Twist Collective Winter 2014: A Review

Twist Collective has released their Winter 2014 issue, and it's the best knitting magazine issue I've seen in quite some time. There's perhaps only one design in it that I wouldn't be happy to make and/or wear myself. Let's have a look, shall we?

The Addington cardigan. This is an attractive piece that any woman could wear. I'm not quite sure what's going on with the closure at the neckline, but then one could use any kind of button or clasp there.

The Elica shawl. Simple, pretty piece.

The Paramo pullover. Simple but smart piece. This is a sweater a woman can get a lot of wear out of.

The Quiver shawl-collared pullover. Love this one. It's classic and distinctive and works equally well on a man or a woman.

The Tupelo cowl. Nice piece with a great texture.

The Hyssop pullover has beautiful lacework and a good shape.

The Bierstadt hat and mittens. Attractive and eye catching.

The Riverdale cardigan. Nice classic look. I'm not sold on the curved front hem, which can look like a mistake.

The Mad Dash cardigan. Beautiful, interesting piece with great back detail.

The Fenwick Scarf and Gaiters. These are nicely designed pieces (it's hard to go wrong with classic cables such as these), but I'm not sure about the whole gaiter concept. These will get absolutely filthy in no time.

The Siffleur pullover. So lovely!

The Nevyn cardigan. Excellent piece. The cable detailing on the back is quite inspired. It's a way to add shaping and visual interest at the same time. And I'm almost wishing I didn't already own a pair of cute rubber boots, because then I'd have an excuse to track down and buy those awesome poppy boots.

The Nishi shawl is an exquisite piece of work.

The Radius pullover. Very solid contemporary design here. I would pass on the built-in fingerless gloves, but that's me.

The Masonry socks. Very smart socks. I do like a sock design with a little restraint. Confining the pattern to the ankle and toe looks much sharper than covering the entire sock.

The Quarry sweater. Another very smart piece.

The Tangent cap and cowl. Very pretty set. Love the Art Nouveau-ish fan patterning on the cowl.

The Hartford design is a classic cabled pullover.

The Epicenter pullover. I'm impressed with this one, which managed to be very contemporary and innovative in a way that will appeal to those of us with more traditional tastes, and is totally wearable at the same time.

The Calinda scarf and mittens. Another lovely set.

The Caldera pullover. I totally want this piece to be on me right now. I especially like that the designer chose to go with a buttoned placket and collar here rather than the usual turtleneck. We can't all wear turtlenecks.

The Fillster cap and mittens. Very much like the intricate cable design used here.

The Leadlight cardigan. A lovely piece. Extending the body's cables through the fair isle yoke is an effective and distinctive touch.

Anaphora cowl. What a beautiful piece. All the stitchwork, but especially that twining floral motif, is exquisite.

The Kew shawl. Interesting and attractive lacework.

The Willerval hat and mittens. This is very decent design, but I think I wouldn't go with a red and green colourway here. It's a little too candy cane-ish.

The Parapet jacket is a very elegant piece of work. The stand up collar is an especially nice touch and adds a lot of style to the whole piece.

The Pelion shawl. Love the combination of contemporary shaping with classic cables.

The Intaglio sweater. Beautiful piece. Love the cowl neckline.

The Skyscraper cardigan. I quite like this design on the whole, though I would do something different with the neckline, such as adding a collar. It looks unfinished as it is.

The Abyss shawl. Lovely combination of gradient colour and graceful shaping.

Flags Xmas Story

In this video, made by YouTube user Yatamimation as an advertisement for a clothing business in Tokyo, when the young couple plan what to get each other for Christmas, they think in terms of crocheting and knitting. Hope you enjoy seeing what they decided to give one another.

Looking Through the Wardrobe for Knitwear Design

Today is C.S. Lewis's 116th birthday, so I thought I'd do a post of Narnia-related projects. There weren't too many Narnia-themed knitting patterns out there. For that matter there aren't too many commercially made Narnia products out there, period. When a former co-worker of mine hosted a birthday party for her Narnia-obsessed nephew some years back, she ended up creating all the decorations and games herself. And she did an amazing job of it. She wheeled a garment rack full of coats in front of the entrance to her living room, so that the birthday boy and his guests had to walk "through the wardrobe" to get to the party. She made cute invitations, party favours, and decorations using images downloaded off the net. She had the children decorate their own crowns. She dressed up as Jadis the White Witch and played a game with them in which they had to dance to music and "turn to stone" every time the music stopped, and each time the Witch paused the CD, the last child to stop moving was eliminated from the game. When I remember seeing the pictures of all this and the obviously thrilled birthday boy, I think perhaps after all it's better that there isn't much mass produced Narnia paraphernalia. Some things are so much better for being homemade. That party was much more memorable and charming (not to mention less expensive) than any party with overpriced Aladdin stuff from the Disney Store could ever have been. I will say though that a book or magazine of Narnia-themed knitting patterns would be a nice-to-have. Maybe Interweave Press will do one sometime...?

But to get to the Narnia patterns I did find. Some knitters have replicated Lucy's 1940s-style sweater from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, as shown above, as well as other knitwear from the Narnia movies, but I was looking for patterns that more directly referenced the original text.

These are the Lantern Waste Mittens, designed by Kjerstin Gjengedal, and it's exactly the kind of Narnia-themed design I'd like to see more of. This pattern is available for €4.00(EUR).

If you like picture knits and Narnia, the Dégel à Narnia (or "Thawing Narnia") vest, designed by Isabelle Allard, may be right up your alley. This pattern is available for C$3.00(CAD).

I always picture Mr. Tumnus as being a more elegant, graceful creature than this Mr. Tumnus doll, designed by Neil James, but the doll is certainly adorable and cuddly and probably much more appealing to a child, which is much more to the point. This pattern is available for £1.99(GBP).

This is the Edmund Crown/Hat, designed by Nikol Lohr, and it will be a nice way to keep your little pretender to the Narnian throne warm and happy this winter. The pattern was published in Literary Knits: 30 Patterns Inspired by Favorite Books, which I've written about previously.

I found this photo of Narnia Chronicles stitch markers on Pinterest. They were listed on Etsy and have been sold, and I wasn't even able to figure out which Etsy vendor made them. However, I just had to include them because they're such a perfect fetish notions for the Narnia-loving knitter, and some of you may have the skills to make use of the idea.

Knit Simple Winter 2014: A Review

Knit Simple's Winter 2014 issue is out. Let's have a look at it, shall we?

The combination of the prim collar and the pom pom on this capelet makes it look like something that might have been worn by a seventeenth century New England cheerleading squad. There not being many athletic sports played in New England at that time, this would be a cheerleading squad that appeared at other public entertainments such as quilting bees, pig slaughterings, and the occasional hanging.

This isn't such a bad piece. It's got a certain minimalist style. Done with a beautiful, interesting yarn, it could look quite good.

Ponchos should not look like repurposed afghans or Christmas tree skirts.

This isn't bad. I suspect the cowl neckline could be arranged to sit better than it does here.

This is... okay. I don't like the string ties. I'd figure out a way to button the wrap at the sides, and then, if done in a lovely yarn, it could be a useful little piece.

Super cute toy mushrooms and hedgehogs. Though I don't quite understand the pairing. [Googles.] Ah, it seems hedgehogs do eat mushrooms.

Very cute child's blanket. And I must give this designer credit for an original theme. Teddy bears and kittens are so been there, done that.

The stripes, hedgehogs, and mushrooms translated into a hat and scarf. The theme works quite well in these pieces as well.

Okay, okay, I give up. I CAN NO LONGER RESIST THE HEDGEHOG CUTENESS FORCEFIELD.

Does anyone really have a heart-shaped water bottle?

I... don't know what this is, and as of this writing, the pattern isn't on Ravelry. I think it's a neck pillow. Whatever it is, the design is pretty cheesy.

I'm guessing this is a hot pad? It looks more like a doll blanket I might have knitted at ten or so. Most adults would probably like something a little more sophisticated for their table.

I think the design to look at here is the cowl. I like it. Nice colourway, shape, and texture.

Not a bad little piece for casual wear. The stylist was absolutely right to put this one with a denim jacket.

Pretty lace-edged cowl.

This one's okay too. I suppose this style would generally be worn by itself over a top rather than over a coat.

I'd be inclined to put a coat over this one, and button the coat at the waist to hide the bottom of the cowl. Cowls of this style always look a little too much like a deflated inner tube.

I rather like the concept here. The idea of a breastplate-style cowl that lies flat is something I don't recall having seen before. However, I don't like this particular execution of the concept. This looks a bit crude and unfinished. Some interesting colourwork would probably help.





A sweater with a simple shape done with four necklines. I like the ribbed turtleneck (at bottom left) and the cowl neck versions (at top right). The high necklined version (top left photo) is too simple to have any visual interest. The hooded version also looks a little short on visual interest and also uncomfortably tight around the neck.

It always makes me very nervous when I see handknitted light shades of any kind. Commercially made light shades have to pass certain fire safety regulations; handmade light shades do not. Therefore I never advocate that anyone make homemade light shades, and I never link to knitted light shade patterns either here or on this blog's Facebook page, no matter how many pretty little lacy candle holder cozies I come across. Of course it's totally up to you what you knit and it *might* be safe enough, but I'd encourage you to at least think twice before you do so. Better safe than burnt to a crisp is my motto.

Again, I'm not quite sure what this is, but I think it's supposed to be a hanging storage bag for t-shirts or undies or something of the sort. It doesn't really appeal to me as a storage option. The contents of that bag will be a jumbled mess most of the time.

I suppose this is a rug? It's not a bad-looking one, though I would be tripping over it constantly.

A cup cozy with a holding strap for one's stir stick or spoon. I'm not the target audience for this kind of thing as I seldom have a hot drink. Coffee drinkers, what say you?

Sometimes the Knit Simple designs are just too "home ec project". Even if you are a beginning knitter, I'd urge you to insist on better designed patterns than this.

This place mat is a little better than the hot pad that preceded it, but still... there are much better easy patterns available, beginner knitters.

I like the concept here, but not the granny square design.

I have no idea what this is. My best guess is that it's some sort of blanket. The edges look rather rough and unfinished.

Not a bad little tablet case. It's dead simple, but the coordinated toggle elevates the look and it's neatly finished.

Not a bad looking scarf, though I think I'd be inclined to go with tassels on the ends rather than pom poms.

The Yarning

In this stop motion animated short by YouTube user lapendule100, a skein of wool explores a knitting basket and finds the horrors that lurk within it. If skeins of yarn had sensibilities, they'd probably report all of us knitters to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Inanimate objects.