Knitscene Accessories 2014: A Review

Knitscene has released an accessories issue. Let's have a look at the accessories therein!

This is the Starlette Capelet. I quite like it. It has a good texture, and has a certain pleasing Victorian feel to it while being quite wearable by today's standards.

The Kirsch Cowl. This is a pretty little piece, but I'm not sure about the pom poms, which make this piece look a bit like the cowl equivalent of pom pom socks.

The Wandren Hat and Scarf is a nice classic hat and scarf set with a bit of originality in its twisted rib and cable stitch arrangement.

The Lady Lindy Headband has an interesting design, but this would be would be a seriously difficult piece to wear without looking silly. Even this professional model isn't managing it.

The Corbusier Socks are a nicely textured classic sock design.

The designer of this Valerian Hat says it was "inspired by the intricate geometric patterns often seen on door frames in Art Deco buildings", and that seems to have been a happy inspiration. The stranded band around the hat does look like something distinctively apart from the usual fair isle.

The Eva Marie Hat & Cowl is a good classic lacework slouchy tam and cowl set.

The Townsend Hat has a kind of twenties vibe that I rather like, but I don't think the hat itself is quite working as is. Perhaps this hat could work in another colourway, such as one that is softly blended rather than high-contrast as this one is. The appliqué fan stands out a little too much in this colourway and consequently looks a bit slapdash rather than like an integrated part of the design.

I absolutely love the Cassandre Cowl, with its Art Nouveau-esque fan design. No need to fiddle with this colourway to make it work. This piece will work in any high contrast or complementary colour scheme.

The Bevis Mitts have good texture and a stylish shape to them.

The Pellisier Cowl has a sharp, graphic appeal.

This piece is another that cries out for a different colourway. I wouldn't work the Skyhawk Shawl's stacked triangles in green because it gives this piece an unfortunate resemblance to a Christmas tree skirt. When I imagine this shawl done in, say, ivory and old rose, or turquoise and yellow, it looks much more like a smart modern summer shawl.

The Peacock Ascot. I like this piece. The stitchwork is pretty, the item will stay in place, and this design is a great way to showcase some lovely buttons.

The Calamus Hat is a pretty classic lacework cap.

The Nene Shawl looks like a lovely way to show off a gradient yarn. The stitchwork in this piece is exquisite.

The Amakihi Shawl is another beautiful lace scarf.

The Boson Cowl. Love this one. The texture's great. Though when wearing this cowl, you needn't arrange your hair in a cowl-like style to match it. Try whipping up a matching pair of gloves instead.

The Pivot Socks. Another attractive classic pattern that has a bit of interest in its enlarged cable pattern.

The Recursive Shawl is one pattern knit in two different weights of yarn. It's not a bad piece: simple, useful, and probably quick to knit.

The Isotopy Mitts are fun and modern.

The Congruence Socks. I'm not finding these pleasing to look upon. They're making me feel like I need to either adjust my computer screen or get my eyesight checked. But then that's just the effect created by this particular yarn. These socks have a classic stockinette and cable design and would look good in any yarn you find attractive.

I very much like the Dressel Shawl, with its strikingly original (for knitwear) Grecian-style design.

The Cerigo Shawl is another good piece of design. I like the effect of the contrast cabled border on this otherwise very simple shawl.

The Scarab Mitts. I must admit these are mittens are a clever and fun bit of design, but I am perhaps not the person to be reviewing them, or am reviewing them on the wrong day, given that I had to beat an obscenely large insect to death with a rolled-up newspaper in my bathroom earlier today and the thought of tolerating even an intarsia insect on my person is beyond me.

The Vidya Mitts. Not thrilled with these. They're cute in their way, but perhaps don't have enough sophistication for my taste. I'd make something along these lines for a child.

The Gefn Mitts. I like the ruffled cuffs on these fingerles mitts but don't care for the visibly seamed garter stitch upper part of the design, which makes them look like they're inside out.

The Arachnid Mitts. More insects. But again I must admit these are a witty, well-executed design. Now please excuse me while I go shudder convulsively. No, I'm not a Kafka fan, why do you ask?

Oh good, these mitts feature birds instead of insects. The Huginn and Muginn Mitts are clever and I think, despite their cuddly sounding name, will be just the thing for that Edgar Allan Poe devotee in your life.

The Sphinx Hat is really cute. Love the use of colour here.

The Polos Headband. This headband looks much easier to wear than the Lady Lindy headband above. It's simple and classic and will hold a woman's hair back without making her look like Alice in Wonderland.

Moving On

Moving On is a stop-motion video from BAFTA-nominated animator, writer, and director Ainslie Henderson, which she created as a music video for the song of the same name by the British rock band James. In it, Henderson uses yellow yarn to tell a story about the inevitable cycle of life, death, grief, and joy. As Shakespeare put it, "the web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together." (All's Well that Ends Well, Act IV, scene 3.)

Magic Knitted Carpet Ride

Have you ever knitted a rug, or considered knitting one? It's an idea with great possibilities, because you can make a rug of any size or shape or colour that you want. (Speaking as someone who spent ten months searching for a satisfactory bedside rug, I feel this is a quality not to be taken lightly.) Rug knitting is usually technically much easier than knitting a sock or a sweater and probably also faster, because you'll be using a bulky weight or at least a worsted yarn, or even multiple strands of worsted or bulky. I would be inclined to put a hand-knitted rug in an area of the house where it's not going to be likely to meet up with any muddy shoes, such as the bedrooms, the bathroom, or the living room. If slippage is an issue — as it's likely to be on tile or wood floors — you can always get an inexpensive mesh grip mat to put underneath. For a more toe-pleasing experience, you can even buy padding to put underneath the knitted rug.

I'd encourage you to go ahead and design your own rug, but let's look at a selection of rug patterns to get an idea of what can be done. The photo above is of the Seed Stitch Rug, by Kerin Dimeler-Laurence, which is so evocative of the traditional rag rug. This pattern is available for download for $4.99(USD).

This pattern is Absorba, The Great Bathmat, by Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne, and it was published in Mason-Dixon Knitting: The Curious Knitters' Guide: Stories, Patterns, Advice, Opinions, Questions, Answers, Jokes, and Pictures. This pattern uses three stands of double worsted Peaches & Creme held together, and the pattern promises that it's "the sort of mat that will absorb two or three gallons of bathwater".

This is the Grass Rug, by Kim Hamlin, and it's also a good pick for someone who likes the shag style. This pattern is available for free.

This is the Ocean Currents Rug, by Moira Ravenscroft of Wyndlestraw Designs. I like it for its beautifully blended colourway. This pattern is available for $4.50(USD).

The Odds and Ends Rug, by Kim Russo, must be the ultimate in stash-busting projects. It's knitted out of many little balls of leftover worsted yarn, which work together beautifully. This pattern is available for $6.00(USD).

The Log Cabin Quilted Rug, by Donna Druchunas, is another very traditional style re-imagined as a knitted rug. Garter stitch pieces are sewn together to make this rug, which is then lined with a fabric backing and interlined with quilt batting. This pattern was published in The Knitted Rug: 21 Fantastic Designs.

Here's another wonderfully cushy-looking bath mat, the Spa Bath Mat, by Black Cat Designs. This pattern is available as a free Ravelry download.

The Slip-stitch Kilim-style Rug, by Black Cat Designs, is another example of a traditional rug design translated into a knitting pattern. This pattern is available as a free Ravelry download.

This rug is the Elegant Celtic Cabled Rug, by Donna Druchunas. This pattern is available for download for $2.65(USD).

The Circular Rug, by Alison Barlow, has a more complex construction than most of the rugs in this post, but looks totally worth the work. This pattern appears in Fashionable Projects for the New Knitter.

If you like a little touch of mid-century modern in your decor, the Retro Wallpaper Rug by Cristen DiPisa may be for you. This pattern is available for download for $1.99(USD).

Here's another fun take on a traditional rug style, and even better, it's one that won't mean the death of some poor animal. There are several bear rugs on Ravelry, but unfortunately my favourite pattern was only available in Finnish. I went instead for my second favourite, the Bear Hug Rug, by Phyllis Smith, which looks perfect for a kid's room because it's both a rug and a toy and should be machine washable and dryable. This pattern is available for $14.95(USD).

I'd want to expand the size of the Annie rug, by Sarah Hazell, considerably, but I love that interesting, cheerful pattern. This pattern is available for free.

This You're a Star! rug, by Minttu, borrows from traditional Fair Isle knitting patterns. This pattern is available for $2.00(USD).

How to Knit Like an Icelandic Man

Þórgnýr Thoroddsen has a name that is very hard for non-Icelanders to say, but he makes up for it by being a very manly knitter and Tunisian crocheter. In this video Þórgnýr tells us how an Icelandic man knits and invites us to look him up if we ever visit Iceland.

Pom Pom Quarterly Summer 2014: A Review

Pom Pom Quarterly has released their Summer 2014 issue. Let's have a look at it, shall we?

This is the Creamsicle design. I'm not too impressed with it because I'm not a big fan of bobbles at their best, and this is a rather unimaginative use of them. The shape isn't great either, what with the boxy body and too long sleeves. The pattern looks a little amateurish on the whole.

The Sombra design. I like this one. The colourway is so well blended and a loose sheer top like this can be useful for summer, as a coverup for the beach or to be worn in lieu of a shawl.

The Seaside Sundae throw is quite attractive. It looks like a baby blanket in these colours, but of course there's no reason to use pastels for this project if you'd prefer another colourway.

The Sceles pattern. As I've said in a number of past reviews, clothing designs should not look like repurposed afghans.

The Flora design. I'm not taken with this one either. It has good points, such as the striped garter stitch collar and the attractive lacework through the body, but the design isn't quite working together as a whole. I think the problem might be the colours, which don't do much for each other, and make the garment look visually chopped up. I think what I would do is make the body of the sweater and the sleeves in a solid colour, and use a second variegated colour as the stripes in the collar and for the button bands and hem trim.

The Emery shrug. I very much like this little wrap. Pretty colour and texture.

The Ananas Comosus design. I'm probably the wrong demographic for this pineapple tank top, which is likely intended to appeal to some cute young hipster type. All I can say is that the pineapple motif is fairly well worked out.

The Baya shawl is a good piece of design. I'm impressed with whomever put these colours together, because it's a risky combination that really pops. The lace pattern is really lovely.