A Touch of Lace

During the past few months, I've been busy in the studio dreaming up designs that would be simple, fast, and unintimidating to knit because personally, I start to shy away from larger projects when the weather warms.  And with the warm spell having hit the East Coast rather quickly this year, my focus has been on lace.  While I find lace intimidating at times, I just love the beauty of those eyelets.

So the result is my first eBook, "A Touch of Lace".  It's three designs that are just a little lacy, but are all quick accessories.  Have a look at the preview here:

The Hedren Tam, Kelly Socks and Novak Shawl are all named after Hitchcock blondes, as I'm sure you've guessed.  My parents were huge Hitchcock fans, and I remember only showing vague interest in these "old-timer" movies.  But, I'll never forget when I caught a glimpse of Kim Novak in Vertigo wearing that gray suit.  Omigod - I had never seen a woman quite as classy as that before or since then.  And who could ever forget Hitchcock's perfect angle, shot and slow-down of Grace Kelly leaning in to kiss Jimmy Stewart awake in Rear Window.  She was like an angel incarnate.  Anyway, those women definitely made a huge impact on my female ideal.  I hope that some of their elegance and grace shines through my designs.  I imagine that maybe, just maybe, they would have worn these knits between scenes or off camera.

How awesome is Hitch?!  While Ingrid Bergman is definitely one of my favorites, "Bergman" just didn't make the cut.  I'll have to do a Hitchcock brunettes collection.

Pieces of you

When I was younger, I would sit in my room doodling with my fluorescent Stabilo markers.  The shape of the markers themselves were enough for me to choose them over any other brand.  A mystery to my father who would sneak plain-barreled, boring, old highlighters home only to be met with my disapproving gaze as I shook my head.  Oh no, they had to be Stabilo Boss markers.

I loved those things. I saved up months and months worth of allowance for a whole set made up of all the colors in a fluorescent rainbow.  Then, I remember moving onto Paint Markers.  I was on the Prop Design team in elementary school, and the volunteer mother brought in a bunch of these Uni Paint markers.  Of course, all in fluorescents.  It felt like my entire world shifted.  These were opaque wonders of magic.  I could use these markers and draw on anything.  The brightness of the colors kept their integrity!  They didn't soak through the material!

When all of my overused paint markers dried up, and their tips looks more like feather dusters than pointed nibs, I found... Puffy Paint.  I think they call it "dimensional fabric paint" now.  But it used to come in these crazy looking plastic bottles that you could squeeze down like an accordion.  I begged my mother for high-top black Converse sneakers, and went to town on them.  I got all the fluorescent puffy paint I could get my greedy little hands on, as well as some metallic glitter colors and doodled all over my brand new sneakers.  (Since my brother had just cut my hair into what I could only describe as some sort of modified winged-mohawk, my mother was far from surprised.)

Anyway, it was shortly thereafter I came across Keith Haring.  My mind was blown.  His energetic, simple and tribal artwork captivated me.  It was fun and provocative.  And, it looked like my Converse sneakers!!  (OK, to me it did.)  But I thought, "Omigod - we were meant to be!!"  Since this was before the internet, I was a bit baffled as to how I could find out more about this person... this simpatico.  Slowly, I started to find out a few tidbits.  I found out much of his art could be seen in the subways since he graffiti'ed.  He was friends with Madonna.  He went to SVA.  (I made a mental note to apply to SVA when I was in high school.)  I had to be an artist like him.  I had to be on the streets doing my thing, like he was.  He was just across the river in NYC, and I had to meet him.  I just knew we would be inseparable; we would be BFFs.

Of course, that never came to pass.  He passed away in 1990.  I was a junior in high school. I was deeply saddened.  I talked to my Open Studio Art teacher - the only one I knew who would understand - and she gave me this advice:  keep doing what he has inspired you to do and you will feel better.  So, I did the only thing I knew.  I painted all the walls in my bedroom with his dancing men,

crawling babies,

and pulsating hearts.  (Again, my mother was not surprised.)

It's been years since I've thought about him and the impact he had made on me. (SVA was the first application I ordered when I started applying to colleges.  And, my first term paper in college was entitled, "Graffiti is Art".)  But, I was reminded as I walked through the Brooklyn Museum's show of his work from 1978-82.

It's nice to walk down memory lane, piecing together the things that make you who you are today. 

Favorites

It takes a while for me to warm up to the idea of Spring.  I love Winter, and what comes with the crisp, cold weather.  But I can never deny the brightening and lightening I feel when the air starts to smell grassy, the breeze is soft and warm, and everyone seems just a little happier. 

My absolute favorite part about Spring is the idea of throwing on a cardigan and flats instead of a shearling and boots, and waltzing right out the door.  I love how easy it is to get-up-and-go with warm weather.  And instead of piling on all my hand knits, I love deciding which favorite piece I'll use to take away the little bit of nip left in the air. 

That "favorite piece" is what I kept in mind when designing for Brooklyn Tweed's Spring Thaw Collection.  I wanted each design to stand out on its own and to be worn with just a shirt and jeans, or that awesome cotton dress you forget you have by the end of every winter.

The perfect cardigan is essential for every season - something for early morning dog walks, windy ferry rides and late-night stargazing on the beach.  With all that daydreaming, the Exeter cardigan came to mind.  I love the easiness of it unbuttoned, and the more structured feel it takes on when it is buttoned up.

I'll be throwing on Polar and the Hege Mitts as there is always a bit of a nip in the air, especially if you live in a windy city or by the river.

The stranded, fair isle knits I designed are truly meant to be unintimidating and perfect for those just starting out in colorwork.  They're all knit in the round, and the Polar hat is such a quick knit in Shelter.  A one-day knit if you've dedicated yourself to the couch on the weekend.

Oslo and Kildare are perfect to keep in my bag and throw on if I'm coming home a little late in the evening when the temperatures have dropped.

Oslo is great fun; the buttons at each end are meant to simply close up the tube.  But you can wrap it around and button one end to the other and make a cowl.

And Forester was definitely something a little different for me.  I've always liked marled knits and how it reminds me of the covers of composition notebooks I used in grade school.  But, I realized I had never actually bought one, or made one for myself.  So, I was a little nervous when I started playing around with the idea - would I actually like it?  It turns out I liked it.  And, I still like it a lot.  It was fast to knit, and I think it's turned out to be one of my favorite sweaters.  And what you can't see in the photos is the texture of the fabric that holding two strands of Shelter together.  It's so much more lightweight than you think, and after blocking it the sponginess is so cushy and comfy, you're never going to want to take it off. 

For me, it's the perfect sweater I'll be throwing on over my leggings after a long week, grabbing a glass of wine, sitting out on the terrace, tucking my knees up under and looking out onto the Manhattan skyline.

I hope you enjoy these designs as much I had daydreaming about them.  Now that I have my favorites, I'm ready for Spring!

Q is for Quince

I remember having a sweet illustrated alphabet when I was little, and the Q stood for Quince.  I never knew what it was, and my usually curious mind never bothered to find its meaning.  I never thought much about the word until, what feels like ages ago, rumors started to spread about a "Pam-Allen yarn".  Of course, I squealed (internally) and immediately tried to find as much information about it as possible. 

When I found out the new company's name would be Quince & Co., I was intrigued.  (Since having my illustrated alphabet, I had found out that Quince was a fruit, but nothing more than that.)

What I didn't know about Quinces is that they are resistant to frost and must have a cold spell in order to flower properly.  Well if that isn't the perfect name for a yarn company, I don't know what it is!

Luckily, I've been able to work with their yarn and today they released a design I created with their Osprey yarn.  I had such a great time playing around with their yarns. Osprey is so unbelievably soft, it just glides right through your fingers.  I was drawn to Osprey in particular, because I had been working with so much Fingering and Worsted weight yarns, that something bulky really caught my eye.  What I also love about Osprey is even though it's bulky, I didn't feel like I was lifting weights while I was knitting.  The yarn is very light despite it's gauge, and the resulting fabric has a lovely drape.

When I started swatching for Wickerwork, I had an inkling of what I wanted to do.  A garment, for sure.  Something simple with that little twist of Pam Allen (y'all know what I'm talking about), feminine but not overly girly, and finally the necessary dash of New England - all things I associate with Quince & Co.  The first swatch I made, was the stitch pattern I went with.  I can't tell you how unusual that is.  It usually takes a little time to get used to a yarn and how it behaves.  And more time to get a sense of what types of stitches look good.  And even more time to figure out what needle size and gauge work.  But I clicked with this yarn right out of the gate.  We just meshed.

Once the sketch and swatch were approved, it was onto the actual garment.  I hem'ed and haw'ed about what color I wanted to use, and ultimately left the decision up to Pam.  She chose Honey, and I don't think there's a more perfect color for this design.

First of all, is that not the most perfect name for that color?!  I love it!  It makes the stitch pattern really stand out, and the color is so much fun and unusual without being jarring or obnoxious.  I think you'd also be surprised how complimentary this color is on a number of skin tones.  Seriously.  I didn't believe it at first either.

Anyway, I really meant for this design to be accessible.  I think it will look great on a number of different body types.  I truly hope you enjoy Wickerwork.  And definitely give Osprey a try.  You'll fall in love!

Madrona

The Madrona Fiber Arts Festival starts this week and I'm so sad to be missing it.  I hem'ed and haw'ed over whether or not to go and decided not to when I tried signing up for classes and was way too late to get anything I wanted, along with a hotel room.  Next year, I'll have to be much more vigilant.  When I made my futile attempts at signing up 20 minutes after registration opened, I was thwarted.  I had heard this was a crazy one, and they were so right!

Churchmouse will be there, of course, and their booth will be chock full of Brooklyn Tweed Shelter and Loft.  If any of you are going, take some pic for me!  Churchmouse has also posted some lovely pictures on their site of their latest Brooklyn Tweed samples and displays.  I believe all of it will be at their booth.  They have samples from our Fall Collection and Loft's debut collection.

I just love Churchmouse's aesthetic, don't you?  A little Jane Austen, a little Alice in Wonderland. 

And look!  My Pei cowl is hanging out of the front of the trunk!  Wouldn't it be great if they knit it in every color of Loft?  Just sayin'.