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
In the interest of keeping it realistic, this third and last “silhouette” for this winter is also pants-based — I’ll save learning how to wear skirts and dresses (and finding time to make them) for spring. So there were the skinny pants and the wide-cropped pants, and here we have the pants in between: a narrower shape that’s still a bit cropped but straight in the lower leg. This includes the made-in-L.A. Point Sur/J.Crew jeans I mentioned in the last post as well as a pair of awesome tobacco-colored men’s chinos from the unworn pile in my closet, which I’m having altered. I often buy men’s pants because they fit me better in the rise and lower leg than narrow-cut women’s pants, which seem to be made for people with no calves. However, men’s pants are generally too wide in the thigh. In high school, I was in the habit of reshaping the legs myself, as well as hemming them, but the fact is I hate hemming and would way rather pay someone to do it. If it costs me fifteen or twenty bucks to take these pants from never-worn to always-worn, so be it! (But before this year is out, I’m vowing to attempt to sew a pair of pants for myself.)
Here’s the amazing thing I’ve discovered: this whole wardrobe planning thing works! Thinking it through like this, I zeroed in on a few very high-impact pants decisions — buying a new pair of jeans (the right pair!) to replace the two failing pair, buying the wide-cropped pants I’ve been yearning for that give a whole different look to things, and altering the unworn chinos, which are another welcome alternative to jeans. And by thinking through the tops and narrowing it down to things that really work in combination with each other, I landed on these three pieces that really are amazing building blocks. You can take any of the top combos from all three of these winter silhouette posts and put them with any of the pants — the only exception being the boxy pullovers on their own, which isn’t an option with the skinny pants. But basically now the pieces I own and the few pieces I’m making add up to an incredible number of possible outfits, whereas before it was all missed connections.
I finished the first version of the woven pullover over the weekend and will post details on that soon, and have gotten Bob’s sweater to the point where I can imagine reaching the end of it, at which point I’ll cast on my quick little black sweater. And in the meantime, there will be tunics. But already, it’s way easier to get dressed in the morning.
It occurs to me I also apparently mean to only wear one pair of boots this winter: I drew every one of these outfits with the same combat boots. But for a lot of these looks, all that’s needed when transitional season comes is a change of footwear.
So almost two years after tearing it all up (gawd, I just reread that post — wow) I finally feel like I’m getting the upper hand over my closet again.
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PREVIOUSLY in Wardrobe Planning: Winter silhouette 2: Boxy over wide-cropped
Rather than using a counter or making tick marks in the pattern margins or what have you, many knitters prefer to keep track of their work right in the work. We’ve talked before about using stitch markers to mark your rows or increases/decreases — so you can see at a glance exactly what you did and where — but Jerome Sevilla of Gridjunky has a less jangly method, which he found in a 1977 book called Scandinavian Knitting Designs by Pauline Chatterton. In this method, a length of contrasting scrap yarn is carried behind the work and used to mark every tenth row (or whatever it is you want to keep track of). When you get to the spot you want to mark, simply move the scrap yarn between the needles to the front of the work. Work the next stitch, then move the scrap yarn back to the back. So what you have on the front of the work is a single wrapped stitch each time that’s been done, as seen in Jerome’s photo above, and on the back you have a long vertical float from that stitch up to the next one marked. When you’re all done, just snip the waste yarn and unpick it.
For a steady stream of inspiration from Jerome, follow his blog or Instagram.
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PREVIOUSLY in Hot Tips: Save time at try-on
Photos by Jerome Sevilla, 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
