"Nice Knits"!

Made in Brooklyn

In case you didn't know, Jared Flood from the brooklyn tweed blog has a pattern book with Classic Elite coming out this August. I happened upon this fact while browsing the Ravelry forums, so here are a few links I found:

link to view the designs - I love the hats, and the cabled woman's sweater

link to recent interview with Jared regarding the new patterns

Oddly enough, I couldn't find any info on Jared's site or the Classic Elite site about their collaboration. Hopefully enough shops around the Internet will have copies for sale, so keep your eyes open for this fabulous-looking collection.

Debbie Bliss Mag...Who Knew?

I had no idea that Debbie Bliss had started her own magazine! I was ordering some Noro from the Yarnbow, and the magazine was listed as new on their site. I ordered a copy, so I'll give a review when it gets here in a few days. In the meantime, you can get more info from her Web site. It looks like her Web site has been totally redesigned as well. I really like the color combinations used on the site. I do think that as a designer she should have pictures on the site of all of the designs contained in each pattern booklet/book. I think the old site was set up that way, so it is a little disappointing to see that only a few designs are represented for each book.

(magazine cover from the Debbie Bliss Web site)

Wine, Cheese, and Yarn

Last night I met up with some knitters at Cheesetique in Del Ray. Danielle from Knit-a-Gogo was hosting a Knitalong night, and there were probably about 15 of us who showed up. Cheesetique is a cheese and wine shop that also has a small bar/restaurant in the back. I ate sparingly all day so I could enjoy this:

It was wonderful! Cheesetique has a great selection of wine and cheeses, and their menu has a lot of non-cheese items as well. It was hard to make a decision, but I really wanted to try out the meat and cheese platter. The items in the picture include: Bucheron, Elderberry Chedder, Maytag Blue, Bresola (like prochuttio), Rosette de Lyon (like a salami), and Mini Finocchiona (sausage with fennel). The wine was a Malbec which went perfectly with the meal (Naiara Reserve, 2005, Mendoza, Argentina). I wasn't a total hog, but brought some home for my husband to try. I tell you it was hard to keep my hands off of it in the car ride home!

Danielle plans to have these knitalongs the third Thursday of the month. For now they will be held at Cheesetique, but check her blog to be sure the location has not changed. I met quite a few new knitters, and I definitely plan to attend next month. I will just have to watch what I eat a week in advance!

Online Mags: Keep Them Coming

There have been a few new online knitting magazines that have popped up in the past month or so. I am sure you have seen most of them, but I found a new one today. It doesn't go live until September 1, but the preview is now up.

Popknits: Vintage Knitting Redeux  (description from their Web site) - "Over the past few years, knitting vintage items has become popular again. Whether the item is a revamped sweater from the pages of Vogue Knitting 1955 or a new take on doily patterns as shawls, vintage knitting is taking a modern turn. Inspired by the thrift store finds sitting on our bookshelves, Popknits challenges you to take a new look at all things that have come before."

• Fall 2008 Premiere Issue

I am sure by now everyone knows about Twist Collective and Knotions. I read through some forums on Ravelry, and heard a little grumbling about the fact that Twist Collective charges for the patterns. I mean come on people, other designers sell their patterns online, so why is it such a big deal that a few designers got together on a site, structured some articles around their patterns, and called themselves a "magazine"? When did the term "magazine" (as in online publication) translate into "free for you and me". I would gladly pay for any of those patterns, and having purchased patterns from many of those designers in the past, I am pretty sure they are exceptionally well-written. It kind of burns me up to think that knitters would actually complain about having to pay for someone's very hard work. Don't come down on people who are trying to make a living doing something they love. We all should be so lucky.
  

Norah #3

I just got the e-mail from Berroco announcing that the Fall/Winter line is now out. I will most certainly be ordering the new Norah Gaughn #3 as soon as possible. If I could only get more knitting time as my gift from Santa this year, I think I would knit everything from that book. The sweater on the cover is knit with Inca Gold and Lumina...giving it gold accents. So beautiful, but I think a little out of my league. Although, many of the other knits in the book use the Inca Gold, so I think I would like to give that yarn a try. It is brand new, and there is a great color selection available. A few of my other favorites: 

From left to right: Strawberry Hill, Loppem, Linear. The first two are knit in Palace, the last one in Inca Gold. Palace is also new this fall. Strawberry Hill would probably take me forever, but I would really love to do the other two. I know I would get a ton of wear out of them...particularly Linear. Other new books I am interested in include: #279 Ultra Alpaca & Ultra Alpaca Light, #277 Peruvia, and Geode & Jasper. All of the new fall patterns and yarns can be seen here. Makes me want to forget all about any summer knitting and move directly on to Fall!

*all pictures from Berroco's Web site

New Online Knitting Mags

My Google feed brought up an entry on the Feather and Fan blog about two new online knitting magazines. I took a look at both, and here are some short reviews.

Metapostmodern Knitting - description from the site: "MetaPostModernKnitting.com is a celebration of fashion-forward and avant-garde knitting." The site was started by a group of knitting librarians who work in the library of a fashion design school in LA. The site has patterns, a trends section, and a blog. There will be two issues a year, and content will be added continually until the next issue is launched. I liked how the list of patterns is presented as fashion sketches, and the patterns seem pretty thorough and easy to understand. There are good pictures for each and schematics are included. One in particular, Vestish, is something I might actually make. I have some Rowan Felted Tweed that I think I could make work for that pattern. It would be perfect for work. I am going to contact them to see if they have a system for notifying readers of new content. I will definitely be going back to look for more.

The Inside Loop - "Dedicated to the fiber arts in the Uk" This one is geared towards highlighting British designers and British yarns. It has some knitting-related articles, but the patterns were nothing out of the ordinary. The Maude sweater was kind of cute, and it would be perfect for my body shape. But, there weren't enough pictures of the entire sweater, so I'm not really sure how it looks from the front on the model. The PDF of the pattern didn't even have an image from the front, which I found a little odd. Also, no schematics. It was also a little hard to get around the site because I kept getting stuck on the blog and it wasn't intuitive on how to get back to the issue itself. Just my two cents, but probably not a site I will visit often.

Knitty is the first online mag I ever looked at, and it is still my favorite. But, I love seeing new resources on the Web, so hopefully there will be more as the interest in fiber arts continues to grow. God knows I love me some free patterns!

Rowan #43 - Review

I was fortunate enough to get a look at the promo for the Rowan Magazine #43 a few months back at my LYS. Not a lot for me in there, but of course I was going to buy the issue when it came out. I was really surprised to find that the shop had their copies already when I went in this past Saturday. I tried to find the preview on Rowan's site, but it wasn't up yet. Here are a few of my favorite designs from this issue, and a few of those that I would never even consider spending my time knitting. (click on the photos to see larger versions)

Now I must say that the first section of the book (Heavenly) has some beautiful, gossamer knits. Kidsilk Haze is prominently featured, and since I am scared to death of the stuff, I just looked without even THINKING of knitting any of them.  The one with the cobwebs between the sleeves and the body is kind of creepy. (l to r: Geno in 4-ply Cotton, Gauze in 4-ply Cotton)

 

The next section is called "Weekender...inspired by 60's and 70's London". This section had some nice designs, but not really in color combos I would wear. A lot of orange, purple and green. A couple I could see myself wearing (l to r: Capri in Calmer, Mustang in Rowan Denim))

The last section is called "Elemental...inspired by textures of rock and wood." I am not sure why I am drawn to this first design, but I could picture myself really digging it when it was done. The second I just threw in here because I would be damned if I would spend all my time knitting a man's sweater and have it look like he snagged it to death climbing over a fence. But, that's just me. I did like all of the natural, earthy colors used in this section. (l to r: Granite in Bamboo Tape, Earthly in Handknit Cotton)

I also picked up a copy of Rowan Classic's "Summer Delights" by Martin Storey. I will review that one tomorrow, and I already have one of the designs qued and ready to go.

New for 2008: Books

Every once in a while I take a look at knitting books slated to release in coming months. The list below includes ones I found on Amazon that I will probably take a look at when they are available. Where possible, I included links to previews of the designs.

Inspired to Knit by Michele Rose Orne - Designs are organized by the seasons. Nice designs, and each section challenges you to learn new techniques. overview, preview, at Amazon

Knit So Fine: Designs With Skinny Yarn by Lisa R. Myers, Laura Grutzeck, and Carol J. Sulcoski - This one has some really pretty designs, but they totally scare me. I know I would probably never finish one. Although, I really want to attempt to make a Bohus-inspired sweater this year.overview, preview, at Amazon

Knits for Men by Margaret Hubert - I couldn't find any pictures yet of the designs. Always good to see another "man" book out. overview, at Amazon

Classic Elite Knits: 100 Gorgeous Designs for Every Occasion from the Studios of Classic Elite Yarns - Not even a cover design for this one yet. at Amazon

Knock Down Knits: 30 Projects from the Roller Derby Track by Toni Carr - This one has me TOTALLY intrigued. overview, at Amazon

Twinkle's Weekend Knits: 20 Fast Designs for Fun Getaways by Wenlan Chia - I am not a Twinkle fan per se, but as far as casual designs go, there might be a few in here for me. I am all for the quick knit. overview, at Amazon

Mastering the Art of Mason-Dixon Knitting: Patterns, Stories, Pictures, True Confessions, Tricky Bits, Whole New Worlds and Familiar Ones, Too by Ann Shayne and Kay Gardiner - Nothing available on this one yet. Since it doesn't come out until Sept, I am sure they will have a preview on their Web site later in the year. at Amazon

Kim's Book Is Here

The new (and much anticipated) new book from Kim Hargreaves is finally out - Heartfelt: The Dark House Collection. Twenty-one designs, all done (of course) in Rowan fibers. The styling of the book seems a little dismal to me, but the knits are mighty pretty. I think you can now buy the book through her site, but not sure where else. Google didn't turn up anything.

Wonder Woman Alert

Oh My God! You have to see this beyond wonderful Wonder Woman sweater created by Practical Polly! I most absolutely need to make myself one. She has a tutorial on Crafster, and she put up some charts on a Flickr page. There is no set pattern, but I am sure I could figure it out using a basic sweater shape. I have to have one!