Tag Archives: cabinfour

New Favorites: Cabinfour’s collected socks

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New Favorites: Cabinfour's collected socks

I saw cabinfour’s sweet take on bobby socks on the Quince blog last week and fell in love. But when I went to grab the image to tell you about them, I realized I actually want to knit every single pair of socks she has designed. We talked about her first sock pattern, Cream, back when it came out. But since then, just look:

TOP: School Girl, with just a spot of texture on the cuffs and toes

MIDDLE LEFT: Camping, always-appealing stockinette with contrast cuff and toes

MIDDLE RIGHT: Morning Light, with a simple lace panel down the front

BOTTOM LEFT: Irish Oats, with a simple cable panel down the front

BOTTOM RIGHT: Laule’a, easy allover texture

All are sport weight except the last, which is worsted. So I’m gonna need to get my hands on some good sport-weight wool.

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PREVIOUSLY in New Favorites: Garter bliss

New Favorites: Pure

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New Favorites: Pure shawl pattern by cabinfour

So after my post last week about the Woolfolk debut collection, I got two skeins of Far in the mail. (Thank you, Kristin!) They were meant to be for a Knop hat, and oh man it would be delicious. But from the instant I pulled the yarn out of the envelope, all I’ve been able to think is I want that around my neck. 284 yards of pure luxury. Combine this with my latent nervousness over the fact that there’s nothing mindless on my needles right now, and I’ve suddenly got kerchiefs on the brain. Specifically that little garter-stitch kerchief I made for a my mom a couple of years ago. Thoroughly simple, it was really the perfect showcase for such a delicious yarn, and I just loved having it tucked around my neck for those snapshots. But then I’m thinking, isn’t there something equally spare I could knit with it — something mindless but not so mindless? (Don’t think I haven’t considered another Textured Shawl. But I already have a big grey version. In fact, I’m wearing it as I type.) What about a mini Lola? Or a Romney Kerchief? Then a quick trot through Ravelry led me to Pure, the latest from “cabinfour,” who has a way with ultra-spare shawls. I love the subtle progression of textures, and always love a big garter edge, but I wonder if I would love that if I scaled it down? Hm. Either way, it’s got my attention right now.

[DISCLOSURE: cabinfour frequently sends me copies of her patterns, unsolicited. No joke, not an hour after I finished writing this post (before it went live) Pure landed in my inbox. It’s like the universe knows!]

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PREVIOUSLY in New Favorites: the Woolfolk collection

2013: My favorite New Favorites and your favorite posts

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Best of New Favorites: Sweater patterns

You know there has to be some reflection and projection here as the calendar flips over from 2013 to ’14, starting with the patterns that caught my attention over the course of the year. Pretty much every week, under the heading of New Favorites, I post about the patterns that I not only like or admire but that make my fingers twitch with the urge to cast on — whether it’s great new releases, a designer who’s caught my eye, or some gap in my wardrobe or skill set I’m thinking about filling. Clearly I’m fickle, and some are more passing fancies than others. But some of these picks burrow into my brain and simply demand to be knitted. Here are the ones I’m still fixated on — I hope to cast on at least some of them in 2014.

SWEATERS
top left: Stonecutter pullover by Michele Wang (Pattern of the Year, as far as I’m concerned)
top right: Dwell cardigan by Martin Storey
bottom left: Trillium cardigan by Michele Wang
bottom right: Rook pullover by Kyoko Nakayoshi

Best of New Favorites: Fingerless gloves

FINGERLESS GLOVES
Antiquity mitts by Alicia Plummer

Best of New Favorites: Scarf/shawl patterns

WRAPS
left: Flying Squirrel stole by Michiyo
right: Imposter’s Shawl by Amber Corcoran

Best of New Favorites: Sock patterns

SOCKS
left: Climb socks by Jane Richmond
right: Cream socks by cabinfour

The hats I am most persistently obsessed with were both mentioned on the blog, but neither of them in New Favorites. They are the Bray Cap by Jared Flood and Gwyneth by Leah McGlone.

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And speaking of favorites, here are the ten posts that attracted the most views over the course of 2013:

1. How to improvise a top-down sweater
2. Holiday knitting cheat sheet: A hat for every head
3. Best summer sweater knitting patterns
4. Double Basketweave Cowl (free pattern)
5. New Favorites: Simply Great Cowls
6. Scarves to start now
7. Wabi Mitts (free pattern)
8. Fast, easy and warm: Jumbo Stitch Cowls collection (free patterns)
9. Knitter’s Delight: Beautifully textured hats
10. Holiday knitting cheat sheet: Cowls all around

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New Favorites addendum: Cream socks

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Cream socks pattern

Remember those adorable improvised socks I mentioned at the end of the last New Favorites? What I failed to notice is that, in the time since I first saw those, many moons ago, she has published the pattern for them. Had I realized it, that particular New Favorites would have been a duo of Jane Richmond’s Climb and Cabinfour’s Cream, so this is me making up for that missed opportunity.

Thanks, Deneise, for bringing it to my attention (and for the pattern!).

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New Favorites: Boyfriend socks

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Boyfriend socks

I’ve mentioned before that I don’t like wearing socks, like, in the daytime — with shoes — and do it only under duress. But on a chilly evening, with leggings or pajama pants? Nothing seems more appealing than old-school sweat socks or L.L. Bean-style ragg wool socks. So from the minute Shannon Cook and Jane Richmond released the pics from their new joint collection, Journey, I’ve been dying to knit the Climb socks, pictured above. Perfect examples of their type.

See also: IBH’s Toasty Socks from Green Mountain Spinnery and Men’s Socks for Giving Away (or, you know, keeping for yourself) at the Purl Bee (free pattern). And the cutest little improvised socks I have yet seen.

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New Favorites: Simple little stockinette wraps

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knitting patterns for simple stockinette wraps

We all know how important it is to have a simple little stockinette project on the needles, for those times when you want something mindless to knit. Or when you’ve screwed up a row of your slightly lacy cardigan and aren’t ready to face fixing it …

LEFT: Cabinfour’s Nordic Wind is a super simple little triangle shawl with wide stripes — shown in four shades of grey, from dark to light, for a little bit of ombré effect.

RIGHT: The Purl Bee’s Beautiful Spring Scarf is nothing but a stockinette rectangle with fringe. But ooh la la, how curious am I about that cashmere-linen blend yarn it’s designed for. And the idea of nylon cord for the fringe is pretty genius.

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