Fashionknitsta Thursday: 2/4/10

Hello, everyone! Hope your week is going well, it's been pretty great here at the store and I have a bunch of wonderful treasures to share with you all today.

If you saw Sara's last post (love the Geodesic Cardigan!), you'll know that around here we are really starting to think about Spring time knitting. I'm blaming a lot of it Kirsten Johnston's pattern Thursday. We just got the shop sample of this knit up last week, and I can't help but daydream about it everytime I walk by.


The original is done in Habu Ramie A-166 and Habu Super Fine Merino A-177. I've always wanted to work with the Habu Ramie, so I think if I did this I'd have to make two because I also can't help thinking about it in Malabrigo Lace Baby (maybe held with Isager Alpaca 1?). This isn't up on our website yet, but it will be soon. Thanks in advance, Sara!

Switching seasons, the next thing I have to share today is a great winter piece from Coco Knits:

This wonderful accessory is the Fleeced Earflap Hat by Julie Weisenberger. It's done with a chunky yarn, they suggest Lamb's Pride Bulky, but I would love to see it in Malabrigo Chunky or Rowan Purelife British Sheep Breeds Bulky. It's never too early to start thinking about holiday gifts for next year and this would be a great one for anyone. It has sizing for men and women and comes with all the instructions to knit in the fleece.

For all the CocoKnits fans our there Julie will be visiting us next month for a Meet and Greet on March 5th and will be giving a Finishing and Design Workshop on March 6th.

The last pattern I have today is from a designer I have blogged about before and absolutely love, Jane Richmond.


Sedum is a free pattern on Ravelry, and for some reason (maybe the grey sky?) it's really jumping at me today. I would absolutely love to make this cardigan in the natural Blue-faced Leicester of Rowan British Sheep Breeds Chunky. It would be so cozy next winter!

While wandering the internet this week, I discovered artist Michelle Vitale Loughlin's work and really fell in love with it - and her. In her earlier work she experimented with mixing fibrous materials and painting, influenced by her seamstress grandmother who emigrated to the US and sewed American Flags to make a living.

In 2004 she received the Puffin Foundation Grant to purchase a knitting machine and has since been creating mostly large-scale, site specific architectural forms; such as this piece, Water Falls, which is currently on view at the Huterdon Art Museum in Clinton, New Jersey.



Knit on an industrial knitting machine with silver synthetic fibers, Water Falls is in response to the 200 foot waterfall adjacent to the Hunterdon Art Museum. With this piece Loughlin wanted to portray how man-made objects and nature are no longer separate by including debris in with the pristine image of the falls.

It was kind of tricky to find out more info about Michelle, as her website doesn't seem to be up right now. I did find a few of her other works online that I'd love to learn more about, including this piece from 2007, Arc:



I wish I had something to link to for her.  If you're interested, I would attempt a Google search; and, hopefully, her site will be back up soon. I actually happened upon Michelle's work via fiber artist Abigail Doan's blog, and was intrigued by her own interesting work as well.


The first of these images is her piece Crocheted Snow 01 from 2005 and the second is Primavera 02 from 2006. Doan describes herself as an "art-farmer living part of the year in an urban nest [New York City] and part of the year on a farm in Tuscany".

Most of her work is very focused on her interconnection and experience with nature and plant materials. The very ephemeral feeling and interventions with nature remind me very much of the work of Andy Goldsworthy. Really gorgeous pieces, she has a fantastic blog featuring her work and the work of others that I definitely recommend checking out.

Thanks for reading! Have a great weekend and, as always, check back next week for another edition of Fashionknitsta. Until then, stay chic, blogfans!

- Lindsay

Just forget Death by Chocolate

We've got the new way to overdose through decadence with the new Staccato, by ShibuiKnits. Can I just say, "Yum!"? 

Is that a technical term? 'Cause it really should be.  I mean, look at it:

No, wait, you should touch it.  The fiber content, just FYI, is 65% Superwash Merino, 30% Silk, 5% Nylon.  I played with a skein and made an a-MAZE-ing sock with it in the Ivory...

Which, unfortunately, I cannot show you just yet.  Patience, though, shall be rewarded.  I did, however, buy two skeins of Staccato in Cotton Candy last night...

For some fun and flirty socks.  There might be a few discreet ruffles involved.  It's tempting me to go ultra-fem.  Must be the combination of the pink and the silk.

But don't be limited by my madness.  Take a minute and imagine the possibilities.  Like, oh, Connie Chang Chinchio's new Geodesic Cardigan:

(from the latest KnitScene)

Or, how about Hannah Fettig's best-selling Featherweight Cardigan?

I know I'm tempted, anyway.  They'd be fantastic Spring knits and would only take 5 - 10 skeins of Staccato. 

Shop talk.  My goodness, lots has been happening around here.  We have quite a few new yarn lines in (see above, below, and the last post!), several new patterns and, well, a flurry of activity.  Just wait for the next Newsletter, it's gonna be a doozy.

Anyway.  Onto vicarious knitting.  I convinced Jenny (our graphic designer) to share her in-progress Man Glove (remember her New Year's Resolution?), which is nearing completion:

For the inquiring mind, the yarn is Joseph Galler Prime Alpaca in "Mist Grey".  The pattern is vintage, which vintage we don't know, but I'd guess the 40's.  It's lookin' good, right?  We're trying to encourage Jenny, so feel free to leave comments!  We'll make sure she gets them.

Next, well, this also involves another New Year's Resolution.  Amazingly, Lindsay is managing to both fulfill and break her resolution in one go.  Lindsay is taking Judy Wilcox's Two Socks on Two Circulars class and has fallen mad in love with the technique.  In fact, she just bought another skein of sock yarn, Madelinetosh Glazed Sock in "Violin", to cast on another pair...

Which she plans to have to the heel (along with the green pair above - Shibui Sock in Seaweed) by the next class on Sunday.  I see a wicked addiction in the making.  But, call me callous, I'm sick of being the only sock addict on staff, so I'm not saying anything. 

Oh, alright, I did tease her a bit.  Feel free to leave comments, she'll definitely see them!

Lastly, we have an overwhelmingly huge new selection of Rowan yarns in the store.  They're not on the web yet, but they will be soon.  The additions include new colors of Denim, Summer Tweed and All Seasons Cottons.  Also in the photography box is the new Purelife Revive, which is an awesome thing (recycled silk, recycled cotton, and recycled rayon).

Expect to see these beauties on the website in a couple of weeks.

And, before I go, here's a super-cute Jake & Co. photo:

Just because.

Fashionknitsta Thursday: 1/28/10

Hello everyone and happy Thursday! I've been so excited to share these with everyone that I think we should just jump right in.

The first thing I have to share today is Imagine Knit's Elsa Tunic by designer Jamie Thomas. I think this is a relatively new pattern for us, I hadn't seen it before a couple of weeks ago and began pestering Sara to get it online (thanks Sara!).

I really love how versatile this could be, you could easily make it longer or shorter and color can go so far with this simple design. The yarn it calls for is Habu Tsumugi Silk (a yarn I've always been interested in) held double. Elsa takes at most 3 cones of the MC and 2 cones of the CC so even for the largest size this is still a less than $75 project. I wish I could find a picture of the back of this pattern, they use a ribbon for the neck ruching and it looks so beautiful tied in the back. I'd love to have this this little tunic for spring and summer, a shorter version would look great with jeans or dressed up for work, while a longer one would be a fantastic warm weather dress.

About a week ago I discovered Paris-based artist Aurelie Mathigot and I have been very anxiously awaiting sharing it with you.

These images are of her 2005 crochet installation "My Bedroom". I absolutely love the details, especialy on the dresser.

Gorgeous, just gorgeous.

On her website she says her work is "inspired by the notion of recovery and the necessity of talking about everyday life in another, new, way". She describes a few reoccurring themes in her work like "the will to hide, the need for isolation and for being overwhelmed by the textile material."

Of all of her work, this piece encompasses this idea best. "My Bedroom" was created during a 2 month stay in Rio De Janiero, and expresses “a quiet extravagancy” that came from her need for security in response to the “intense colors and violence” from the city.

These are two more of her pieces, on the left is part of her Food series and on the right is part of her installation "The Dinner". I wish I could find better pictures of this one, I think it is my favorite of her work. Just for fun here is one more of the food series (I love the lacy hamburger box top!):



The last thing I have to share today is the work of Melanie Porter. I happened upon her website a few days ago, she worked for years as a knitwear designer and now restores and reupholsters old chairs completely by hand. Here are a few examples of her absolutely beautiful work:


This makes me really inspired to recover all the chairs in my house. It would be so fun (and quick!) in Shibui Highland Wool Alpaca. If these interest you as well I would recommend checking out her website to see these and more.

Hope you enjoyed these as much as I did! I'm already looking forward to what I have found for next week's post (just a hint: crocheted snow!). As always, check back then for another edition of Fashionknitsta. Until then, stay chic, blogfans!

-Lindsay