I thought I could do it. A test knit. Test a pattern for accuracies before publication. I counted the weeks, predicted how much time I could dedicate to knitting each of those week . . . and calculated. Yep, I could do it, I thought and then . . . nope, notta, nothing. The due date came and went. Much like one fails at fostering and adopts, I failed with this test knit and knitted a beauty.
… The Gyro Experience
I love knitting from past issues of VK magazines. And, it appears I am not the only one as seen by the continuing invitation threads posted on Ravelry from the Vogue Knitting group. These invites are meant to inspire and motivate and they indeed do, not to mention they are just plain fun sharing enthusiasm with other knitters who have a similar passion.
… Label Lovers, Anyone?
Utilizing a quiet day during lockdown, I am catching up on writing about a project completed a few months, ago. When I received my Vogue Knitting Holiday, 2019 and excitedly turned the pages to see the new designs, which has been a total thrill for me for over 40 years, I turned to this, #07 called Parallelogram designed by Laura Zukaite.
… Modern Argyle
The volunteer position of teaching knitting, aka my ‘found’ knitting group, includes teaching basic skills. The hope is that this art will serve these ladies well in some capacity in their future. The classes are offered in semesters so the size of the group of ladies varies. And so does the skill level of the participants. With that in mind, I offer a variety of patterns,
… Transition
Much like Facebook’s posts and ability for friends to comment and/or like a post, Ravelry, a knitter’s online paradise, has a function called forums. Forums are generally written and like-interested people comment, share, like, or otherwise support the theme of the post. Reading these threads is as interesting as posting on them. Groups on Ravelry generally have many such forums going on at once and of course, there are people in all ranges of activity on them. Some are so active, they have become moderators and those moderators are now posting what we affectionately call challenges. This is true within the Vogue Knitting Group, at least. This is where the inspiration came, or maybe an excuse, to go all the way back to my complete VK magazine collection dating Fall/Winter 1982 (easy access here on shelving).
Well, at this point, this project has been knitted twice. Not by choice, of course, but to eliminate too much shelf time, aka, not be worn. I knit to wear so if there is something about a garment that doesn’t feel right or comfortable, I know its future is doomed. I must say, the fabric that was created by this stitch was the conundrum.
The honeycomb stitch is a type of cable that is dense, especially when using Lion Brand’s fisherman wool . . held double. Not so much dense in weight as the pulled stitches create a kind of air hole behind it. Maybe, you can make this out here, but dense in body.
I think it is interesting to hear of what inspires each of us. For my inspiration, I can’t think of a time when I reached for any Vogue Knitting publication that I didn’t end up wanting to make at least one item from it. Oftentimes, more. This has remained true for over 40 years. Now, currently on Ravelry, such magazines, publications, designers of well-known fame as well as fledglings have ‘groups’ one can follow. From there one can drill down and find things like KALs (knit alongs) and surprise KALs (just that, clues per week to lead to a surprise garment in the end). These things are found in ‘forums’. These niceties are all meant to inspire or motivate the knitter in us. Well, the Vogue Knitting Group is no exception. It offers challenges, and I am right in line to accept them. … Leg-o-Mutton ‘THEN’
Is it a poncho? Is it a wrap? The designer, Vladimir Teriohkin names his design Helio Poncho, which means combining form. Whatever you call it, it could not be easier to knit and exceedingly fun to wear. Think, a few inches of ribbing, followed by a rectangle in straight stitch with a hole in it towards one end, and ending with the same number of inches in ribbing. When complete, pick up stitches around that hole for a nice 8 inch cowl. It is as simple as that. Knitted in Homespun from Lion Brand, a chunky, curly yarn, it knits up quickly and is impressively soft.. Wear it casual with moto joggers for Christmas tree shopping or fancy it up with more formal wear for an evening out, The photographer snapped these photos while I was adjusting the multitude of ways of wearing. We are at a Buffalo-famed ice cream shop, Anderson’s who rents out their lot to a Christmas tree farm every holiday season. Paul Bunyan has stood proudly for years positioned along a main drag to announce the farm’s return to the local community. So, here we are starting out where I’ve slipped this rectangle over my head, short length in front. … The Poncho Wrap
I am talking about a recently finished garment, my first of 2018. First due to the nature of my newly single life (adjusting/managing/accepting) but also first due to the intricacies of what was on my needles. In all fairness to the publisher of Vogue Knitting, the pattern was marked as ‘expert’ which means a high level of difficulty to knit, so I guess I was warned.
It begins as a knitting project but somehow each garment ends up having a more involved back story. This project was all about finding the right yarn or should I say, the right yarn combination.
Fur varsity jacket. As quickly as I could say those words, fur varsity jacket, I was smitten. Vladimir Teriokhin never disappoints and again here I was ready and willing to embark on another one of his designs.
I love pink, especially pale pink. Inspired by Rebecca Taylor‘s color palette as seen in some of her recent collections and the fact that I am making every attempt coordinating the pieces I knit with my existing wardrobe, I thought I would knit myself a kind of mini collection. With my eye on a knitted modern baseball jacket pattern (foreshadowing), I wondered if the other pink yarn I had in my stash might make the perfect complement as a hoodie.
I have been very grateful for a little online thread on Ravelry set up by a fellow knitter and avid fan of Vogue Knitting, coilycurly. This knitter, to honor Vogue Knitting’s 35th anniversary, has set up what she is calling the “Anniversary Challenge”. According to the ‘rules’, contestants are to knit one project from the VK magazines, from each decade since the publication’s start, from the years ending in 7. That would be a total of four projects to fulfill the challenge and at the same time, honor the magazine for its longevity in bringing high fashion and current designers to the forefront.
This past year, I have made a conscious effort to utilize the growing stash that is forming. I don’t mean the stash of yarn waiting to be worked on with particular projects in mind, I am meaning the remnants or leftovers of yarn from already completed projects. I call the first the stash and the latter, the remnant stash. To help me think how I could utilize these scraps, I have organized them into bins according to their weight.
