Saturday, November 17, 2012

A Belated Anouk

I was having a wee gander over the last few blog posts here on the blog, and I realized that I'd never done a formal introduction for my latest published pattern, Anouk!

(all photos by Carrie Bostick Hoge!)

Anouk has to be one of the quickest page-to-screen patterns I've ever produced;  I just found my original concept email to Pam at Quince, and from that date to publication was less than a month.  A month! Crazy! But sometimes when you've got the design itch, it has to happen!

The idea for Anouk came about from a simple "what if?" question; what if the chevron patterns that everyone knows and loves were turned slightly askew? All the versions I had seen were symmetrical and lovely, but I wanted to see what might happen to the fabric were the decreases pulled off-center.  Anouk is the result! It's a one skein project using Quince's gorgeous fluffy Osprey, one of my favorite yarns ever, in the gorgeous Gingerbread colorway.  I am rarely without a huge scarf, shawl, or cowl around my neck this time of year, and I can't wait to snuggle down in this one!
As an aside, can we discuss how much I want the shirt the model wore for this shoot? I've been stalking it and the rest of the Pendleton Portland collection for both my own wardrobe and design inspiration.  I think it fits wonderfully with Anouk's aesthetic!

A huge thanks to everyone who shared their own stories of the knitting wandering eye after the last blog post; it was so great to hear that I'm not alone. :) I'm closing in on the end of both deadline sweaters, so a bit of frivolous knitting is in sight!

Thursday, November 8, 2012

What I would be doing if I weren't me

Friends, I am sad to say that ennui has set in.  I am hip deep in two deadline projects, and all I want to do is knit handspun socks, tiny baby hats, and every single thing that isn't one of the two currently on the needles.  I am sure this is a temporary glitch, but I thought it might help to share some of my current obsessions with you in hopes that my recovery will be quicker in coming.  Because these sweaters won't knit themselves!


So what's catching my attention at the moment? The Alfalfa Hat by Kate Gagnon Osborn and the Crooked Little Baby Bonnet by Melissa LaBarre.  I have quite a few pregnant friends and I am itching to make tiny hats for all of them.  (Not to mention the tiny sweaters. . .) The Stockard Cardi by Cecily Glowik MacDonald, the Clarity Cardigan by Gretchen Ronnevik, High Country by Carol Sunday, and Toulouse by Leah Thibault.  Swing knitting.  Oversized cables.  Marling.  The Fair Isle hat in Loft leftovers I've had planned for a month.  Spinning scrappies from Funky Carolina and Into the Whirled for the most colorful pair of socks ever.  Setting up another project on the loom.  And. . . and. . . and. . .

So you see, I have a terminal case of the wandering fiber eye.  But if you'll excuse me, I'll be over here staring balefully at this sweater.  Send good thoughts.