Knititude

Sheridan Tank

The Sheridan Tank is another design from my new book, Knitted Tanks and Tunics. It's worked in Cascade Yarns Anchor Bay, a blend of 50% cotton and 50% superwash merino wool. It features an unusual cabled pattern on the front and back. The stitch pattern is called "Snails," and I found it in the Vogue Knitting Stitchionary Vol. 2: Cables. If I hadn't decided to name all of the patterns in the book after towns, I would certainly have called this one "Escargot"...or maybe "Lumache" (Italian for "snails," and also for snail-shaped pasta).

The cabled panels on front and back flow into and around the deep scooped neck, which is shaped with short rows. The cable pattern itself is not complicated; it's a very common four-over-four stitch cable cross (it's the placement of the background knit and purl columns that gives its unusual appearance). But the short row neck shaping works around the cable crosses, and a chart is used to show both the short rows and the cable pattern, so Sheridan is definitely geared toward the intermediate knitter. In my opinion, a chart is actually a great way to see the placement of the short row wrap-and-turns, but it does take a little getting used to, if you've never used that type of chart before.

Sheridan has side waist shaping and was designed to flatter, whether worn alone or over another layer; the vertical lines of the cabled panel and the plain stockinette stitch sides have a slimming effect, while the rounded neckline looks good on many body types. Instructions are given for changing the body length; there is also a section in the book about adjusting the placement of waist shaping to fit your body (an important consideration to get the best fit). 

This was one of the first projects I completed for the book, and a few months after I had finished the sample, I found out that the yarn I had chosen was going to be discontinued before the book came out. So I quickly picked out another yarn and made ANOTHER sample. Luckily the Anchor Bay turned out to be a perfect choice; the cotton/wool blend is very pleasant to work with, comfortable to wear, holds its shape well, and also has great stitch definition. AND it comes in 32 colors!

For a chance to win a free copy of Knitted Tanks and Tunics AND the yarn for either the Sheridan Tank (Cascade Yarns Anchor Bay) or the Greenville Tank (Cascade Yarns Avalon), head on over the the Cascade Yarns Facebook page on April 9th! 

Blog tour for Knitted Tanks and Tunics

Head over to Tanis Knits for the first stop on the blog tour for Knitted Tanks and Tunics; you can read her interview questions and check out some never-before-published photos of the book garments (all copyright Tom Moore Studios). AND she is giving away a copy of the book!

I started working with Tanis Gray in 2007, while she was still an editor at Vogue Knitting, and I've contributed designs to several of her books since then (Knitting Architecture, Cozy Knits and Wanderlust). She's a wonderful and prolific designer and author, and I'm so grateful that she agreed to review my book. Thanks Tanis!

Knitted Tanks and Tunics

Here we are, almost ten months since I posted about going to the photo shoot for Knitted Tanks and Tunics, my first book of knitting patterns, and the release date for the book is finally, almost, here! The book can already be pre-ordered on Amazon, but the actual release date is April 1st.

Yes, it has occurred to me to wonder about the significance of the release date also being April Fools' Day. I think it's unlikely that Stackpole Books and some prankster(s) have come up with an elaborate scheme to make me think that I'm publishing my first book, only to reveal on April 1st that it was all a hoax. On the other hand, I've been watching the TV series Mr. Robot, and just saw the movie Game Night (highly recommend!), so I suppose an elaborate scheme isn't impossible.

But honestly,I'm pretty sure there's no special meaning attached to an April Fools' Day release date, because the process to get the book to this point has certainly been real; even though I didn't blog at all for most of 2017, I certainly kept busy with book editing and other design work. And lately I've been busy with the other piece of book publishing: Publicity. (Not something that comes easily to me....)

So in fact, I have been trying to come up with a clever way way to link Book Release Day and April Fools' Day, just for publicity purposes. "Fall in love with Knitted Tanks and Tunics on April 1st"? Get it? "Why do fools fall in love...." Yeah, not great. Working on it....

In the meantime, I've also scheduled a few blog tour stops, a book signing/trunk show (and maybe more), a video podcast, and a couple of yarn giveaways-- in addition to chances to win a copy of the book. So stay tuned for a flurry of posts/events over the next couple of months!

(All photos copyright Tom Moore Studios)

Contest and survey results

Thanks for all the great comments! After tallying everyone's planned or preferred accessory knits, cowls were the clear winner (with several commenters referring to the fact that cowls are now in fashion), followed by hats, then scarves; mittens/mitts/gloves; and shawlettes. Socks, capelets, bag or purse and slippers were less popular. 

I agree that cowls are in fashion, and no wonder: they are fun, flattering, practical. And they are also not too time-consuming to knit (a long scarf can take forever, or maybe it just seems that way!). Unlike socks or handwear, they don't have to be worked on dpns or using magic loop or 2 circulars (all a bit of a PITA, IMO)-- a convenient, easy-to-use 20-inch circular is perfect. By the way, I have both a cowl and a hat pattern in the Interweave Knits Accessories issue that just came out! I've already made my own version of the Serpentine Cowl; I'll post some pics in an upcoming post.

In fact I'm hoping cowls stay in fashion for a few seasons; I may yet whip up a cowl pattern before the end of the year, but right now the next Knititude pattern looks like another hat (stay tuned).

So many names...

Thank you all for some wonderful suggestions!  I saw so many new things in the lace motif after reading all of the comments:  umbrellas, cathedral windows, flying birds-- what fun!  The fact that I've decided to stick with the name "Carlotta" is more a reflection of how I've come to think of the pattern, and the memories I have of a day spent at Villa Carlotta, than a choice based on the merits of each suggested name.

So I've decided to give two free patterns away:  one to Jeanie, because I thought the name Azalee was especially beautiful, and one to Aimee, because after reading her comment, I could actually see the sandhill cranes in flight across the top of the beret (all on a collision course towards the center, but that's neither here nor there!).  I've finished the chart for the hat, but I'm thinking I will write out the directions as well-- I encourage the use of charts (and prefer them myself), but I realize that some knitters would rather follow written-out instructions.  So I would guess that the pattern will be finished within a week or two, and I will email it to the winners as soon as it's ready.

The nameless beret

I can't decide what to call this pattern.  I'm leaning toward "Poinsettia," because it reminds me of the star-like bracts of a poinsettia.  I can't call it "snowflake," because there are eight sections, not six (I'm picky that way)-- plus there are already lots of snowflake-related pattern names out there.  As well as flower petals, the lace motifs also remind me of cascading water, which is why I'm also considering "Carlotta," after Villa Carlotta in Tremezzo, Italy, which has an abundance of both fountains and flowers.

If anyone has any other ideas for names, let me know; if I decide to use yours, I'll email you the pattern pdf free of charge (when it's finished!)-- and if I really love the name, I'll also send you the yarn to make it (Rowan Purelife Organic Wool*).

*Rowan Purelife Cotton knits up at the same gauge, and could be substituted for non-wool wearers.

We have winners

Man.  Y'all are good.  Who knew there were so many gardeners out there?  I did eliminate "Gruss an Aachen," "Mrs. Bosanquet" and "Sparrieshoop" from the list of light pink rose varieties, because Googling any of those would have given an instant answer.

I didn't specify how to enter the contest, so I accepted the first three correct comments, as well as any correct emails submitted during the same time period.  And the winners are:

1. Eva Smith (email)
2. Grad School Knitter
3. Anne
4. Macoco

Yes, there are four winners; conveniently, I actually have two prizes worth of the DiVe Cotone Egitto.  So, once Eva lets me know via email which yarn she prefers (Garnstudio Silke-Tweed, Classic Elite Classic Silk, or DiVe Cotone Egitto), and where she'd like her prize sent, I will let Grad School Knitter know which yarns are still available--and so on and so forth.

Congrats to all!  Next post--what this all has to do with knitting.