Rowan: Spring 2008

So I had a very cranky encounter with the principal of Elvis' school yesterday. On Tuesday, some kid kicked Elvis in the chest on the bus. This left a foot-shaped mark on Elvis' skin. The bus driver was aware of it but didn't submit any kind of report that an "incident" happened. Tom emailed the principal (we like putting things in writing). A day and half later: no response. I left an exasperated message on her voicemail, which did trigger a phone call; however, the principal's attitude was "We have no control over the kids once they get on the bus." Grrrrrr. By the way, this kid hit James last fall on the bus. Double grrrrr.

All of this, however, made snuggling in my bed with the new Rowan 43 even more delectable than usual.




I liked this issue. Now, I usually like Rowan Magazines, and this all boils down to taste, but I thought it was a lovely magazine, with pretty layouts and a nice variety of patterns: lace, texture, some simpler and some more complex, men and women, lots of layering pieces and options for warmer weather, attractive styling, many wearable designs but also some trendier ones. (And, thank goodness, there was no Maori warpaint.)


Rowan 43 features three "stories," or themes. The first is "Heavenly," and features lots of sheer, ethereal, lacy garments in icy pale colors and lighter-weight yarns. You'll see several garments -- a batwing-sleeve top, a sheer tunic, lacy sweaters and a stole -- knit in Kid Silk Haze yarns



for that gauzy, clouds-in-the-sky style. There are also several short-sleeve sweaters that can be worn alone or as layers in some of the DK and fingering weight yarns;



some wrap styles; a dress; and a 3/4-sleeve cardigan.

The second story is "Weekender." This has a country cottage or resort feel, and while some of the patterns seemed a little, um, more matronly, others were quite trend-conscious (including some crochet pieces). The Mustang henley is a great casual sweater.



Of special note are some Kaffe Fassett designs with .... set-in sleeves and less boxy silhouettes. [general huzzah of applause] Look at this lovely design.




Way to go, Kaffe-ster! Nobody puts color together like you.

Last is "Elemental," with some slightly thicker yarns (worsted/aran, like Summer Tweed) and neutral shades like taupe and navy.



There are several men's designs in this story, and I like this women's sweater in Bamboo Tape (you can see how beautifully the sheen of the bamboo is shown off by the photo).

By the way, if you are into quilting or sewing, there's an article about American fabric-maven Amy Butler, who has a book coming out soon.

New Yarns

Rowan is introducing an environmentally conscious line called PureLife, beginning with an organic cotton (whimsically named Rowan Naturally Dyed Organic Cotton). This DK-weight yarn is dyed with plant-based dyes, and was sourced with fair trade principles in mind. It will come in eight muted colors -- like pale coral, taupe, butter -- that will weather and fade somewhat.



Mmmmm.

RYC is introducing Silk Cotton, a roughly fifty-fifty blend of (you guessed it) silk and cotton, just under a hundred yarns per 50g ball. There are 12 shades,

some muted and some deep. I lerve the Wool Silk (hey, somebody who works for Westminster Fibers, send me a bag or three of that there Wool Silk, willya?) so this sounds like a must-have for me. Gauge is around worsted weight.

Rumor has it there's going to be a Rowan Pure Wool 4-ply (same line as the DK weight) in lots of colors, to help overcome the loss of the Jaeger Matchmaker 4-ply; and maybe another new cotton. I'll keep you updated when I hear more.

Pattern Books

One thing I always appreciate about Rowan is their stellar pattern support. You'll notice that when they release a new yarn, they also release a booklet of patterns -- high-quality, beautifully-photographed patterns -- designed especially for that yarn. I'm pretty fearless when it comes to yarn substitution, but not all knitters are, and Rowan is smart to help the more risk-averse knitters to avoid stressing out about yarn substitution.

That means that Rowan's got The Organic Cotton Collection, devoted to this new yarn. You'll find women's and a few men's designs by Marie Wallin. Think English country, with wildflowers and soft colors that suit the natural, kind-to-the-earth aura of this yarn.

RYC is releasing three more books (I forget what number they're up to -- 28, 29 and 30?). You'll find designs for the new Silk Cotton in Summer Delights (with designs by Martin Storey; lots of layering pieces).


Summer Breeze contains all women's patterns, in DK/sportweight gauges and yarns like Bamboo Soft.


Colour of Summer also includes designs by Martin Storey, in Cashcotton 4-ply and DK yarns.

In addition, Rowan's got a booklet of All Seasons Cotton designs, called "All Seasons at the Mill," using its popular aran-weight cotton. (I made a sweater for G. in it and it was her favorite sweater 'til she outgrew it.) This booklet uses real people as the models; there are designs for men and women in this one, mostly casual stuff. It's fun to see the designs on people other than stick-figure models, including the short of stature and the amply-figured.

If you've got teen or tween girls at home, look for "Teen Rowan," a brochure of eight designs. The description says that the garments were selected from the ones featured in Rowan 43, then reknit and resized for girls age 9 to 15. This is a very interesting concept and I'm looking forward to checking it out. I'm keeping my fingers crossed this will contain stylish yet not slutty sweaters for young girls...

So there you have it: the Rowan preview for spring. Now excuse me while I open a can of some whup-ass with the principal's name on it.