The Knitter 55 Review

As promised, here is my review of the latest issue of The Knitter magazine. On first glance, I wasn't sure if this issue was really for me despite having loved the preview photos in the previous issue. None of the patterns had that standout wow factor and I wondered whether I would actually knit anything form this issue (given the time!).
And admittedly, there are a couple of garments that are just really not me. The cover project, Winterbloom by Martin Storey, while a pretty jumper, is not my style at all, big roll necks like this tend to make me too hot and uncomfortable and they don't fit under my coat properly. Delft by Judy Furlong is far too fussy and floral for my tastes, and Emma Vining's Sugar Kelp, while classic in its design, is also not for me.
This sounds quite negative for a review, but actually this issue is a grower - the rest of the garments aren't especially statement pieces but you begin to see aspects of each that you like, and sometimes these kinds of designs make the best wardrobe staples.

One such design is Yui by Kyoko Nakayoshi - I'm quite a fan of her designs, and while this is probably one of her least complicated it is quite elegant - in a neutral tone I could imagine this cardigan being a good general throw over. Similarly the Kimono style jacket by Sirdar - I'm a fan of cardigans like this as I always feel the cold, and I like a collection of slightly quirky versions like this.

Curlew, by Twilleys of Stamford, is in the same vein although a little more vintage in style and fitted at the top, so you would not be able to wear any heavy layers beneath.

The Herring Girl Wrap by The Wool Shed is a lovely rustic wrap in organic tones, which could be knit up in pieces as you have the time, though there is part of the pattern missing so be sure to check The Knitter website.

Ravish is a simple tee shape, but with an slash opening down the front. Knit in Kidsilk Haze Glamour it does have an impact, and would look very striking over a plain camisole or something similar, but it is not my favourite Marie Wallin design and I probably wouldn't grab the needles to start it.
My favourite design in the magazine is definitely the Eriskay Gansey by Beth Brown-Reinsel. It is based on traditional ganseys but has such a modern look and shape, I have already been thinking about a substitute for the suggested yarn which is not available in this country. This is one failing of The Knitter - I wish they suggested alternative yarns for garments, particularly where a yarn is especially hard to source or very expensive. Other knitting magazines do this and it is such a useful addition.

An extra booklet of Nordic inspired knits provides some pretty sock and mitt patterns, and there is an interesting article on Estonian knitting traditions, though I'm not a huge fan of this sort of heavily coloured knitwear in general. The Masterclass is on how to avoid RSI, which I don't have as I don't get enough opportunity to knit - most of the advice is pretty obvious, but there may be some tips which help you out if you suffer with this problem.
Overall, not an outstanding issue but a solid one which contains a few 'inoffensive' patterns that would probably suit most wardrobes.

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Hudson on Hold

Last week I made a concerted effort to finish my Hudson hoodie. This project had been hanging round for far too long and I thought it was about time to release it from the doldrums at the bottom of my knitting bag and actually wear the thing!

I worked on it every spare moment, nap times and evenings; the endless moss stitch hood was finally finished, a sleeve edge picked up and knit (apologies for the night time, bad light photos!).

I had a whole ball of yarn left and decided it was time to pick up for the button band, which wraps all the way around the hood and down both sides. There were a mega amount of stitches to pick up, something like 440, but I sat and spent one whole evening picking them up evenly onto a long circular needle.

Each row seemed to take forever as it was all in rib and the hoodie itself was pretty heavy by now. The buttonhole row took extra time - I decided to add in an extra button hole than the pattern suggested, as I wanted one right at the bottom too. I used this Masterclass to help me make my buttonholes as neat as possible - they still aren't perfect, but better than ones I have knit before.

Then the worst happened - I could see I was running out of yarn. I decided to cast off a row early as I really didn't want this button band sitting on the needles, it would be far too easy for stitches to drop off. I had just enough yarn to cast off (and I mean just - there was about a centimetre left!).

But I was left with one sleeve edging and two pocket edgings to knit. I had a feeling I would be in this position as my tension for the project was so drastically wrong, since I discovered part way through that I was knitting in a finer gauge yarn than the pattern specified. Unfortunately, I had used Knit Picks yarn from Great British Yarns which is the only UK supplier and they no longer had the colour in stock. Was I destined never to finish this hoodie?

Fortunately for me, Ravelry exists. After a trawl through the stashed Wool of the Andes yarn, I actually found some in the same dye lot in one lovely person's stash, and we are currently arranging for her to ship it to me all the way from the US. Isn't the Internet a wonderful thing?

Hopefully I will be back to share the finished item very soon!

 

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The Knitter 54 Review

So before I stitch up my blanket buddy over the weekend and share him on here as soon as possible, I thought I would write a review of the latest issue of The Knitter. I'm a digital subscriber so I buy it every month, and generally I love this magazine. I have a lot of past patterns in my Ravelry queue waiting to be knitted up, and I'm always adding more though I'm sure I'll never get to knit them all!
So first up, one thing I love about this issue. As always, The Knitter provides more than just patterns, and there was an interesting interview in this issue with the historian Sandy Black looking at the amazing archives of the V&A museum, which much to my shame I have never visited though I have always intended to go. As a history teacher I obviously find this fascinating and just wish they had gone into a bit more depth about some of the items, such as the stranded knitting fragment from 12th century Egypt. It makes you realise just how long established this craft really is.

The Masterclass this issue is on Modular Knitting to accompany a pattern called Barnacle by Layla Chelache. This is something I have never tried, but while it looks clever, the pattern doesn't really appeal to me and I can't see me knitting it. Other items that I am not personally keen on are the Navajo tunic by Brandon Mably - I am not a fan of this type of bold colour work and would never wear it. And although I like the general style of Carol Feller's Carlow hoody, there is something about it that just doesn't sit right - I'm not sure if its the colour combination or the graphic detailing on the front - I would be more inclined to knit the hoody without this.

Now onto the positives. I absolutely love the Bergere de France Alaska sweater and could see me casting this on at some point once I've attacked a few other things in my queue. I'm quite a fan of layering and the short sleeves would look good over a long sleeved T-shirt.

Kyoko Nakayoshi always produces interesting designs and the vintage style shawl collared cardigan is very sweet, though I might alter some of the colours myself to something slightly more muted.
Martin Storey delivers as always with Tipsy, a man's cardigan. Ed doesn't really wear cardigans so I can't see this getting made, but I think it would look great on any man who does.

One of my favourite designs is Conifer by Rosee Woodland - I love the effect of reverse fair isle and the optional wristwarmers are genius too. I am not really confident enough at fair isle to attempt this at the moment, but if you are it's well worth a look.
There are various other patterns in the magazine including some for children which is always handy, a bag by Barb Brown and a lovely shawl by Anniken Allis. Overall, it's a fairly strong issue, though there are probably only two items I might add to my queue at this point. In the preview for next issue though I have already spotted some gorgeous items that are right up my street design wise, so I'm looking forward to that!

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