Just a few years ago, fall was an exciting time for knitters because new books full of wonderful patterns and gorgeous photography came out by the dozens. We would page through them excitedly, looking for that magical sweater of our dreams: the perfect style, in sizes that would fit you, and that you knew you could make. It was the holy grail for knitters, and very hard to find.
I’m not saying that it was better than now, not at all. It was tough for designers because if they weren’t hired by a yarn company or magazine publisher, it was very difficult to make a living or even just get some recognition. It was tough for knitters because choice was limited to whatever publishers chose to print, and once in print, any errors could not be corrected. If you lost your book, or left it out on the deck in the rain, or the dog ate it, you were screwed. I love digital patterns! They’re somewhere forever, they can be updated and corrected as needed, they’ve allowed designers the space to be creative, helpful, descriptive, and also to get their designs and ideas out to knitters without the filter of a publisher or magazine editor. Yes, that allows a lot of crap to get through, too, but I’m willing to sort through it for the abundance of good patterns we enjoy.
Still, fall is not quite the same. We have to make our own excitement and find our own perfect sweaters. They’re out there! Maybe this one is yours:
Inside Story by Heidi Kirrmaier is a great basic, made a little more special with Berroco’s new yarn Sesame. I showed you the colors I have a few weeks ago, with one or two more still to come:
I used this particular yarn for this particular pattern because of the little slubs in the yarn that pop out from the background when you use reverse stockinette stitch. And this pattern is clever: you knit it all on the knit side, then, before you pick up for the turtleneck (or whatever neckline finish you wish), you turn it inside out so that the purls are on the outside, and the rib detail that accents the raglans and carries down the body really stands out.
Love it, and despite all its nice features, it’s basically a top-down raglan and easy to knit.
Ellison is a neat little vest/cover-up from Quince that I’ve been wanting to make for a couple years, and finally just did it, and I really love it.
Yes, it’s in fingering-weight yarn. Yes, it’s in garter stitch. No, it’s not a fast project, but it’s pretty easy, great TV or car knitting, and when you’re done, you have a nice versatile piece to wear any time you could use a bit of an extra layer. It took just 2 skeins of Herriott Fine, a really lovely, soft, heathery alpaca blend, and this ginger color is just right for fall. Or make it in Rustic Silk, 100% silk fingering weight, and this little vest would be useful all year long.
Gosh, I’ve been knitting a lot! One more thing to show, then I’ll leave you alone for a while! Last time I talked about wanting a new Essential Sweater Dress, and I darn well finished it, by golly. It’s different from my old one, in that I used Rustic Aran, a smooth wool/silk blend so it’s less rustic-looking, and I didn’t do the big cowl, which I love, but I also like a plain neckline so I can wear a separate cowl or shawl sometimes. And I lengthened the sleeves a bit. So this is what it looks like:
Here’s a close-up of the neckline, which I promise to write the instructions for, if anyone is interested:
Now, if fall will just quit teasing us and get here, I’ll be ready! How about you?
BTW, Penn Avenue is having its Fall Festival on September 21. I’ll be open 11:00 – 1:00 only, and parking will be, shall we say, difficult.
