Knitscene Spring 2013: A Review

Knitscene is yet another knitting magazine I had never heard of before I began work on this blog. It's published by the hyper-prolific Interweave, which produces sixteen different subscription magazine titles each year for art and craft enthusiasts in the various disciplines (not only knitting and crochet but jewelry-making, mixed media, painting, drawing, quilting, sewing, spinning, and weaving) and approximately 30 additional special issues. Their knitting publishing vehicles alone include Interweave Knits, Interweave Knits Gifts, Jane Austen Knits, knit.wear, and PieceWork, additional special issues and eMags, and books. They also have blogs, produce Knitting Daily TV, host the Knitting Daily forum, and God knows what else. I shall endeavour to review a good selection of their knitting-related output in a timely fashion, but don't know if I'm up to the task, given that it exhausted me just to type and tag this paragraph.

But let's have a look at the Knitscene's Spring 2013 issue.





...and the first pattern in this spring issue is for a tam and pair of fingerless gloves. They don't exactly say "spring wear" to me but they are undeniably pretty.





And another tam. I like it a lot though — it's so evocative of 1930's fashions, which might just be my favourite decade of the twentieth century for design aesthetics.





Yet another wool hat. This is called the Chinook hat, and it's worn with some sort of spaghetti strap low-cut top, which I guess is supposed to convince us that it's totally spring wear. I'd pick colours that pulled together a little better than these two. Designers are fond of putting pale and medium dark blue together like this and it just never looks all that pleasing or effective to me.





Love this lace jabot top. It's got a thirties sportswear feel, and the hand-dyed yarn gives it a contemporary vibe.





I'm not as enthusiastic about this tunic, but it's not unappealing and it's wearable enough. If the length is going to be an awkward one on your figure (odds are this model is taller than you), it wouldn't be that hard to make it shorter or longer.





Another hat, but this time it's a cloche knitted in cotton, which means you'll wear it for its style rather than its warmth and that it's consequently a genuinely spring fashion. And it's a very decent piece of work, though I do find this particular colour scheme a little dreary for spring. The knitted-in "ribbon" is clever and you'll be able to adjust the brim to suit your face.





This model's expression is rather amusingly apropos given her outfit. She looks as though she's saying, "I know I forgot something when I picked out my outfit this morning. Was it my purse? No, I put my purse down over there. What's that? Oh, you're right, it was my pants! But never mind. It happened to me last week, but at least this time I remembered my hat." This tunic is really too short to be passed off as a dress, but I can see why the model was styled this way. Put a skirt or tunic under this thing and it's going to be even more unflattering to your butt than it is to this model's. You really do not want extra fullness above a ribbed hem bubbling around your hips and rear end this way. You could omit the ribbing and shorten the sweater to regular length, but then there's nothing special about this pattern at all so it hardly seems worth the effort. I'd give this one a pass.





Nice little top. Designers really seem to be getting into exploring different ways to use I-cord lately.





Really not liking this little top. The idea of an inset lacy yoke is a interesting concept but it's been very badly handled here. The collar sits so poorly and the whole execution just looks crude and amateurish.





Another I-cord appearance on this hat. It's been used to good purpose. Imagine this hat without the I-cord. It would look pretty shapeless and nondescript, wouldn't it? But with the use of I-cord and the added touch of a few rows of contrast colour at the edge of the band, it's cute.





I'm not enthusiastic about this shawl. Perhaps because it bears no relation whatsoever to this model's outfit. Shawls are more difficult to wear than people seem to realize, because their proportions, not to mention their colour schemes, need to work with the outfit they're worn with. This one just looks skimpy and random here. And it's a shame that the stylist presented it this way, because it looks beautifully constructed. If you want to make this pattern, I'd wear it in a more scarf-like way, such as over a coat.





Another pair of wool fingerless gloves. And they're a perfectly good pattern — the stripes are sharp — but I'm beginning to wonder if what we're actually seeing is patterns that were originally designed for the winter issue of Knitscene, but were submitted too late to meet the deadline, and so got shoehorned into the spring issue.





Now here we have a definitely spring-like cardigan. Unfortunately it's a less than successful design. As you may know, I am not a fan of cardigans that don't meet in the front, as they're not usually flattering and don't tend to sit well. Even this professional model is sadly trying to pull the edges of this piece together. And note the difference in the two pictures, and how the upper front pieces have been adjusted. When I saw the first picture, I thought, "Those upper front pieces are SO not going to just lie neatly in place like that — they'll be flopping over or sagging downwards at the first move the wearer makes." I've since then seen a closer shot of this sweater, and there is a hook and eye holding the top edges together. It shows, and it's just not attractive. You do have the option of folding the edges under as they are styled in the second photo.





Basic and functional shrug. This isn't a criticism — sometimes all you need or want is a piece that serves a purpose. Make this shrug in a beautiful quality yarn in a neutral colour, or your favourite colour, and it will serve you well.





Now this pullover is a really innovative piece of design. I was wondering how on earth the designer got this yarn to play out in diagonal stripes, because I haven't seen that before except in intarsia, and it was immediately clear that this is a self-striping yarn, a Noro sock yarn to be specific. Turns out it's knitted on the bias. I've never seen a better use of Noro. The styling has been kept simple because the play of colour is all this sweater needs, and it's a flattering shape for most women. It's a head-turner of a piece, and yet it's totally wearable. Now this, people, is first-rate design, and Knitscene quite rightly put it on the cover of this issue. I'm taking special note of this designer's name — it's Maria Leigh.





At first glance I thought the lace yoke on this pullover was sitting funny on the model, but of course it turned out that it's supposed to be asymmetrical. I know asymmetry as a design element is big right now and it's all edgy and contemporary and all that, but though I admire the look on other people I wouldn't make this sweater's lace yoke asymmetrical if I were making it for myself. I'd make it in a plain old symmetrical fashion because otherwise it would drive me insane and I'd keep tugging on it and trying to fix it. This is just personal preference. You'll have to excuse me while I go sit in the corner and rock back and forth. Before I do though, I'll just add that this is a lovely design, both wearable and striking. I wouldn't make this sweater quite so form-fitting as this though. You can see it's so snug it's showing the line of the model's brassiere in the back.





This cardigan is another design by Maria Leigh, she of the self-striping bias-knit pullover above. I'm much less enthusiastic about this one. Nice basic cardigan (and look! it even meets in the front!) but I'm not sold on the use of the buttons as decoration. Sticking them in the middle of those flower-like lace stitches has something of the effect of twining twist-ties into a rose. I think using prettier or at least more interesting and less utilitarian buttons, such as a satin-covered shank-style, would make the concept work.





Pretty, basic pullover.





Lovely, classic short-sleeved fair isle yoke cardigan. Of course, it's so very classic that if you don't have something nearly identical in your pattern library, your mother or grandmother will.





Another fall-esque pattern, this time a scarf. Perhaps the editors of Knitscene all suffer from anemia, hypothyroidism, or poor circulation, and think we do too. This isn't a bad scarf, though I find the colour pretty unappealing.





Very beautifully constructed shawl.





Nice, useful, wearable short-sleeved pullover.

Knitting In a Winter Wonderland

This past Christmas Lion Brand Yarn wanted to create a special display for the window of their building on West 15th Street in New York, and they came up with the one above. You can see a slideshow of the creation process on the Lion Brand Yarn site.

I wish I could have seen the display in person, because it really is stunning. I love how real those swans look, and how sumptuous the queen's dress is. And my guess is that the display is meant to be a reference to Hans Christian Andersen's The Wild Swans, a story that features a queen, swans, and knitting.

Eleanor Roosevelt and Her No-Nonsense Knitting

Eleanor Roosevelt was such a constant knitter and sewer that she seldom went anywhere without toting along one of her projects. She couldn't bear to be idle and often brought her handiwork to the many political and social action meetings she attended. Many photographs of her show her with her knitting or carrying a knitting bag. Such pictures cropped up repeatedly during my research for the Hollywood knitters post of February 11th, but I didn't include her photos in that post because she wasn't an actress and at any rate, Eleanor Roosevelt deserves a post of her own.

According to this fascinating 2009 Knitty interview with Mary Ann Colopy, a seasonal park ranger at the Roosevelt/Vanderbilt National Historic Site, Roosevelt's knitting was very utilitarian. She wasn't a designer. She knitted useful items for her family and friends and very few examples of her work have survived because they were generally the sort of thing one wears out and then discards. The pattern for very basic mittens that accompanies the article is one that was found among her papers.

For all the time that Roosevelt spent knitting, as a topic of interest it seems barely to have registered even on her own radar. In her nearly 8,000 “My Day” newspaper columns, she mentions her own knitting less than ten times. But then this wasn't surprising given the sheer amount of other, much more important work that she did in her life: the speeches she gave and campaigning she did on behalf of her disabled husband; the six-day-a-week syndicated national newspaper column she wrote for 27 years; her constant public speaking; her relief work during the Depression and war work during World War II; her political activism regarding civil, women's, labour and universal human rights; and the work she did with the United Nations. I have read that the United Nations Commission for Human Rights that Roosevelt chaired was by far the hardest working of any at the U.N., to the point that one of its members complained that his own human rights were violated by the length of the committee meetings. Knitting was simply a useful, homely task that Roosevelt did and probably enjoyed, but that didn't merit mention or discussion; it was probably something she did in much the same spirit that she washed her face. And such an attitude is completely in character, really. Roosevelt wouldn't have accomplished all she did without being the sort of person who knew how to keep from getting side-tracked by trivial or secondary concerns.

I like this picture because I imagine Roosevelt pausing in her knitting to contemplate how to get even more mileage out of the members of the United Nations Commission for Human Rights.

Interweave Knits Spring 2013: A Review

Let's have a look at the Interweave Knits' Spring 2013 issue, shall we?





Oh, I like this sleeveless top. It may not be the most innovative piece of knitwear design ever, but it's very wearable and flattering and it's simple enough to go with many of your trousers and skirts and with just enough detail to be interesting and eye-catching. That's all the recommendation a pattern really needs to make it successful, and though it sounds easy enough to attain, it's amazing how many designers fall short of those markers.





This top is quite pretty too. You'll probably need to wear a camisole or something underneath it (I see the model is), and you may not want to do that in the heat of summer.





This camisole is pretty too, but unfortunately it's got some serious issues on the wearability front. You'll notice, of course, that the model is wearing what's probably a cami-bra underneath, and it really doesn't work that well aesthetically — all those straps! I would make this to sit a little higher in front and under the arms so as to be able to fit a strapless bra underneath, and I wouldn't advise that anyone who is bigger than a B cup wear it at all. It's empire waisted, and empire cuts don't work on well-endowed women.






I'm not a fan of this cowl as it appears here. Probably partly because of the dull colour and partly because I'd never dream of wearing a knit scarf in the spring and summer. If I imagine it in some glowing, autumnal-tone wool... yes, I like it.





This is another fall pattern that seems bizarrely out of place in a spring issue. However, I must admit these are as nice a pair of fingerless gloves as I've ever seen.





As anyone who's read a few of my pattern review posts will know, I'm generally biased against cardigans that don't meet in the front. They generally just end up looking like they're too small and simply aren't flattering on most of us non-models. I am inclined to let this little buttonless cardigan slide, however. I'm very taken with its shaping: so simple, and yet so finished looking. It's a design that probably doesn't belong on anyone who isn't small breasted, but with that caveat, yes, this could look striking and attractive on the right figures.





I... don't know about this vest. It fits — in fact it's rather form-fitting. But it's also got a blandness to it. Perhaps it just needs to be worn over a more interesting outfit than the one it is here. It could be a useful addition to your wardrobe, but it'll be just another component of your outfit, not the focal point.





I was going to say this shawl looked rather skimpy, and then I realized it was only in the first picture (which I have not included here) that it is. It's really a beautifully textured piece of work, and has good proportions. I'm glad Interweave Knits includes three or four pictures of each item. It really gives me all the information I need about each design.





I can't I find this sleeveless top appealing. I'm always a tough customer when it comes to asymmetry, and this one doesn't work for me. It has a slapdash, unfinished look to it.





Nice cabled cardigan that looks like it's a size too small on the model. If you want to make this pattern, I'd make sure it was made big enough for you, and to put buttons and buttonholes all the way down the front.





This is a simple yet interesting pullover that is very wearable and flattering. If I were making it, though, I'd make sure the neckline was high enough so that it could be worn on its own as well as over another top in order to be able to get more mileage out of it, and I'd also make the sleeves full-length, although this item does work perfectly well as is.





This little girl's dress is ever so cute, and while it's a very striking design, it's also totally practical for a small child. I think you'd almost have to make it in just these crisp colours, or you'll lose the goldfish swimming in water effect, and the design won't make much sense. I'd put tails on the goldfish on the yoke, though, instead of just making them as bobbles.






Very much like this pullover. It's simple enough to be worn many times with many other items of your clothing, yet with just enough detail to make it striking, and the keyhole neckline at the front makes it possible for a woman to show a little skin without being inappropriately dressed for work or most other environments. I love the back neckline detail too — I wish more designers went that extra mile and added a little something extra to the back.





Hmm. Well, this little pullover is sharply graphic and effective and could look really smart in a more higher contrast colourway. It looks borderline too small on the model to me, but I suppose it's supposed to be fitted and cropped. Make sure you get it big enough for you as if that pattern has to stretch over any part of you, it will look obvious and terrible.





This shawl looks rather skimpy and the design is run-of-the-mill — I feel like I've seen it a hundred times before. I'd definitely go with the other shawl pattern in this issue.





This tunic is actually quite a striking and accomplished design. I just don't like knitted mesh, because it looks too much like a shopping bag and is too impractical — you can see through it and it doesn't feel good against the skin. I'd replace the mesh with some other simple lace pattern — something in a geometric design, to go with that wonderful border along the hem, sleeves and up the middle of the back and front.





This really isn't a flattering top — even this professional model isn't quite getting away with it. It makes her look like the proverbial sack of potatoes cinched in the middle. I think it would work though if gathered lacy section at the bottom weren't quite so gathered and full.





This is not, as I first thought, a skirt, but rather a dress. And it looks for all the world as though the designer tacked three separate lace curtain valances to a tank top and called it a day. I could say that if you want to make this dress, I'd knit it all in the same yarn and use the same lace pattern for all three tiers of the skirt, but I don't think even that would pull this design together into a united whole, because there's still going to be a weird disconnect between the top and bottom halves.

And I think I'm going to have to buy this issue, as I did Interweave Knits' last issue, because there are several patterns in this issue I feel I must make (the gold fish dress, the tunic with the keyhole neckline) and several more I probably will eventually make (the first sleeveless top with the lace yoke, the shawl, the sweater with the smocked front panel and cuff detail). I look at many, many knitting patterns in my work on this site and have to be very discriminating about which ones I buy as if I weren't I'd soon have some massive collection that I couldn't even hope to get through, but if Interweave Knits keeps this up, I may just end up subscribing to their publication.

Long John Gray

If you're tired of all the Valentine's Day togetherness crap, you can always knit your partner this. It'll give him night sweats and a rash and make him so tortuously overheated he'll refuse to snuggle with you, much less do anything more. For that matter it'll be pretty much impossible for the two of you to do anything more, unless that Y-front is more functional than it looks. As a bonus, if you put flannel sheets on the bed he'll light up the room with sparks of static electricity every time he turns over. You can't lose.

Coming up: My review of the Interweave Knits Spring 2013 issue is set to release tomorrow morning!

My Funny Valentine, Sweet Knitted Valentine

I try to ignore Valentine's Day. Mine have, frankly, always sucked. The only one I ever got to celebrate with anyone was in 1992, when I got a card. From a guy who a) turned out to be gay and b) when I found out about his actual sexual orientation and reproached him for not telling me, claimed I'd just imagined that we were ever romantically involved. So maybe that card doesn't count, because it just might have been a figment of my imagination too. All my other Valentine's Days have just been non-events, with the possible exception of Valentine's Day 2012, when I was coming home late from work and got hit by a car. The driver was a young guy on the way to see his girlfriend. I don't imagine they had too pleasant an evening either, even after he eventually arrived at her place a few hours late.

But I'm not going to ignore Valentine's Day on this blog, because I do love researching and writing holiday theme posts (I'm even looking forward to creating a St. Patrick's Day post), and in this post I offer a bouquet of knitting project ideas to you that I hope you can enjoy regardless of your romantic status. Knitting, after all, is inherently a self-sufficient activity, and you can make one or two of these items for yourself or for someone whom you love, and you'll find it won't matter whether you love them in a romantic, platonic, or familial way — they'll appreciate the item and your efforts just as much.

A number of these projects employ hearts as a design element. I don't normally like heart motifs as they tend to look cheesy and too child-like for adult wear, but in these cases they've been incorporated into the pattern with such intricacy, cuteness, or attitude that they all work.

The above picture is the first of the project ideas I'm suggesting. It says it all, doesn't it? If you think it doesn't, you can always replace the text with something else (e.g., "Prenup Okay?", "Trading You In", "Now You Tell Me" or "Expletive Deleted"). The pattern is available for sale on Domiknitrix.com for $2(USD).

Seeing a little kid run around the house in the LoveSocks, designed by Devon Clement, would make my day. It's a free pattern.

Beautifully designed Coeur D'Or, by Heatherly Walker. If they look too much like Valentine's Day wear to you, just make them in another colourway. This pattern is available for $6(USD).

Love these Heart mittens, by Matilde Skår. Making these mittens in different colours would make them all-winter wear. It's a free pattern.

Here's a Valentine Envelope, by Cindy Craft, that could be used from year to year. Or if you make it in some other colourway, it could be a nice vanity case. The pattern is available for $2(USD).

Gorgeous, intricate Little Valentine shawl pattern, by Sylvie Beez, and apparently it takes less than one 100g skein of fingering yarn to make it. It's a free pattern.

This Lucy's Chemise Nightie, by Joan McGowan-Michael, is a romance in itself. The pattern is available for $8(USD) at White Lies Designs.

Lace stockings for the woman who has a fetish/love affair with awesome hosiery. The Marlaina Thigh-High Stockings design, by Joan McGowan-Michael, is available for $7.50(USD) at White Lies Designs, where all the designs are romantic — the whole site is worth checking out if you like a touch of that style in your wardrobe.

And if you need a lift today, here's a story a friend of mine told me last year to make me feel better. One year back in his university days, he had no money to spend on buying flowers for his girlfriend, so he decided to make her a bouquet of paper flowers. He stayed up most of the night, cutting and pasting. The next day when he presented his girlfriend with the flowers, she looked puzzled, reluctantly accepted the flowers, and said, "I didn't know we were going out."

This story does indeeed cheer me up whenever I think of it. Even I have never experienced a burn like that one.

She Knits While Billy Tries to Bill and Coo

This is the frontpiece of the sheet music for a song published in 1917 and written by one Harry Von Tilzner. One might think it's a song to encourage knitting for the war effort, but it's actually not quite that. The lyrics, which are below, are about a woman who won't stop knitting for the soldiers, to her beau's dismay. Ah, plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.

Verse 1
Pretty little Kitty's got the patriotic craze
Knitting scarfs for soldiers day and night
Silly little Billy now is spending all his days
Watching Kitty knit with all her might
She even knits when out in his canoe.
She knits while Billy tries to bill and coo.

Chorus 1
He'd take a hug
Then he'd hug her some more
While she'd knit knit knit knit knit
He'd steal a kiss
Then he'd take an encore
And she'd knit knit knit knit knit
Under a tree
He would rest with a smile
She'd lay her knitting down for a while
A bird in a nest
Said oh give us a rest
Go on and knit knit knit.

Verse 2
Pretty little Kitty said, now Willie do your bit
Here's some yarn and needles you can start
Come and sit beside me and I'll teach you how to knit
That's the way that you can win my heart
He'd knit a while and then he'd want to woo.
He'd look at her and drop a stitch or two.

Chorus 2
He'd take a hug
Then he'd hug her some more
She'd say knit knit knit knit knit
He'd steal a kiss
Then he'd take an encore
She'd say knit knit knit knit knit
One day a tug
Passed them by in a squall
Looking through glasses was captain and all
They both heard a yelp
Do you need any help?
And she said knit knit knit.

And a word of caution to non-knitters who are trying to get their knitting significant others to knit less... DO NOT take hold of a yarn end and pull as these men seem to be doing to the woman's knitting in this picture. It will make the knitter you love very, very angry. And remember, your sweetheart is holding two pointed pieces of metal.