Rowan Knitting & Crochet Magazine 59: A Review

Rowan has released Rowan Knitting & Crochet Magazine 59. Let's have a look, shall we?

Gifu. Well shaped and has a pretty lace pattern.

Hiyama. This one is crocheted. It's a rather graceful-looking piece that would dress up simple summer clothes.

Kushiro. While I like the lace stitch used in this piece, it has some truly unfortunate and weird proportions which even this model isn't able to carry off.

Miyagi. Good shaping and some truly impressive stitchwork.

Osaka. Lovely. I especially like the delicate colour palette used here.

Oshima. Rather a nice combination crochet and knitted piece. I'd shorten the knitted ribbing on the sleeves to just a few inches as those awkwardly long sleeves are visually dragging down the look.

Gunma. This one's more than a little too slanket-like for my liking.

Saitama. Lovely and polished little classic cardi.

Iburi. A very successful marriage of traditional lacework with modern shaping.

Mie. This one looks like it's straight out of Dorothy Zbornak's closet.

Tokachi. I like the design of this, though that colourway is not an especially happy choice.

Memuro. This one looks to be in a style vein that my sister always refers to as "old lady", and by that I don't even mean the Golden Girls style of dress. I mean this sweater belongs in the same category as girdles, black lace ups, and blue rinses.

Yamagata. Not bad. The colourway is very good, which is not surprising given that this is a Kaffe Fassett design.

Niigata. Fabulous piece. Check out that artistic pleated diamond stitchwork and beading!

Yamanashi. This looks quite a lot like the curtains that were in the mistress bedroom of my house when I bought it. And that I used as drop cloths for painting.

Tochigi. This isn't bad, but I'd fix the drop shoulders and add some waist shaping.

Nemuro. Simple yet polished kimono-style cardigan. I'm imagining it in some higher impact colourways. Not that this subtle one isn't attractive, but this a piece that would look very sharp in, say, black and ivory or some other high contrast pairing.

Ibaraki. A lovely combination of lace and silk/mohair yarn.

Corton. Not thrilled with this one. The concept of combining nautical stripes and cables in one sweater has potential, but it didn't get the execution it deserved and looks tacked together, like some sort of Frankensweater.

Briston. Attractive, wearable, useful piece for summer.

Burnham. This isn't a bad example of a spencer, and it isn't badly styled here. This is what, in reviewer terms, is known as "damning with faint praise". Spencers are hard to wear.

Watton. These two models, one garbed in a bulky-looking, oversized design, and one in a wee spencer, are clinging to one another while they gaze off into a middle distance future in which they shall wear garments proportioned to best suit their figures.

Cottishall. Classic textured cardigan. I do love outfits composed of denim and chambray blues for summer.

Ludham. It never fails to amaze me that regardless of how many thousands of classic cabled sweaters there are out there, designers are still able to come up with little twists on the design. This one has a diamond motif, and it's a good look.

Darsham. The stitchwork in this pullover creates some very flattering visual lines. Excellent work.

Glaven. Bulky and oversized. It would look better if the fit were neatened up a bit.

Felbrigg. This one's so nice it almost makes me feel like going out somewhere to get myself a man for whom I could knit it. Almost.

Leiston. Call me hidebound, but my rule is never to make any knitted garment that sleeps more than two.

Kelsale. An excellent take on the classic gansey style.

Thursford. I wish I could see this one better. From what I can see, it looks like a decent piece.

Bodham. Solid classic cardigan.

Binham. Not too taken with this. The "sweatshirt detail" at the neck has a rather crude look to it.

Egmere. Some striking texture on this one.

Morston. So heavy and oversized looking.

Reydon. The large scale diamonds on the front of this classic sweater give it an updated look.

Heacham. This open shouldered top wouldn't ordinarily be my type of thing, but I think it works. It sits well and has a certain breezy, "sexy without trying too hard", style to it.

Knit One

Knit One, written by Claire d'Este and directed by Clare Gray in 2012, is a delightfully offbeat little short in which the newly widowed Sadie’s grief-fuelled knitting obsession transforms her environment and helps her forge a new connection.

Amazing Lace: A Review

Today we're going to look at Amazing Lace: 13 Handpainted Shawls With and Without Beads, written by Sharon Mooney and Cheryl Potter, and published by Cooperative Press.

Entourage. Not a bad little cowl. The stitchwork gives it a nice finished look, and it's quite practical. I'd have gone with different buttons.

Hankie Panky. This is pretty but much less practical than the previous piece. This is intended for tucking in a pocket in such a way that an inch of lacework is left coyly visible, for daintily wiping away a very few manipulative tears during a moment of conflict with one's beloved, for waving fond goodbyes to friends departing on ocean voyages, for strategically dropping in the path of attractive strangers so that common courtesy obligates them to return it to you. In other words, I can't imagine a real use for this one unless it's to practice lace knitting or possibly line a bread basket or candy dish, but perhaps you can. I don't know your life.

Kingfisher. Pretty little shawl that isn't so elaborately lacy that it can't be worn with everyday clothes.

Serengeti Sunset. Nice piece. Its small scale would make it easy to wear. One of the photos on this pattern's Ravelry page shows its maker wearing a charcoal and light gray version over a denim jacket, and it's a good look.

South Seas. A more traditional full-sized shawl. I like the slightly ruffled edges.

Feeling Groovy. I'm not finding this mish-mash of colours and stitches too appealing, and the scarf is so big it would be a little awkward to wear.

Sing Me the Blues. Thanks to this design, I'm adding "what an elegant, beautiful poncho," to the list of phrases I never thought I'd say and yet have. The stitchwork is beautiful, the beading is lovely, and the piece drapes incredibly well.

Grand Finale. This is pretty, but I'm finding the sporty stripes are at odds with the elegant lacework.

Punting on the Thames. Quite attractive. The garter and mesh stitches and the latticed bands of stockinette stitch work well together.

Purlieu. The stitchwork, beadwork, and shaping are fine, but I'm not liking the stripes, which make this design look more than a little Christmas tree skirt-y.

Et Tu. This one is like some afghan your grandmother cobbled together out of odds and ends of yarn for your birthday and that you pretended to like but then gave to your cat.

Cheryl's Shawl. This one's gorgeous. The stitchwork and shaping is exquisite, and the pearls set off the teal yarn.

Entre Nous. This one makes a very skillful, creative use of the entrelac technique, which tends to look bulky. Here the entrelac section of the shawl becomes a fun and feminine ruffle. The colourway hurts my eyes a little, but that's easily changed.

Stash the Movie and Other Knitting Fables

Jerome was trying to popularize the new extreme sport he'd invented and called "blind biking", but it didn't seem to be taking off.

Martina and Boris felt that their ballet corps' new costume designer hadn't quite grasped the concept of the classic pas de deux.

Ursula's latest design represented the tragic plight of a late season dandelion that had barely survived an encounter with a lawn mower, and was also designed to help its wearer survive a heat wave without air conditioning.

When Raphaela's first knitting project didn't turn out well and even her attempts at darning over her mistakes proved an embarrassment, she found a way to make it wearable. Her knitting circle urged her to rip it out and begin again, but Raphaela's life philosophy was all about moving forward, not do overs.

Marnie considered knitting to be a time sink. Macramé was much more her speed, particularly if she could stay in perpetual motion while she was wearing it so that no one would have a chance to assess her work.

When Creighton decided to take up hiking, she knitted a hiking costume that would double as a two-piece sleeping bag, and then had her staff roll out a custom-fitted white carpet before her in order to keep the soles of her boots clean as she walked in the woods. People had always said that her life of extreme privilege as the daughter of a multi-billionaire who owned and lived on his own island (populated only by his employees) had unfitted her for real life, but they didn't know how practical and creative she could be.

After Gavin made one too many comments about his girlfriend's inability to finish any of the knitted items she'd promised him, he suddenly found himself standing outside her apartment wearing her entire pile of unfinished projects while the apartment door slammed shut and noisily locked behind him.

Everyone told Coral that her new knit dress was really very cute and sharp in itself and needed no special styling, but she thought she couldn't consider the look complete without some really special, head-turning millinery.

"Stash", the titular character from the new craft-themed horror franchise Stash, got a great reaction from the audience during test screenings. Knitters and crocheters in the audience especially reported that he definitely played upon their worst craft room fears.

"Stitch Ripper Face" also proved popular with test audiences, but the producers and director of Stash decided to reserve him for a later movie.

Creative Knitting Spring 2016: A Review

Creative Knitting has released their Spring 2016 issue. Let's sit back, tuck our sweaters or afghans more closely about us, sip a hot beverage, and have a look at it, shall we?

Alamere Cardigan. Quite a good example of draped cardigan with some beautiful stitchwork.

Arpeggio Lace Sampler. Some really lovely stitchwork in this one, though it doesn't sit all that well even on this professional model.

Crescent Moon Cardigan. Quite wearable and attractive.

Featurette Cardi. A well-shaped piece with some great lace detailing.

Rainstorm Cardi. The overall shaping is good and the detailing on the sleeves is very attractive, but the collar and front edges look unfinished to the point of rawness.

Harmony Notions Cases. These aren't bad-looking crocheted cases for your knitting notions or makeup or whatever you wish, but those holes are going to constantly be catching on everything.

Mini Scarflette. Quite a pretty little piece. I like the finishing touch of the crocheted edging against the garter stitch.

Buttonhole Pullover. I'm personally biased against any item of wearing apparel with too many holes in it, because I could never stand to have it catching on everything, but as long as I set that feeling aside, I find this isn't a bad-looking summer hoodie at all.

Domino Shawl. Quite like this one. It has the visual impact of an art piece while still being reasonably wearable.

Juxtapose Tee. Oh, is there a new live action Flintstones movie coming out? This must be the costume intended for a new character, Silver Slate, daughter Fred Flintstone's employer Mr. Slate, who has assumed control of the Bedrock Quarrel and Gravel Company and who has to teach Fred some salutary lessons in not being such a loudmouthed boor.

Lattice Scarf. Rather a nice, stylish piece.

Pata Shawl. Lovely, and even rather elegant.

Spring Beauty Shawl. The border is lovely, but the mesh stitch used throughout the body of the shawl is too fish-net-like.

Sundae Shawl. Not a bad design, but the stripes make it look too afghan-esque.

Tilting Blocks Stole. Excellent design. Some very distinctive stitchwork in this one.

Trifoglio Shawl. This impressively patterned shawl can be styled several different ways, one of which ways we see here. I have to admit it looks pretty damn good worn as a top.

Dandelia Tee. This one's not bad. The shaping and stitchwork are good.

Desert Sands. I'm loving the exquisitely dyed "desert sands and sky" gradient yarn used here, but I don't know about that asymmetrical hem. It looks more stretched out than deliberate.

Mandarin Tango Tee. This isn't a bad piece overall, but I think I'd substitute another kind of stitch for the mesh stitch panels in it.