Knight Service: The Original

I really dig the beads on Knight Service.
And, inspired by the idea of styling (as outlined in yesterday's post), I thought I'd show a few options for the original Knight Service.

If you dig any of these ideas, just remember: Knight Service is on sale for only $2 this week! Pick it up soon, only two days left!

Knight Service: office style!

And here casual (though admittedly, since I work in the arts, I'm allowed to get away with this as "office wear").

Knight Service: Style Boards

I've said more than once that shrugs, and specifically Knight Service, is a pretty versatile pattern. When I knit up the warm-weather version of this piece, the very talented Allyson Dykhuizen suggested that we put together some Polyvore sets, showing just how this shrug can be multi-styled.

If you dig any of these ideas, just remember: Knight Service is on sale for only $2 this week! Pick it up soon!

Here you see my styling for the office.
Comfy, warm, professional, feminine.

Allyson's styled it pretty for formal.
I really love the colour combinations she's included. I think I need to find that dress!

Here she shows it casual.
(side note: omg, you can include nail polish in your Polyvore sets? I saw this on Allyson's, and totally copied her for my last two!)

And here it's two-ways for the beach. I couldn't decided if I liked the shorts look or the dress better!

Knight Service Spring

This week only, you can buy Knight Service for 50% off. That's a total of $2!

See this post on the Holla Knits blog for more info.

And why take a second look at Knight Service? It's been re-done for Spring.

Singing the Praises of Spring
Living in a temperate zone is exciting. Being able to see the transitions between seasons makes each year both familiar in its cycles and yet new and different each go-round.
Everyone has their favourite season, and I have to admit that Spring was never one of mine. Sure, you’ve got all the flowers coming up and the birds shaking off the snow, but, you’ve got to give up all that glorious Winter knitting!

It’s a sad day when they all get their last wash before storage, and trundle, verily unhappily, into plastic bins for the next six months. So when I can find a pattern that has the ability to season-straddle, and make itself magically transform, I get all keen on it. Avoiding the storage-trundle-of-sadness is totes good.
Knight Service is one of those pieces.

Its debut as a cold-weather garment capitalized on its strengths of warmth (using a wool based yarn), and the metaphorical and physical heaviness that those months’ fashion can bring (the beading acting as statement-making accent to any outfit).

With some simple alterations, Knight Service can show off its warm-weather strengths, too!
Spring brings sunshine, cute dresses, bright colours, and an emotional lightness to fashion that is infectious and invigorating.

This brightness and lightness translates into a shrug made of cotton and linen; one that forgoes the heavy beading and allows the option of smooth shoulders (or perhaps a pretty bow?)

This Knight Service is the perfect complement to Spring’s outfits and energized vibe.
I held a brief and highly unscientific poll saw that most people prefer Spring above all other seasons.

So, which Knight Service do YOU prefer?

Indie Designer Day

Designer: Tante Ehm
Rav ID: tma
Some Great Designs: tme's Rav Designer Page

This week's designer has a solid body of work, pretty patterns that you can imagine yourself wearing all the time. Texture and simple shapes play together and create basic, classic pieces.

Prairie Girl, pictured is a "...crescent shaped shawl ... worked from the top down. The rapid increases result in a wide shallow shawl with twirling edges." Texture and shape work together not only in the piece's basic geometry, it also creates a dynamic "twirl" that creates movement and interest.

Määrä works in a similar way to Prairie Girl, with a subtle ruffle dancing along the edge of this pretty, shallows shawl.

The Piper's Hat and the Movie Night Shrug (a free pattern) show how this designer can transfer her skill for texture and shape into other garments.

And finally, the lovely large cowl Bimini, with beautiful lace and a simple shape.

Q and A: V day edition

Incidentally, Vday is a much better way to "celebrate" February 14 than your traditional lovey-dovey crap.

I've been honoured with a Liebster Award from the very kind and talented Kangath Knits!

For this, I'll answer 11 questions and name a few other knitwear designers I admire.

1) What kind of music do you like?
An often embarrassing variety.

2) Do you prefer the weather to be so cold your nose hairs freeze or so hot you sweat just thinking about moving?
Cold all the way! I hate sweating. Yuck.

3) If you were forced to choose only one knitting technique to use for the rest of your life, would it be cabling, colorwork, or lace?
Cables. I'm not really a lace kind of lady, and colourwork and I haven't found our groove quite yet.

4) What was the last book you read?
Cover-to-cover? I can't recall. But skimmed? Color: A Natural History of the Palette by Victoria Finlay. I don't really recommend it, unless you're looking for a book that goes on at length about stories that have nothing to do with colour history/psychology/application only to find a few little trivia facts (interesting though they may be) hidden in vast swathes of text.

5) How do you tie shoelaces?
Shoelaces are from the devil. Velcro is the creator's gift for the lazy.

6) Name one thing you have done that will you never do again.
Never is a pretty strong word, and assumes that I always have a choice in the matter, but if I could avoid it, I'd never play any sports ever ever again. 

7) Describe your relationship with your camera.
Hate hate. As in, I hate it and it really hates me.

8) Apples or bananas?
What! They're so different! It's almost like comparing apples and oranges! (yuk yuk yuk)

9) What scares you?
Centipedes. Even typing the word is just gross.

10) Name three knit designers whose work you admire.
Hilary Smith Callis, Allyson Dykhuizen and Sarah Wilson.

11) What do you like to do after a hard day?
Unwind with some tea or wine, chill with my lovebird Elbie, and plan out new designs!

Baby Duck, Donald Style

My cousin had a baby boy at the beginning of January.
So you've got to know, my baby-knitting went in to overdrive. She loves Disney characters, so I thought it'd make an appreciated baptism gift to have her son all decked out like Donald Duck.

If I get a chance, I'll get some modeled pics. Much better than the laid-on-the-tile-floor blah of these :)

A Second Look at a Winter Pattern

Recognize this guy?
Girl?
Hmm... are patterns gendered?

Well, anyway, look to see a refreshed version of Knight Service in the coming weeks.

I'm looking forward to Spring, are you?

Indie Designer Day

Designer: Patricia Tan
Blog: Knitting my passion and dreams...
Rav ID: patken2
Some Great Designs: patken2's Rav Designer Page

This week's designer works mainly in machine knitting.
I've never tried this before, but was interested to see the sort of lovely designs she's made with this technique.

Pictured is The Other Side of the Rainbow Machine Knitting. As you might have guessed from the beautiful colours in this piece, patken2 has a passion for hand dying yarn. Such a wonderful combination!

I'd also like to point out Somewhere over the Rainbow Machine Knitting, another beautiful machine knit piece.

The designer has let me know that at the moment, she's trying to write up more instructions for machine knitting. I'm looking forward to the next creations!

Elbie is Famous!; Or, Embarrass the Bird in February

The second in my twelve part pet-shaming, here's Elbie in a tux and tails.

Here's January, in case you're keen to see his lederhosen shame (again!)

Indie Designer Day

Designer: Faye Perriam
Blog: buttons and beeswax
Rav ID: ButtonsandBeeswax
Some Great Designs: ButtonsandBeeswax's Rav Designer Page

ButtonsandBeeswax's ravelry designer page is chock full of cute and fun patterns.

The Edith Mitts and Mittens (pictured) are perfect for this chilly time of year. Have any friends with a February birthday? This would make a great last minute gift.

I love me those pom poms, and the Constantine hat and mittens (which you can buy both together) feature those fantastic wintery elements as well as a great play with cabled texture. I also really appreciate how it's a very unisex pattern. Hmm... now to canvas my male friends and relatives and see who needs a new toque!

This designer is also great with garments; the Heather - Lace Shrug is one of those pieces I can imagine wearing into the ground. Just throw it on over a tee or dress, and voila! Warm and stylish. And again, it's a quicker knit than not, with the worsted weight of the yarn and needle size.

While I know that it's not the pumpkinny time of year, I can't resist throwing in the adorable Pumpkin Tea Cosy. How cute it this! My tea pot will be transformed into a pumpkin quite soon!

And the winner is...

 The winner of the ISLAND giveaway is Bonnie!
Congratulations :)

I'll be in touch.

Thanks to everyone for entering the draw.

You can follow along with the book tour and enter other draws for this wonderful book.
Here's the tour list, including a stop today at my friend the Yarniad!

J A N U A R Y
29th - The Yarniad
31st - Knitted Bliss

F E B R U A R Y
5th - French Press Knits
7th - Truly Myrtle
12th - Noodlehead
14th - Miso Crafty
19th - SweetGeorgia
21st - A Playful Day

Indie Designer Revisit

Designer: Susanna IC
Blog: ArtQualia
Rav ID: zuzusus
Some Great Designs: zuzusus' Rav Designer Page
Original Indie Designer Post: September 5, 2008

(Ok, I know I've already revisited Susanna IC about this time last year, but I super love her work and she's always publishing more!)

Everybody knows the wonderful Susanna IC, right?
So for this first indie designer revisit of 2013, I'll simply say:
-she's brilliant
-when I first profiled her about 4.5 years ago she had about five patterns, and now she has 85!
-she publishes prolifically in magazines (eg. Knitty, twist collective, Interweave Knits) as well as her own self publishing on ArtQualia
-check out the lovely:

Ferywen, (pictured) one of her more recent designs, has a wonderful little designer's inspiration on the pattern page: "For Ferywen, Welsh for ‘juniper’, I wanted to create a lace pattern which would combine Celtic shapes with the geometry of evergreen leaves and branches. I used some simple nupps to mimic the texture of juniper berries; however, these can be easily replaced with beads for a bit of extra sparkle."
Fascinating! Of course her work is consistently knittable, wearable, and attractive, but to have such a rich and direct relationship with the original inspiration makes the term "lace shawl" seem just insufficient to describe this piece!

Published in Knitty's Deep Fall 2012, Beithe is another example of her poetry in yarn. The diamond lace motif (much resembling an birch leaf) stands as an autumnal symbol, using both the simple beauty of the natural leaf shape and culturally-invested value of a diamond's preciousness in a wearable fusion of that season's glory.

Yep, I like her work.

Though she specializes in shawls (so many to mention, please see her rav designer page above!), I wanted to point out that she's adept at other garments:


Hercynia is a simple, pretty, hat and mitts set.


Amiens
 really gets me. I love this lace cape. Maybe it's just that it's Susanna IC's, so it's great; but I think it's also that I so appreciate the thought that she always so apparently infuses into her designs. For example, this one is resplendent with gothic architectural motifs, and we all know how much I dig those!

Suffice all this to say: she rocks. Keep it up. And as always, looking forward to your next design!

ISLAND: Jane Richmond Blog Tour and Giveaway

© Nicholas Kupiak

I've been a Jane Richmond fan for years. Her work is consistently impressive, wonderfully wearable, and fashionable.
Her aesthetic is on display in her new book, ISLAND.

More than just a knitting book, ISLAND is a visual and creative experience showcasing the majestic beauty of Vancouver Island. Filled with designs & fibers that are true to Jane's classic and modern aesthetic, ISLAND not only makes you want to knit, it also inspires you to lose yourself in an adventure of your own.

This really is more than a knitting book.
Flipping through this book will transport you, and put you in the best of moods. It's like a coffee table book; fantastic photography dominates the first half, with the pattern instructions and details following in the back.

And these patterns exhibit that wearable and fashionable Jane Richmond aesthetic .

© Nicholas Kupiak

There's five pieces in total:

Arbutus
A beautiful, one-skein cowl, (check out all the lovely FOs on Ravelry!), this piece plays a great little knitting trick: it appears to be wrapped around in layers, but utilizes short rows to achieve this effect instead.  

Grace
Fingering-weight knits always steal my heart, and Grace is no exception. It's a pretty, simple cardigan, one you can imagine yourself wearing all the time. It has a wide size range, from 30"-50" bust measurements.

Renfrew
This toque is knit from the bottom up, but inside out. Very cool! I love this idea, as it maximizes the use of knit stitch. You also get instructions for a shorter, beanie version and longer, slouchy version with this pattern.

Strathcona
An all-season accessory, this light and airy scarf will be at your side the whole year round.

Rathtrevor
A pair of fingerless mitts that anyone would love, Rathtrevor are sized to fit an average woman's hands. They make a lovely pair with the Strathcona scarf!

Good to Know:
-ISLAND is a beautifully photographed book with five new patterns from Jane Richmond
-you can purchase each of the patterns individually as pdfs on Ravelry
-there are ebook and print versions
-ISLAND is available for purchase online at Ravelry, and on Amazon.com, Amazon.ca and Amazon.co.uk
-you get a selection of adaptable and unique accessory and garment patterns
-listen to this episode of the Pagan Knitter podcast for an interview with Jane about ISLAND
-read details about the book on Jane Richmond's site
-read info about the design process for each pattern here

Giveaway
You can enter to win a signed copy of ISLAND!
Just comment on this post with your favourite pattern from ISLAND to be eligible. And please remember to leave your contact info so I can let you know if you've won!

Contest closes January 29th. Winner announced January 30th.

Follow along with the ISLAND blog tour for more chances to win signed copies of the book!

J A N U A R Y
8th - Vancouver Yarn
10th - KD Quilts
14th - Canadian Living
17th - Celtic Cast On
22nd - Canary Knits
24th - Hey Jen Renee
29th - The Yarniad
31st - Knitted Bliss

F E B R U A R Y
5th - French Press Knits
7th - Truly Myrtle
12th - Noodlehead
14th - Miso Crafty
19th - SweetGeorgia
21st - A Playful Day

Indie Designer Day

Designer: JumperCablesKnitting
Blog: JumperCables Knitting
Rav ID: JumperCables
Some Great Designs: JumperCables' Rav Designer Page

If you like pretty, feminine, and simple shawls, scarves, and cowls, then you need to have a looksee at this designer's work.

JumperCables (as you may deduce from her rav name) loves cables, and it does make an appearance in her work, but overall there's a focus on beautiful, uniform, and often understated texture.

Take the pleasingly synchronous January Scarf (pictured).  A perfect example of simple shape, texture and technique to create a fantastic finished project.

Chilly Cowl also demonstrates this sensibility. Shape and texture play wonderfully together in this pattern, creating something that would look oh-so-stylish just peeking out from the top of your bundled-up winter coat.

With a name like Duck Soup you know it's got to be a good pattern. This one has the same JumperCables aesthetic; she's smartly photographed this simple scarf in a variety of styles, showing just a glimpse of what you can do with a basic shape and fashion-imagination.

To round off this designer recommendation, I'll point you to something entirely different in her Mayfair.  A simple (and sturdy!) looking accessory.

What the 80s Mean to Me: Holla!

Today my inept fumblings with less-than-ideal technology have been exposed to the interwebs.

That's right: from today into infinity (or, until my vimeo account is killed), you can feast your eyes on my silly self in a me-made video for my upcoming Holla Knits Spring 2013 design.

There's also a much more interesting/less embarrassing guest post I've written up on the Holla Knits blog.

Check it!

I'm also curious: do you have a favourite fashion era? Do you like to pick and choose bits from certain styles? Share! I'd love to know :)