Ravelry Link Book Depository Link
Types of patterns: Garments
Number of Patterns
Split of patterns: Each chapter has one women's pattern, most have a man's pattern as well and they all have a child or baby pattern. 36: Jumper women (5); Jumper Men (8); Baby Jumper (2); Baby Pants (2); Jumper Child (4); Waistcoat Women (1); Cardigan Children (1); Cardigan Women (4); Dress Girl (1); Baby All in one (1); Cardigan Men (2); Waistcoat Men (1); top women(2); tank top (1); Coat Children (1)
Size Range:Women: 36-49" (101.5-124.5cm); Men 44-54" (120.5-137cm);
Colour/Black & White: Colour photographs, pretty good but sometimes details of the garments aren't clear from the photographs.
Schematics: yes, with multiple point details, particularly if shaping is involved
Target Audience: a mixture of difficulties
How to knit guide: No, has a suggested references listing.
Experimental/Classical/Modern: Most fairly classical but some are not currently fashionable
Comments: Many of the patterns are quite boxy but many could be adapted. Sleeves may need a lot of attention to adapt them. Skill levels are from the book itself.
Entwined Hearts:
Women's High-Neck Pullover, complex heart cables cover this boxy jumper. No real shot of the front but it looks interesting. Knit in worsted weight yarn. Skill level intermediate
Man's V-Neck Pullover - more heart like cables adorn this man's jumper Knit in Worsted yarn. Skill level intermediate
Baby's Pullover and Pants set - again cabled hearts cover this baby jumper. Knit in worsted weight yarn. Skill level Intermediate
Spicy Fair Isles
Women's Rolled-neck pullover: Knit in autumnal colours, this is a relatively short boxy jumper with fair isle bands, knit in heavy worsted yarn. Long plain bands that roll out on the neck, bottom and cuffs. Skill level intermediate
Men's Crew-Neck Pullover Another autumnal jumper with fairisle in a heavy worsted. Skill level intermediate
Child's Zippered Pullover: body child's jumper with a zip opening at the neck. Knit in heavy worsted with fair isle. Skill level intermediate.
Toasty Trio:
Woman's Cardigan Vest: Long-line waistcoat knit in worsted weight wool with v-neck. Listed as advanced beginner.
Man's Rugby Stripe Pullover: Worsted weight jumper with stripe and textured knit. Skill: Advanced Beginner
Child's Cardigan: Striped cardigan with fairly high v-neck, boxy, worsted weight. Listed as intermediate knit.
Pastoral Pastels
Women's Cropped CardiganLace-covered cardigan with some bobbles along cuff, hem and collar, knit in light worsted weight yarn. Shaping, length and lack of bobbles would probably make me want to knit it. Skill listed as intermediate
Child's Dress: Empire waisted dress with lace in the bodice and bobbles along hem, sleeve edge, bottom of bodice and neckline, knit in a light worsted. Skill listed as intermediate
Baby's All-in-one: lace to the waist and on the sleeves with bobbles along the cuffs and neckline. Knit in light worsted. Skill listed as intermediate
Riot of Ribs
Women's Mock Turtleneck Pullover; raglan sleeved jumper with ribbed body, short and boxy. Knit in light worsted yarn. Skill listed as intermediate
Man's V-Neck Pullover: Raglan sleeved jumper with ribbed body, v-necked. Knit in light worsted yarn. Skill listed as intermediate
Bird's-Eye Bulkies
Woman's Cardigan, round necked cardigan, knit in a bulky weight yarn, slipstitch pattern. Skill listed as intermediate
Man's Cardigan: v-necked cardigan with pockets, bulky weight yarn, slipstitch pattern, Skill listed as intermediate
Child's Crew-Neck Pullover: Bulky weight boxy jumper, slipstitch pattern. Skill listed as advanced beginner.
Harbor View Guernseys
Woman's Rolled-Neck Pullover: knit in worsted weight yarn with patterns all over the piece, bobbles along the hem and cuffs and a boxy, short look, the horizontal stripes mightn't suit everyone. Skill listed as intermediate
Man's Cardigan Vest Knit in worsted weight yarn with pockets and horizontal patterning all over the garment. boxy with dropped shoulders. Skill listed as intermediate
Child's Rolled-Neck Pullover: Knit in worsted weight yarn, patterning in the yoke, boxy. Skill listed as intermediate
Argyle Antics
Woman's Crew-Neck Pullover An interesting use of a band of argyle patterning along the top to this short-sleeved top. Knit in DK weight yarn. Skill listed as intermediate
Man's V-Neck Vest Band of argyle down the middle of this tank-top, knit in dk weight yarn. Skill listed as intermediate
Child's Color-Block Pullover same band of argyle as the man's tank-top but jumper divided in two with separate colours on each side. Skill listed as intermediate
Quick and Cozy
Woman's Shawl-Collar Cardigan Big jacket-style cardigan with pockets, knit in a bulky weight yarn. Skill listed as advanced beginner.
Man's Crew-Neck Pullover: Another bulky weight jumper with a round neck and some contrast around the hem, cuffs and neck. Skill listed as beginner
Girl's Swing Coat again in a bulky weight wool, this is an a-line coat. Poor photography doesn't show much detail. Skill listed as beginner
Seaside Stripes
Woman's Sleeveless Pullover Two-colour blue with white horizontal stripes buttoned to the back. Skill listed as intermediate
Man's Crew-Neck Pullover: knit in sport weight yarn, horizontally striped, blocky. Skill listed as advanced beginner.
Infant's Pullover: knit in sport weight yarn, horizontally striped, blocky. Skill listed as intermediate.
Nordic Warmth
Woman's Zippered High-Neck All-over, horizontal striped, knit in heavy worsted pattern. knit in sport weight yarn, horizontally striped, blocky. Skill listed as intermediate
Man's Turtleneck: Same as the woman's only with a turtleneck, slightly different patterning.
Child's Crew-neck Pullover: Childs jumper with band of patterning along the bottom of the sleeves and body, with "lice" patterning over remainder of body. Skill listed as intermediate
The South Hadley Tweeds
Woman's Shaped Cardigan A cardigan with a round neck, shaping, cables and pockets. Knit in heavy worsted weight. Skill listed as expert.
Man's CardiganHeavy worsted weight v-necked cardigan with a cable running down the sleeve. Skill listed as intermediate
Cabled Elegance
Woman's Tunic - Complex cabled pattern tunic with a rounded neck and side slits, somewhat blocky with quite wide sleeves. Knit in a DK weight yarn. Skill listed as intermediate
Man's Crew-Neck Pullover Cabled hem and cuffs on this man's version of the woman's garment, aslo knit in a DK weight yarn. Skill listed as intermediate
Child's Medallion Crew-Neck Pullover: childrens pattern with central diamond piece and seed stitch, blocky with very wide sleeves. Knit in DK weight. Skill listed as expert
Casual Comfort
Woman's High-Neck Pullover: broad cable down the centre, knit in worsted weight, seed stitch background. Skill listed as intermediate
Man's Zippered Pullover: two cables run down the body of this one knit in worsted weight. Skill listed as intermediate
Baby's Cardigan and Pants set: cardigan has cables similar to the men's cardigan, the pants is all in seed stitch, knit in worsted weight yarn. Skill listed as intermediate
Buy/Borrow: Borrow and see if the patterns are to your taste.
Where found: Purchased, remaindered in Charlie Byrne's Bookshop
Monday, 15 November 2010
Sunday, 14 November 2010
Tweed by Nancy J. Thomas
Book Depository Link Ravelry Link
Types of patterns: mostly garments with some accessories and two throws.
Number of Patterns: Hat (3); Scarf (4); Bag (2); pullover (4); Cushion (1); Waistcoat (2); Cardigan (3); Jacket (2); throw (2)
Split of patterns: men, women and unisex patterns
Size Range: women 34-54" (86-137cm) men 37.5-52.5" (95-133.5cm)
Colour/Black & White: Plenty of colour photos, black and white charts with colour highlights.
Schematics: for the garments
Target Audience: Chapters divided into Beginners, Advanced Beginners, Intermediate and Advanced
How to knit guide: Not really, a discussion of tweed yarns and most of the information comes from a spinner in Kilcar. There's also a brief piece on some tweed suitable patterns.
Experimental/Classical/Modern: Classical with some modern twists.
Comments: While the listed yarns aren't readily available in Ireland the yarn is spun in Donegal in Kilcar, so careful substitution should be possible with Irish available yarns. There is an interesting article about Tweed yarn,
From the Beginners Chapter:
North Sea Hat & Scarf Set the scarf is in a double broken rib and the hat can be knit flat or in the round. Each end of the scarf has contrast colours and the hat has three broad stripes of colour too. This is a good beginners piece. Knit in a Superbulky weight yarn.
Lichen Ribbed Garter Scarf - knit in an aran weight yarn with a random stripe this has wide ends and ribbed middle, calls for 100g of the yarn and as most of the visible part is garter stitch this could be useful for busy yarns.
Kilt Knitting Bag a bag using 1 skein (or less) for each colour this could be useful for aran weight pure wool leftovers, it has a bit pocket on the front, uses webbing for the strap but old belts could be also useful.
Highlands felted bag and Beret - using a bulky pure wool this has an stylised almost paisley pattern on the bag and dots on the hat, the patterning is appliqued after knitting.
Gaelic Hat - big stocking hat, knit in bulky yarn, with a big pom-pom this is kinda rasta style.
Tweed River Pullover A pretty basic, knit in bulky yarn, jumper with a round neck. The original yarn is quite busy. Pretty unisex pattern, though most men would probably like a little more length.
Advanced Beginners Chapter
Coastal Cabled Scarf Moss stitch on the edges and a plaited cable down the middle, knit in a bulky yarn.
Kilcar Felted Pillow - this takes a Kilim style pattern and puts it in the centre of the piece, this would be a good introduction to inartasia, most mistakes would be ironed out with the felting. Knit in Aran weight yarn, again one skien of most colours it might be good for leftovers, two of the colours use very little of the yarn.
Carrick PulloverA ribbed jumper with a roll neck knit in a bulky yarn, this is again a unisex pattern. Length should possibly be revised for most as it comes just to mid-stomach on the model.
Stornaway Vest the rib of this is in a different colour and the body in another, the edging is also in another colour. It's knit in an Aran weight yarn. (and yes, I just added this pattern to Ravelry as I'm knitting it on commission for an aunt. I'm knitting it in one colour)
Galway Tie-Front Cardigan Knit in an aran weight yarn, this is a v-necked cardigan that I hope to knit some day with buttons or toggle closure instead of ties. The sleeves are knit in a slightly different shade to the body but I didn't notice until I was reading the promo. It also has pockets.
Intermedite Knitter Chapter
Moss Cabled Cardigan The moss is in reference to the colour this was knit in rather than the stitch. Knit in aran weight yarn this attracted some commentary at the Fiber Fun Friday because the rib looks a bit wrong. Possibly needs picking up fewer stitches for a less gathered look. A button front cardigan that has a high neck.
Scottish Isles Pullover a collared jumper knit in Aran weight yarn with shaping and cables, this is a fairly classic piece.
Ulst Mitered Scarf Knit in Aran yarn this again uses 1 ball of five colours for a fairly large scarf that's almost a stole.
Dublin Cabled Vest interesting cabled v-necked waistcoat this would probably suit a woman with a bit of shaping added, which should probably be easy enough after the lower set of cables.
Harris-Style Sampler Cardigan - with a mixture of stitches and horizontal colours in Aran weight yarn, along with fringing along the buttonband this doesn't appeal, I would like to see it without fringing and in a single colour.
Advanced Knitter Chapter
Isle of Skye Jacket an oversized jacket knit with a complex cable (it's 26 rows long) it's pretty unisex, knit in an aran weight yarn.
Chanel Style Tweed Jacket - knit in an aran weight yarn with the body in a slipstitch pattern and with contrast edging along the bottom, edges, pockets and cuffs, this is very dependent on careful colour choice.
Northern Ireland Peplum Pullover there was some disagreement about the bottom of this one, it might not be flattering to all. Knit in Aran weight yarn with some nice detailing around the neck but the photograph has hair in the way of a lot of the detail.
Outer Hebredies Sampler Throw - a sampler with 8 different single skeins of aran weight yarn, this could have more or less colours worked into it, it's worked in number of blocks and stripes.
Lake District Throw - Five skiens of one aran weight yarn and 1 skein of 17 more colours, this is a complex piece with a lot of flowers.
Overall not a bad book with a variety of uses of tweed style yarns without being too twee.
Buy/Borrow: the Libraries got copies and based on my viewing of it I bought my own copy, there are some pieces that I would be inclined to adapt a little but a few that I liked on first look.
Where found: I originally borrowed a copy from Dublin City Public Libraries.
Types of patterns: mostly garments with some accessories and two throws.
Number of Patterns: Hat (3); Scarf (4); Bag (2); pullover (4); Cushion (1); Waistcoat (2); Cardigan (3); Jacket (2); throw (2)
Split of patterns: men, women and unisex patterns
Size Range: women 34-54" (86-137cm) men 37.5-52.5" (95-133.5cm)
Colour/Black & White: Plenty of colour photos, black and white charts with colour highlights.
Schematics: for the garments
Target Audience: Chapters divided into Beginners, Advanced Beginners, Intermediate and Advanced
How to knit guide: Not really, a discussion of tweed yarns and most of the information comes from a spinner in Kilcar. There's also a brief piece on some tweed suitable patterns.
Experimental/Classical/Modern: Classical with some modern twists.
Comments: While the listed yarns aren't readily available in Ireland the yarn is spun in Donegal in Kilcar, so careful substitution should be possible with Irish available yarns. There is an interesting article about Tweed yarn,
From the Beginners Chapter:
North Sea Hat & Scarf Set the scarf is in a double broken rib and the hat can be knit flat or in the round. Each end of the scarf has contrast colours and the hat has three broad stripes of colour too. This is a good beginners piece. Knit in a Superbulky weight yarn.
Lichen Ribbed Garter Scarf - knit in an aran weight yarn with a random stripe this has wide ends and ribbed middle, calls for 100g of the yarn and as most of the visible part is garter stitch this could be useful for busy yarns.
Kilt Knitting Bag a bag using 1 skein (or less) for each colour this could be useful for aran weight pure wool leftovers, it has a bit pocket on the front, uses webbing for the strap but old belts could be also useful.
Highlands felted bag and Beret - using a bulky pure wool this has an stylised almost paisley pattern on the bag and dots on the hat, the patterning is appliqued after knitting.
Gaelic Hat - big stocking hat, knit in bulky yarn, with a big pom-pom this is kinda rasta style.
Tweed River Pullover A pretty basic, knit in bulky yarn, jumper with a round neck. The original yarn is quite busy. Pretty unisex pattern, though most men would probably like a little more length.
Advanced Beginners Chapter
Coastal Cabled Scarf Moss stitch on the edges and a plaited cable down the middle, knit in a bulky yarn.
Kilcar Felted Pillow - this takes a Kilim style pattern and puts it in the centre of the piece, this would be a good introduction to inartasia, most mistakes would be ironed out with the felting. Knit in Aran weight yarn, again one skien of most colours it might be good for leftovers, two of the colours use very little of the yarn.
Carrick PulloverA ribbed jumper with a roll neck knit in a bulky yarn, this is again a unisex pattern. Length should possibly be revised for most as it comes just to mid-stomach on the model.
Stornaway Vest the rib of this is in a different colour and the body in another, the edging is also in another colour. It's knit in an Aran weight yarn. (and yes, I just added this pattern to Ravelry as I'm knitting it on commission for an aunt. I'm knitting it in one colour)
Galway Tie-Front Cardigan Knit in an aran weight yarn, this is a v-necked cardigan that I hope to knit some day with buttons or toggle closure instead of ties. The sleeves are knit in a slightly different shade to the body but I didn't notice until I was reading the promo. It also has pockets.
Intermedite Knitter Chapter
Moss Cabled Cardigan The moss is in reference to the colour this was knit in rather than the stitch. Knit in aran weight yarn this attracted some commentary at the Fiber Fun Friday because the rib looks a bit wrong. Possibly needs picking up fewer stitches for a less gathered look. A button front cardigan that has a high neck.
Scottish Isles Pullover a collared jumper knit in Aran weight yarn with shaping and cables, this is a fairly classic piece.
Ulst Mitered Scarf Knit in Aran yarn this again uses 1 ball of five colours for a fairly large scarf that's almost a stole.
Dublin Cabled Vest interesting cabled v-necked waistcoat this would probably suit a woman with a bit of shaping added, which should probably be easy enough after the lower set of cables.
Harris-Style Sampler Cardigan - with a mixture of stitches and horizontal colours in Aran weight yarn, along with fringing along the buttonband this doesn't appeal, I would like to see it without fringing and in a single colour.
Advanced Knitter Chapter
Isle of Skye Jacket an oversized jacket knit with a complex cable (it's 26 rows long) it's pretty unisex, knit in an aran weight yarn.
Chanel Style Tweed Jacket - knit in an aran weight yarn with the body in a slipstitch pattern and with contrast edging along the bottom, edges, pockets and cuffs, this is very dependent on careful colour choice.
Northern Ireland Peplum Pullover there was some disagreement about the bottom of this one, it might not be flattering to all. Knit in Aran weight yarn with some nice detailing around the neck but the photograph has hair in the way of a lot of the detail.
Outer Hebredies Sampler Throw - a sampler with 8 different single skeins of aran weight yarn, this could have more or less colours worked into it, it's worked in number of blocks and stripes.
Lake District Throw - Five skiens of one aran weight yarn and 1 skein of 17 more colours, this is a complex piece with a lot of flowers.
Overall not a bad book with a variety of uses of tweed style yarns without being too twee.
Buy/Borrow: the Libraries got copies and based on my viewing of it I bought my own copy, there are some pieces that I would be inclined to adapt a little but a few that I liked on first look.
Where found: I originally borrowed a copy from Dublin City Public Libraries.
Sunday, 7 November 2010
Productive week
Holey Moley Gloves (via Web Archive) (Ravelry Link)
A hat (Ravelry Link)
9 Patch Dishcloth Ravelry Link 
Grandmothers Favourite (Ravelry Link)I feel I had a rather productive week sick.
Wednesday, 3 November 2010
Coffee Press Quest
I got me a new coffee press from Lidl and thought idly of making a coffee press cover, so that in times like this, I could make a batch and drink it over several hours.
Now I have to wonder about these (ravelry Link, login required) now yes, I'm searching for a french press cosy, but several of these lack something in the practicality aspect.
Lets' eliminate the Fleur de Lys "cozy"; scarves belong on people not as useful beverage warming items, I'd say the spillage aspect for this one is high. I could imagine it would be easy to put down on the trailing edges of this scarf. Very "Tish" making, shattered glass mixed with coffee is not a good beverage.
In my mind a French press cosy should have a number of useful aspects, the ability to keep pot warm while brewing, so the ones with the top with no space for the press mechanism are out immediately, vide: Midnightsky's Ribbed French Press Cozy and the felted press cozy; and the Oo la la French press cozy, no matter how pretty and the felted eggplant cozy.
Spout space is also good, along with handle space, eliminating the cozy by Adrian Bazilla.
Heat rises, and maximising coverage is good. Thus eliminating the ones by Lynne Anne Banks, Gillie Parsons; Jen Price; and Jane D
Larissa Brown's one is cute but lacing the damned thing up in a half-awake state? No!
There's fluffy yarn involved in this one
I think I need to go make myself a cup of coffee and swear a little before doing anything else. I may have to design something myself. Looking at some of the ones charging for their designs, I have no qualm about charging if I do design something!
Gods but theres a space for a well-designed caffietiere cozy. The project pages are also a "how not to shoot" an item. There's a few with no action shots, or where you can't see the full caffietiere.
Now I have to wonder about these (ravelry Link, login required) now yes, I'm searching for a french press cosy, but several of these lack something in the practicality aspect.
Lets' eliminate the Fleur de Lys "cozy"; scarves belong on people not as useful beverage warming items, I'd say the spillage aspect for this one is high. I could imagine it would be easy to put down on the trailing edges of this scarf. Very "Tish" making, shattered glass mixed with coffee is not a good beverage.
In my mind a French press cosy should have a number of useful aspects, the ability to keep pot warm while brewing, so the ones with the top with no space for the press mechanism are out immediately, vide: Midnightsky's Ribbed French Press Cozy and the felted press cozy; and the Oo la la French press cozy, no matter how pretty and the felted eggplant cozy.
Spout space is also good, along with handle space, eliminating the cozy by Adrian Bazilla.
Heat rises, and maximising coverage is good. Thus eliminating the ones by Lynne Anne Banks, Gillie Parsons; Jen Price; and Jane D
Larissa Brown's one is cute but lacing the damned thing up in a half-awake state? No!
There's fluffy yarn involved in this one
I think I need to go make myself a cup of coffee and swear a little before doing anything else. I may have to design something myself. Looking at some of the ones charging for their designs, I have no qualm about charging if I do design something!
Gods but theres a space for a well-designed caffietiere cozy. The project pages are also a "how not to shoot" an item. There's a few with no action shots, or where you can't see the full caffietiere.
Monday, 1 November 2010
Mental Health Knitting
I've been working on some complicated pieces recently and decided I needed something easy, simple, quick. I'm off sick at the moment and my current projects are going very sloooooooly. Also when I'm ill I tend to be a little scattered, antibiotics do not help me to be completely compos mentis. (thank you Firefox for the spellcheck that's saving my blushes)
I decided first that I'd try to knit a waistcoat or tank top, in the US both seem to be termed vests, a term that doesn't distinguish enough about the two types of garment. Entertainingly Vest is an older term while waistcoat is newer. Another example of UK/Irish English and American English being divided by more than an ocean. It even goes deeper, as tanks in the US can be tops on their own, while in my mind a tank top is a closed waistcoat, often with a deep U or V neck. A vest to me is a garment you wear under a blouse, shirt or t-shirt as a warming layer.
I found a yarn I wanted to knit in and a pattern I liked and cast on, an realised that the yarn and the pattern were maybe a missmatch.
The yarn is proving to be a bit splitty and not helping my antibiotics addled brain. So I'm not sure if I should stop and try again when I come off or abandon this pattern with this yarn. I'm not sure it's crisp enough for the pattern.
So I decided that it would be a good thing to do some simple projects, to somewhat cleanse the palette and to make me feel a bit productive.
So I took some of the yarn from the socks I just finished and made this
this is the Cabled Coffee Cuff (Ravelry Link)
I decided first that I'd try to knit a waistcoat or tank top, in the US both seem to be termed vests, a term that doesn't distinguish enough about the two types of garment. Entertainingly Vest is an older term while waistcoat is newer. Another example of UK/Irish English and American English being divided by more than an ocean. It even goes deeper, as tanks in the US can be tops on their own, while in my mind a tank top is a closed waistcoat, often with a deep U or V neck. A vest to me is a garment you wear under a blouse, shirt or t-shirt as a warming layer.
I found a yarn I wanted to knit in and a pattern I liked and cast on, an realised that the yarn and the pattern were maybe a missmatch.
The yarn is proving to be a bit splitty and not helping my antibiotics addled brain. So I'm not sure if I should stop and try again when I come off or abandon this pattern with this yarn. I'm not sure it's crisp enough for the pattern.
So I decided that it would be a good thing to do some simple projects, to somewhat cleanse the palette and to make me feel a bit productive.
So I took some of the yarn from the socks I just finished and made this
this is the Cabled Coffee Cuff (Ravelry Link)