Tuesday, November 25, 2008

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  • Tweed, Glorious Tweed

    Ask where's the North? At York 'tis on the Tweed; in Scotland at the Orcades;
    and there, At Greenland, Zembla, or the Lord knows where.
    -Alexander Pope

    I can't think of enough good things to say about the new Interweave Knits. The cover sweater alone is enough, and then the whole section on tweedy goodness. . . . It's too much.

    And it's more than just the patterns. Beyond just liking a sweater or a pattern or a yarn or a color, there's another consideration when a project catches our eye. It's the fantasy aspect. What would my life be like if I, too, wore delightful tweedy bobble cardigans with belts? An idyllic countryside, or maybe a chic urban woman who bothered to wear something other than hooded sweatshirts on her way to work?

    I want to live the life that the Blooming Cardigan conjurs up in my mind. (I think it's the belt, or the buttons on the top RIGHT collar, discontinuous from the rest of the buttons. Or something.) And I want to hang out there, wherever that is, with my sister, who would adore the Ropes and Picots Cardigan. We were raised in a cardigan-loving family of women who are always cold and go nowhere without a little cardigan, "just in case." And the shoulder detail on the Ropes and Picots! The whole thing also makes me wonder why I have never made something with a picot hem for my sister, who is so clearly - now that I see this cardigan - a picot sort of person. (You can tell from the photo here of her wearing Rowena. Clearly a picot person, isn't she?) Back to the new IK, it will come as no suprise to any of you that the Holly and Poinsetta Mittens strike my fancy, since they a) are mittens and b) are colorwork and c) are the least practical thing for the San Diego climate. To be a good enabler, I should point out that there is a kit available here for the mittens for a reasonable $55. That I think $55 is a reasonable amount to spend on mittens reminds me I should go donate money to the food bank given the overwhelming number of news articles such as this.

    There is, however, a temporary solution to my stream-of-consciousness fantasy life. Tweed socks.


    Warm and Tweedy Goodness
    Pattern: William Street Socks, available free on the Interweave Knits site
    Yarn: Regia Tweed, 6-fadig (sportweight)
    Needles: US 2
    Notes: I actually knit this toe-up with a short-row heel, which I rarely do. I liked the directionality of the cables and didn't want to mess with figuring out how to reverse it. Also, this pattern calls for what seems to be a crazy number of stitches, but the cables really pull in. The only mod I made was to do the ribbing for the entire back leg, rather than stockinette and then ribbing at the top.
    Best Thing About This Project: They'll absolutely match the Blooming Cardigan. Too bad they're not for me.

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    6 Comments:

    Blogger Beth said...

    I'm considering making the Ropes and Picots Cardigan, but a little longer and with waist shaping. I love the Holly and Poinsettia Mittens, too! Thanks for sharing the link for the kit - just added it to my Amazon wish list for Christmas. :-)

    I like the Manchester Jacket a lot, too, and I may make that someday.

    11/25/2008 12:39 PM  
    Blogger JayJay said...

    You're right it is an awesome issue. My friend Anne Lukito has a pattern in it too!

    11/25/2008 12:51 PM  
    Blogger Kristen said...

    I love this tweedy issue too, and Ropes and Picots is at the top of my list. (After all those others at the top of my list.)

    11/25/2008 1:04 PM  
    Blogger silverarrowknits said...

    I know what you mean about the cost of things. I keep seeing projects that I want to knit and then I do the math for how much the project costs, and I decide that I should choose a project from stash yarn instead.

    11/25/2008 4:50 PM  
    Blogger alligator said...

    Ha! That was a great post! I don't have the Winter Interweave yet but I am sooo looking forward to all those tweedy sweaters and I love what I've seen of the ropes and picots cardi from the preview pictures!

    You would have been so jealous of my dogwalk today, 6" of snow on the ground!
    I wore two sweaters.

    11/25/2008 6:57 PM  
    Blogger Tracy Batchelder said...

    I like the way you continued the ribbing up the leg.

    11/26/2008 7:15 AM  

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