Three's a Charm Tam - Interweave Knits Fall 2012

A few weeks ago, I went on a trip to Boston and was in need of a project for the plane. My current WIP was a shirt - too big for travel. So I stopped by The Yarnery on Grand Ave to pick up the yarn for a hat. Specifically, the Three's a Charm Tam from Interweave Knits 2012. The Yarnery didn't have the yarn that the pattern suggested, but the salesclerk recommended Berrocco Blackstone Tweed instead. It's a wool, mohair, angora blend. I picked a teal color. While the yarn itself was nice, and had a good feel, I don't know if I'd recommend using it for cables. The yarn had a tendency to split, and sometimes just pulled apart while I was knitting, likely due to the mohair and angora content. Since stitches have to be stretched behind and in front when working cables, this tendency was a bit frustrating sometimes. In addition to pulling apart, I also encountered a knot in one ball. The color, however, was gorgeous.

 The pattern consisted of three complicated cable repeats offset by triangles of trinity stitch. If you're new to working with cables, you should probably skip this pattern as it had not just the basic hold two stitches behind, knit two from the left needle, return the two stitches held behind to the needle and knit them, but also hold two in front and purl one, and two unusual cables that also reduced stitches in them (a new one for me).

 I enjoyed working the cables and the 'plain' rows of knits and purls in between. I did use a piece of scrap paper to keep track of the row on the trinity repeat and the cable row. It took me about a week to knit, but when I put it on my head it didn't quite 'flop' like I'd expected. It was kind of flat.

With fingers crossed, I decided I'd block the hat to see if it took a shape closer to that of the hat pictured in the magazine

After letting it dry, I tried it in again. Better, but still not as floppy as I'd have liked. I refuse to rip out an entire hat and knot in a larger size needle to see if that fixes the problem, so I guess I'm living with it. Here's a trinity stitch section.

And here's the cable.

I'm hoping it stretches out more like the photo in the magazine. 

D

LYS Review: Newbury Yarns in Boston, MA

Local yarn stores are a treasure. Without the help of patient clerks, owners, and fellow knitters who gathered at knitting circles I would never have become the knitter I am today. When I travel I love to drop in on a LYS and pick up something cool – a unique yarn, a locally produced hand-dyed skein – to make a project that commemorates my trip. My last trip to Pittsburgh I dropped in on Kid Ewe Knot and had a wonderful experience. Two weekends ago I took a trip to Boston and found my way to Newbury Yarns and had a different experience.

It was, hands down, the oddest yarn store I’ve ever visited. Given the precarious position of independent stores I always hesitate to leave negative reviews, but this isn’t a negative review per see. It’s an utterly befuddled one.

First, Newbury Yarns was down some very slippery brick stairs just off Newbury street. The store was oddly laid out – upon entering there was a table for knitting groups to the left and a table with knitted projects on the right. But then there were some odd bolts of fabric and a small selection of patterns. The owner had left a large open space between the two walls of cubbies that contained yarn, with a bare floor. No cute braided rugs, no knitted rugs, no chairs. No tables piled high with yarn spilling out of baskets, or the like, nothing to browse. It was very austere and unwelcoming.

The yarn itself had no organization system that I could tell, not by weight, or fiber, or anything. There were no tags on the cubbies to identify the yarn, its weight or fiber. Many of the cubbies were empty or had only one or two skeins. If you’d come here to pick up enough yarn to knit a sweater or larger project you’d have been out of luck – there simply wasn’t enough of any one yarn to do it, even if you could pick any weight/color. There did seem to be a lot of fingering weight yarn, so perhaps the store caters to sock knitters. Oddest of all – there were no prices tags on anything! Like I said, no tags on the cubbies, so the price wasn’t listed there, nothing on the skeins. Utterly bizarre.

The woman behind the counter was somewhat helpful but not friendly. She found a set of DPN I needed when I asked, retrieving them from a cardboard box behind the cash wrap desk. That’s right, not all of the needles were hanging or accessible. But she wasn’t a good salesclerk in that I gave her several openings to engage me in conversation that she didn’t take. I mentioned that I’d forgotten my set and was traveling, she could have asked where I was from/why I was in town, and then directed me to the locally hand-dyed yarn that they had that isn’t available elsewhere and increased the sale. Nothing. She could have asked if I liked knitting hats (as that was the project I mentioned) and directed me to a great yarn/new pattern for hats. She was more interested in casting on the project she’d just started.

Given her lack of interest I didn’t feel comfortable approaching her to ask the price of any of the yarn that interested me, I felt like I’d be bothering her. Which is another reason I find the absence of price tags so odd – it forces the shopper to constantly approach a salesclerk and ask “how much is this?” which is awkward when they’re already just standing behind a counter giving off the impression of being disengaged.

Given the lack of stock and complete lack of any attempt to sell, or make the space welcoming, I do wonder if the store is unfortunately going out of business. The whole space gave off the impression of a lack of pride and an “I don’t care anymore” attitude from the owner or person in charge.

I left without buying any yarn – an absolute first for me - and feeling vaguely uncomfortable. If you’re in town for a visit, and looking to drop in on a LYS, I’m afraid I can’t recommend going out of your way to stop by Newbury Yarns. If you forgot needles and need to pick up a set, by all means make a trip, and it is centrally located and just off the green line. Otherwise, I’m willing to bet there are better yarn stores in town.

- Dena (and if you're the owner - are you closing? selling? Satisfy by curiosity?)

Someone might need to stage a cowl intervention...

My only excuse is that I didn't knit this for myself. Every year I try to knit something for my awesome agent. This year she requested a cowl in neutral colors. I chose this yarn because it had been in my stash forever and because I thought the flecks of color in it would make the cowl versatile.

She could wear it with a lot of clothes and not clash. For a tweed yarn, it kept its twist nicely and was super soft. According to the pattern's requirements I had just enough yarn, but I ended up running out on the bind off row and had to rip out two rows in order to get enough yarn to bind off.

 The pattern was the Fiddlesticks Cowl from Interweave Knits Fall 2014. It had an i-cord cast-on, which was nice and easy. Now that I've learned it, I wish that the pattern designer for the Ryann Tunic had selected this cast on instead so you didn't have to pick up stitches along the hem. The first few rows before the diagonals emerged were a bit hard to knit, and I confess I lost track of where I was more than a few times and had to rip out. Other than that, it was a quick knit. Thanks to the knit through the back stitches and the yarn it ended up very dense and warm. My agent claims to love it, so I think it was a win.

Yarn Cost Breakdown - Interweave Knits Winter 2015 magazine

As promised, here are the costs for the suggested yarn for each of the patterns in the Interweave Knits Winter 2015 issue. A few notes - most of the prices I pulled off webs, but even if I found the yarn on sale elsewhere I calculated the cost at the undiscounted price for the yarn (since you're not guaranteed to get it on sale). I calculated it for the size closest to my bust, so 34-36 inches, which since I'm typically the smallest size they list means that for a lot my bustier friends the yarn would cost even more.

Ready?

Brace yourself, some of these patterns aren't cheap!

1) Fall River Cowl. A cowl, so not bad on price. $59.10

2) Quivira Coat. Though it's a larger piece, they used a cheaper yarn, so it's only $69.30

3) Moraine Jacket. $43.96. Color me utterly shocked to see a Lion Brand yarn in Interweave.

4) Muir Wrap. $68.

5) Hudson Wrap. $166.25

6) Bear Lake Cowl. $51.

7) Ozark Wrap. $111.60.

8) Tanawha Wrap. $103.60

9) Zuni Cardigan. I didn't bother, since it has so many different colors in it.

10) Bozeman Hat. $34.

11) Trapper Cowl. $30. Not bad for getting to work with a Manos del Uruguay yarn.

12) Ice Rink Pullover. $205.20. I'm going to officially call that not worth it, though not surprising since it uses an alpaca and merino blend yarn.

13) Kittery Point Cardigan. Didn't bother, too many colors.

14) Siobhan Blouse. I was pleasantly surprised by the price tag - $49.39.

15) Quadrille Pullover. $87.96. Since I'd lengthen it, I'd probably have to order extra, so it might be more. Such a gorgeous yarn, I might have to splurge. Someday.

16) Cocoa Cardigan. $220. YIKES.

17) Pearl Lake Mitts. $32.

18) Caterpillar Cowl. Glad I stash-busted on this one - $49.90.

19) Modest Pullover. $73.60. Again, I'd lengthen it, so I'd need more yarn.

20) Wind at Your Back Pullover. $103.80.

21) Matalina Pullover. $230.45. YIKES again.

No one who reads Interweave Knits regularly is foolish enough to delude themselves into thinking they use cheap yarns. Knit Simple and Love of Knitting are for that. But even I gulped at some of the price tags on these patterns. HOWEVER, it's worth nothing that a larger knitting project can mean over a month's worth of entertainment, evenings and weekends spent enjoying the feel of the yarn sliding through your hands and listening to the soothing clack of the needles. If you factor in what you'd spend to go a movie each of those nights, or to buy a book*, really, it's cheap entertainment! And thus ends your yarn purchasing enabling.

- Dena

*we'll leave libraries out of this justification.

My second knitted skirt - the Bryn Mawr Skirt

Remember how I once said that fall/winter issues for knitting magazines are a 'gimme?' I was thinking of the Interweave Knits Fall 2011 issue, with its gorgeous cover and chunky yarn. When it first arrived in the mail I fell in love with the Bryn Mawr skirt and cast it on immediately.

But because I was, once again, between sizes, and because after my bad experience with the last skirt (which won't stay up) I was wary of the waist, I cast on the smaller size for the waist. I'd meant to increase it to the larger size once I finished the waistband ribbing but...I forgot. So I knit the whole damned thing, tried it on, and had a mini skirt. A very clingy mini skirt. Eeps.

Not what I wanted - at all.

So it sat in my 'to be fixed' pile for *hangs head in shame* years. Until this year when I saw that knitted skirts were 'in' again, and I remembered how much I loved the color, and I decided to rip it out and start over.

I didn't rip out the whole thing, just up to about four inches below the waist. Since it's knit in a chunky yarn it's a quick knit, and it took me about two weeks to fix. I ended up keeping the smallest size cast on for the waist and increasing even more to the third size up for the hip. I just wasn't getting the A-line shape pictured in the magazine.

It's important to note that the A-line shape really came out after blocking. When I'd finished knitting it I still wasn't happy, and considered ripping it out again, but I'm very glad that I didn't. I'm happy with how it looks now, though still figuring out how to style it.

One note: I did NOT love the yarn I was working with - a Knit Picks chunky. It didn't keep its twist at all and it split easily, which made it hard when I needed to rip out stitches and it's already halo-ing. I doubt I'll knit with it again.

- D

Review: Interweave Knits Winter 2015

If you read this blog at all regularly, you'd know that I haven't been happy with the new editor's pattern selection. At all. And I've been seriously debating whether or not to renew. While I don't think she's quite there yet, the Winter 2015 issue was the best yet and I will be renewing - but just for a year, not for my usual two.

It's the first issue that contained a pattern that I immediately cast on - the caterpillar cowl - and the yarn choices were more colorful than in past issues. I do still think that she needs to work on getting some variety into the pattern selection, and that too many of the patterns look similar to others in the issue, but there is some improvement.

The patterns in this issue were divided into two groupings, Outfitted and Mulberry Cottage. The first group, Outfitted, was heavy on the wraps, cowls and the three tie front cardigans. It was, to me, the least imaginative. Two of the tie front cardigans - the Moraine Jacket and the Quivira Coat - looked like almost the same pattern. In fact, when I flipped the page I thought it was another picture of the same pattern, until I realized that the Moraine Jacket has a different collar and the Quivira Coat has cables. On their own in a different collection the patterns might have stood out more, but grouped together and in too similar ivory/oatmeal colors they just look blah.

While the wraps are all pretty I can't think of a single occasion where I'd sling half a blanket around my shoulders and think I looked fashionable. The chevrons on the Muir wrap have potential but I'd want to see them in different colors.

I liked the reversible design on the Bear Lake Cowl, but again that boring oatmeal. Seriously, someone just remove the color from new editor's yarn palette, PLEASE. Flip the page and, oh look, more ivory/oatmeal. The color does help the chevron pattern on the Ozark Wrap stand out, but again I'd want to see it in another color before casting it on. I'm not even going to talk about the Zuni Cardigan, which looks like it crawled its way out of my 1985 closet, where it should have stayed put. I like the slouchy Bozeman Hat a lot, and I really like the double-knit brim detail. Those slouchy hats look so cool but are so impossible to keep on my head, and I think the double-knit brim will solve that problem. Here's the hat;

The trapper cowl at least manages to move up a decade from the Zuni Cardigan, to my 90's grunge flannels. So I guess there's that.

The second grouping, Mulberry Cottage, contains most of the patterns that I liked best in the issue. The Ice Rink pullover does, in fact, look like a sweater I wore to the rink in the 90's, complete with the bobbles.

The best pattern, by far, of the issue for me was the Siobhan blouse. The different neckline, the slight puff on the sleeve, and the cable work on the front all really stand out. And I love the color. I would omit the tassel because I have a toddler, and it's basically begging him to come pull on it constantly, and because I'm not a fan of home decor items on clothing. But that's just me.

Second favorite would be the caterpillar cowl, which is the pattern I knit immediately. It was a fun, quick knit that I've already received compliments on and worn twice. The Cocoa Cardigan has some gorgeous lacework on the shoulders that's just beautiful, though per usual I'd probably add two inches to the length.

I feel so bad for the model in the Quadrille Pullover - it was like they decided to put her in the one sweater that would make her look squat, block-shaped and wide. The pullover actually has a lot of potential, interesting cables and yoke, but the combination of its tightness and length make it very unflattering. Loosen it up a bit, make it longer, and it could really work.

Mitts! I love mitts. With crossing latticework to frame bobbles, they're super cute if not hugely practical. The bobbles on the palms would bug me when driving, if I knit them I'd leave them off the palms. Oh look, another sweater IN IVORY/OATMEAL. YAWN. The variegated yarn used in the Modest Pullover is, however, gorgeous. I love the idea of using a pattern on the sleeve cap.

Something new I've decided to add to my magazine reviews are the average cost for yarn to make the patterns. I know I consider it helpful, and I do look at it when deciding whether or not to knit a pattern. But because that could get long, I'm going to put it in a separate post. Let me know if you think it's helpful, and if so, I'll keep it up.

D

Pattern breakdown

- 5 pullover sweaters

- 4 cowls

- 4 wraps

- 2 button up cardigans

- 3 tie close front cardigans

- 1 hat

- 1 mitts pattern

Cowls here, cowls there, cowls everywhere!

Okay, Interweave Knits won me back with the Winter issue (review to come), even though I think the new editor isn't quite there yet. This was the first one of her issues where I felt the need to immediately cast on one of the patterns. Shockingly, it was a cowl, the Caterpillar Cowl.

I've had the Dark Horse Fantasy yarn sitting around for years. I loved the variegated colors, I loved the feel of it, but I didn't know what to do with it. I didn't have enough yardage for a sweater, too much yardage for mitts or a hat, and the one scarf I knit with some of it turned out terribly. Despite extensive blocking the scarf rolled constantly and wouldn't lay flat. When I decided to knit the cowl I went hunting through my stash, re-discovered this yarn, and decided to rip out the scarf and re-use its yarn in the cowl. I'm glad that I did.

The cowl knit up quickly over Thanksgiving weekend and is super warm. The pattern on the lace ends was easy to memorize, and the stacked rows of purl/knit stitches in the body provide interest.

I will warn you, though, I'm used to reading lace patterns from right to right - ie, each pattern starts on the right side, you knit across, and then the next row starts at the right. I knit about two inches before I realized this was wrong and that you had to knit this chart back and forth.

Ripped out, started over reading the pattern back and forth and the work went quickly from there. Here it is, finished, around my neck this morning;

Super warm and comfy, I think I'm going to get a lot of use out of this one!

- Dena