Book Review: Knit to Flatter

Last December I took Amy Herzog’s class at my local LYS and expressed excitement about her upcoming book. Well, it’s finally here! It only arrived today and I’ve already eagerly devoured the whole thing. A lot of it was simply recapping what we covered in her workshop, but it is nice to have it all neatly written in one place, with examples and photos for each concept.

Book!!!

 

Another thing I really love about the book is that once you’ve figured out your body shape, there’s an entire section devoted to it – regardless of which shape that is. There are also mini-sections for other features you might need to consider, such as being larger or smaller than the industry standard B-cup, or having an unusually curvy or straight waist, etc.

Not that any of those would apply to me of course. Nope, not at all. Ahem.

Also exciting is that each of the patterns included in the book is placed in the section for the body type it best suits, BUT with suggestions to modify it to fit the other body types. If there was any doubt in my mind about whether I’d gotten the right idea about my shape from the workshop, right there in the Bottom Heavy section was the sweater I’ve been coveting since December – Flutter. I’m in the unique position of already knowing for sure it will look awesome on me, because I’ve already tried it on! Time to go yarn shopping!

Warm Weather Knitting

Wow, I am impressed at how enthusiastic you guys were about yesterday’s contest! I will have to do another scavenger hunt in the future! I was a little worried there wouldn’t be much response since many people stop knitting as the weather warms, and my sales typically dip then too. Clearly I am not the only one who continues to knit voraciously in spring and summer! What do you like to knit this time of year? For me…

1. Shawls

 

Ironically, I don’t really wear shawls that much. I LOVE to knit them though. They’re lighter and more delicate than say, a cabled sweater, so they’re great for knitting when it’s warm out. If you’re a shawl-wearer, they’re also immediately wearable in the springtime. For me, unless I’m knitting for a special event (like the upcoming new design for a friend’s wedding), I tend to wind up giving my shawls to a friend or relative. They’re one of the only things I knit that are more about process than product.

2. Tank Tops

For a while I was seriously skeptical about knitted summer shirts. Something about knitwear and summer just seemed mutually exclusive. Then I discovered linen. From there it progressed to cotton, silk, bamboo…there’s just no stopping me! Sleeveless tops knit up fast, even with thin, light-weight yarns. They don’t weigh much or make you sweat as they sit in your lap mid-project. AND…instant wearability! While central air-conditioning does allow me to knit long-sleeved pullovers and blankets in the summer, there’s nothing quite like the reward of putting on a piece fresh from the blocking board.

3. Socks

 

No, I’m not going to wear these right away. In fact, I try to wear as little on my feet as possible, for as much of the year as possible. However, the cold weather will return eventually, and it’s always nice to have a fresh new pile of socks waiting for me when that happens. Socks are fast, light, and easy to stuff in a purse or carry-on when I’m traveling (as I tend to in the summer). Again, they’re small and not going to make me sweaty while I knit them.

I’ve also very recently discovered a serious affection for summery cardigans, thanks to a phenomenon I call the Summer Deep Freeze. Sometimes American businesses are just a little too enthusiastic about air conditioning for my taste. My school seems to be especially guilty of this, so look for a lot of new cardigans to come from me!

P.S. If you can’t tell from the photos, yes, the seasons do influence my color cravings. Spring means greeeeeeeeeen!

Messy Counting

*sigh* This was a full elbow-length sleeve yesterday. It was also a sleeve that wasn’t even close to the right number of stitches.

 

Apparently stockinette sleeves are not as mindless as I thought.

Helena

This might be the most painfully adorable thing I’ve ever knitted. It’s going to kill me to sit on it for a month, now that it’s complete.

Helena,by Alison Green

 

It is so, so cute and I’m almost sad I won’t be working on it anymore. I (obviously) went with a shorter sleeve than the pattern calls for, since she’ll be an April baby. I also replaced the edging with a more traditional picot. Otherwise, this is as written and I am totally in love.

Misty Morning

In the northern hemisphere, there’s still just about one pullover’s worth of cold weather left in this season. If you’re in the southern hemisphere, lucky you! You’ve got months of cold (or cool) weather knitting ahead! Either way, I hope you’ll consider my newest pattern, Misty Morning.

Misty Morning

This time of year is full of cool, grey mornings that really call for an extra bit of cozy. What better way to get your “cozy fix” than cashmere? The recommended cashmere blend is knit at a loose gauge for a bit of drape and elegance in an otherwise simple raglan pullover. Combined with the extra length in the torso and sleeves, this sweater is as comfortable as pajamas, but a lot more stylish!

 

The dramatic collar, which can be worn multiple ways, also adds a bit of flair. The moodiness of mornings this time of year just sort of demands some flair, doesn’t it? It also keeps the mostly stockinette sweater from being an absolute bore for more advanced knitters (although honestly, cashmere kind of does that all on its own)!

 

So cozy on up to your next Misty Morning and make the most out of the season while you still can!

Potomac

I’m very excited to announce the release of my newest pattern, Potomac!

 

Potomac is a bottom up, worsted weight sweater designed for a combination of warmth and simplicity for an active winter’s day. The recommended yarn is very warm for a DK weight, mainly because of the silk content (which also adds a pretty hint of shimmer, like the Potomac River on a sunny day).

 

The subtle color variations of a kettle-dyed yarn lend themselves particularly well to a simple pattern like this, where they won’t be overwhelmed by heavy texturing. Don’t fear the miles of tedious stockinette, however, because there are also simple cables up the front and back that provide just the right amount of interest without being complicated enough to distract from the yarn.

 

I had a lot of fun designing this sweater, and the inspirations for it are totally local. The yarn, the color, the pattern name – they’re all Home to me. Although I know most of you are not  from this area, but I hope you’ll love Potomac as much as I do!

Fit to Flatter

Yesterday I was lucky enough to finally attend one of Amy Herzog‘s Fit to Flatter workshops. I won’t go into too much detail, because you really do need to take the workshop to get the full picture, but it was definitely a worthwhile experience. It was interesting to see that I’ve been instinctively knitting and designing for my bottom-heavy figure, in spite of the fact that my measurements suggest I should be a more proportional figure and I always assumed they told the whole story.

As she pointed out, the initial, head-on impression of your body is the one most people carry around in their brains, so that’s the one that counts. The decidedly unflattering shot above shows that when you reduce me to a 2-dimensional amalgam of shapes, my hips are wider than anything up top. That means things with fancy details in the top half, like cowls

Esmeralda, by Christina Loman

or color work, or yokes,  or lace work help to balance my figure and flatter it. Because I’m so curvy (in the literal sense, if not the euphemistic one), wide, deep necklines also flatter – even if I wear a tank or something else high-necked underneath.

Catch, by Christina Loman

Details that call attention to my waistline are also flattering, although a simple belt will do the trick there. I also got to try on the samples from a lot of Amy’s patterns, and learned that since Amy’s body type is similar to my own, a whole lot of the patterns from her upcoming book are going to look awesome on me. Can’t wait til it comes out!

Esmeralda

Welcome, December! What a perfect time for a new sweater! I am thrilled to introduce you to Esmeralda, my latest release on Ravelry. This super-warm pullover comes in sizes from 32-44 inches and has just a bit of openwork at the cowl, hem, and cuffs, and traveling up the sleeves.

 

The wool-alpaca blend recommended is practically the definition of warm and cozy, and the jewel-shaped lace panels add a bit of sparkle to your wardrobe during a dark, dreary part of the year. The name “Esmeralda“ comes from the sample color and the shape of the lace panels - esmeralda is Spanish for emerald. However, this sweater would look just as lovely as a rubí, amatista, topacio,  or perla. So pick a color and have some fun with it!

 

Additionally, there are princess seams (Princess? Jewels? You’re practically royalty in this!) to add femininity and help create the most flattering fit. This pullover is ideal for the intermediate knitter, but has more than enough interest to keep an advanced knitter happy as well, and plenty of opportunity for customization if you are that advanced knitter. I hope you’ll enjoy Esmeralda as much as I did!

 

Double Messy

I’ve got a two-fer for you today. First, we went out of town (just for one night!) and the cat did NOT approve. He took it out on a sweater WIP I didn’t pack.

Sigh.

He was more than willing to “help” me clean up his mess though.

So helpful.

Then, cuz it’s just been extra messy in Casa Feel Good lately, there was Urchin. I dyed up that second ball of hand-spun, and it was definitely not the same shade of green as the first. So this:

Almost half done!

Had to become this:

Take 2

So I could hide the fact that the dye lots aren’t quite the same. Luckily it’s not a very time-consuming pattern, but still – frustration. I’m beginning to suspect the gauge swatch on another project I’m knitting lied to me too, but that could be a whole other post. I love knitting I love knitting I love knitting…

 

Psst…I’d still love your opinion on this post too!

 

 

The Best Kind of Exhaustion

I am absolutely wrecked, physically and mentally, but it is well worth it. We were crazy enough to try to travel down the Eastern seaboard on Labor Day, and a cancelled train paired with several delays on the other trains we took means we got home painfully late last night (at least, painfully late for those of us who have to be up before sunrise the next morning)! Still, it was either risk that happening, or miss out on my cousin’s wedding. Since I don’t have too many first cousins, and they live far enough away that we don’t see each other too often, it was no contest.

Possibly the prettiest wedding site I’ve ever seen.

The outdoor weather was unseasonably warm, which led to me getting eaten alive by mosquitoes at the backyard rehearsal dinner, but also meant I didn’t have to spend the whole weekend all bundled up. The new sweater did make an appearance during dinner though, because New York and I differ in opinion on the appropriate level of air conditioning for temps in the 80s.

Brr!

Luckily, with that side of the family’s strong Irish and German ancestry, there was plenty of booze and dancing before long. Being cold was definitely not a problem once we were all in party mode!

I danced so much that not only my feet but my *legs* are sore.

The other upside of spending so much time on the train? I had plenty of time to knit!

New hat!

…and the brim of the same hat.