The second big collection this month featuring some good ‘ol hardworking basics is Kelbourne Woolens’ Acadia Collection, built entirely around the undyed colors of The Fibre Co’s Acadia yarn. Great hat, great scarf, great vest, and these two simple beauties—
TOP: Echo Lake by Courtney Kelley is the perfect blank canvas of a set-in sleeve sweater
BOTTOM: Beech Hill by Leah McGlone is a lovely, simple ruana that would also be fun to play with
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PREVIOUSLY in New Favorites: Welcome basics, part 1
Early Wednesday morning, I got a text from my sweet friend Rebekka, who was all lit up about knitting Stephen West’s Penguono cardigan and wanted to know if I would knit it with her. Like, starting tomorrow. Since I’ve long wondered what an understated version of this sweater would look like, I was quick to say yes, and the more I redrew and rearranged and recolored it in my head, the more I realized my version would be heavily influenced by these Joseph pants from the Pre-Fall 2016 collection that I cannot stop thinking about. (I might be starting a fund in the hope of having however much money they cost by the time they hit stores this summer. If, god willing, they do.) (Note to the reader who asked: Net-a-Porter carries Joseph.) I’m imagining the sweater all in ivory with slightly darker side panels and a big black patch pocket on the front. Possibly knitted; possibly boiled wool, with a flap. It’s fun to daydream about.
So in that moment, I got all excited about the idea of this sweater. And then I remembered I’m not supposed to be casting on sweaters willy-nilly. There’s Bob sweater still with hours upon hours of its stockinette body to be knitted. There are two unfinished hatalong hats waiting patiently in my Field Bag. There’s my very real need and very strong desire for that black pullover that’s supposed to be next. And there’s this crazy Penguono idea that could be a lot of much-needed fun or could be a lot of valuable knitting time poured into an idea that doesn’t pan out. And it’s soooo much knitting.
There’s the angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other, and this is the conversation they’re having. I’m in the middle, thinking I’ll most likely cast on, knit it in the designated hours with Rebekka and in the gaps among other things after that (for the next two years, prolly!) and see if anything ever comes of it. I mean, it’s a stash-buster and my stash needs busting, right?
IN EXCITING SHOP NEWS: We’ve got fresh stock of the Stowe Bag sewing pattern and the Maple Hand Loom Kit, as well as the elusive grey Field Bag (also in black and natural). Along with all the other beautiful things at Fringe Supply Co.!
UPDATE: We’re having major snowstorm in Nashville today and won’t be driving to the studio or anywhere else. We’ll resume shipping just as soon as road conditions allow!
When I first saw these socks in @threehazels’ Instagram feed I got instant heart eyes, but the more she tells me about them, the more amazed I am. Three Hazels is a young German woman named Sina, living in Sweden, and her socks were inspired by the Perianth Mittens pattern by Barbara Gregory. But Sina wanted the flowers on her feet. Like most devout sock knitters, Sina knows her preferred stitch count and heel method (“I like [the short-row heel] the most when knitting the heel in a different colour”) and can cast on with abandon. I assumed she borrowed Gregory’s colorwork charts and reworked them to fit neatly into her counts, but no: “At first I wrote down a chart containing all the different flowers, rows and stitches for the top part of the sock, but with getting more comfortable with the patterns I started to place the flowers randomly.” That is crazy impressive, and the socks are beautiful. The yarn is a local Swedish wool, making them all the more special.
For more from Sina, check out @threehazels on Instagram, and she’s also vowed to post more about knitting and other subjects on her blog.
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IMPORTANT UNRELATED SHOP NOTE: I previously announced that the final batch of army green Field Bags were earmarked for Stitches West. Unfortunately, I’ve had to cancel my trip and won’t be making an appearance in the YOTH booth at that event after all. ***So the last of the army green bags will be listed in the webshop in February instead.*** I’ll announce a specific date and time for that once the bags are finished and in hand. (Grey will be back in the shop tonight or tomorrow morning!) I’m super sorry to miss everyone who I’ll now be missing at West, but we will still be at Stitches South here in Nashville at the end of March, so put that on your calendars!
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Photos by @threehazels, used with permission
So many great links this round! So I’ll get right to it—
– I’m eager to get my hands on The Uppercase Compendium of Craft — and huge congratulations to Felicia Semple on being included!
– Fantastic article about the origin of clothing sizes
– and a great profile on Alabama Chanin
– Would love to know the story behind these wedding cowls (look at the flower girl!)
– How to knit a seamed sweater seamlessly
– New Yorker cartoonist on the many uses for a scarf (press play)
– I’m getting a vicarious thrill from watching Fancy Tiger’s Coat Sewalong from the sidelines
– and am totally wowed by Jen Hewett’s Print, Pattern, Sew project outcome
– Interesting thoughts and comments about differing maker philosophies
– A tiny poem for you
– Five ways to kick-start your sewing mojo (equally good advice for knitters)
– Portrait of a sweater (to end all sweaters)
– And although my job requires me to do both, I think “create more than you consume” is a really worthy goal
IN SHOP NEWS: The grey Field Bag is back in stock! As are the Knitters Graph Paper Journal, Fashionary sketchbooks, matte black mini scissors and the Etta+Billie skin balm in all three scents. Find all that and more at Fringe Supply Co.
Happy weekend, everyone — thank you for reading!
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PREVIOUSLY: Elsewhere
In a world of 235,147 knitting patterns — and that’s just the ones listed on Ravelry at the moment! — it can be shockingly difficult to find good basics. I mutter about this to myself all the time when doing Knit the Look or fielding pattern recommendation requests, where classic shapes and styles are routinely called for and I can’t just say “make it up” all the time! Maybe basic doesn’t stand out enough to sell patterns, who knows, but I’m thrilled that there are a couple of new collections this winter featuring some very good, timeless, hardworking sweaters. The first being yesterday’s Brooklyn Tweed Winter ’16 collection, where among an assortment of lace and such appeared these new classics:
TOP: Cadence by Michele Wang is a mix-and-match pattern for a super basic raglan sweater with textured body and stockinette sleeves that can be done as a crewneck, V or turtleneck, with varying sleeve and body lengths
MIDDLE LEFT: League by Veronik Avery is a great take on the always-popular sporty look that sounds like it involves some fun construction
MIDDLE RIGHT: Tallis by Michele Wang is a nicely-shaped drop-shoulder pullover with a little bit of not-too-decorative stitchwork along the seams (that could also be omitted)
BOTTOM: and Snoqualmie Cardigan, also by Michele Wang, is an iconic cabled shawl-collar cardigan (a worthy follow-up to Bellows)
By the way, for everyone who lamented the difficulty in getting ahold of that Naxos pattern I posted about last spring, Snoqualmie is a great alternative — you could easily knit it with or without the shawl collar.
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PREVIOUSLY in New Favorites: Favorite New Favorites of 2015
Just as I was about to give up on Pre-Fall 2016 as being devoid of anything truly jaw-dropping, I found myself paging through the Joseph collection, involuntarily muttering “omigod” under my breath with every click. Truly, for me, it’s beyond words. I love the shapes and the tones and the Sinead O’Connor-ish model. I love the impossibly beautiful coat in look 1 , the sporty looks with the silk blouses, the scale of the pockets on everything, the easy layering, and those utterly perfect boots. This makes me want to wear red on red, and I hate red. And of course I love the knits, including the ones pictured above, but really you should go click through the entire collection. At least once.
These are two of the best outfits I’ve ever seen my life:
If you have a cable sweater as swoony as this one photographed by Vanessa Jackman, and the perfect pale cocoon coat to go over it, what better to complement it with than the ultimate stockinette scarf? This one is as simple as can be, but striking because of its scale and how nicely it plays with others. It almost looks like it’s made from flat felt instead of yarn, or something, but what you or I would want for our version is some mega yarn, such as Loopy Mango’s Big Loop merino, and a pair of US50 knitting needles. Then all you need to do is figure out your gauge and multiply that by how wide you want your scarf to be — e.g., if you’re at 1.5″ per stitch, 8 stitches would make a 12″ wide scarf. Work in stockinette will you run out of yarn or reach your desired length, whichever comes first!
See Vanessa’s post for another view.
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PREVIOUSLY in Knit the Look: Anya Ziourova’s cropped raglan
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Street style photo © Vanessa Jackman; used with permission
