanwhile, Andrea Mowry’s new hat pattern, Tincture, is bite-size mosaic, highly tempting. Or there’s the possibility of a dishtowel or washcloth-sized appetizer such as Purl Soho’s Slip Stitch Dishtowels (free pattern).

.

PREVIOUSLY in Someday vs. Right Away: Brioche tasting

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

2017 FOs 14-16 : Pants and more pants

by

2017 FOs 14-16 : Pants and more pants

The most momentous thing for me this year, as a person trying to make most of her own clothes, was deciding to make pants as a part of my Summer of Basics. I think it’s at least as life-changing as having decided to make sweaters a few years ago. (Note that I’m saying “deciding” and not “learning” — making pants is sewing, and making sweaters is knitting. They are just different applications of those skills from what I had previously done, and it’s genuinely more about simply deciding to do it than anything else.) Up until a few months ago, the one giant piece of the wardrobe puzzle that I felt I couldn’t exert control over was pants. And that’s a big one for me since, A) I wear pants about 98% of the time, not being much of a skirts/dresses girl, B) I have fit issues with pants (most women’s pants don’t fit me) and C) I am incredibly picky about the shape of my pants. So to have such a key and complicated aspect of my wardrobe be at the mercy of others has been a lifelong challenge. And to have cracked that nut is enormous.

Certainly sewing jeans was a big effing deal, but these “toddler pants” (as I really need to stop calling them) have had a way more dramatic impact on my closet. And they’re so simple to make! Hence why I’ve now made 4 pairs of them. My lifelong preference is for wide-leg — I watched a lot of Katherine Hepburn movies when I was in high school — and that’s obviously a thing that comes and goes from stores. So I’ve always had to stock up when I find a pair I like. Which might also explain why I immediately cut out 3 more after making the first pair.

These are all essentially the same as my olive-green modified Robbie pants. To recap: I use the leg pieces from that pattern, with a few fit tweaks (noted below and previously), but with my own pockets and a 2″ waistband. Barring any dumb mistakes, I can cut and sew a pair in about 3 hours, so I’m tempted to cut up a lot more of my stash into these exact same pants. The exaggerated shape and utility pockets are both really current and really always-me, and the elastic waist suits my life. Not only do I do a lot of bending, lifting and hauling things, squatting or sitting crossed-legged on the studio floor shooting photos, etc., but comfort is just really critical to me. If I’m not comfortable in my clothes, I’m distracted by that, and with my daily to-do load I can’t afford to be distracted. So for all of those reasons and more, these pants have been a godsend.

2017 FOs 14-16 : Pants and more pants

FO 14: DENIM
These came right after the olive ones and are identical. After marking a change to the pattern to lower the waistline in the back, I forgot to actually do that when I cut them out. Whoops! I also bought stretch denim by accident (at Fancy Tiger while I was there) but just went with it. These are currently my favorite pants, but they are rather heavy in this heavy-weight stretch denim. Next pair will be lighter and non-stretch.

FO 15: NATURAL
When Kristine Vejar was in town to teach in September, she brought me the most thoughtful gift: a length of Huston Textile’s Union Cloth — climate-beneficial California wool and West Texas cotton, woven in California — that happened to be exactly enough for a pair of pants. It’s incredible fabric, unlike anything I’ve ever owned. And as you may have seen, I was sewing with it on the day of the Climate Beneficial Fashion Gala to console myself for not being able to be there — cruising along, feeling pretty pleased with myself … when I absentmindedly attached my waistband to the wrong side of the pants. And serged the seam allowance. If you’ve ever worked with fabric off a smaller loom like this — where there are fewer, larger strands per inch — you know how shreddy it is. And of course I had used a nice tight stitch. So ripping out the construction seam was a painstaking operation, done a little at a time, and then I had to actually cut off the serged edge to separate the waistband from the pants. So these wound up with a 1.5″ waistband instead of 2″, and they’re slightly lower waisted. But they’re kind of perfect, for all that. As special as they are, I’m going to try not to treat them as precious.  Although you probably won’t find me cross-legged on the studio floor in them …

FO 16: CAMO
These were the third to be cut, and their whole reason for existence is so I can wear my beloved old camo pants much more sparingly for however much longer they manage to last. These don’t begin to hold a candle to those spectacular old dears, but they’re pretty great. For this pair, I did lower the back waistline about an inch and I also trimmed away some of the “excess” fabric in the butt and legs (due to my flat ass). So the fit of them is a little more traditional, but I really prefer the baggier ones. This fabric is the dead opposite of the natural pair as far as origins — it’s made in China, purchased from JoAnn online. It’s also on the thin side for pants, despite the product reviews on the website. If anyone knows of a more earth-friendly, heavier duty camo source, please let me know!

To see copious pics of the denim and camo pairs on me, in combination with my other garments, see my 20×30 outfit recap. The natural ones up top are pictured with my Channel cardigan.

.

PREVIOUSLY in FOs: The purple lopi pullover

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave