To distract from my still unfinished smock sweater, here is the yarn I bought for my hoodie.  It’s Valley Yarns Northampton bulky in ocean heather.  It’s a nice sturdy yarn, not soft but not scratchy either.  I get 3.75 st/in on US 10 needles – I could probably get gauge on 10.5s, but mine are missing, and I want it a little smaller anyway.  Isn’t the color pretty?

The smock top, with all it’s little twists, is making me crazy.  I’m in the home stretch now though – the back is done, and I’m working on the cabled part of the front.  Thank goodness it’s such a low neckline, is all I have to say!  I’m worried about the fit, but I hope it will be ok – the cabled fabric is incredibly stretchy.  I may have to redo my neckline if it seems too tight.  Shine sport doesn’t shed as badly as shine worsted, I’m happy to report – I am not covered in teal fuzz!

The preview is up for the Fall IK.  I think it looks like a good issue, with a only few missteps (a few sweaters with ridiculous amounts of ease – really, it starts at a 43″ bust?)  I like the 4 sweaters below:

The first sweater is by Veronik Avery, who has a new magazine (St. Denis) being published by Classic Elite this fall (see below.)  I am a huge admirer of her work, and I love this sweater.  The lace pattern is pretty and delicate, and it has an interesting stand-up collar detail in the back.  I like the 2nd sweater, which reminds me of a few Kim Hargreaves designs, only this one is knit in a worsted yarn rather than 4-ply.  The only problem is finding coordinating colors in 2 weights of yarn.  The 3rd is by Connie Chang Chinchio, another designer who I always admire.  You can’t tell in this photo, but there are pockets!  I can’t explain why I like the last one, I just do… I think I like the yarn choice.  And that she’s wearing a beret – I do love a beret (on someone else… they look silly on me!)

The photos from the St. Denis magazine are up on Ravelry now.  They all feature St. Denis, a sport weight wool.  I’m definitely getting the book for the 2 patterns below.

Do I need another hoodie?  Is it probably like all my others?  Will I make it anyway?  No, Yes, and most likely.  Somehow I have become a hoodie person, which is hilarious since I don’t even wear the hoods up, and I’m not even a little sporty, but… there you go.  Right now I am wearing a ridiculous teal hoodie with little gold foil hearts all over it, and heart beads dangling from the drawstring, which probably came from a junior’s department somewhere… and I love it.

I am already plotting these sweaters.  I love when we start seeing the Fall patterns – winter knitting is so much more fun for me, to the point where I’ve reduced my summer knitting to about 3 months of the year.  I’m also looking forward to Brooklyn Tweed’s booklet (also for Classic Elite I believe.)  The Fall Vogue is already on its way to subscribers, but as of yet there is no preview.  The sweaters I have seen look nice, and I will probably buy it (I do not subscribe to any knitting magazines, because I’m fickle.)  I’m sure I will talk about it later (along with Rowan’s offerings for fall.)

I finally finished the endless stockinette on my sweater.  For those of you asking, the yarn is Knitpicks Shine sport in Aquamarine, sadly discontinued and a beautiful color.  I was worried about how it would look in cables, but I think it’s surprisingly nice (though I am knitting on size 1 needles to get this stitch definition.)  My next yarn order will likely be knitpicks – I’m wanting to try out the new DK and worsted weights of Gloss, and I’m sure I can find something else I “need.”

Knitscene is strange for me – I didn’t even like anything in the spring/summer issue enough to buy it (rare for me, I’m a pattern hoarder) but loved last Fall’s issue.  I tracked down a copy today at Border’s (I think technically it isn’t supposed to be out yet, but my bookstore is often early.)  I really love this issue, and my queue is groaning!  I like that Knitscene comes out a little ahead of Knits, because it gives me a chance to get a head start on Fall knitting.   I often wish that the seasons were a little more staggered, as I usually experience a period where I want to start on next season’s knits, but the patterns aren’t out yet!

My immediate favorite is this short sleeved hoodie, by Debbie o’Neill.

It looks so cuddly and perfect for fall, and I could sub some fabulous Elann yarn (I don’t like Lamb’s pride bulky – it’s like hairy rope.)

I also like this tunic (by deborah newton.)

Pockets!  I don’t actually think it looks very flattering here, but that may be the styling.  I think this is too big for the cute model.  The sizing on this one seems big – my tendency with tunics is to make sure they fit in the bust, so that I don’t look as though I am wearing my Mom’s clothes.

Of course, I love the 2 sweaters that were previewed in Knitting Daily a week or so ago.

The herringbone sweater is definitely on the list, and I like the vest but worry about proportions… I’m not sure it would look good on me.

There is lots more to love in this issue – a feature on Melissa Wehrle, and several designs by her (I like the emerald isle cardi below, it’s a nice basic.)

I hope this is a sign of great things from the Fall knitting magazines – now if you’ll excuse me, I have an Elann order to place!

I finished crocheting the retro cardigan a few days ago (crochet is fast!)  It was a little weird, so I blocked it hoping it would get better.

As you can see, the yarn bled onto my drying rack.  Unfortunately, it’s still weird.  I won’t show a picture of it on (because I don’t have any, and because it’s embarrassingly bad.)  See how the waist goes in suddenly?  Yeah, that’s not where my waist actually is, plus the sudden cinching causes weird ripples.  It also came out small in the body, but enormous in the shoulders.  The pattern had quite a few mistakes that I found, and overall it was just kind of a pain in the butt.  I cannot recommend it, unfortunately.  Fortunately I didn’t weave in any ends yet, so I can easily rescue the yarn for something else, which is what I plan to do.
Ah well, they can’t all be winners!  I have been working on the smock top, and I’m hoping it comes out better.  I’m knitting the smallest size, which is crazy tiny, but my gauge is tending to be a little large.  I’m hoping to get a size in between the 2 smallest, but we’ll see.  Shine sport is still a pain to knit with, but it’s pretty and soft!

I am pretty anxiously awaiting the fall knitting patterns – I do not start any new summer weight projects after July, so I’m ready for fall!  Berroco already has their patterns out (they are always first, it seems) and there are several likely candidates there.  In particular I like the 2 knit dresses (yes, I am shocked as well!)

The sweaters are nice too

In case you can’t tell, I’m very into tunic styles this year.  I’m likely to pick up a few of their collections.  I’m anxiously awaiting Classic Elite, as they have been on a winning streak, and the fall magazines (I am just about to go search out Knitscene, which has been spotted!)