This happens every time I’ve been knitting stockinette for weeks on end: I am dying for a cable or a juicy knit-purl stitch pattern! Any of these would do quite nicely:
TOP: Tallervo cardigan by Sari Nordlund, cables so plump you could lose small objects in them
MIDDLE LEFT: Starlight and Mischief Hat by Lavanya Patricella, straightforward and satisfying cables that do an about-face
MIDDLE RIGHT: The Stanley cardigan by Vanessa Pellisa, richly geometric knit-purl texture
BOTTOM: Oleander Reversible Hat by Laura Chau, simple reversible cables that look great and keep those synapses firing
Arguably one of the most famous sweaters in American history — if not the most famous — is Mister Rogers’ red cardigan, which he wore on countless episodes of his legendary TV show and at least once to meet an American president, and which is now in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian. As a knitter, you probably know that his mother knitted all of his cardigans for as long as she was able, and you may be wondering if the sweaters Tom Hanks wears in the movie are also handknits. They were, and here’s the knitter who knitted them. And if you’d like to knit one for yourself or some kindly person in your life, there’s a free pattern.
The sample is knitted in Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in Cinnabar, but it’s possible you could knit it in another color and not have people make Mister Rogers references everywhere you go. There are also those great vintage Mary Maxim patterns if you want something in the same vein but a little less on the nose.
I feel like I should acknowledge that as a small child I lived for Sesame Street and found Mister Rogers unbearable. But I do love the knitting angle.
The Fall/Winter 2019 issue of Amirisu landed on my desk last week and I had a bit of a swoon. It is stunningly beautiful from front to back, and there’s not a single thing in there I wouldn’t want to have. (Including the house where it was shot!) I’m not sure the last time I said that about a magazine or book, but while I’m thumbs-up on the entire dozen patterns that comprise the issue, of course there are those that stand out as my very favorites of the bunch:
TOP: Streaks by Keiko Kikuno would make me want to learn how to knit if I didn’t already know how
LOWER LEFT: Fleur by Megumi Sawada is a pretty little lace-and-bobbles hat (which apparently is a thing that appeals to me! who knew)
LOWER RIGHT: Lierne Cowl by Bristol Ivy is a fascinating little loop of pleated coziness
BELOW, UPPER: Escala by Alice Caetano features a mesmerizing fade in texture from smocking to diamonds — I’m obsessed with this
BELOW, LOWER: Wetherell by Kiyomi Burgin is a super charming yoke sweater with additional colorwork accents at the cuffs
IN SHOP NEWS: We’ve got the new MDK Field Guide, No. 13: Master Class with patterns by Kaffe Fassett, as well as a limited-edition set of drawstring bags we’re calling Stash Bags sewn from collected miscuts, in a variety of sizes and colors. They’re sturdy canvas, endlessly useful and priced to sell! (At least one size is actually already sold out …)
Hats are the best. A great way to learn to knit (or crochet!), pick up new skills, add variety to your queue, get that “I made it!” feeling fast. And of course, they don’t require a lot of yarn and they’re the perfect handmade gifts: The receiver is wowed with something you made yourself — without your spending a month or more making it! For this round of the holiday hat knitting cheat sheet, as I did with our Fringe Hatalong Series a few years ago (6 free patterns), I’ve organized it by the skills involved, from what I think of as the simplest to most challenging. You may dispute the order, and of course there’s no requirement that you knit them all or in this sequence, but if you’re looking for some fun patterns for charity or holiday gift knitting, and the chance to maybe pick up some new skills in the process, check out these gems that have caught my eye this year—
Right on the heels (har!) of that conversation about how socks are the perfect travel project but I’m not a sock knitter, I’m feeling tempted by socks. No doubt fueled by your comments as well as the extremely cute pair of Harper socks that my friend Jen just finished. Sock temptation happens to me once in awhile but somehow the socks never do. Will any of these make it from my favorites list to my needles?
TOP: Open Heart by Ainur Berkimbayeva are some darling slipper socks
MIDDLE LEFT: Block Party Socks by Dawn Henderson are simple-cute footies
MIDDLE RIGHT: Thaba also by Dawn Henderson are the full sock-knitting commitment, but oh so cute!
BOTTOM: Willard Socks by Alicia Plummer are basically the dense house socks of my dreams
p.s. I’m still working on my India tale for you! I’m a bit swamped, having been gone and then come back right at my very busiest work moment of the year, and I also underestimated the challenge of boiling it down into words! But soon, soon.
Like any human heart, mine often wants what it can’t have. Or shouldn’t have, anyway. In this case: any more bulky sweaters! Ohhhh the joy of a quickly knit sweater, the profound coziness of pulling one on when the weather is right. It’s soooo goooood. I know I’m supposed to be focusing on lighter, less warm sweaters to bring my closet in line with my climate, but I’m gazing longingly at these —
TOP: ふっくらケーブル模様のセーター by Yokota/Daruma features a simple cable at dramatic scale (Japanese only)
BOTTOM LEFT: Ramsay by Whitney Hayward is fisherman-level cables in light-as-air yarn
BOTTOM RIGHT: Cleburne Cardigan also by Whitney Hayward is a simple cardigan made special with striking colorwork
