Hello, everyone! Hope your week is going well, it's been pretty great here at the store and I have a bunch of wonderful treasures to share with you all today.
If you saw Sara's last post (love the
Geodesic Cardigan!), you'll know that around here we are really starting to think about Spring time knitting. I'm blaming a lot of it Kirsten Johnston's pattern
Thursday. We just got the shop sample of this knit up last week, and I can't help but daydream about it everytime I walk by.
The original is done in
Habu Ramie A-166 and
Habu Super Fine Merino A-177. I've always wanted to work with the Habu Ramie, so I think if I did this I'd have to make two because I also can't help thinking about it in
Malabrigo Lace Baby (maybe held with
Isager Alpaca 1?). This isn't up on our website yet, but it will be soon. Thanks in advance, Sara!
Switching seasons, the next thing I have to share today is a great winter piece from
Coco Knits:
This wonderful accessory is the
Fleeced Earflap Hat by Julie Weisenberger. It's done with a chunky yarn, they suggest Lamb's Pride Bulky, but I would love to see it in
Malabrigo Chunky or
Rowan Purelife British Sheep Breeds Bulky. It's never too early to start thinking about holiday gifts for next year and this would be a great one for anyone. It has sizing for men and women and comes with all the instructions to knit in the fleece.
For all the CocoKnits fans our there Julie will be visiting us next month for a
Meet and Greet on March 5th and will be giving a
Finishing and Design Workshop on March 6th.
The last pattern I have today is from a designer I have blogged about before and absolutely love,
Jane Richmond.
Sedum is a free pattern on
Ravelry, and for some reason (maybe the grey sky?) it's really jumping at me today. I would absolutely love to make this cardigan in the natural Blue-faced Leicester of
Rowan British Sheep Breeds Chunky. It would be so cozy next winter!
While wandering the internet this week, I discovered artist Michelle Vitale Loughlin's work and really fell in love with it - and her. In her earlier work she experimented with mixing fibrous materials and painting, influenced by her seamstress grandmother who emigrated to the US and sewed American Flags to make a living.
In 2004 she received the Puffin Foundation Grant to purchase a knitting machine and has since been creating mostly large-scale, site specific architectural forms; such as this piece, Water Falls, which is currently on view at the Huterdon Art Museum in Clinton, New Jersey.
Knit on an industrial knitting machine with silver synthetic fibers, Water Falls is in response to the 200 foot waterfall adjacent to the Hunterdon Art Museum. With this piece Loughlin wanted to portray how man-made objects and nature are no longer separate by including debris in with the pristine image of the falls.
It was kind of tricky to find out more info about Michelle, as her
website doesn't seem to be up right now. I did find a few of her other works online that I'd love to learn more about, including this piece from 2007, Arc:
I wish I had something to link to for her. If you're interested, I would attempt a Google search; and, hopefully, her
site will be back up soon. I actually happened upon Michelle's work via fiber artist Abigail Doan's
blog, and was intrigued by her own interesting work as well.
The first of these images is her piece Crocheted Snow 01 from 2005 and the second is Primavera 02 from 2006. Doan describes herself as an "art-farmer living part of the year in an urban nest [New York City] and part of the year on a farm in Tuscany".
Most of her work is very focused on her interconnection and experience with nature and plant materials. The very ephemeral feeling and interventions with nature remind me very much of the work of Andy Goldsworthy. Really gorgeous pieces, she has a fantastic
blog featuring her work and the work of others that I definitely recommend checking out.
Thanks for reading! Have a great weekend and, as always, check back next week for another edition of Fashionknitsta. Until then, stay chic, blogfans!
- Lindsay
This is Julie Weisenberger (modeling her pattern Yvonne) and myself in front of her garments.
Takako and myself in front of our Habu display.
Eva was kind enough to model a new CoCoKnits pattern, Lena, for me. It's done in Rowan Lima, a mostly alpaca with a touch of merino blend, and oh my goodnes, is it a dream. I think this one left us all drooling, I can't wait for the pattern to be published!
These pieces are all from Ori Ami Knits, from left to right are the Arcus Pullover in Habu A-32B silk mohair, the Duplicity Pullover in Habu Tsumugi Silk A-1 and Wool Stainless Steel A-148, and the Axonometric Top done in Habu A-174 Cotton Gima.
These beauties are on the far left the Puzzle Vest from Ori Ami Knits done in Tsumugi Silk A-1,. In the middle we have Tessa by CocoKnits done in Habu Shoshenshi Linen Paper A-60, and finally on the right another of my absolute favorites from Ori Ami Knits the Foldover Top , done in Habu Silk Stainless Steel A-20/21 and Tsumugi Silk A-1.
Thanks again to Eva for modeling the beautiful Rhombus Wrap from Ori Ami Knits. I think this one was a favorite for all of us. The gorgeous dress next to her is Concertino, also from Ori Ami Knits. This piece was by far my favorite, done in the Habu XS-21 linen held double it is absolutely the perfect weight for spring and just look at this detail:
So beautiful! I cannot wait for this book to come out! A big thanks to Julie and Takako for bringing all of their beautiful pieces to share with us and for letting me be a huge nerd and take photos with them. I hope we get to see you again soon!
