Tag Archives: Interweave

Northern Knits: Gifts.

Posted by on

A new book arrived a couple of weeks ago that immediately caught Anne’s eye.

It’s no surprise–Northern Knits: Gifts is filled with three things that often catch her eye. Is there colorwork? Yes. Fine, lightweight yarns? Indeed. Something to knit for babies?

Oh, yes! Anne is making three of these little hats for her three little grandbabies, using an armful of colors in Cascade 220 Fingering.

It’s perfectly well-behaved in this stranded colorwork pattern, sturdy and warm, but softer after washing. As she knits, Anne keeps pausing to exclaim, “I’m having so much fun!” And she must be, because the first hat is done, and the second is nearly there, too.

Come by to flip through Northern Knits: Gifts and admire this sweet baby hat before it leaves the shop to be worn by a sweet baby. See you there!

Interweave Crochet, and Lantern Moon hooks.

Posted by on

The latest issue of Interweave Crochet is here, and pleasantly full of good-looking crocheted sweaters for Fall.

We also replenished our supply of Lantern Moon crochet hooks recently, so you can find most any size hook you may need, made of rosewood or ebony, no less.  Crocheters, come by the shop to begin planning your Fall projects!

Interweave Knits: Holiday Gifts, 2012.

Posted by on

The Holiday Gifts issue of Interweave Knits is here, while there’s still time to knit those gifts before the holidays are upon us.

This issue is filled with knitted accessories, children’s things, christmas stockings, and other home decor. Flipping through it, I saw plenty of colorwork to keep things interesting, and cables, too.

This hat takes one skein of the wonderful workhorse worsted weight wool that is Plymouth Galway–a great value for 210 yards of sturdy, soft, well-behaved yarn.

You can find Interweave Knits: Holiday Gifts on the magazine rack by the door. Come by soon to snag a copy of your own!

The Knitter’s Handy Book of Top-Down Sweaters.

Posted by on

Interweave has just published a new book by Ann Budd, The Knitter’s Handy Book of Top-Down Sweaters: Basic Designs in Multiple Sizes and Gauges, and a stack of them arrived at the shop last week. After studying it during several quiet moments at the shop, I decided it had to be part of my personal knitting library. Read on to learn why it might make a good addition to yours, as well.

Ann Budd is the author of a great many knitting resources, including but not limited to Sock Knitting Master Class, The Knitter’s Handy Book of Patterns, and The Knitter’s Handy Book of Sweater Patterns. As I’ve written here before, we’re also quite fond of her Handy Guides to Yarn Requirements for knitting and crochet.

The Knitter’s Handy Book of Top-Down Sweaters is the latest in her series of Handy Books which give instructions for simple garments in a wide range of gauges and sizes. This collection, as the title makes plain, is full of seamlessly-constructed sweaters that begin at the neck, working from the top down.

Some knitters begin a new project by falling in love with a pattern, then hunting for just the right yarn to match the gauge that the pattern asks for. Some knitters begin by falling in love with a skein of yarn, then go looking for a pattern to match. Ann Budd’s Handy Books can work either way, I think, but do a real service for the second group. For each basic top-down sweater shape, Budd gives instructions for range of sizes, from children to adults, and a range of gauges. Whether you’ve fallen in love with a sport weight yarn or an aran weight yarn, you can choose from any pattern in the book and follow the directions in your chosen size and gauge. Budd also gives yarn requirements for every size and gauge, so once you’ve fallen in love with that yarn, you’ll know how much to get.

The book is divided into four sections, by the sweater’s yoke shape: seamless yoke, raglan, set-in sleeve, and saddle-shoulder. For each shape, along with the general instructions are three good-looking patterns. Some are designed by Ann Budd, and others by guest designers Jared Flood, Veronik Avery, Pam Allen, and Anne Hanson.

 Budd also includes plenty of information on modifying her general instructions, making it easy to add color or texture patterns, and create different kinds of neckbands, collars, button bands, waist shaping, and edgings.

I’ve knit very few sweaters from the top down, having grown accustomed to using Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Percentage System (EPS) to knit unique sweaters from the bottom up. While EPS makes sweater design into a doable math problem, Ann Budd’s Handy Book of Top-Down Sweaters is like the teacher’s edition–a series of sweater math problems shown with every possible answer. For knitters who love to knit seamless sweaters and make them their own using whatever yarn they’ve fallen in love with, this is the ultimate resource. Come by the shop to take a closer look at The Knitter’s Handy Book of Top-Down Sweaters!

KnitScene.

Posted by on

The Fall issue of KnitScene is here, with more fodder for our cold-weather daydreams.

This issue offers sweaters, shawls, and accessories, one of which stood out to me in particular. These cabled fingerless mitts are made out of Zitron Kimono, a sport-weight blend of merino wool and silk that we happen to stock at the shop.

Come by the shop to snag this latest issue of KnitScene, and at 15% off during July, no less. See you soon!

knit.wear.

Posted by on

Back in October, Interweave published a special issue called knit.wear, filled with simple cardigans, pullovers, and vests. Anne and I loved the look of it, as did many of you. This week, knit.wear is back with a new issue for Spring 2012.

 

This issue of knit.wear boasts accessories along with the garments; cowls, hats, and legwarmers to go with shrugs, tanks, and jackets. The projects are divided up by the techniques they use, like ruching, twisted fabric, or seamless construction.

There’s also a short-row tutorial, and an excerpt from the fabulous Pop Knitting, by Britt-Marie Christoffersson, which I wrote about last month when it arrived at the shop. It’s another beautiful collection of knits, so if you liked knit.wear last year, come by the shop to check out this latest edition! You’ll find it surrounded by the latest books and magazines on the teacart.

Interweave Crochet.

Posted by on

The Summer 2012 issue of Interweave Crochet arrived this past week, followed a few days later by a new book of crocheted blankets, Robyn Chachula’s Unexpected Afghans.

Between these two new publications, there’s sure to be inspiration for most any crocheter. Unexpected Afghans is particularly intriguing, using many varied crochet techniques with lovely results.

Come by the shop to take a closer look at these and other crochet books and magazines!

KnitScene Accessories.

Posted by on

A special issue of KnitScene has arrived at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop.

KnitScene Accessories is filled to the brim with patterns for cowls, mitts, hats, socks, and shawls.

Several techniques are featured as well, and explained in a friendly way. If you’ve never done colorwork before, or worked a pattern with intentionally dropped stitches, there’s enough information in these tutorials to get you through a project with these techniques.

In fact, a small project like a hat or a pair of fingerless mitts is the perfect place to learn a new technique. Short and sweet, then onto the next thing. Little projects with little challenges like these keep me motivated between (and sometimes during) bigger, more involved projects.

Come by the shop to take a closer look!

Jane Austen Knits, 2012.

Posted by on

Interweave has published another edition of Jane Austen Knits magazine, which features a wide variety of knitting projects inspired by the writings of Jane Austen.

This issue is packed with projects, including socks, shawls, sweaters, tea cozies, bonnets, bags, book-covers, and fingerless mitts. And probably even more. Take a look:

Come by the shop to snatch a copy of Jane Austen Knits.

Pop Knitting.

Posted by on

An inspiring new book has landed at the shop. Pop Knitting: Bold Motifs Using Color and Stitch, by Britt-Marie Christoffersson is a collection of graphic, modern-looking stitch patterns.

Christoffersson combines color and texture in surprising ways, making the book itself a thing of beauty.

The sweaters shown alongside many of these motifs make use of them in beautiful and often pleasantly strange garments. The results are fascinating and exciting, whether they appeal to your personal taste or not.

Come to the shop to take a closer look at Pop Knitting; you’re sure to find some inspiration there.