The Month in Review
January was a very busy month, first preparing some patterns to debut at Vogue Knitting Live and then finishing up a pattern and sample for a magazine. Vogue is always splendid and overwhelming and fun and this year was no different. I took two machine knitting classes taught by Susan Guagliumi. If you have any interest in machine knitting whatsoever it would be worth taking a class with Susan, or at the very least checking out her books. Not only is her knowledge of machine knitting vast but she is hands down one of the best teachers I’ve ever taken a class with–one of those people who has command of both the material and the class itself. The more classes I take and the more I teach myself, the more I realize how rare this combination is. She is also just a hoot and class time passed very pleasantly.
I also had the pleasure of attending a lecture by Catherine Lowe that featured some drawings that I made back in the fall. The lecture was entitled The Knitter and the Seamstress: A Cautionary Tale and it discusses how knitting has adapted certain techniques from sewing and tailoring and when these techniques adapt well to knitting and when they do not. Given the technical nature of the talk, Catherine wanted to lighten the mood a bit with some cartoons and thanks to the suggestion of a mutual friend Catherine asked me if I would like to do the drawings. I have admired Catherine’s work for a long time and it was really quite amazing to contribute to her presentation. Getting to attend the lecture and see it in its finished form was probably more exciting for me than going to, say, the Oscars.
Welcome to the Land of Couture
Examining the inside of a garment constructed using couture techniques
I also got to spend time at the Young Designers Booth sponsored by Knitty City and it really felt good to unpack my stack of patterns and my bag of samples and to sit at a table covered in things I had made. After weeks of pattern writing and editing it was gratifying to see the results of all that labor. Here are a few of the patterns I had on display (with links to where you can find them on Ravelry).
The Aberystwyth Cowl
Knit in Handmaiden Maidenhair
The Kufstein Cowl
Knit in Malabrigo Finito
The Stratus Cowl
Knit in Blue Sky Alpacas Suri Merino
Knit in Lang Jawoll Magic
Thank you to everyone who stopped by the booth and to Knitty City for giving me the opportunity to show my work. It’s lovely to have a public venue where we can all get together and celebrate this often solitary thing we do.
