Tag Archives: courtney kelley

New Favorites: Modified ganseys

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New Favorites: Modified gansey sweaters

I’m always hearing people talk about the gansey — relative of the cabled aran jumper in the classic fisherman-sweater family — and its characteristic underarm gusset. One of these days I’ll knit one and understand more specifically what the traditional construction is like. But it might have to get in line behind these recent interpretations, which are both calling out to me —

TOP: Eastbound Sweater by Courtney Kelley has an “exploded gusset” and slouchy shape, looks like the perfect spring/fall sweater to me

BOTTOM: Alvy by Jared Flood might be gussetless (not sure) but borrows the gansey look for a nicely androgynous sweater

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PREVIOUSLY in New Favorites: Foldover mitts

New Favorites: from the Knightsbridge collection

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New Favorites: from the Knightsbridge collection

I’ve been waiting forever to rave about these patterns and I can’t wait any longer! My friends Kate Gagnon Osborn and Courtney Kelley at Kelbourne Woolens (they sell the Fibre Company yarns) have been working for months on this collection for their newest yarn, Knightsbridge, and it’s so, so good. I saw the call for submissions last winter. Saw the teaser pics from the photo shoot last spring. Saw the yarn and the finished garments at the trade show in May. And nearly stole my favorite pullover right off of Kate when she was wearing it at Squam. (Remember I said then you’d be hearing more about that sweater she was pictured in.) They finally listed the patterns on Ravelry a few days ago and they should be for sale — along with the yarn — in a day or two. So I’m waiting no longer!

If you look at the whole Knightsbridge collection, you’ll see there are lots of good patterns by lots of good designers. And I love all of it far more in person than in the photos (which isn’t often the case). I’m particularly crazy about the stitchery on Maura Kirk’s adorable Harvey vest. I don’t think I could pull off that retro neck, but it would be easy to modify — and I will very likely knit that at some point. But as it happens, my very very favorites of the bunch are all by Kate and Courtney themselves:

ABOVE: Courtney’s Teegan sweater is freakishly similar to that little post-it sketch on my own pinboard, so obviously I’m gonna love it. And this is probably not the only time I’ll post about her Royston cap. Would you look at that amazing crown?!

BELOW: Kate’s Gillam is the One that Must be Knitted. (She slipped me a working copy of it awhile back, knowing the depths of my love for it. Thanks, Kate!) And her Henrietta hat is just a perfect cable beanie, complete with luscious doubled brim.

New Favorites: from the Knightsbridge collection

I have one and two half skeins of Knightsbridge in my stash, which is sadly all in storage at the moment. I’ll tell you that I saw the yarn the night before I saw the garments and I was a little underwhelmed by it. It seemed too soft to me — by which I mean too gooey for stitch definition and long-term wear. But once I saw how it knitted up, I was totally blown away. Look at those cables! I can’t wait to knit with it.

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PREVIOUSLY in New Favorites: Lena Samsoe’s fisherman cardigan

Best spring/summer tees of 2014

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Best summer tee knitting patterns

As soon as I say that, some brilliant new tees will come along. But there has been a flood of little sweater tee patterns so far this year, and these are my personal favorites:

TOP LEFT: Driftwood Tee by Mercedes Tarasovich-Clark — with just a little triangle patch of mesh

TOP RIGHT: Front Pleat Dolman by Jane Howorth — love the sleeves, the pleat, the texture blocking, but I’d likely skip the picot edge on the hem

MIDDLE LEFT: Shady Grove by Cedar Box Knits — again with the little zigzag of lace

MIDDLE RIGHT: Linum Tee by Bristol Ivy — nice and simple

BOTTOM LEFT: Sonora by Courtney Kelley — LOVE the stitch pattern

BOTTOM RIGHT: Bohemian Tee by Erica Schleuter — and I’m into the granny-chic-ness of this, want to knit it in natural linen and wear it with holey jeans and a killer pair of sandals (still also want to crochet this in monochrome)

I also love Grace Ahkrem’s Petaluma Tee — it might be my favorite — but I can’t bear the styling in that photo. And we’ve talked about Pam Allen’s Perkins Cove Pullover already, but have you seen Fancy Amber’s short-sleeved version? So cute.

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Best summer sweater knitting patterns

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Best summer sweater knitting patterns

I’d tell you this was another request but really it was more like a demand. People in need of knitting patterns for little summer tanks and tees can be rather assertive!

Some of these have been seen on Fringe before, and not all are digitally available sadly, but here in one place is a whole slew of my favorite summer (or at least summerish) sweaters — too many to picture:

1. Gate Pullover by Margaux Hufnagel, knitted sideways with a little geometric lace across the top; see also: High Relief Dolman by Courtney Kelley (which I would knit wider and with shorter sleeves)

2. Kit Camisole by Bristol Ivy, lovely slouchy, textured tank; see also: Aproned Tank by Hannah Fettig

3. Hester Pullover by Amy Herzog, adorable

4. Mix No. 13 by AnneLena Mattison, allover mesh makes a great coverup

5. Francis by Olga Buraya-Kefelian, with really interesting construction; see also: Short Row Sweater from the Purl Bee (free pattern)

6. Knit T-Shirt from the Purl Bee, with contrast-lined pocket (free pattern); see also: Insouciant by Julie Hoover, Two-Color Baseball Tee by Laura Bryant

7. Shiro Shiriku by Vicki Square, which also applies to this!; see also: Lemon by Helga Isager, of course

8. Drop Stitch Tank by Pam Allen, the photo is a little unfortunate but the sweater is cute (picture it, as I am, in charcoal tweed — so summery!)

9. Riverine Pullover by Andi Satterlund, two-toned and two-textured (from the new Pom Pom Quarterly); see also: Cap Sleeve Lattice Top from the Purl Bee (free pattern)

10. Pebble Tank from the Purl Bee, which looks so cool in Habu’s Natural Cover Cotton (free pattern)

Please feel free to add your favorites below!

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