Preview: Koigu Magazine No. 3

What fun!  It's time to preview another Koigu Magazine.  This one should be on your LYS shelves very soon, and as usual, is a mixture of different styles, different types of garments and different techniques, with one common factor: the wow of Koigu color.

Garment shown is Enchanted, by Taiu Landra

If you're a fan of Koigu, like I am, you know that Koigu colorways are like potato chips or M-and-Ms: so delicious it's impossible to limit yourself to one. And I think that is why so many designers like using multiple colorways when they knit with Koigu yarns.  The cover garment is one of several modular garments made with Koigu. I love the way one can acheive a stained-glass-like effect with modular knitting, as with German designer Angela Muhlpfordt's charming blanket with a geodesic effect.

MoMo's Throw, Angela Muhlpfordt

Another showstopper is Maie Landra's jacket, again using hexagons in multiple colors to create a lovely multihued fabric with drape:

Color Vision, Maie Landra

Fair isle and other stranded techniques are another great way to play with multiple balls of Koigu. Check out Barb Brown's wonderful Butterfly Socks, which are shown using several miniskeins of Koigu in random order for the contrast colours (in your honour, Barb, I've added the "u" to "color"). The directions for these socks give the knitter the option of randomly selecting colours for the butterfly motifs that go down the socks, and it's fascinating to me that even though the two socks use the colours in a different order, they don't look mismatched at all.  (Of course, these would also look divine with a single contrast colour of Koigu used for the motifs....)

I love the stitch pattern on the sole of the foot that repeats the striping in a different pattern.

One aspect of Koigu Magazine that I enjoy is seeing how different designers decide to play with their Koigu colors. After noodling around with quilting the past year, I was inspired to take multiple colorways of Kersti and create a brick-shaped patchwork for the front of this vest:

Candy Girl by me

Then it was fascinating to see how the same order of colors I used for the blocks stacked up on the back, when knit in simple stripes.

If you're in the mood for something done in a single colorway, check out Barb Brown's lovely Lucky Lady shawl, done in a blue like the sky on a summer day.

Lucky Lady, Barb Brown

Or how about this stunning cabled sweater from Korean (I think) designer Unjung Yun?

Golden Wings by Unjun Yun

 Laura Grutzeck designed this beautifully-tailored top, great for multi-season wear,

Laara, by Laura Grutzeck

or if you prefer a slightly more relaxed silhouette, there's Anniki Lepik's charming short-sleeved sweater.

Lilu, by Anniki Lepik

Perhaps I"m projecting, because when I designed Candy Girl, I was definitely thinking about Kersti, Taiu Landra's daughter, but there are several patterns that would be adorable on teen and tween girls, as well as women.  Brooke Nico designed this adorable dress (which could also be worn as a tunic), Gamine, with two different lacy stitch patterns (one on the bodice, the other on the skirt).

Gamine, Brooke Nico

 Laura Zukaite created a charming ensemble using a delicious red set of colorways:

Kadri, by Laura Zukaite

Crochet fans will be pleased to see this versatile cardigan:

Garden Cardi, Lindsey Stephens

and Mary Beth Temple's Mitered Crochet Throw shows another stylish way to use multiple colourways:

Mitred Crochet Throw, Mary Beth Temple

(That Mary Beth Temple --NOT to be confused with Mary Beth Klatt, who is a completely different person who had nothing to do with these designs -- also sneaked in a cute knitted cap:)

Beanie, Mary Beth Temple

Totals for those who like the numbers:

• 6 pullovers (3 long-sleeved, 3 short-sleeved)
• 7 cardigans (all but 1 or 2 are knitted, the others crocheted)
• 2 skirts
• 1 dress/tunic
• 3 sleeveless sweaters/vests
• 1 lace shawl
• 1 hat
• 1 pair stranded socks
• 1 knitted throw and 1 crocheted throw
• 1 doggie sweater
• 1 little girl's ensemble (hat, dress, sweater and skirt) 

There you have it: a sneak preview of Koigu Magazine No. 3. It will be arriving in stores soon, or ask your local purveyor of Koigu to order it for you!

Coming soon

to a LYS near you: Koigu Magazine volume 2. I am proud to present Ginger, my baby cardigan and hat combination, knit in Kersti.

There are lots of other lovely items in this issue and I'm hoping to have a complete preview of the issue soon.

In the meantime, we are doing fine after our unusual October storm. We only had about two inches of snow, and much of it has melted already. Keeping fingers crossed that power is restored to those who are without -- having experienced that in August, I have great sympathy for you.

Koigu Magazine

Earlier this week, my friendly UPS man (with the good-looking legs that all UPS drivers seem to have) brought me a most welcome envelope: it had a copy of the first ever Koigu Magazine in it. Regular readers will remember that I have a very special place in my heart for Koigu. The first hand-dyed yarn I ever knit with was Koigu, and it's not an exaggeration to say that loving my experience with this yarn helped spawn my love of handpaints.

Fireflies (Kathy Merrick)

Every once in a while, I'll hear a knitter ask "What's the big deal about Koigu?" Well, here are a few reasons why it's one of my desert-island yarn picks:

• Koigu is one of the pioneers of the handpaint industry; the Koigu folks were creating their beautiful & unique yarns long before many of us handdyers had ever mixed our first pot of dye.
• The colors and color combinations are exquisite and varied -- solids and nearly solids, muted multicolors, wild multicolors, just about anything you could ask for in a handpaint.
• Koigu tends not to pool, a big plus especially for knitters new to handpaints.
• It's extremely versatile yarn. The original Koigu, KPM/KPPM, is technically about fingering weight, but it knits well at multiple gauges. You can do lace, or you can knit it at a tighter gauge for socks, or you can knit it at a looser gauge (like 5.5 or 6 sts to the inch) for a drapey effect. You can double it and it knits beautifully, even triple it.
• Some of the newer base yarns that Koigu has added, like Mori (a blend of wool and silk) and Kersti (a slightly heavier gauge wool) add even more versatility while still giving you luscious Koigu color.
• Maie Landra's multcolored designs, which include lots of multidirectional knitting and knitting with multiple colorways of Koigu, are beautiful and unique.

Pixie Dust (Maie Landra)

With all of these advantages, it probably shouldn't come as a big surprise that so many knitters and designers love working with Koigu. And that means it shouldn't come as a big surprise that after 25 years of making gorgeous yarn, the Koigu folks decided to produce a magazine devoted to the many ways that a knitter can play with and enjoy Koigu yarn. So let's take a closer look.




Koigu Magazine (MSRP $12.95) is full color, with 25 designs. For this inaugural issue, Koigu aimed squarely at the ladies: all but four of the designs are ladies' garments. (The remaining four are a scarf and a cap which would work for either gender and two throws.) You'll find a little bit of everything, from pullovers to lace stoles to dresses to accessories. I counted the following breakdown:

• 2 rectangular stoles
• 8 pullover sweaters
• one scarf (unisex)
  
• 5 cardigans/jackets
• 3 dresses
• one skirt (shown with a matching sleeveless sweater)
• 2 vests
• a beret and glove combo
• 2 throws
• a unisex cap

Kiki (Maie Landra)

Likewise, you'll find a lot of different techniques used in the garments. There are two lovely fair isle/stranded designs,

Deep Sea (l) & Sheep (r) (Maie Landra)

lots of lace (including lacy stitch patterns and lace edgings), modular garments, intarsia style knitting, a cabled garment, lots and lots of use of multiple colorways, some solid garments, one beaded stole, and several garments that experiment with double- and even triple-stranding. While most of the patterns are knit, about four or so are crocheted, including this spectacular throw by Friend of GKIYH Sally Watson Cushmore

[Sally's Bigass Blanket Comfy Cozy (Sally Watson Cushmore)

the aforementioned unisex watch cap, and a fetching beret/glove combo by Friend of GKIYH Kathy Merrick.

Frenchie (Kathy Merrick)

Given the variety of styles included -- from fitted, like this cardigan by New Zealand's Mel Clark

Scholar (Mel Clark)

to flowing, like Maie Landra's Allegra dress,

Allegra (Maie Landra)

it's hard to pick favorites, but I do love the mitered blanket

Squares Cubes & Blocks (Taiu Landra)

the lace stoles

Tumble Leaves (Maie Landra)

and Mel Clark's second cardigan:

Skipping Stones (Mel Clark)

Given the many colors that Koigu yarns come in, it's fun to imagine playing with patterns using different colorways and types of colorways. For example, my own pattern in the issue, called Thistle, is shown in a multi as the main color with solids used for the trim; interestingly, when I originally swatched the design, I used a semisolid for the main color, and a mix of solids and multis for the stripes. I think both work beautifully and I'm awfully tempted to make a version myself playing with more combinations.

Thistle

Because of the eclectic nature of the designs, the style of patterns varies from designer to designer. Some of the patterns are presented in a single size, others in multiple sizes, and of course some of the patterns (like the scarf, stole and throws) don't need multiple sizes. Charts are given in color for the fair isles, lace is charted, and schematics are given for some but not all designs.

Koigu lovers, rejoice! There's a magazine hot off the presses just for you. Taiu Landra promises that the second volume of Koigu Magazine will be out this fall. More Koigu & Koigu designs can only be A Very Good Thing.

Briefly surfacing

to thank everyone who's commented or emailed with nice thoughts. Plowing through the deadlines, trying to deal with the stress, and at least right now I've got some pretty stuff to show you. First, new Apollo sock yarn, which has gold metallic sparkles:



Still some in stock at the BBF shop.


Second, this is Thistle, a sweater I designed for the new Koigu Magazine, which will be coming out in about two weeks.


I am hoping to have a Go-Knit-In-Your-Hat sneak preview of Koigu Magazine sometime before it goes on sale April 15th. Lots of wonderful stuff inside!