Knititude

A few photos from my first photo shoot

Did you know that photographers might take THOUSANDS of photos in a single day's work? I knew they took a lot, but not that many! Anyway, Tom Moore emailed me a few of the photos he took during the day I was there "helping out" at the shoot for my upcoming book of knitting patterns. And I may be biased, but I think they're stunning! (Some of the locations are recognizable from photos in my last blog post.)

(In my last post I included a photo of Aleksandra huddled in her jacket between shots; the yellow tank below was what she was wearing under her jacket. Doesn't she make it seem like it was a warm summer afternoon?!)

My first photo shoot!

I'm going to put off the follow-up to last week's post (on making good yarn choices while learning new knitting techniques), because a couple of days ago I went to my first photo shoot! It was for my book of patterns for knitted sleeveless tanks and tunics, which is scheduled for publication by Stackpole Books in spring of 2018. It took place in the charming town of Beacon, NY, along the Hudson River.

The photographer, Tom Moore*, was very nice about letting me tag along, but due to scheduling issues, I missed the first day of the shoot. Luckily, his partner, Christine, was kind enough to text me some photos and videos of Tom at work, and also sent me a few proofs (stunning, aren't they??). 

Recognize the new and improved version of Fern, above? (My first thought when I saw this photo was "Get off the tracks, girl!" But I later found out that trains don't use this section of track anymore.)

Everything seemed to fit the model, Lexi, perfectly! I was very excited to head to Beacon for the second day of the shoot.

Here is one of my first views of the town, driving to our first location. It was a partially sunny day, but cool and windy.

Tom recruited me to help transport the samples, and we ended up staging the outfits out of my car; pictured are Christine, Tom's partner and stylist; Aleksandra, our model for the day; and Lois (in the baby carrier!). 

As you can see, Tom was willing to go to great lengths to get just the right angle! And I was glad that Tom told Aleks to hold onto that metal bar; she was rather close to the edge of the concrete slab in this shot.

Somehow Alexs managed to look like she was having a carefree stroll on a warm spring day; it's officially spring, yes, but I was wearing a sweater, down vest and scarf, and I was still cold!

She did put on her jacket and try to stay warm in between shots....

I hear that Campbell & Campbell Salon, in the background, is a great place to get your hair done....

But I can't vouch for Tony's rooms (as you can see, Beacon has a wide variety of settings and backgrounds).

Can't wait to post some proofs of the second day's work!

*Tom Moore Studios also did the photography for Sandi Rosner's book, 21 Crocheted Tanks and Tunics; when the Stackpole editor was trying to convince me that they understood the importance of great photos, she showed me some of his work for that book. 

Revisiting the Circles Vest

I published the pattern for the Circles Vest back in 2011, but I never did get around to writing about the design process, or suggesting substitute yarns, as I had promised. Since it's a great transitional layering piece, going from spring to summer to fall, and since the yarn I used has since been discontinued, this seemed like a good time to rectify that lapse.

This vest really started with the "circles" stitch pattern, which yields an unusual and subtle textured fabric that is not quite as stretchy as ribbing, not as three-dimensional as cables. When I saw that it creates a subtle gathering effect next to plain stockinette, I though it would work well as a waist accent. After that I worked out the other garment details with some sketching and swatching: a deep V-neck, curved front hems, and pockets! While these pockets are mainly decorative, you could definitely stow a few bills or, I don't know, tickets or business cards or a shopping list (if you don't use your phone for that...probably a cell phone would be too big/heavy for these pockets). Or you could stand around with your hand in one of them...anyway, I digress.

As to suitable yarns, there are literally dozens; the stockinette stitch gauge is 23 stitches to four inches, or 5.75 stitches to one inch, so choose a DK-weight (or light #3) yarn with an appropriate fiber content (see below), and make sure you can get the proper gauge by making a gauge swatch.

The yarn I used for the pattern was a blend of cotton and wool, which is great for multi-season use; cotton can lack resilience if used on its own, so the wool adds springiness, while the cotton keeps the wool from being too warm. On the other hand, if you'd like more warmth, an all-wool yarn would certainly work well for this design. Other blends such as cotton/microfiber or cotton/silk would also work, and the right all-cotton yarn would work too; look for a pima cotton yarn with a fairly tight twist.

Here are some yarns I have worked with personally:

• Plymouth Yarn Select DK Merino Superwash (100% merino), which I used for the Nerodia Cardigan for babies and children
• Valley Yarns Longmeadow (cotton/microfiber), which was used for the Bell Yoke Tee
• Sublime Egyptian Cotton DK (100% cotton)
• SweetGeorgia Yarns Superwash DK (100% merino), which was chosen for the Plaited Tam
• Misti Alpaca Tonos Pima Silk (pima cotton/silk), which I used for the Onda Scarf
• HazelKnits Lively DK (merino wool/nylon), which was chosen for the Fish Isle Pullover
• The Fibre Company Acadia (merino/silk/alpaca), which was chosen for the Altocumulus Shawl

And here are a few more which I have not used myself, but which have gotten glowing reviews from knitters:

• Cascade Yarns Ultra Pima (100% cotton)
• Garnstudio Drops Cotton Merino (cotton/merino)
• Cascade Yarns Anchor Bay (cotton/merino), new this year

These last three (and the Valley Yarns Longmeadow) have the added advantage of being very reasonably priced.

I'm lucky enough to be able to do some of my photo shoots in Italy...but can I tell you how many funny looks I got for wearing a helmet while cycling around Como? Only racing cyclists and small children wear helmets over there! I had even brought my own fashion-forward helmet from the States, but it didn't matter....

 

Related articles

Oscilla Wrap

Prow Pullover

Circles Vest

The pattern for the Circles Vest is finally finished! And the process wasn't all work and no fun-- I wore the vest on a bike ride into downtown Como and got my husband to take a few photos en route!

There are also several photos on the pattern page, and a couple more below. I plan to post soon about some of the design details and about alternative yarns, but at the moment I need to get off the computer-- my neck and shoulders are protesting!

 

 

Introducing my assistants

Vi presento le mie aiutanti

For awhile I've been wanting to purchase a dressmaker's dummy; it's tricky trying to photograph myself wearing samples! I looked at Dritz adjustable mannequins, but I thought they looked flimsy and I didn't like the colors of the coverings; I also didn't like the fact that increasing the diameter of the torso leaves big gaps in it. My office is right next to the front door of our house, with windows onto the front porch, so it's important to me that it looks nice. Then I found a non-adjustable mannequin at PGM. With a 34" bust, Ofelia is slightly chestier than me, but otherwise quite close to my measurements-- and most magazines and publications seem to want samples to fit a 34" bust anyway. (Ofelia is the Italian form of Ophelia, which means "unable to swim"...just kidding, it means "helper.")

Da tanto tempo ho voglia di comprare una manichina; e' difficile fotografarmi quando indosso i campioni! Ho considerato una manichina Dritz, pero' sembravano fragili e non mi hanno piaciuto i colori dei coperti. Ho trovato Ofelia a PGM. Ha il petto di 87 cm, un po' piu grande di me, comunque le riviste vogliono i campioni per il petto cosi'. (Ofelia= "aiutante.")

Unfortunately Ofelia lacks a head. So I also purchased a display head from Mannequin Hub. Giulia is ageless and rather humorless, but she does wear a hat nicely! I wonder if I should buy her a wig.... (Giulia is the Italian form of "Julia," which means "youthful.")

Purtroppo si manca Ofelia una testa. Quindi ho comprato anche una testa per esporre la merce da Mannequin Hub. Giulia e senza eta' ed anche piuttosto senza senso dell' umorismo, pero' porta bene un cappello! Mi chiedo se dovrei comprarla una parrucca.... (Giulia= "giovane.")

Onda Wrap photos

Although I picked up the wrap version of Onda from my test knitter a couple of weeks ago, it wasn't until last weekend that the weather was nice enough to get some decent modeled photos. The wrap version is worked in Madelinetosh Tosh DK in the Amber Trinket colorway.

(I've already added wrap photos to the Ravelry pattern page and to the pattern pdf, and if you purchased the Onda pattern before this week, you should already have received an email from me with the updated pattern pdf attached-- if you haven't, contact me!).

 

 

Cambia Capelet, Girls' Version

 

I wanted to have a sample of the girls' version of Cambia in one of the smaller sizes, since the body proportions of pre-adolescent girls are so different from those of adult women (by the way, I compared the CYCA guidelines for Child and Woman sizes to ensure that the two Cambia sizes which can be made for both girls and women, sizes Girls' 10-12/Women's XS and Girls' 14-16/Women's S, will work for both). 

In addition, after knitting the original women's size sample, I decided to change the cable stitch pattern slightly for the pattern, so I wanted to make absolutely sure that it still looked good, without too much space between the cables (for an explanation of why I made the change, seehere).  For this sample, size 2-4, I used Dream in Color's "Visual Purple," and I followed the pattern directions as written.  Keep in mind that this is the smallest size, and that cables will look proportionally smaller in the larger sizes.

I've added a couple of photos of the girls' version to the pattern pdf, so I will email the updated pattern to everyone who has already purchased it.  In addition, I made a slight change to the directions, simplifying them.  For suggestions for yarn substitutions, see here.

 

Rhodopsin*

I've been doing a lot of swatching in the past few weeks, both for unbloggable projects and for this capelet (thanks, Karen and Erin-- "capelet" is a much better term than "poncho"!).  I really loved the Dream in Color "Grey Tabby" swatch for the capelet, but I only had two skeins of it, and had trouble locating more, so I decided to try another one of their many tempting colorways. 

My nearby LYSs don't carry Dream in Color Classy, so after looking at many of their colorways on different websites, and worked into different projects on Ravelry, I finally bought some Visual Purple online fromWoolgirl (great store and wonderful customer service, by the way).  Unfortunately, each of the three skeins was noticeably different in color from the others-- not completely unexpected for handpainted yarns, which don't usually have dye lots.  So I decided that, as is generally recommended with these yarns, I would have to alternate skeins, working a couple of rounds in one, and then switching to another. 

After a few rounds I put this project aside for a week or so-- I just got scared by how very intensely purple it was!  (Much more vivid than it looks in these photos.)  I started thinking about how my wardrobe tends toward neutrals, and wondered if I would ever dare to wear such a royally assertive hue...but every time I glanced over at the fledgling capelet, I was struck by how gorgeous the color variations were, and how they changed in different lights (the bluer photo was shot in daylight only, and the redder one under incandescent light and daylight combined).  So after I got used to the purple, I started working again. 

But I'm afraid this project is destined for frogging, for a few reasons; I might have persevered if only one of them was true, but the combination was too much.  1) It's a pain to switch skeins every couple of rounds.  2) More importantly, it leaves little floats on the wrong side, and when I swatched this stitch pattern, I realized that the wrong side is very interesting, so I want this capelet to be reversible.  If the yarn wasn't superwash, I would have done felted joins-- but it is, so I didn't (and what a pain all those felted joins would have been!).  3) Most importantly, I think it would have been too big.  It was a bit tricky measuring my swatch because of the way the stitch pattern slants.

In the future, I will try to do as Connie recommended:  buy my handpainted yarn from a bricks-and-mortar store, so I can match the skeins, and forget about alternating from skeins while knitting.  Luckily, I had also purchased (online from WEBS) five skeins of Dream in Color Classy in Deep Seaflower, a wonderful combination of blues and violets, and was able to match three of those quite closely-- I think.  So I've already started my capelet again, with fewer stitches and a slight change in stitch pattern.  Wish me luck!

*Rhodopsin-- the retinal pigment that allows us to see in low-light conditions-- is also known as "visual purple."  From Wikipedia:  "Exposed to light, the pigment immediately photobleaches, and it takes about 30 minutes to regenerate fully in humans."  This is why it takes your eyes awhile to adapt when you go from a bright to a low light environment.  Did you know that your eyes dark-adapt separately from each other?  This is kind of fun:  in a dim room, when your eyes are fully dark-adapted (so you can see objects in the room fairly well), cover one completely, and then turn a bright light on for a few seconds.  When you turn it off, the uncovered eye will hardly be able to see anything, but if you uncover the other eye, it will still be dark-adapted, and you'll be able to see just as well as you could before!

My own Leaf Yoke Top

I really hated to give up the sample I knitted in Tahki Nova for my Leaf Yoke Top pattern, which appeared in the Spring/Summer 2009 issue of knit.1.  But much as I liked it, I couldn't get my original submission swatch (pictured at left) out of my mind:  I had used Filatura di Crosa Brillante, a cotton/viscose blend in a pale golden beige, and even though I wasn't crazy about knitting with it, the finished fabric was just beautiful.  Plus, because the Brillante is finer than the Nova, the lace yoke is narrower, and thus the neckline doesn't need to be quite so high; with the Nova, if the yoke started lower, it would have extended too far over the shoulders.  And finally, what else was I going to do with all of that Brillante I had in my stash?  This seemed like a perfect use for it.

I knew I was going to have to do some serious recalculating, because the gauge for the Tahki Nova was 19 sts and 26 rows to 4 inches on US #6 needles, while the Brillante knitted up at 26 sts and 38 rows to 4 inches on US#4 needles.  But the changes turned out to be pretty straightforward, just a matter of plugging in the gauge numbers and the finished dimensions I wanted, and going from there.  For instance, for the yoke, which is worked in the round from the top down, I cast on 132 instead of 88 sts, and did 12 reps of the leaf repeat instead of 8 for the yoke. 

I picked up the stitches to knit the body from the yoke twice:  the first time, as directed in my pattern, I used a smaller needle (US #3) to pick up and knit the stitches.  But yikes, when it came time to knit those stitches with a US #4 needle, it was nearly impossible!  Inserting the needle into each stitch tightened the next stitch on the needle so much that I was cursing the stupid designer (me) as I was trying to push those super-tight stitches along the needle!  I finally gave up, ripped back to the bare yoke, and picked up and knit the stitches for the body again, using a bigger needle.  Maybe if the yarn had been stretchier, using the smaller needle would have worked, but the Brillante is not one of those yarns that is a dream to knit:  it's kind of harsh on your fingers, splitty, and it has no stretch whatsoever.  (Come to think of it, the Nova didn't have much give, either....)

But once I got into the stockinette stitch body, I loved the Brillante again-- the fabric has such a lovely drape and weight and sheen to it.  I lengthened the body a bit, but otherwise followed the pattern, making changes only to adjust for the different yarn gauge.

I had hoped to finish this top in time to wear it this summer, but it only just finished blocking yesterday.  This morning there was actually frost on the ground, but by afternoon it was in the 60s!  So I took the opportunity for a quick photo shoot; could be awhile before I'll get another chance to go sleeveless.

French Braid Pullover, Interweave Knits Fall 2009

Now that the Fall 2009 Interweave Knits preview is up, I can post some photos I took of my French Braid Pullover before I sent it off to the magazine. 

(Unfortunately I was a little rushed at the time, and didn't have a chance to get outside for a proper photo shoot, so please ignore the toilet brush and the TP roll in the background!) 

This is a raglan pullover, knitted entirely in the round, and I found it a lot of fun to design and knit, from the moment I first fell in love with the giant plaited cable (which I found in a Japanese stitch pattern book) to the calculations for the seamless yoke, to the garter stitch neck edging at the semi-funnel collar.  HINT:  If I were making this pullover for myself, I would make the longer version-- a couple of inches longer than the pattern sample in the photos-- and I'm not very tall! 

(Look again at the last photo-- yep, this pullover looks kinda cool when worn inside-out!)