I worked on this jacket in spring 2008. I almost finished it before the summer, but was unable to sew the buttons on yet and a cable that goes around the outer part of the collar. But I think I like it better without it. I modified the collar, since I did not like the big collar on me as it was pictured in the original pattern. Second, I did not fully how the construction of the collar as described in the patter, so I knitted a collar support to mimic the shape of the collar and then sewn it from the back of the collar to body (see pictures below).
Unfortunately, I did not make the best yarn choice for this cardigan: the soy yarn has become rather heavy and stretched the cardigan to a great length. It still looks OK, though I might shorten it at waist one of these days.
In my previous post I talked about the book Double Stitch. I was very inspired by the designs and wanted to make the shrug on the cover as well, but I was unable to locate the feathers anywhere. I looked in Micheals and AC Moore and even on line but with no luck; they onlykind have was the kiddy kinds that would not look very good on a grown woman. When I read through the pattern, I realized that without the feathers, it looks rather plain, so I decided to design one of my own - more suddle, and for me probably more wearable version. I found a great yarn: Paton's new yarn Silk Bamboo. You can see a sneak peak in the pictures. I am still working on it (had it on a back burner for couple of months now), but hopefully finish it by Christmas, and hopefully have a pattern by then too. I am still not sure what I am going to do for the neck opening - still in the works.
Before I left for the Czech Republic, I had bought a new book - DoubleStitch by Erika and Monika Simmons. I loved most of the designs in it: the designs are very hip and fresh, and give me a new look at crochet. Most of the designs have very simple constructions and are easy to make. Even though I like many of the designs, unfortunately, most of them are not very wearable for me - I'm not that young of a chick anymore; and most of the designs are targeted towards to a younger, more daring wearer. Regardless, I fell in love with the Gypsy Duster and I wanted to make it so bad, but I had to wait until I was done with all my knitting projects for publication. I took the book and allocated yarn with me to the Czech Republic, hoping that I will have some extra time to work on it. After the knitting marathon, I had to give myself at least a week off; and then, in the middle of the summer, I started to crochet. It was coming along rather quick; and it was nice to work for a mere pleasure for a change. And since there was no rush (not like one needs a coat in the middle of a summer!), I have finished it when I got back to the States.
When crocheting, I was worried a little about the size because it looked rather small for me at first; but then when it was finished, because of the yarn weight and nature of the stitch, the coat stretched to fit perfectly. I have omitted the ties since it was hard to get in and out of the coat while just throwing it on to go the bus stop and back; but the eyelets are there if I ever wanted to use the ties. I must say it like it both ways - with the ties or without.
So since I have not blogged in a few months, I wanted to update what I was working on during the quiet time. It was not quiet time in the knitting & crochet department though. I have worked a lot and thanks to the fact that some of the yarns have arrived later than they should have, I was forced to take some of my projects my vacation.
This booklet Dreamer 136 is a booklet of Mission Falls yarns and it introduces their new yarn line 136 Merino Superwash. This yarn is very, very soft, especially after washing and blocking. It is a 4 ply 100% Merino Wool spun finer from the same fiber as their 1824 Wool and in the same 40 colors. Each 50 gram ball comprises 136 yards of yarn. Recommended gauge is 24 stitches / 32 rows.
The books started to form in March/April 2008 and when I found out that Stefanie Japel was working on it as a coordinator and co-creator, I was very excited to work with her. The third designer contributing to this booklet was Gallina Carroll.
First I've knitted Sophie - the one button cardigan. The cardigan is worked in Stockinette Stitch with wide stripes worked in slip stitch pattern using 3 colors to add depth and dimension.
Secondly, I worked on the Margo Hat and Scarf Set. The stitch used in this set is called Bramble Stitch and it looks complicated than it is. The stripes are worked 2 rows in each color and the Bramble stitch gives it a raised look.
The last design I contributed was the Celeste sweater coat. It was initially designed as a short sleeve coat, but it was changed to long sleeves because it was a fall design. Here is the original proposal sketch:
Interweave Knits, Winter 2008 is on news stands today, and I have not gotten my copy yet! I even saw it in Safeway yesterday already, but I have not gotten it in my mail. Interweave usually ships one copy and leaflet of the designer's pattern on or before the issue date, so I don't know what happened, but it seems that I just have to be patient and wait. In this issue, I have a design of mine published: Washington Square Vest. I made this vest while on vacation in the Czech Republic in the middle of the summer. This was a second project I was working on while there. First one was the Celeste sweater coat. I was quite busy and anxious a bit being on a tight schedule to meet the deadlines and still trying to do fun things with my kids. So I was knitting in all places - including some odd places like by the swimming pool - people were looking at me funny; people in the Czech Republic are not used to knitting outside their homes. At least I have never seen anyone. Then when done, my husband had to take the vest back to the USA to mail it, since the postage was quite ridiculously expensive for sending a package overseas. Anyways, it brings memories... and it's nice to see it all done and published.
The vest was made in Tilli Tomas Elsie. It was very soft yarn and pleasure to work with. It nicely worked for the dainty lace detail around the neckline. This was my first time to work with Tilli Tomas yarn; I had always wanted to, but it's priced a bit out of my price-range. But after working with it, I would consider buying it.
The Washington Square Vest was my second project I made for Interweave Knits. My very first project was the Little Blue Sweater you could see in the Fall 2008 issue of IK. As you can tell I have not blogged in a really long time, so there's no mention of this one here. So let me tell you a bit about this little sweater.
The sweater is worked in Classic Elite Yarns Duchess. When I first knitted it up, it produced rather stiff fabric, but after washing and blocking, the yarn became very, very soft and pliable. This project is a quick knit worked on US 10½ / 6.5 mm needles. So if you need some last Christmas gifts, you may try to work this sweater.
When I designed the sweater, the rib on the lower part was to sit at waist as pictured in my pictures. The model in the magazine must have been a little taller than I anticipated; or my mannequine is of very short statue. I will keep that in mind next time I am designing. But when you are making it, measure it against your own body for the lenghts, so it fits the way you intended. Though keep in mind the row gauge as measured from your blocked swatch, so you don't have any surprises after you wash and block your finished sweater. Actually on Knitting Daily blog, Sandi Wiseheart talked about blocking great deal in past couple days, so if you want to learn more, check the blog out.
Hi everyone! I hope everyone had a great summer.I surely did: I had a great visit with my family and friends in the Czech Republic.Now, I’ve been back from my travels in Europe for couple of weeks.Kids are back to school; and we’ve finally adjusted to our new routines.After being sick for a week; finally, I am ready to dive into knitting, crocheting, designing, blogging and work overall with newly restored energy and new ideas.
I am starting up my first blog entry of the year (school year) with an interview with one of the authors of a new book Casual, Elegant Knits, Faina Goberstein. This book is a great collection of wearable designs for both men and women.The book is divided into three sections: City Life; Elegant Afternoon; and Gotta Have It. You can see the whole collection on Ravelry. Without further to do, here is the interview.
Me: Hello Faina! Thank you for inviting me to be part of your book tour for your new publication Casual, Elegant Knits, which you co-wrote with Dawn Leeseman. I feel really honored to be part of it.Today, I am the last stop of your book tour; and there was much asked and said about all the great designs in this book, so I wanted to focus more on how the book came all together and on the process it took to create it. There are so many books on knitting these days; how did the idea leading to the creation of this book come about?
FAINA: Hi, Simona! First, I have to say that I am so glad to have this opportunity to talk to you. Thank you very much. I am a big admirer of your designs. Now the book. It was a natural step for us. Dawn and I are helping out at the local yarn shop HeartStrings Yarn Studio. We always talked to each other about our designs, looked for each other’s approval, and even had a little line of patterns together. Once we started talking about the design possibilities, the number of ideas was overwhelming. To sort it all out we needed to start a big project. We made a decision to write a book. It seemed to be the best outcome for us at the time. Although each of us had some individual designs that could be incorporated in the book, we needed to have a clear understanding of the book theme. We spent many hours on trying to finalize the main thought of the book. As you said, there are so many books on the market. We wanted our book to stand out. We knew that we should go with something that would showcase us as designers and some projects that we wished as knitters to have available.Thus came the main theme for the book: a knitwear ensembles for both men and women consisting of classic and stylish pieces that people would want to wear.
Me: Where did you find inspiration for your designs?
FAINA: Different sources for different designs, but in general, the love of fashion in men and women’s clothing is something we both share. Dawn is more drawn to colors and textures and I love the architecture and details of stylish clothes.
Me: With so many yarn choices out there, how do you pick the right yarn for a particular project?Do you have yarn companies send you samples and then you choose; or do you work with the yarns you are familiar with and worked with before?
FAINA: We are fortunate to be working at the yarn shop and be friends with the very supportive and encouraging owner Joanne Wilson. She helped us to get the yarn we needed for the proposal. Some of the yarns we needed she already had in her store. For my Vintage Hat and the Lacy scarf I wanted something soft and romantic with just a little mohair. For the Tweed Polo Dawn needed textured yarn that will not be too hot to wear. Once we had our proposal accepted, the yarn companies were kind enough to supply the yarn for our projects.
Me: What was the time frame of creating your new book – taking it from an idea to a proposal to the finished product?
FAINA: I would say it took us two years in all.
Me: What do you usually include in your proposal in order to catch an interest of a publisher?
FAINA: You know, we do not have that much of experience. Our proposal was the first for us and we were so lucky that the publisher liked it and even did not change anything. We did a very thorough research about publishing companies. Once we saw that Martingale & Co is a good match for us, we followed their clear instructions what to include in the proposal. We had many assays written about our idea of the book and what readership we are trying to target, we gave an initial table of contents, send few of our knitted samples, included many sketches, pattern samples, and project descriptions. I do believe that a publisher is looking for new ideas that are marketable and not over the top. Another observation: They love organized proposals. They can tell from it if a designer understands what this job involves.
Me:How did you choose your publisher?
FAINA: We printed out many publishers’ guidelines and compared them. Some publishers want you to take care of models and photography. Some ask for too much work for a proposal. Others sounded like it would not be easy to work with them. When we read very clear guidelines from Martingale we felt we have found it. It was very clear what we needed to do, what the company obligations would be and it was working for us.
Me: Some knitters may think that working on a knitting book must be lots of fun, which I hope it is; but I imagine it also must be tremendous amount of work. Taking it from my own experience working only on one pattern at a time (actually sometimes it is 2 or 3 designs at the same time for different publishers!), so I can only imagine there might be some stress involved with deadlines and such when working on a book. How do you deal with the pressure?
FAINA: Yes, you are right. It is a tremendous amount of work. There are stages where you can relax a bit, but there are some times where it is very stressful. Right at the beginning, when we had to check with the yarn companies on the yarn availability, we had our first shock. The two yarns we used for finished projects were not going to be available. We had to redo the Tailored Skirt, the Watercolor Shawl, and the Scalloped-Edge Purse. We were most of the time on the schedule. There was no stress coming from the publisher, thank G-d. After all the garments were designed and made by Dawn and me separately, the work on the writing began. We were sitting at the computer every day from 9 am to 9 or 10 pm. Dawn practically became part of our family for the time. We work together very well, so our stress only came from clarifying the patterns, correcting mistakes, writing up little romances for the patterns. Sometimes we had to show each other how did we knit a particular stitch, so we can write it in a simple way. Our knitting styles are different. I knit continental and Dawn knits the English way. I have not even realized that I am writing brioche stitch patterns suitable for continental knitters only. When she tried to knit from my description it did not look like what I meant. To incorporate both knitting styles, we had to change the language a little.Overall, I would say everything went very smoothly. Needless to say, when we put everything in a huge box and sent it away, it was a huge relief. I also have to mention two of our biggest cheerleaders and helpers: my husband Simon and Danny Leeseman. Simon was our men’s wear “consultant”, and both he and Danny were right there to help us to ship something, listen to all the details (poor men), and carry our stuff here and there. Since we were working in my house, Simon had to take care of the house and get used to the fact that his wife talked only about knitting for two years.
Me: What was the most fun about creating a new book, and what was your least favorite part?
FAINA: I always love the beginning of the design process. It does not matter if it is for a book or a magazine. It is very exciting to come up with that perfect match of the yarn, stitch patterns and the pattern outline. I also love to knit and see my creation to fruition.After that starts the part that I like the least: writing the pattern for many sizes. It is tedious and sometimes it creeps into your creativity. Not every line of the design is looking good on all sizes.
Me: Did you have a free hand on picking the models and how the garments were presented (e.g. where the pictures are taken) in the book?
FAINA: Martingale & Co took care of the layout of the book and the photography with their models. We had a big input on how we want the garments to be worn. For example, I asked the model to wear boots for the Little Flirt Skirt. We were very specific how the hats and sweaters must be worn. We also asked for the outside shots. I think I would enjoy so much be a stylist when they were shooting, but we are far from them. I have to repeat myself and say that we never were sorry that we sent the proposal to Martingale. They are great to work with. They said to us that they want our input as much as we can provide, because we know the best about our designs and we need to showcase them.
Me: I’d also like to ask you a few questions about the garments presented in the book. After my first listing through the pages, I was especially impressed with the men's knitwear presented: The garments and accessories are very classic and modern at the same time; and it’s something a guy would actually wear.From my own experience, this is particularly hard group to knit for. I made a few accessories for my husband; and I regret to say many of them are not worn much.L But my husband fell in love with the Driver's Cap, which I now HAVE to make for him! How did you come up with such a clever construction for this cap?
FAINA: Thank you, Simona. I am very proud of this hat. I actually tried to imitate the hat out of fabric that you can buy in a millinery shop. Of course, there are differences between sewing and knitting, so I had to modify quite a bit to get the shape. I made one and it was too big and too wide, so I did some changes in the design. The stitch pattern that I chose also had to remind a corduroy fabric. I think it does.
Me:I also like the Tweed Polo very much. This design is very versatile: its simple lines and one color make it very chic and classic, but this pattern can be easily used over and over again to create different looks by adding color stripes; elongating the sleeves to make polo long sleeve shirt/pullover, which for a intermediate knitter should not be very hard at all.What the inspiration behind this garment?
FAINA: Well, since Dawn is not here, I am going to answer for her. I hope I am right. In our second collection Elegant Afternoon our man had to have a lighter sweater that is suitable for the theme. We knew that it had to be a shirt with a short sleeve. The rest came from Dawn liking Polo shirts.
Me:I was quite impressed with the Triple-Pocket Bag.It quite completes the whole look of the model. How did you choose this project? Did it come at the same time with the Driver’s Cap?
FAINA: Yes, it does complement the Driver’s Cap. We thought that another felted bag would be too heavy for this collection. We also added three pockets for functionality of this bag.
Me: There have been thousands of hats made for women, but your Vintage Cap is very unique. I loved the great idea of using a tie to finish the look of this cap! What inspired you to design this hat?
FAINA: It is a combination of a very long scarf and a hat that I made for myself when I was a university student in Russia. I came up with so many different ways to wear it. So, in this hat, I attached the scarf to the hat and continued to play with it.
FAINA: Simona, I want to know what are you working on. Did you draw any of your inspirations from the styles you saw this summer in Europe or in Czech Republic in particular? I am very interested to hear about it.
Me: Faina, every year when I go to the Czech Republic, I take my stitch dictionaries, my pencils and my drawing book and hope I will work on some designs; but rarely I do find enough time to do it.I did not hold my hopes up this year.I had committed myself to 2 projects I hoped I would have finished before I left for my trip, but the late arrival of the yarn for these projects caused me to take the projects with me; so more than half of my trip I was working on it – knitting everywhere I went, even by the pool where I took my kids (some people thought I was crazy?!).Even though it’s always fun to work on a project, I have to say that this time it was a bit stressful with the deadlines and me being so far away. I could finally relax when I mailed it. After that I had to take a break from knitting for couple of weeks. Then I started a fun project - crocheting a coat for myself, which is now finished.Every year I also go to Styl & Kabo, which is an international fashion, textile, footwear and leatherwear fair in Brno.There I usually get plenty of inspiration, but this year I was unable to attend.As far as of what I am working on now: I am drawing a collection of designs for tweens, which I am hoping to be able to work into a book proposal. Your insight into a book making was very informative for me, so I know what to expect.Further, I am drawing a few proposals for couple of magazines and for a new booklet of one yarn company.Just like for you, this is one of my favorite parts of designing, so I am quite enjoying it.
Back to your book, though, what was the one question you were dying to answer but nobody asked you?
FAINA: Actually, I am so impressed with all the questions we were asked. We covered an incredible amount of topics. I do not think anything is left to discuss. I am so grateful to all 16 participants of this blog tour not only for taking their precious time to do this, but also for the depth of the questions and the interest they showed to their fellow designers. I felt that I’ve made so many friends through this experience.I also hope that we gave a good background description on our book and people will be more familiar with what to expect from our designs. We would be very happy to know that after two-year work we came up with a collection of patterns that many would want to make and wear.
Thank you, Simona, very much for the great finale of the blog tour. Good luck with your design work and I am looking forward to seeing your name in Vogue Knitting Interweave Knits, and many other magazines again and again.
Thank you, Faina! It was a pleasure to speak to you about your new book and what it took to put such a great project together.
I am finally in the Czech Republic! I arrived the day before yesterday and I am glad to be finally here. It was a long trip as always, but luckily we got to sleep on the plane for about 4 hours and then on the bus for about 2 hours (they did not even wake us up on the borders between Austria and the Czech Rep. for passport control!), so we lasted through the day OK well to the evening hours and adjusted pretty quick to the time change (some 6 hours ahead of US East coast).
My mom and my sister with her 3 boys came to visit us the very first day of our arrival, so it was very nice to see my family after some 10 months. I managed to unpack pretty much all my luggage that day (and let me tell you it's a FEW pieces - one too many in accordance to some people). But I had some presents I wanted to give to my family and the way the airline restrictions are these days on the weight of each piece of luggage, I had to pack and repack and rearrange and weight and re-weight my luggage several times (it's a few day process!), so after all was packed I did not know what was where - there was no particular order to anything. And I used to have a good system for packing, since I've been doing it for many years now: I used to pack related things together for each person, so I knew where exactly to reach for things. Anyways, this way as it is now, I had to unpack everything in order to find all the presents I brought with me. But at least I have everything done and can finally relax. Well not exactly. I had brought 2 projects with me for 2 different publications and I will need to work on those while I am here, so I'd better get to it. I'd like to finish it before my husband comes here, so we can have nice vacation together without me having to knit, but I'm afraid that it's not going to happen; we'll see.
SNEAK PEEK
As I mentioned before, I have been working on my last project for Mission Falls DK Wool Booklet. I had been raving about how great it is to work with this yarn and how the colors are amazing. You can see a preview of a project #2. It will be available for release in Fall 2008, I believe. If you got a chance to go to TNNA you could have seen this and the other project there; for the rest you will have to wait till fall.
You can also see a sneak peak preview on Stefanie Japel's blog since she is also working on this booklet. Hers are worked from neck down, as far as I can tell from the pictures, so the booklet seems that it will be a great collection of patterns to knit for fall.
Maybe some of you noticed that I have not been posting much in the past month. This was mainly due to the fact that I had many projects I had been working on and was trying to finish for 2 different publications before I was leaving for summer for the Czech Republic. I thought that I would manage to finish everything before I go, but it did not happen. Two of the projects I finished and sent off - some you could have possibly seen in TNNA as I was told they were there on display. But I still have 2 project I am taking with me because some of the yarn was not available for delivery in time for me to finish it, so I will be working on them in Europe.
Mission Falls DK Wool Booklet
I have been working on a new booklet for Mission Falls Yarns using their new DK Wool yarn. I feel privileged to work on this booklet together with Stefanie Japel and Galina Carroll. I love working with this yarn: it is a pleasure to work with because it is so soft and becomes even softer after washing. I did not know it was possible to have a wool so soft. If that was not enough, the colors are just amazing!
Today I have gotten my issue of Interweave Crochet Summer 2008 in the mail. I was very excited about getting this issue because it features my very first crochet garment design in this magazine. It's a great honor to be published next to Robyn Chachula, Amie Hirtes, and other great designers. You can see the preview of the patterns here.
The Strung Shells Top is a simple and easy design to work on. It is worked up in a vastly accessible yarn Patons Grace. This top is very versatile. Initially I designed this top as a "Falling Leaves" pattern just by using different color combination - see a swatch below. I like how just changing a color can change a garment from summer top to fall.
New issue of Knitter's Magazine Summer 2008 is coming out soon. Now you can cast your vote here and guess which cover the Knitter's Editors will choose. I am flattered and excited that one of my designs - the Marigold - was chosen to be considered to appear on the cover! You can see a picture on the left.
I worked on this jacket in spring 2008. I almost finished it before the summer, but was unable to sew the buttons on yet and a cable that goes around the outer part of the collar. But I think I like it better without it. I modified the collar, since I did not like the big collar on me as it was pictured in the original pattern. Second, I did not fully how the construction of the collar as described in the patter, so I knitted a collar support to mimic the shape of the collar and then sewn it from the back of the collar to body (see pictures below).
Before I left for the Czech Republic, I had bought a new book - 
