Category Archives: Finds

New Favorites: Winter blues

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New Favorites: Winter blues

The “Winter Blues” issue of Amirisu is out and it’s easily one of my favorite issues, not least because of the dark-yoked sweater in there. In fact, I’m obsessed with the idea of knitting all three of these pieces, each of which employs colorwork in an intriguing way:

TOP: Skaftafell by Beatrice Perron Dahlen is an updated lopapeysa with simplified colorwork at the yoke

BOTTOM LEFT: Tenchi by Olga Buraya-Kefelian is a cowl worked in modified two-color brioche

BOTTOM RIGHT: Jokull by Keiko Kikuno is a large wrap that combines three ideas — ombré, colorwork and houndstooth — and somehow winds up being mesmerizingly spare instead of a big mess

I also really love the art direction and styling here — all so good. Of course, I have a stack of them for you at Fringe Supply Co, but having now seen the issue in person, I think I should have ordered more!

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PREVIOUSLY in New Favorites: Dark-yoked sweaters

I make stuff, right?

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I make stuff, right?

I’ve been in a weird funk the past few days and trying to figure out why. Life is good right now, and after its having been kind of horrible just a year ago, I’m keenly aware of that. I have absolutely no reason to be anything but gleeful and thankful for the moment. And I am. I’m as happy and calm and settled (built-in stress level notwithstanding) as I can ever remember being — except there’s this nagging funk in the back of my brain. In a total “duh!” moment the other day, it occurred to me it’s because I haven’t made anything lately. Not only have I not finished anything, I’ve got way too many things in progress right now, and vastly more things I want to make and actually need. Plus as useful as the two main sweaters on my needles are, they’re not particularly fun or inspiring, so I’m just feeling super bogged down by it all. As a first step toward solving the problem, I’ve taken inventory of the WIPs in my little workroom:

– the blue dress that’s been hanging on my dress form for two months waiting for me to hem it
– the formerly alluded to black linen Stowe Bag that just needs its binding
– parts for a pillow I promised to sew for DG
– my grey sweater
– Bob’s emerald pullover
– my black Anna vest
– a sample of the Double Basketweave Cowl in the new “old growth” color
– a pair of grey mitts to replace the best friends I seem to have lost
– and my Seathwaite hat

Oh! And a grey wool-linen plaid skirt. Last month, I signed up for a two-part circle skirt class at Craft South to learn how to sew a lapped zipper and some other stuff, and to actually finish something, because it would be done within the scope of the class. Only I had to bail on the second class in order to get the lookbook launched that night!

That’s TEN projects in progress.

And those are just the things that are partially started. (Not including the basket of long-abadoned WIPs that need to be frogged, nor the whole basket-and-stash-bins-clean-out project, or the two pairs of wide-legged jeans I’ve decided to crop). Then there is all the yarn and fabric and drawings and plans that haven’t begun to be enacted yet. It’s completely out of control, hugely compounded by my not having even five minutes a day for making at this point. So how is any of it going to get finished? And am I even making the right stuff? As in, stuff that’s going to actually help me get dressed in the morning this winter.

I see that what I most urgently need to make right now is a plan. I need to revisit and revise my silhouettes, identify the very specific gaps in my closet that are preventing the clothes I do have from adding up to complete, season-appropriate outfits, make a list of exactly what pieces I need to sew and knit in what order, and assign exact yarns and fabrics to them. My new goal (or fantasy, maybe) is to have all of that mapped out by Christmas, and to spend the week between Christmas and New Year’s sewing all day and knitting in the evenings, and pretty much ignoring any other obligations!

Here’s my working to-do list in the meantime, to get the immediate funk-inducing problem under control:

– frog mitts-in-progress; I have others that will suffice
– pack that Stowe away for another day
– set black Anna aside for knitalong in the new year (hint hint)
– hire out the cowl sample
– hem blue dress
– hem wide jeans x 2
– sew DG’s pillow

Which will leave me with a revised and prioritized near-term WIP list that will look like this:

– Bob’s emerald pullover
– my Seathwaite hat
– (1898 Hat to come)
– my grey sweater
– circle-skirt fate TBD during sewing week

I feel better already! Next step: revised silhouettes and wardrobe planning.

TA/BU Studio Crawl in Nashville 12.12.15IN SHOP NEWS: This week we restocked the amazing dye kits, the wooden bowls, the giant safety pins in silver, the blackened brass buttons. And we’ll have a fresh batch of Field Bag colors at NOON CENTRAL TIME today, including an even larger number of the highly-coveted army green. All at Fringe Supply Co.

AND IF YOU’RE IN NASHVILLE: Don’t miss our open studio event tomorrow as part of the TA/BU Studio Crawl, details here.

Thanks everybody, see you next week!

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Fringe Hatalong No. 6: 1898 Hat by Kristine Byrnes

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Fringe Hatalong No. 6: 1898 Hat by Kristine Byrnes (free pattern)

Have you ever heard of Christmas at Sea? When DG and I were manning our Fringe Supply Co. booth at Stitches South last spring — back when the Fringe Hatalong Series was brand new — I kept seeing him chatting up these two really cool women who had a nearby booth. Their sign said “Seamen’s Church Institute” and I couldn’t figure out what that could mean, much less what it had to do with knitting. Well, it turned out to be a really interesting story! The Seamen’s Church Institute is a centuries-old advocacy organization for mariners — all those men (mostly) who work on the countless cargo ships that make our way of life possible. It’s a life of dangers and difficulties most of us have never thought about, and SCI provides job training and free legal aid and interfaith chaplains and … Christmas gifts! Every year every mariner who enters a US port gets a present, many of which contain hand-knitted hats and socks made by who-knows-how-many charitable knitters. To that end, SCI has developed knitting and crochet patterns that they know to be what the mariners need and want — free of worksite hazards like pompoms! — including this really cool earflap hat called the 1898 Hat (the year Christmas at Sea began), which was the result of a design contest a couple of years ago sparked by the men’s repeated request for ear flaps.

I loved the story almost as much as I love the hat! And since I had planned to feature a hat charity with each installment of the Hatalong, I was extra thrilled that this one was built in. Thankfully Paige, who runs the Christmas at Sea program, was on board (no pun intended) with the idea of featuring it as a Hatalong pattern.

You can download the free 1898 Hat pattern here.

Backstory aside, there’s a lot to love about this hat – and it’s a great gift hat, whether you give yours to a mariner or a loved one: it’s perfectly unisex, despite its origins; incredibly warm with its double-thick brim and flaps; and is constructed in an intriguing way that will make it fun to knit! You might be thinking it’s all short rows and I-cord, but nope — none of that! It starts with the garter-stitch headband part, which is knitted sideways. The earflaps are shaped with simple increases instead of short rows, and a slipped-stitch ridge along the center of the piece becomes that beautiful thick lower edge once the band is folded in half. It’s brilliant! So that gets folded together, you pick up stitches all the way around, and from that point upwards it’s a basic stockinette cap.

If you do want to donate yours (or one of yours) (I’m guessing there will be lots of multiples with this one) make sure you read through the Christmas at Sea guidelines with regard to yarn and color choice, and where to send it. And if you don’t donate your hat, I hope you’ll consider making a small donation of some kind — from money to toiletries — as a thank-you to SCI for the great free pattern.

Remember to share your progress with hashtag #fringehatalong wherever you post. Also be sure to fave/queue the pattern at Ravelry. I’ll be on the lookout for photos, and will be answering questions posted in the comments below. (There’s no way to guarantee I’ll see it if you post it elsewhere.)

I can’t wait to see your hats!

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PREVIOUSLY in Fringe Hatalong Series: No. 5 Seathwaite by Kate Gagnon Osborn

First of the Best of Pre-Fall 2016: Fresh turtlenecks

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First of the Best of Pre-Fall 2016: Fresh turtlenecks

Very simple turtleneck sweaters have been hanging on for several seasons now (to my delight) and I’m loving these vaguely Mary Tyler Moore-ish takes from Pre-Fall 2016. Up top is a black short-sleeved jumpsuit from ZAC by Zac Posen (click through to see it in full length) that wouldn’t be nearly as fantastic were it not layered over a thin, high, ribbed turtleneck. Whether that’s sleeveless, short-sleeve or a dickie, we don’t know, but this combo is amazing — especially with those aforementioned combat boots and the giant brooch. And then we have TSE’s tomato red sweater that falls somewhere between a sleeveless turtleneck and a poncho, with a tinge of the early ’70s about it that keeps that mock turtleneck from feeling too ’80s. It’s sort of a slouchier, stockinette cousin to Pam Allen’s Danforth, which I’m reminded I keep meaning to knit.

New Favorites: Dark yoke sweaters

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New Favorites: Dark yoke sweaters

One of the most endlessly irresistible things to me is a colorwork yoke sweater done all in neutrals with the body in charcoal or black. It’s so striking and rich and magical somehow. I could list countless examples, but these are the two that have most recently been haunting my dreams:

TOP: Carrie Bostick Hoge’s Lighthouse Pullover — from her latest collection, Swoon Maine — in shades of black and grey

BOTTOM: Kathy Cadigan’s rendition of Mary Jane Mucklestone’s Stopover, done in black, grey and a coppery brown

Kathy’s is the one I mentioned in a footnote yesterday, having worn it during our holiday lookbook shoot and fallen deeply, darkly in love.

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PREVIOUSLY in New Favorites: from Olga’s “Capsule” collection

Elsewhere (+ shop news!)

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Yarny links for your clicking pleasure

TGIF, y’all. Here’s a juicy bit of Elsewhere for you—

(Images from here and here, god love this sweet universe)

IN HATALONG NEWS:

I’m racing to try to get the final Fringe Hatalong Series hat of the year launched next Thursday — without a preview post this time. This is all the heads-up you’re getting! It’s designed for men but is perfectly unisex. And it’s just garter stitch and stockinette but with really interesting construction. A great gift hat, with a great story. The only thing to know in advance is you’ll need about 180 yards of worsted-weight yarn, and gauge is 5 sts/inch. (Washable wool if you intend to donate it.) Watch for that next week!

Coming and going at Fringe Supply Co.IN SHOP NEWS:

There’s a new cowl kit color in town! The bone repair hooks are back! The new Taproot is here! The dye kits sold out but will be back next week! (We still have signed books.) Looms should be coming sometime today (scratch that: Monday!). And DON’T MISS THE FIELD BAG UPDATE today at Noon Central Time. We had more grey last week, so those have lasted the week, if just barely. This week we’ll have more army green, which has been stunningly popular. Hopefully this batch will hold out for more than a few hours, but if you’re coveting it, best to be there at noon!

So much is coming in or selling out every day this time of year — do you follow @fringesupplyco on Instagram? That’s your best bet if you don’t want to miss anything. And have you seen the #fringegiftoftheday ideas? More to come.

Happy reading, happy shopping, and happy weekend!

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PREVIOUSLY: Elsewhere

Black is the new black

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Black is the new black

I don’t know if it’s just me or if it’s in the air, but I am super into black right now. Every top and dress I imagine making, I picture it in black linen or black boiled wool. And every sweater dancing around in my head is knitted in black wool, as well. The thing is, black yarn ain’t that easy to come by. When I started in on my Black Anna (which is set aside for the moment), I got into a conversation with my friend Kate of Kelbourne Woolens (distributors of the Fibre Co yarns) about why there’s not a black in every line — too hard to make, or too hard to sell? The short answer is that nobody buys them, presumably because knitting with dark yarns is generally considered hard on the eyeballs. And maybe it is! But do we not all want the perfect black sweater — er, sweaters — in our closets? Maybe I’m in the minority, but right now I feel totally willing to sneak in rows during daylight hours or even turn up the famously dim lights in my house if the end result is delectable handknit sweaters in blacks and near-blacks.

So where does one find the yarn? Here’s a smattering of high-quality blacks:

– The Fibre Co. makes several: slubby worsted-weight Terra in a deep black called Coalwood, which is the black I’m using for my Anna; lace-weight Meadow in tweedy Black Adder; Canopy Fingering in Obsidian; speckly DK Acadia in Cormorant; and worsted, heathered Knightsbridge in Flintshire

– YOTH makes all of their yarns in an off-black color called Cracked Pepper, which varies slightly from base to base

– Quince and Co has two blacks, both of which I believe are available in all of their 100% wool yarns: Crow is the blackest of blacks and Sabine is a heathery off-black (I used it for my sleeveless turtleneck — yes, I swear, the pattern is coming! — and leftovers hat)

– Brooklyn Tweed makes both Shelter and Loft in Cast Iron, also a tweedy off-black

– Shibui makes all but one of their yarns — including Linen! — in what they call Abyss, the blackness of which varies with the fiber content and style from yarn to yarn

– Woolfolk makes Far and Tynd in a true black (“Color 15”) and Sno in three different black marls

These are certainly not the only blacks out there (feel free to name your favorites in the comments!), but I also feel like black is endangered in the yarn world, so if you love it and want it to keep existing, put your money on it.

p.s. The new issue of Taproot has landed over at Fringe Supply Co., with a new sweater pattern by Carrie Bostick Hoge!

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Pictured, top to bottom: Shibui Maai in Abyss, Quince Puffin in Crow, Fibre Co Terra in Coalwood, Woolfolk Far in Color 15, Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in Cast Iron

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PREVIOUSLY: Camel-colored yarns