Category: magazines

This could become a habit:

Today, the mail brought these two new RYC books as well as the Spring 2007 Rowan.  Sitting down with a cup of espresso and a half an hour of knitting dreams is pure heaven.

There are several very pretty sweaters in this spring’s Rowan book and I am sorely tempted.  I love sitting and dreaming of the sweaters I could knit, perhaps even more than I enjoy knitting the sweaters I do knit.  After all, I can knit far more sweaters in my dreams.  As to correlating my dream sweaters to my actual finished projects, well, let’s just say that I have never been particularly good at that.

Although I was less than thrilled with the spring Interweave Knits, the spring Anny Blatt and Bouton D’or books have proven to be far more exciting and I am actually thinking about spring sweaters.

Both of these sweaters caught my eye immediately.  The green one is from the Bouton D’or book and uses one of their new spring yarns, Selene, and the white one on the right is from Anny Blatt.  I absolutely ADORE this sweater and must knit it.

Here are two more favorite temptations.  I haven’t yet decided which ones I am going to knit.  The two white sweaters are both knit from a combination of Anny Blatt and Bouton D’or yarns and might be best completed with the suggested yarns.  The other two — well I don’t know yet.  Both the yellow and green sweaters use the same yarn, and there is only one color that appeals to me so either I will make a choice or I will knit one out of something else, always a possibility anyway.  I will probably pick a yarn, swatch it, and decide which swatch I like best before making any firm commitment.

In the meantime I am progressing nicely on the rice stitch cardigan given that I haven’t spent a great deal of time knitting.  I am nearly up to the waist on the back and I must now make a decision as to weather I am making the sweater 28 inches or 26 inches long.  I have been agonizing about this since I started: since I didn’t do the alterations to the pattern, or figure out the yardage, and I can’t remember the conversation when I ordered the yarn I am not completely certain that I have enough.  I only have the idea that I usually order extra for lengthening most patterns, and assume that it will work.

I shall go for the longer length and hope for the best.

We are flying off to Tucson this afternoon for a long weekend.  Hopefully there will be adequate knitting so that I at least finish the back of the sweater, and armed with that data, I will be able to calculate yarn used and yarn remaining and figure out exactly how much yarn I need and whether I will have enough, or whether I will be restarting at the beginning, or almost at the beginning by the time I rip back.

The new Verena arrived:

It is not my favorite issue, but there are still several things I want to knit.  It seems, that generally speaking, that I am more of a fall knitter than a summer knitter, at least in terms of the kinds of things I fall in love with and hope to knit, not in terms of when I do the knitting.  These two are my favorites so far:

Not that these are going to get made up right away, but then I haven’t knit any of the Verena patterns yet.  Must do that.

At the moment I am not sure what I MUST do.  With the ongoing reconfiguration of the sewing room closet there are a few piles of yarn that are temporarily displaced.  They had not been forgotten, but they were also not directly in my line of sight and therefore not in my daily thoughts.  There certainly is something to that old adage about "out of sight out of mind" and its corollary as well.  As it is, each time I walk by a pretty pile of yarn residing in some temporary resting place I am lured to fondle it and dream of future sweaters.   Keeping my mind on the task at hand is proving difficult, as I am constantly being lulled by the siren song of multiple yarns.

Supposedly I have a plan of things I want to knit.  I don’t remember what that plan is right at the moment.  Did I write it down?  I’m not sure.  My brain is increasingly befuddled.  There are several tempting piles of yarn waiting to go back in the closet, or onto my needles, whichever happens first.  The results remain undecided.

One week ago Thursday I received my Vogue Knitting,  a full two weeks after I first saw it in a yarn shop, but before I had broken down and bought an extra copy.  I am happy to have my copy, but I am also annoyed at Vogue because this seems to be the norm, not the exception.  Is it selfish of me to want my subscription copy before it appears on every newsstand?  What is the point to subscribing?  Maybe Vogue doesn’t care about having subscribers.

But back to the issue.  I didn’t look at it that first night, I was just relieved that it had arrived.  I browsed through it very briefly on the weekend and did not have a chance to look in greater depth until this Thursday (yesterday).  Today I spent even more time perusing the pages.

There are quite a few things I like:

As you can see, the entire "foreign affair" story line is included in my picks, as well as the cover scarf, which I adore, even though it looks like the kind of thing that I would hate to knit.  Long narrow tubes of stitches — ugh!  But then again, maybe that makes it the perfect challenge, like when I forced myself to knit three ribbed sweaters in a row because I hated ribbing.  I don’t hate ribbing anymore.  And what is the point of knitting if I never grow or take on new challenges, or even if I avoid tackling my prejudices.  Without challenge even the most adored hobby will become boring and uninspiring.  Or at least so I tell myself.

There are a few more sweaters in there, a couple of which I haven’t copied.  The Montera wrap cardigan looks like a good basic that would get a lot of wear, even though I dislike wearing Montera.  But it could be done in any wool.  I suppose it is just so basic that I remember its presence but it is not in the least inspiring.

I also like these two sweaters in the "Grace Notes" collection:

I am not actually likely to ever wear either one.  I think they are lovely but they are just not "me".  I have trouble picturing myself in them.  I suppose they could be "me" if I wanted them to be, the image I chose to present to the world is completely in my own control after all, but at this point, I am not sure this image is in my real world comfort zone, more in my imaginary life view of myself — not for public consumption.

However, it is possible that I might wear these two sweaters from the same collection:

In the end, who knows what I will actually knit, or when I knit it.  Knitting magazines mostly fill a dream niche in my knitting life.  I get to some of the designs, sometimes I outgrow my lust for a design long before I ever get it knit up, effort saved I suppose.  Mostly they just provide a little mental escape and chance to imagine a different life.

Not Vogue…
Not Interweave…..

What knitting magazine has arrived in my mailbox?

VERENA!!

Not quite as chock-a-block with desirable patterns as the last issue, but still more than acceptable, and here, in my hands, ready for me to peruse the pages and dream of sweaters future!

I saw the Vogue at Yarn Central nearly two weeks ago! Aargh!!!

I stalk the post office like a lion stalking her prey.  But no Vogue Knitting arrives.  I think this happened last year as well.  I vaguely recall that I left NYS&W Saturday and went out in search of a Vogue Knitting because I had seen one previously, wanted it badly, and wanted to refer to something.  In my Rhinebeck driven yarn and pattern lust I just could wait no longer.  I see a repeat of last year’s scenario in the making.

Why I oh why does the magazine ship copies to the stores before they ship copies to their subscribers?  What cruelty.

The new Interweave is also up, but I have only looked cursorily, as I do not want to get sucked into another morass of pattern-book-lust and desire. And what drives this passion, this need for more patterns when I have more than enough to keep a village of knitters happily knitting away for a lifetime or two.  It is the magic of dreams of course, the dream of knitting, the dream of wearing, the dream of being someone else in some fantasy life not fully realized.  Dreams are worth hanging on to, and the cost of magazines are a small enough price to pay.

But only if they come!

Before leaving for San Francisco I bemoaned the fact that my new Rowan knitting magazine had not arrived.  While at sewing camp Diane took pity on me and lent me hers.  At first I declined, wanting to save myself for my own private copy, but eventually I broke down.  It was filled with wonderful designs that I would love, absolutely love to knit.

Then I got detoured to Knoxville.

When I got home last night one of the first things I did was sort through the huge stack of magazines and catalogues that had arrived during my absense.  I did not realize that there was anything amiss.  And then it hit me!  Still no Rowan mag!

Oh the horror!  Oh crisis!  Oh dear, what shall I do?

A distress horn has sounded.  A message has been cast upon the waves.  Perhaps the missing Rowan shall be found. 

But then, it is not like I have nothing else to knit, now is it?

Some time back I posted about the new the preview for the fall Vogue Knitting.  But then I neglected to mention anything further.  Well, I got the magazine, some time ago in fact, and I am just as thrilled as I thought I might be. 

In fact, between IK, VK, and the new Verena Stricken, I probably have enough sweaters I could happily knit to keep me going for several years.

There are so many things I like in the new VK that I really can’t post all the pictures.  As I mentioned in my previous post, I love the entire "Grays Anatomy".  At first I had major doubts about sweater #31, primarily because I thought it looked asymmetrical and strange.  But when I look more closely at the actual photograph, and the diagrams, I see that it is a standard cardigan with a long scarf attached.  That makes it kind of cool.

I also still like much of "Modern English" although there are things I would never wear.  I am currently very much entranced with  sweater #3, Raspberry Fields Forever:

The sock feature has a several interesting pairs of socks with fun shaping or designs and I think even the wildly colorful ones are fun even though I would never wear them.    I love these black and white socks just for the shaping at the foot,  although I haven’t worn knee socks since I was 12 and don’t intend to reintroduce that style to my wardrobe. 

The lace socks are pretty as well. and I can  much more easily see myself wearing the.

There are several other sweaters that appeal, but I think I have inundated you with more than enough photos.  Not to worry you will see them eventually as designs from this issue are sure to crop up in my knitting.

The Autumn Verena arrived over the weekend and I have been spending a lot of time poring over it.  It too is filled with lots of designs I would like to knit.  This is turning out to be one of the most promising seasons for knitting and sewing that I have seen in a long time.  When I bought my first Verena, last winter, it was an issue like this, loaded with fabulous designs and I was inspired to get a subscription.  The spring sweaters did not thrill me so much though.  Now that cool-weather designs are back though, I am glad I got the magazine, as it is not something carried at my local newstands, and this issue pays for the cost of the subscription in ideas alone.

These are just a few of the very elegant sweaters in the black and white section most of which are sweaters I would wear for a long long time.

But there are also sportier and more casual sweaters, such as this one with its furry chenille eges, collar and cuffs:

And this sporty yet tailored wrap cardigan.

There are more sweaters in this issue than I could ever knit, much less show here.  But I need to post one more photo, although I am not sure you can see the stitch detail of the sweater:

Do you recall that I mentioned that I went to Colorful Stitches with certain projects in mind?  And that I did not find what I was looking for?  Granted I found something pretty wonderful, but what, pray tell, was I seeking?

Well I was seeking a fall project inspired by the new  fall Interweave Knits, which had just arrived in mail box that very morning.  I had just come to the conclusion that I was not really going to start a new summer project, in the hopes that summer will be done before I wear it much anyway, and I needed a fairly simple project that could be knitted at knitting group without major pattern mishaps, so I was looking for something simple.

The first thing that came to mind was the cover sweater on the new Interweave Knits even though it is knit in alpaca which means I won’t be wearing it for some time, and quite frankly alpaca sounds terrible to knit with in the current 100 degree heat.

I love the sweater and its wide neckline.  I really just has to hang well off the shoulders and then hang gracefully.  In this instance it is good that it is not particularly fitted because it means I will probably knit it and still be able to wear it, another important consideration because I have finally made a commitment to some lifestyle changes over here.

More exactly I have admitted to myself that I am much too heavy and need to lose weight.  Now anyone who has looked at photos on my blog will probably say to themselves “of course.” But I managed to deny that fact for a long time as I let the weight build up.  You see, for most of my early adult life, certainly through my 20’s and 30’s, I was a thin person and putting on weight was not really issue because it just came off again.  I had more trouble keeping weight on than taking it off, and I had no trouble maintaining that size 6 average on my 5’9" frame.  The problem is that I have continued to think of myself as a thin person despite all evidence to the contrary, and so it finally came as a surprise when I noticed that I was not just a little heavier, but was in fact, chubby.

Now I don’t really think I will ever become that size 6 person again, and I am not sure I really want to be that person, but I still need to loose 50 pounds.  Well, more exactly since I have now lost 13 pounds, I need to lose 40 more.  I will accept another 30, but 40 is the goal.  And I am determined to stick with it, despite occasional lapses and over-indulgences. 

And herein lies the problem.  Knitting takes time and a lot of effort goes into each project. I don’t want to knit something that is not going to fit when I am done with it.  At the same time it seems somewhat arrogant to knit something too small, I don’t want to tempt fate that much (or does this really just mean I am afraid of failing).  So I decided not to knit another summer sweater even though there are several I wanted to knit, including this one:

MAGGIE from RYC Classic Beach

which had been scheduled to be the next project on the needles upon the completion of Otto.  But it is unlikely that I will wear this sweater much this year and I do not intend to be the same size next summer.

Enter the fall Interweave and my hopes of knitting Equinox.  I have yarns in the right gauge, but not with the right fuzziness that the Inca Alpaca has, and part of what I like about this sweater is that bit of soft blurring caused by the fuzz factor in the yarn.

There are, of course, several other sweaters in this issue I want to knit.  In fact, to my mind this is a rather promising issue.

I love both Coral Crossing and Gatsby Girl and don’t see them as being so similar that I wouldn’t want both. 

Now although my waist has returned, it is not quite where I would like it to be in those sweaters.  They will have to joint the ever expanding list.

I also love Weekend by Veronik Avery; it is precisely the kind of classic pullover that I love to wear, but once again it is fitted.  And I want it to fit me the other me, the one that has been hiding, but is determined to get out.  I knitted one of Veronik Avery’s sweaters years ago, and people have told me they are difficult or something, but I don’t remember that.  It may have been but I tend to just get going and work my way through any problems or errors I find and then forget about them, lost in my own little knitting world.  I am not one to get easily frustrated with a sweater unless I just don’t like the knitted fabric itself.

The Wanderlust Hoodie is also high on my list, but then I have long been partial to Shirley Paden’s patterns even they are almost always too short and need pattern revision.  I have always just assumed that the designer is a much shorter person than I, and that she designs her sweaters accordingly.  This sweater particularly seems like the kind of thing to wear walking around the Vanderbilt Estate on a crisp cool day, or perhaps up at Mohonk Mountain house.  It seems like the perfect Hudson Valley kind of sweater, but again it is a little more fitted, and it is in a bulky yarn.  Even though Aurora Bulky is a squishy yarn, I would rather squish it around a smaller me and this sweater is a lot of work to have to do over.

The other two sweaters I like, Sienna and Supernova were possible, but they both need more work for me to wear them.

Supernova reminds me of the sweaters in Knitting Nature, which I love.  And I love the yoke on this sweater too.  I would add a little more shaping to the body and that is really an easy enough thing to do.  But I would want to find a yarn very similar to the stated yarn or I would fear problems with that yoke. 

Sienna has promise as a basic cardigan.  I like that it has just a touch of pattern running up the front along the band.  I dislike the collar.  I really seem to have a thing about small shawl collars  and I would have to devise something different before I would wear this sweater.   At this point I could knit and wear the sweater, but I did not want to do the work involved even in changing the collar.

But then who knows how much work the Mermaid will be.  It is a jacket so although it is shaped, I do not want all too close to the body.  But there are no diagrams, at least none with dimensions noted, so I am going to have to read the instructions and do the math before I get too far along.

But Mermaid, I think, was meant to be.