The Knitter Magazine Issue 6

The Knitter Magazine Issue 6

The Knitter Magazine Issue 6 is arriving on US newsstands this week. I snagged my copy today! I just love this magazine, it's glossy photos and it's fashion-forward feel!

Romantic knitwear is the theme for Issue 6. Here is a sneak peak of some of my favorite patterns from this issue:

Clarissa Cardigan

The Clarissa Cardigan is reminiscent of a lacy bed jacket from a bygone era. The pattern is by Melody Griffiths and knit in Maggi Knits Maggi's Linen. The body is worked in one piece up to the armholes with a minimum of seams. My kind of knitting!

I think it is very pretty knit without being overly frilly...but then again, I like girlie things!

Small Cape with Pearls

How about this Small Cape with Pearls for a night out on the town or an evening in Paris? It's actually crocheted so this knitter will just be admiring it for now. Yes, The Knitter magazine does occasionally have a crochet pattern in it, too.

The Cape is crocheted in Lang Yarns Opal.

Rhapsody Sweater

The Rhapsody Sweater hearkens me back to the days of Jane Austen with it's empire bust line. If Jane Austen were a knitter this sweater would be her cup of tea!

Designer Jean Moss designed the Rhapsody Sweater. She recommends Sublime Cashmere Merino Silk DK to give the sweater a luxurious feel.

How to Block Lace

How to Block Lace is an article from The Knitter's Masterclass series by Jane Crowfoot. Jane is a leading UK knitting expert and author of the book Finishing Techniques for Hand Knitters.

This knitter is ready to try her hand at lace knitting so I know I will benefit from reading Jane's advice.

If you love the delicate lace wrap in the photo it is Honeysuckle and is in the issue. It is by former Rowan's in-house designer Sarah Hatton. The pattern was taken from Rowan Magazine No. 45. It is delicate lace work so you know it has to be knit in Rowan's Kidsilk Haze.

I really like this issue but then I have always preferred feminine and romantic designs. How about you?

If you pick up Issue 6 of The Knitter...I would love to hear what your favorites are!

WWKiPD

World Wide Knit in Public Day
Capitol Park, Sacramento, CA

Did you knit in public on World Wide Knit in Public Day?

I did! I joined a public knit-up under the shady trees at Capitol Park in downtown Sacramento, CA. My local WWKiPD was on Saturday June 13,2009. It was organized by my knitting friend Sheila. She was a fabulous hostess! She even gave everyone hand-made WWKiPD stitch markers that she and our friend Michele made just for the event!

To my knitting friends all over the world...I would love to hear where you knit in public on WWKiPD!

Lisette Shops Portland!

Lisette Shops Portland!

Portland is a knitter's town!

Last week while vacationing in Oregon we took a day trip to Portland. I had the chance to check out four of Portland's yarn stores. I must say, I have never seen so many yarn stores in one city! It is impossible to visit them all in just one day.

Close Knit

Close Knit was the "must see" Portland yarn store on my list. Cindy, the West Coast Knitting Fever rep, told me about Close Knit. I met Cindy last January when she was touring with Louisa Harding in Northern California.

Lot's of Louisa at Close Knit

Close Knit is in the up and coming Alberta Arts district. I loved this shop! It was decorated with vintage furniture and had a funky "hip" vibe to it. If I lived in Portland, I would want to hang out at this shop.

We took the sales associates advice and lunched at nearby Petite Provence. I felt like I was in France with it's charming decor. I highly recommend their yummy Monte Cristo sandwich with raspberry jam!

Close Knit has a good selection of Louisa Harding yarn and books. I lucked out and found some discontinued Louisa Harding yarns that I have been searching for!

Thank you Cindy for this great yarn store tip!

Oleana Sweaters at KNIT PURL

Knit Purl is very close to Powell's Books in the Pearl District. This yarn store has a modern "boutique" feel to it. It is well stocked and the sales help are extremely helpful.

Knit Purl carries the gorgeous Norweigan knit line Oleana. I love their pretty floral knits! Textile and Knit Wear Designer, Solveig Hisdale is an award winning designer for Oleana. Knit Purl is working with Solveig to print a special copy of her (out of print) book Poetry in Stitches for Knit Purl. If you are interested in the book, contact Knit Purl.

You can also check out the Knit Purl blog.

Button Emporium & Ribbonry

My new knitting friend Dona on Ravelry told me about the Button Emporium. Turns out this has been a well know Portland landmark since 1997 for anyone who crafts, sews or knits. The Button Emporium & Ribbonry is located on the edge of the Pearl District. It is well stocked with buttons, trims and ribbons.

Thanks Dona for the shopping tip!

The Knitting Books

at Powell's Books

I can spend hours in a yarn store. My husband can spend hours in a book store. We make the trek to Portland mostly to visit Powell's Books. Powell's City of Books is an independent book seller that fills an entire city block with more than a million new, used and out of print books.

If you are a knitter who loves books, you are sure to find a few books at Powell's. The knitting books take up an entire aisle of book shelves at Powell's!

A Creative Knitter!

I saw this bike on on the streets of Portland and had to take a photo. I'm sure it must have been a creative Portland knitter that whipped up this knit bike guard!

I also stopped in two other yarn shops, Twisted and Yarn Garden. Twisted is a modern boutique style neighborhood shop that is very well stocked (think Debbie Bliss, Malabrigo and Noro).

The Yarn Garden is probably the largest store of all the shops in Portland. They have three rooms filled with yarn (think Rowan, Collinette, Debbie Bliss, Artyarns, Noro, Cascade, etc) a great pattern room and a complimentary coffee and tea room.

We ended our shopping day with a late night dinner at the cozy Parisian Bistro Carafe! A perfect end to a perfect day!

Portland is a great city! I love it's vibe, it's restaurant scene and of course, it's yarn shops. Since my husband is an Oregon native, I might even consider retiring there someday. Being a California girl though...I think I would tire of all the rain and miss the sun.

I suppose I could wear great knits, though!

Mermaid Net

Mermaid Net

My seaside vacation knitting project has been my Mermaid Net.

My Mermaid Net is a summer shawl to match my Mermaid purse. It will be a perfect light covering for summer evenings back home in California.

Mermaid Netting

My Mermaid Net is from a pattern called "Adding A Little Zing". It is from the book The Yarn Girls Guide to Knits For All Seasons. The pattern is an easy 4 row lace pattern. I am knitting it on #15 needles. It is a quick knit project...perfect for vacation knitting.

I am knitting it in the summery yarn Flotsam by Louisa Harding. The slubby Flotsam yarn really does make it look like a net! It is almost finished now.

I am going to add fringe to my version of the pattern. I might even sew some sea shells on it to remind me of the ocean here.

Mermaid Purse and Net

The Oregon coastline is beautiful as are it's beaches. The Oregon beaches are different than the sunny California beaches of my youth. Visits to the beaches here are cool and grey.

Today we visited historic Nye Beach so I could take some photos of my Mermaid Net out on the rocks. We also visited the touristy shops around the Newport Bay Front and, yes, we bought salt water taffy!

My Mermaid Purse

Mermaid Purse

My Mermaid purse made it's beach debut yesterday here on vacation in Newport, Oregon. It is finished...well except for a few more finishing touches of sea shell embellishments.

I love this pattern by Louisa Harding. It is from one of her earlier books Beachcomber Bay, The Accessories Collection. The purse is called Mermaid and is not listed on Ravelry yet.

The Beachcomber Bay book was inspired by Louisa's own childhood memories of beach combing. As a California girl, I grew up beach combing,too. My husband and I went beach combing yesterday to find some shells and bits for my purse. I found out...I still love beach combing!

Beach Combing!

My Mermaid purse is knit in Louisa's Flotsam yarn. I lucked out and found color #2 which reminds me of the ocean. I enjoyed knitting with this slubby, lofty yarn. Websters in Ashland told me the yarn is being discontinued.

Louisa used a neat fish buckle for the ties on her purse that weave through the eyelet row. I lucked out and found a large shell at a bead store in Ashland, Oregon for my ties. I plan on putting more shells on my purse. I have even seen some purses lately that embellish the entire bag with sea shells sewn on. I am not sure yet if I will go that far.

Anyway, this was a really fun and easy pattern. I found the natural cane handles at my local Joann's store. I used a 6" diameter and not the 7.5" the pattern specified. Danielle my knitting teacher at Knitique taught me the mattress stitch to sew up the sides. This was my first project requiring seams. I also did twisted cord for the bag's ties. This was my first time doing that, too.

You certainly don't need a beach get-a-way to make this purse. The wonderful pattern lends itself to many custom style variations. That's Louisa Harding for you...wonderful designer patterns with boutique style results! My kind of knitting!

That's all for now...I am off to the beach for more beach combing!

Shopping at Websters!

Websters in Ashland, Oregon

I'm vacationing on the beautiful Oregon Coast. Lucky for me...one of the best parts of driving up from California to the coast is stopping in Ashland, Oregon.

I love the quaint town of Ashland, Oregon. I love shopping at it's cute boutique stores and it's wonderful yarn store Websters. Websters is one of the best stocked yarn stores that I have seen on the west coast.

Bizoo, Bizu

by Louisa Harding

Websters carries a great selection of Louisa Harding yarns and books. I always arrive with a shopping list in hand for Louisa Harding items.

On my recent visit, I was excited to find Louisa's new baby book Bizoo, Bizu. I love the adorable baby hats in the book.

I recently asked Louisa on Ravelry if she could give her resource for the sweet ribbons she used in Bizoo, Bizu. Louisa promptly replied with an online source in the UK called East of India. Thank you Louisa!

Shopping at Websters, I also lucked out and picked up some discontinued Louisa Harding yarns that I have been hoping to find!

Katie's Tinkerbell Scarf

Katie is one of the nice sales associates at Websters. I admired her felted silk Tinkerbell scarf example in the store. I asked Katie if she would mind modeling her scarf for me. She was a trooper and said yes! The needle felted Tinkerbell scarf kit is by Pagewood Farm.

I bought the scarf kit and Katie gave me a few tips for the Tinkerbell scarf. For the needle felting she recommends using the needle felting mat by Clover and the Clover needle pen, too, for best results.

My silk scarf kit is called Abalone and is in shades of blue. The kit contains 1 hand dyed silk scarf and 1 package of Tinkerbell fluff for felting. This will be my first needle felting project. I am excited to try it!

If you find yourself in Ashland, Oregon, be sure to stop in and shop at Websters. I know you won't be disappointed!

The Knitter Magazine Issue 5

The Knitter Issue 5

I was out shopping the other day and picked up The Knitter, Issue 5. I am sure you know, it is my favorite British knitting magazine.

So far, I have been lucky and have been able to purchase every issue of The Knitter. Each issue seems to fly off the magazine shelves pretty fast here in the US.

Here is a sneak peak of some of my favorite patterns from Issue 5:

Tuileries Breakfast Set

I love the vintage inspired Tulleries Breakfast set by Melanie Bond. It is knit in Patons Eco Cotton. The yarn is a brand new organic yarn and comes in 13 pastel shades.

The pretty pastel tea cosy and it's name Tuileries makes me think of Paris, the Tuileries Gardens and the pastel colored candy boxes at Laduree!

The tea cosy also just happens to remind me a "ruffly" French petticoat! I will have to knit this tea cosy for my "Marie Antoinette-French theme" tea parties! Will you be coming?

Moonstone

The Moonstone cardigan is designed by Jean Moss. It is knit in Manos del Uruguary Silk Blend. It features the classic "old Shale Stitch", which is a traditional lace stitch pattern that I enjoy knitting.

Lace Cushion

The pretty lace cushion is designed by Erika Knight. Ericka recommends a cashmere-cotton blend yarn for her pretty lace cushion. The magazine gives several yarn options to knit this up. I think I may want to knit this cushion up someday!

Sugared Almonds Cardigan

This pretty pastel creation is designed by Amanda Crawford. The lace cardigan is knit in Araucania Ruca Mutly which is yarn made from sugar cane fiber. (Now that is interesting.) The yarn is spun and hand dyed by a group of artisans in Santiago, Chile.

Are you tempted to knit any of these patterns?

I would love to hear if you love this magazine as much as I do?