Unfinished Business

With over 130 pieces to photograph for our Fall 2012 collection, completing sample garments could be a little down-to-the-wire. Here, Kim binds off the sleeve on Lone Wolf, a pullover in Alpaca Sox from the new booklet Cascading Waters, while model Mackenzie looks on.

How to...Knit Pleats

Andi Clark's Comet sweater is the perfect transitional piece. Knit in Soft Linen, it features lace panels on the bodice, a cute seed stitch and lace collar, and kicky pleats flowing from an empire waist. The yarn is transitional too, combining wool, linen and baby alpaca in almost equal proportions in what Clara Parkes called "a perfect example of a smart fiber blend.".

The pleats are cleverly constructed, and when my coworker Cheryl suggested we do a blog post about it after puzzling through the instructions on her own, I thought it was a great idea!

Supplies: 2 DPN's, US 6, and your knitting (obviously).

1. Knit to within four stitches of your reverse stockinette section. Slip these four knit stitches to one DPN and hold in the front. Slip the next four purl stitches to the other DPN and rotate the needle clockwise.

2. Hold all the needles together and knit 3 together, one stitch from each needle, 4 times.

3. To make your left pleat, slip the next four stitches to a DPN and hold in the back. Slip the next 4 purl stitches to a second DPN.

Rotate it counterclockwise so that the RS is facing the stitches on the first DPN. Knit 3 together, one stitch from each needle, 4 times.

Voila! It's almost like you're folding it in on itself and "sewing" it together. Happy knitting!

How to make 3-D flowers

The Dahlia headband, designed by Tonia Barry for our Spring 2012 collection, sports three-dimensional flowers on a garter and stockinette headband in Cotton Bam Boo Print. Having trouble understanding the instructions? Tonia took some photos on-the-fly while she was knitting up her sample. If you would like to knit one yourself, you can purchase the pattern as an instant pdf download here (Ravelry link). 

Knit your petals. Make 12, 6 for each flower. Cut a 24" piece of yarn and fold it in half. Thread it through a tapestry needle.

Insert through each of the four eyelets in each of the six petals for the first flower.

The Cardigan of the Summer...

Hyperbolic? Nah...

It's open-front, semi-striped, flattering, and in our gorgeous mercerized Egyptian cotton, Provence. Need I say more? It's the Tremont Cardigan from Talitha Kuomi (sounds like Tabitha, only with an "l").

Color is intimidating for me. I worry too much about what syncs with what, what colors flatter me, what translates well to a garment...

Anyway, this piece stuck in my craw the second I saw it. It's exactly what I love in a sweater--not constricting, versatile, and will stand up to a beating. But I was curious...with 73 colors of Provence in our catalog, what combos can we come up with? I asked Creative Director, Susan Mills. Color is her comfort zone. And she came through with some choices. So, naturally, I knit some swatches. 

Niagara Falls Pit Stop!

Betsy, Heather and Meg opted out of flying and drove to TNNA from here in North Billerica. On the way there, they stopped by Niagara Falls because, as Betsy said, "You only live once, right?"

Happy summer travels this gorgeous holiday week!

Knitting Daily KAL!

We won! Well, kinda.

The Pan-Am Jacket from Interweave Knits Winter 2011 is the newest Knitting Daily KAL! This sweater from Ashley Rao is knit in MountainTop Crestone.

If you're not familiar with the MountainTop Collection, do yourself a favor and pick up a skein. When we first released the original three yarns (Vista, Crestone and Vail), I once even heard a knitter exclaim about Vista that she "never want(ed) to knit with anything else again". I rejoiced because I love a natural yarn: untreated, undyed, sweet-smelling, and hard-wearing, these yarns are right up my alley.

Though the sweater calls for Crestone, one of the beauties of  this yarn and Vista is that they're interchangeable. The only difference is the fiber content.

Color Affection for Me!

Whoever coined the malapropism "Color Affliction" sure had it right. This pattern has swept through our office like wildfire, with somebody casting on every day it seems. First Tonia, who finished hers in a weekend; then Cheryl, the consummate sweater knitter; Betsy couldn't resist it; and finally I broke down (Chelsea). I think Andi just bought the pattern too...

I'm no stranger to Veera Valimaki's patterns. Six out of thirty-one pdf patterns in my Ravelry library are her designs, putting her at a whopping near 20%. I've already made the Line Break shawl twice, am planning a Still Light tunic for this Fall (in Alpaca Sox, once I get over the idea of knitting a tunic for a 6' tall frame on US 1's), and just cast on my very own Color Affection in Silky Alpaca Lace. What do you think of my color choices? (FYI, the green is a new color for Fall 2012. How pretty is it?)

A Ravelry search turns up five projects in MountainTop Vail, four in Alpaca Sox, one in Fresco, and six in Silky Alpaca Lace.