2007: The knitting year in review

If I haven't been posting as frequently as usual -- and if you've sent me an email that's been languishing an unusually long time, even for me -- I am hoping to get back into my usual groove soon. This weekend, we fixed the computer snafu that was interfering with my Internet access, not to mention the ability to print. Keep your fingers crossed.

In the meantime, here's my review of 2007: The Knitting Year That Was. Since my sense of time has completed devolved (I am convinced that things that actually happened two years ago happened two months ago, and vice versa), please cut me a little slack on the timing...

• Ravelry. Whether you're a rabid user, an impatient wait-lister, or an indifferent observer, there's no doubt about the profound impact this website has had on the knitting world. If you are a loner, you can use the "My Notebook" function to keep track of projects, itemize your stash, make lists of projects you want to try and show off finished items. If you're a social butterfly, you can find every conceivable group to join (and many inconceivable ones), participate in message boards, and make new "friends." Designers can showcase their patterns and yarn-makers can show off their skeins. If you want to make a project but need inspiration, you can surf through other people's projects, finished items, patterns and/or stash. Ravelry is a stroke of genius, beautifully implemented and, unbelievably, free.
  
• Facelifts for some industry stalwarts. Have you noticed the new look given to the Lion Brand catalog? Here's a page:
  
  
  
  
  Sleeker design, more fashion-conscious patterns, better photography.
  
  And how about Berroco? Updated styling continues in the leaflets and print ads, as the super-talented Norah Gaughan continues to make her mark.
  
  
• In the litigation chronicles, it seems the court battle over who "owns" S-N-B continues to drag on, although with talk of settlement but no major developments. Ptooey.
  
• Continued interest in non-novelty yarns, all-natural fibers and skinnier weights. Classic Elite introduced Classic 150, Alpaca Sox and Silky Alpaca Lace; Berroco added Ultra Alpaca Lite and Jasper; Reynolds added Soft Sea Wool Worsted to their Soft Sea Wool and Whiskey all-naturals; Nashua added undyed Ecologie Wool and Ecologie Cotton; RYC added an all-bamboo; I've noticed that even Lion Brand has added organic cotton and pure wool yarns to their line-up. We saw more and more sock and laceweight yarns, including yarns that incorporated newer fibers, like sea cell and chitin (derived from shrimp and crab shells).


• A greater selection of fresh and innovative crochet patterns. Interweave Crochet became a regular magazine to which one can subscribe (instead of an occasional "special issue"), and editor Kim Werker is filling it with cool patterns like Kathy Merrick's Babette blanket,
  
  
  
  helping push thoughts of past acrylic ignominies out of our collective memory. We also saw more choices in stylish crochet books, including Sasha Kagan's Crochet Inspiration; Kim Werker's Crochet Me: Designs to Fuel the Crochet Revolution; Teva Durham's Loop-d-Loop Crochetand Doris Chan's Everyday Crochet.
  
• Great offerings from some of my favorite designers: Kaffe Fassett designed the colors for a wonderful line of Regia sock yarns, then updated some of his best-loved patterns in Kaffe Knits Again. Kristin Nicholas released Kristin Knits, giving us fresh inspiration for color. Veronik Avery released her first book, Knitting Classic Style. Alice Starmore published a pattern in Vogue Knitting, after a long hiatus from the magazines.
  
• A new look for Interweave Knits, including photo shoots in Philly. Okay, I'm a tad prejudiced, but Philadelphia is an underrated and lovely city with plenty of atmosphere. Us Philaphiles are thrilled IK has figured that out. Now we just need to work on IK's new "look," tweaking the photography, choppy layout, and other stylistic changes that rocked our worlds with the most recent issues.


• We bid a sad adieu to Jaeger. I'm still disappointed that this line of yarns from Westminster Fibers was discontinued, although I understand the rationale behind it.
  
• A new special issue of Interweave devoted to felting was released. Felting offers great possibilities for creativity, but I sense that the uncertainties involved in it -- i.e., little control over the rate of shrinkage, variabilities in the tendencies of different yarns to felt -- scare away some knitters from playing around with it more. We'll see if felting catches on as one of The Next Big Things...
  
• All sorts of musical chairs in the industry. Pam Allen takes the helm at Classic Elite Yarns, while Eunny Jang becomes editor of Interweave Knits. Trisha Malcolm steps down as editor of Vogue Knitting, and Adina Klein is named editor of VK (as well as retaining her spot as editor of Vogue's Knit.1). Have I forgotten anyone?
  
• The digital dilemma. If Ravelry has revolutionized the on-line knitting world , then don't forget the rise of the PDF. It's pretty common now for designers to have their own websites where they can offer their own patterns via PDF. But what about patterns that have already been featured in a knitting magazine or other publication? Is it fair for knitting publishers to expect designers to sign away all rights to a pattern -- including digital ones -- for the same compensation as, say, first North American rights? Is it reasonable to expect designers to lose control over whether their patterns are, after a magazine goes out of print or is sold out, given away for free on the publisher's website? Or to be precluded from offering their patterns from their own websites due to exclusivity or non-compete clauses?
  
  There are no easy answers to questions like these, but if you want to know more, try reading some good posts here and here. The internet continues to change the knitting world in ways we haven't quite muddled through yet. I daresay we'll be grappling with issues of fair compensation and copyright control, as well as others that haven't even surfaced yet, for some time.
  
• Big anniversaries. Spin-Off magazine turned 30; Vogue Knitting celebrated its 25th anniversary; IK released a "Best Of" book to celebrate its 10th anniversary.


• The passing on to that great yarn shop in the sky of knitters Gail McHugh, moderator of the original Knit Design list and KnitU moderator; Mary Walker Phillips, knitting writer, teacher and artist; Sidna Farley, teacher, writer and designer.
  
  

Next post I'll take a look at my personal knitting year in review, but overall, I'm pretty sanguine about the future of the craft. The internet continues to draw in and keep knitters connected, and is providing new ways for knitters to interact with each other in terms of sharing inspiration, selling and buying patterns and yarns, and educating each other.

For my crocheting friends...

... I recently discovered these upcoming releases:

1. Teva Durham's Loop-d-Loop Crochet: More than 25 Novel Designs for Crocheters (and Knitters Taking Up the Hook) with a scheduled release date of May 1st.






2. Couture Crochet Workshop: Mastering Fit, Fashion, and Finesse by Lily Chin, which is, I believe, available now, although I haven't seen it.

3. Sasha Kagan has a new crochet book called Crochet Inspiration. The release date is June 1, and the publicity blurb states:

Containing more than 200 swatch designs in her signature style, this is a must-have manual for beginning and experienced stitchers alike. Special chapters on fabric, motifs, grannies, and flowers highlight a myriad of patterns, including beautiful lace, shell, and cluster stitch variations, and gorgeous circular and hexagonal designs. Each chapter also includes stunning garments, such as a classic Chanel cropped jacket in woven mesh, a lacy shawl with leaf embellishments, and a 1920’s cloche cap covered in crocheted blossoms. Every one has a special individuality that transcends “here today, gone tomorrow” trends, so crocheters will enjoy these for a long time.

4. Just to torture Kathy, please turn your attention to Mr. Funky's Super Crochet Wonderful by Narumi Ogawa, coming out in July from North Light Books. I'm not a very good crocheter, but man, for ten or twelve bucks, I think I'd buy this one just for the title.



And last, and probably least,

5. Kooky Crochet: 30 Remarkably Wacky Projects by Linda Kopp, also due in July.



As the promotional blurb asks (rhetorically?)," Who could resist the kitsch of Sunnyside Up Potholders and the fun techno-geek tote bag embellished with emoticons? Or, rather than working with ordinary yarn or thread, try using nylon mason’s twine (for leg warmers), marabou boas, and even plastic bags." Nylon-twine legwarmers? Um, I think I'll take a pass on that one.

Spring preview: Rowan

It's that time again: a few weeks before the new Rowan Magazine will come out. Even though there's still plenty of winter left in this hemisphere of the world [updated to remove my Northern-Hemisphere-normativity, with apologies to M-H], and there's still plenty of time to wear all those sweaters and socks we've been knitting on, we are daydreaming about spring. Here is some of what I was able to glean about the spring '07 line from Rowan and its sister companies, RYC and Jaeger. Get ready to drool.

Let's start with new yarns:

• Damask, which is DK weight, is a blend of 57% viscose, 21% acrylic and 22% linen, a yarn with slightly different color plies and a fairly dressy look.

• Bamboo Tape is a, well, tape made out of bamboo. (No duh, right?) 100% bamboo, in fact, and around worsted weight, with its own book of designs by Marie Wallin and Martin Storey. Looks like a chained construction. Think drape, more relaxed fit than we've seen, and that gorgeous bamboo sheen.
  

Summer Tweed gets some new colors for '07, along with The Kasbah Collection, a booklet featuring 12 new designs in Summer Tweed -- including some stripes, an assymetric cardigan with a keyhole opening in the front (?), and what appears to be a lacy dress.



Four new shades of Kid Silk Haze -- biscuit, black, frosty lavender and a dusty sage; an updating of the Handknit DK Cotton palette with ten new colors; a couple of new colors in Cotton Rope, Cotton Glace, Calmer and 4-ply Cotton.

Magazine No. 41, thankfully, looks a bit more traditional and accessible than last year's Maori abomination. Some of the preview shots show a pink cardigan, 3/4 sleeves and a wide V-neck, with ruffle and embroidery trim photographed in Ye Olde English Greenhouse; a lovely lace stole which looks like it's in Kid Silk Haze, photographed in Ye Olde English Meadowe of Wildeflowers; some nautical stripes (shot near Ye Olde English Coaste?); a stylized intarsia throw (or maybe a very large and drapey jacket -- it's hard to tell from the shot -- that has Kaffe written all over it (oh God, how embarrassing it will be if I'm wrong....);



and a muted striped short-sleeve sweater with some chevron patterning.


(Anyone else notice that she's giving us Yanks the one-fingered salute?)

From RYC, we've also got some new yarns and books:

• Cotton Jeans, a worsted-weight, 100% cotton in an interesting palette of sort of subtly-marled variations in color. Reminds me a little of Debbie Bliss's Denim Cotton Aran, but not quite as heavy. Coast is a collection of 15 designs by Martin Storey featuring Cotton Jeans and Natural Silk Aran (we've got the Natural Silk Aran at Rosie's, and it's a very pretty yarn).

• Bamboo Soft, a sportweight 100% bamboo, soft and beautiful, with a sheen and lots of drape. Twelve colors, including some neutrals and deep, complex pastels. Nature is the pattern book -- also by the uber-talented Martin Storey -- using Bamboo Soft as well as Luxury Cotton DK.
  
• Mother & Baby is yet another new book with 17 knitting designs by-- you guessed it, Martin Storey. Looks like a mix of moms' and kids' designs in Natural Silk Aran and the Cashes (Cashcotton 4-ply, Cashsoft DK and Cashsoft Baby DK). Look at this cute baby blanket, reminiscent of some older Debbie Bliss patterns:

That'll get you over your fear of intarsia. New colors in Cashcotton 4-ply and DK; Luxury Cotton DK: and Natural Silk Aran.

Jaeger is continuing its more contemporary sensibility, while still keeping the professional woman in mind. On the casual side, JB43 features several cardigans with lacy and ruffly edgings, a short-sleeved sweater with some kind of patterning across the chest, and a tunic, also showing a lot of cool pastels.



I'm a little troubled by the furry trim on some of these garments --


-- it's like, so 2003, -- but we'll give them the benefit of the doubt for now. For the workplace, JB44 has some sweaters and jackets that one could conceivably wear to the office, depending on your dress code, like a black and white Chanel-esque number. The only new Jaeger yarn I see is called Ascot, which is an interesting blend of 85% viscose, 15% elite (which is elastic like Lycra). It knits as a DK and looks pebbly the way Fixation does. New colors have been added in Aqua and Siena 4-ply.

I haven't gotten any hints about Nashua's new line (hint, hint) but as soon as I do, I'll update you. Now get back to those wool socks and finish those sweaters while you still have time to wear them, missy and mister. I'm off to, gulp, the Dubya-Bee (W-B, or Wilkes-Barre, for the blessedly uninitiated).