Knitter's Magazine K119: A Review

Knitter's Magazine has released issue number 119. Let's have a look at it.

Circle the Square afghan. Nice-looking piece. I like the integration of traditional lace and geometric lines.

Mint Cascade cardigan. Very pretty! One would almost have to make this one in some shade of green.

Aqua Frieze cardigan. Love the design of this one, though the cropped length and open front design do give it something of that "shrunk in the wash" look. But then it could always be lengthened and reshaped.

Shetland Squares pullover. This piece is constructed by sewing two large rectangles together, and it looks like it. I'd add waist shaping and neaten up the fit somewhat. There's a reason why we don't all wear sandwich board outfits.

Citrus Bars afghan. LOVE this one. Both the yarns used and the design work together perfectly to make a simple yet lovely and striking piece.

Entrelac Magic afghan. This isn't the impressive piece of design the previous afghan is, but it's attractive and functional enough. There are more inspiring yarns to use for it than those used here.

Prismatic Panels afghan. This is a new wave interpretation of the classic ripple afghan.

Monkey Business booties. Very cute!

Monkey Business hat. Simple but attractive enough.

Wee Waldo booties. I'm not sure too many people will get the Waldo reference unless the rest of the baby's outfit is in keeping with the theme, but these are nice enough in themselves.

Wee Waldo sweater and cap. Cute. It's hard to go wrong when knitting a striped sweater for a child.

Boxed Lilac top. The lacework and colour of this top is lovely, but it's not something that will be flattering on most women. Even this professional model isn't able to make it look all that good. I'd reshape it into a slightly oversized, drapey top, and nix the mudflaps on the sides.

Monkey Bars baby blanket. Nice piece of contemporary design. I'd be inclined to forego the sock monkey colourway and explore the many other possibilities.

Tracts & Trails. This looks a little too much like eighties-era vinyl upholstery to me. However, I think I might like it better in another colourway, as this one isn't quite pulling together.

Symphony of Stripes shawl. The texture of this piece looks luscious (given that it's made of silk and mohair it could hardly be otherwise), but that is one unattractive colourway and I can't imagine how one would style this shawl, as it would go with nothing but the most basic of basic outfits. I'd dial back the number of colours used from five to three or less.

Wears Waldo pullover. Basic striped baby's sweater, but I do give points for the punny name.

Hiding in the Shadows baby blanket. The basic striped baby blanket you see in the backrgound is actually illusion knitting, which is rather a cool concept for a baby blanket, though I do think I'd want to go with another theme.

Skein of Thought with Mochimochi Land

In this video, Anna Hrachovec shares some of her thoughts and techniques she uses to employ her designs in photography and animation.






This video is a supercut of the charming Mochimochiland.com animated GIFs made in 2012 by Anna Hrachovec.

Knit Simple Fall 2015: A Review

Knit Simple has released their Fall 2015 issue. Let's have a look at the simple knits therein.

Pumpkin and leaf cardigan. This is... okay. It's not great design, but it is the kind of thing that little kids relate to and look cute in. However, those leaf and pumpkin stems bear a most unfortunate resemblance to green worms and I'd go with instarsia stems.

Pumpkin and leaf scarf. Not a bad scarf for a kid. Again, though... green worms.

Pumpkin pocket pullover. The pumpkin pocket is really badly shaped and again... a green worm, this time with a really... ill-advised... placement. If you don't feel up to the task of designing a better pumpkin pocket, just leave it off entirely as this would be a perfectly nice striped pullover without it.

Pumpkin purse. This looks slapped together and the colours don't work.

Pumpkin bag. This is a bit better than the previous design, but not by terribly much. The pumpkin appliqué needs work. I'd be inclined to leave it off altogether and embellish the bag some other way.

Owl sweater with matching scarf. This is kind of cute but it does look a little on the roughly constructed side.

Owl toy. There must be better designed owl toys than this one.

Pumpkin hat. Cute and wearable.

Pumpkin.. cushion?... hassock? I don't know which. I suppose it's big enough for a small child to sit on. I don't think I'd care to have something like this sitting around my house all year, and it seems like an odd thing to make for Halloween decorations when it's neither especially attractive nor of much practical use.

Jack o' Lantern Scarf and Mitts. Basic, but cute and wearable.

Afghan. Basic, but it looks attractive enough and very cozy.

Sport pillows. Not a bad decorating touch for the sports obsessed. One could customize them to display a favourite player's or team's number or logo.

I... don't even know what this is. It looks like a knitted representation of Professor Kitzel's time machine. Are we supposed to make this thing, put it on a hassock, and watch entranced as we imagine it telling us all about Charlemagne and the elephant, or the California Gold Rush?

Afghan. Not a bad-looking piece, and it's reversible. This would be a nice one to do in a variety of colourways, or in a hand-painted yarn.

Orange and white cowl. Not bad. A more interesting and higher end yarn and button choice would do a lot for it.

Orange and white cowl with cables. I liked the previous one better. Those cables give it the look of a foundation garment that has wandered away from where it was supposed to be.

Triangle afghan. This is a little too grandma's parlour for me, but a better colourway could do a lot for it.

Tasseled afghan. Again... not a bad design, but a very uninspired colourway.

The granny square goes big and goes home. Not bad.

Simple striped cap. This is rather a nice basic piece, though I bet most male wearers would prefer it sans pom pom.

Basic striped hat and scarf set. It'll do.

They've done something a bit different with the stripes here, to good effect.

Dead basic shaker knit cap. Which many men would prefer to wear because it'll keep his ears warm and doesn't make him feel like an idiot and that's all he asks of a hat.

Interesting texture on this one. I'd go with a better integrated colourway and omit the pom pom.

Rather a nice-looking hat with a bit of visual interest.

Simple ribs in two colours. Nice, though again the pom pom seems like a bit much.

Basic hat in two greens that don't quite work together.

Simple striped sweater. This is wearable, and a more interesting colourway would really elevate it.

Classic cabled pullover. I'd fix the slightly dropped shoulders and add waist shaping to give it a little more style.

What I can see of this looks promising.

I like the chevron texture, but this needs waist shaping and the dropped shoulders should be fixed.

Cute, wearable, nicely textured hat for either gender.