Vogue Knitting Fall 2011

contributed by Shawn

The only good thing about the 12 straight hours of rain on Sunday, was that it gave me a chance to dive into the new Vogue Knitting Fall 2011. There are a lot of great things in this issue!

For those of you looking to "Shape Up!" there is an excellent article by Meg Swansen on 3 short row shaping methods that can help you produce professional looking handmade fitted garments.

Neutral Fair-Isle knits are featured lovely contrasts of black, white, and grey. I think the Nordic Gloves by Lone Smevik Soleng would be lovely knit in SMC Juvel Yarn. This yarn is new for us, and it's perfect for mittens and gloves because it is a superwash sport/dk weight wool.  Easy care is a must for winter hand wear here in Vermont!

The Nordic Yoke Pullover by Ruth Garcia-Alcantud is worked in the round from the bottom up and is shown here in Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport Yarn which is a new favorite of our customers, both local and online. This yarn comes in an amazing array of colors, is soft and really reasonably priced.

Wenlan Chia presents 2 oversized sweater patterns knit in Twinkle Handknits Soft Chunky Yarn.  The Striped Cardi 

and Striped Back Top are both great looking pieces.

I think my favorite is the relaxed-fit zip-front cape by Kristin Omdahl. Knit in in Manos del Uruguay Wool Clasica Yarn, the openwork sides of this Lace Belted Cape become sleeve-like with the addition of a belt for a flattering sillouhete.

And there's a BONUS! Don't miss the GREAT article on brioche cable knitting by Nancy Marchant.  I really can't wait to try to knit this hat - stunning!

Knit in the round the hat features crossed stitches and linear decreases done in the two-color brioche technique.  Nancy's article "Crossing Over" describes everything in detail and even though I haven't tried brioche knitting yet with this article I know I can do it!