Preview Fall Interweave Knits!
The Chiral Cardigan by Coralie Meslin |
I went to a water park last weekend and I took my knitting. I got lots of great double-takes and comments, but my favorite was from a fellow knitter. She said, "I wish I would have brought my knitting! I'm working on a cotton tank top for my daughter, but I'm looking forward to knitting with wool again this fall. Not that I want summer to be over…"
That's just how I feel! I definitely don't want to rush summer, but the fall magazines are coming out and I've already dog-eared a couple of items. The fall issue of Interweave Knits is almost on the newsstands (look for it on August 3!), and I have my favorite here, too. It's called the Chiral Cardigan (pictured at right). Coralie Meslin designed it with ruching and ruffles, two of my favorite features!
Here's Interweave Knits editor Eunny Jang to introduce you to the fall issue.
Breacan Swing Jacket by Gwen Bortner | |
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Leitmotif Cardigan by Carol Feller | |
Leyfi Pullover by Rosemary Hill | |
I learned to knit from my dad's mother. I mean that literally, as in learned to make the knit stitch from her. Unfortunately, my halmunee lived on the opposite coast, and she didn't have time to teach me more before her visit was over.
After watching me crank out miles of wobbly, hole-filled knitting, my mother took pity on me and dug her old Japanese craft booklets out of storage.
I was astounded to discover that there were other stitches at all, much less ways to knit elaborate textures, delicate openwork, patterns and motifs that evoked places and things. Stitch diagrams and charts laid out in mimeograph purple on cheap paper—they were my first taste of where knitting had been, where it could go, where it could take the knitter. I was off!
Eventually, I came across Barbara Walker's pioneering American stitch dictionary, A Treasury of Knitting Patterns. It was the third milestone of my knitting life—now I not only had instructions on how to knit all kinds of stitches, but I began to discover that many knitting stitches had curious, crooked histories.
I learned that stitches had interesting, colorful names: brioche stitch, moss stitch, King Charles Brocade (though I dutifully practiced my hangul calligraphy every night, I, of course, hadn't been able to read or understand the katakana text in the Japanese leaflets). I even learned that my humble first attempts at knitting had a name—garter stitch, for the inherent lengthwise elasticity that made bands of it so good at keeping stockings up.
And I devoured Walker's notes on each stitch, paid attention to her tips and warnings. In that pre-knitblog world, the thoughts and ideas of another knitter were unfamiliar and precious to me. I had context, suddenly, for this thing I did; a way to navigate. The Treasury became my guidebook and my scripture, my ticket to exploring and understanding the knitting universe that unfolded larger in front of me every week.
Twenty years later, I was delighted when Deborah Newton, one of my favorite designers, proposed writing a profile of Barbara Walker for the Fall 2010 issue of Interweave Knits (“Barbara Walker Knits On”).
Alpen Socken by Judy Alexander | |
Tamarix Quilt by Heather Zoppetti |
Their conversation is fascinating and funny, and it got me reflecting about what a large debt I owe to Walker, to the anonymous authors of Let's Craft!, to my own grandmother, to every man or woman who has ever added to the ever-growing store of collective knitting knowledge.
At Interweave Knits, we're always thinking about how to both tap into and top off that store with each issue—from modern knits that borrow from tradition ("Pied de Grue"), to twisted-stitch knitting ("Carved in Wool"), to projects that push the construction envelope ("The Architect Knits"), to knitting that connects to other fiber traditions ("Check and Stripe"), all the way back to simple knitting that celebrates the elemental appeal of the stitches themselves ("Pure and Simple").
Whether you're working on garter stitch or the most complex cable, never stop knitting—never stop learning.
A subscription to Interweave Knits can take you all the way from simple garter stitch to the most complex cables. Don't miss a single issue of techniques and design inspiration! Never stop knitting, never stop learning—and enjoy the preview!
Cheers,
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