Designer Spotlight - Stephen West at Westknits

I wanted to take a quick second to point out an amazing designer in the knitting world, Stephen West of Westknits.

He is a brilliant artist, specializing in amazing colorful shawls, and recently he's been doing amazing stuff with short rows to get wavy, electric designs. Check them out on ravelry!

Stephen West's Striped Esjan shawl

Stephen West's Smooth Move shawl

Exploration Station shawl by Stephen West

He's also been getting into amazing brioche work, like his Brioncho (clever between brioche and poncho). I've been dying to do some brioche projects and Steven West may come up in the future!

Brioncho

But don't worry if these are a little too eclectic for your tastes, He has some toned down pieces too like Outer Space:

Definitely something for everyone, patterns available on ravelry and with ebooks and KALs!! Love you, Stephen West!

Project - Hedgehog Stuffie

I've recently been inspired by the spring-like weather to start some smaller, household-type items. It's getting too hot for sweaters and heavy boot socks, and I'm moving towards my lighter-weight scarves instead of my chunky cowls. All-in-all, it's the right season to start home projects.

As a knitter (but I guess more as a biologist) I find I often miss out on making satisfactory knit stuffies. The lack of freedom in stitch placement can make it difficult to freehand a complex and anatomically correct animal shape, and using DPNs for in-the-round knitting is fine until you get smaller than about 16 sts around. This problem is actually one of the reasons I decided to learn crochet on the side; amigurumi is so popular because it's easy, fun, quick, and lends itself well to spur of the moment freehand projects. 

Unfortunately, I'm not the biggest fan of the way crochet stitches look, and tend to keep my main projects to doilies (although I've been dying to try a Lalylala doll!). So, I'm left torn between the dissatisfaction of less than perfect patterns in knitting or crocheting for stuffies. Don't get me wrong - there are knitters who have managed to perfect the art of stuffie knitting... Who could forget the amazing stuffed sea turtle that showed up on Reddit's /r/knitting that actually had some people thinking it was a real animal! 

Aren't those endangered?! Put it back!

However, I think I'm going to need some more practice before I can churn anything like that out, so I'm stuck with a more simple style for my animals. This hedgehog project should be perfect, and I'd seen similar ones popping up from other sites, like The Purl Bee. Sweet, charming, and simple, it's a great shape for stuffie beginners and knits up quickly because of its small size.

To start out, I struggled between starting at the front end of the hedgehog or the back. The back would likely be an increasing disc, then once I hit my desired circumference I could knit the tube body and finish with decreases for the face. I've always found that I prefer shaping with decreasing than increasing, as I'm a little picky about the direction of my stitches and find I can more easy experiment when going bigger to smaller. 

In the end, however, and after realizing that a hedgehog face is actually flattened a little bit, and that the snout is slightly tab-shaped. It looks a little bit like when I make a toe-up sock and accidentally knit too many rounds to get my cast-on stitches set....

Thanks National Geographic for helping me knit anatomically correct hedgehogs!

And I thought, hey, I can do that. So I did. Update photos to follow!

Spotlight Saturday - Purl Soho

Happy Saturday!

I wanted to do a spotlight post about a great company you may have heard about - Purl Soho. This company, which calls itself a "beloved resource", is just that. With headquarters in a physical store in Manhattan on Broome St., and a user-friendly online source (Purl Bee), Purl Soho dedicates itself to textile art, specializing in knitting and yarn. Their designers churn out a few patterns a week (mostly free!), supply true designer yarns, and have really settled into the niche that is luxurious but whimsical fashion knitting. 

I discovered their site when I was still located in Santa Cruz and was immediately drawn to the clean lines of their patterns, the simplicity of their garments, and the general sense of style ("down-to-earth-preppy". Unfortunately, with my Santa Cruz farm-style living I couldn't really justify dropping lots of money on luxury yarn to knit something I'd be too worried about damaging to wear. I caved though, with their kick-ass promo, where you can sign up on their email list in return for a free pattern from their selection (a no-brainer), and selected their classic Purl Soho Pullover, which is normally a neat $8.50. 

Purl Soho's Purl Soho Pullover

I love the look of this sweater and felt like one done in Lion Brand Yarns Fisherman's Wool would be affordable and sturdy enough to make the perfect morning field-work sweater. For those of you who don't know, Monterey Bay is a foggy devil, the mornings are moist, misty, and a bit chilly. I needed something that I could wear to class that was relatively stylish, but would stand up to the weather and the nature of ecology (which for my classmates and I sometimes meant hiking around campus or various field sites in the damp). The neck looked loose and comfortable, and the simplicity of a knit-in-one-piece sweater that repelled moisture (good old fisherman's wool!) seemed like the perfect sweater for the job. In fact, looking back over the pattern, I found it was marketed as "like your favorite sweater from college... only better!". Love it. 

Now, living in New York, I can say that many of their projects appeal to me. Makes sense too, since Purl Soho is a New York company... Check out some of what they've got going on below: 

Gina's Brioche Cowl in Cashmere - Talk about cozy! I can't imagine anything much more squishy and comfy than this great brioche cowl, updated by Purl Soho in cashmere from their previous merino and suri blend. Makes me hope for another freak snow storm in April, just so I could try one out...

Bobble Sheep Pillow in super soft merino from Laura's Loop at Purl Bee - for the homemaker in all of us (gotta fill the apartment!). And don't miss out Giant Bobble Sheep Pillow.

Finally, what I think will be my next project, just in time for summer: Tulip Tank Top from Laura's Loop. However, this picture shows the back of the tank in front, and I think I'll do it as the front to wear with high-waisted shorts and skirts in the summer! Keep an eye out for the project coming up.

All-in-all, really cute company with great ideas and a nicely defined style. My pics are some of the more down to earth choices, but don't forget to browse their children's knits, as well as stuffed animals, blankets, socks, mittens, scarfs, hats, sweaters.... do I need to go on? Check it out!

Yarn review - Lion Brand Yarns Fisherman's Wool (and a brief history of the Sheep)

Hey all!

Ok, so if you don't know about Fisherman's wool yet, you need to learn now. Lion Brand Yarns came out with this wool a while back, and I'd go as far as calling it life changing. Affordable, dye-able, felt-able, and accessible, I've bought so many skeins of this project that maybe half of my WIP's use it in one way or another...

Feast your eyes, Fisherman's Wool by Lion Brand Yarns.

One of the best things about this yarn, besides its versatility, is that it's made with 100% virgin wool. To explain why that's so great, we'll get into some animal facts with a little biology and a tiny bit of history (woop!).

 Ever wonder how sheep survive so comfortably in soggy weather? I can't be the only one who has seen one of these pictures...

photo courtesy of Getting Stitched on the Farm

Or one of these?

I mean, come on. How pathetically adorable is that? 

Well, contrary to what people might say about animals out in the rain, these sheep are warm, comfy, and perfectly happy living in the damp. 

What we think of as the modern-day sheep is hypothesized to have originated from the mouflon. Short furred with large horns, mouflon were found mostly in Mesopotamia, and they really looked more like goats than sheep. It wasn't until nine to eleven thousand years ago (around 20,000 years after the domestication of the dog!) that humans began breeding these animals for their desired qualities, which at first were primarily milk and meat. However, like all evolutions, one woolier-than-the-rest mutant came along, and wool quality started being bred in sheep as a desirable trait (although by humans this time and not "natural" selection). 

The evolution of wool and the prospect of a new, warm, fiber made it possible for humans to extend their range farther North, until finally sheep were being bred across Europe. Ireland and England especially valued the new herd animal, coveting the fiber and causing a real explosion in textile history. The reason for this was simple: lanolin. 

A mouflon, domesticated sheep ancestor, Ovis orientalis orientalis

Lanolin is a naturally occurring waxy substance that is found in most wool-bearing animals. Sheep are no exception, and the lanolin their glands produce coat the wool, making it nearly water-proof. At the very least, it's heavily water resistant. 

Wool that you usually buy in processed yarn has been washed to remove excess lanolin. Wool itself still has water-resistant properties (literally it's hollow, flexible, and with microscopic overlapping "roof" shingles) , but in unprocessed, "raw" or "virgin" wool, the lanolin hasn't been washed out and the wool won't be easily penetrated by water. Thus the phrase "fisherman's wool"; a raw wool often used in sweaters for fisherman or workers who need to keep the cold and damp out. 

What I really love it for is pretty much everything. I've made gloves, mittens, slippers, cowls, etc., all are sturdy, water resistant, and knit up quickly because it's worsted weight. Lion brand has reasonable prices, too, and you can get an 8 oz. ball (227g, 465 yds.) for $8.00 - $14.00, depending on the sales. When I first discovered this stuff, it was on sale at my local Beverly's for $7.99 a ball and I promptly bought out all their stock (hey, it's a small store, I didn't go crazy...). It comes in a bunch of neat natural colors like oatmeal, nature's brown, and maple tweed, just to name a few. They also have "natural" which is a soft cream color and can apparently be dyed (although I haven't tried it myself). 

I also will tell you, it felted beautifully. I'm a huge lover of Tiny Owl Knits and have used Fisherman's Wool on a number of Stephanie's projects. My felted bunny slipper Hopsalots are shown below, and using Fisherman's Wool means my feet never get clammy and my slippers never stink!I also used it for Tiny Owl Knits Deer with Little Antlers Hat, and my freehand Simple Mini Cable Cowl, just to name a few.

Tiny Owl Knit's Hopsalots, made by me

Basically, you can use it for all kinds of projects, from items that will be roughed up a little bit, to every day items, to whimsical, earthy knitting. Just make sure you never wash it in hot water, or your project will become doll-sized!

Keep a look out for my next projects using this brand.

Starting out...

Hi all, whoever you may be. My name is Caroline.

I'm a New York transplant from Santa Cruz, California looking for my next great adventure. Back in Santa Cruz I lived on about 15 acres outside of the city in Aptos, focusing on farming and outdoor living while getting my BS in Ecology. I specialized in Herpetology (amphibian and reptile science) and worked as a research assistant and lab tech for various university labs. Now I live in a one bedroom apartment with my cat and patient boyfriend in Queens, NY, and work for a law office in the city. 

I'm starting this blog as a response to my own blog skimming experiences. As a scientist, I love math, physics, biology, and engineering. However, my hobbies have taken me to quite different places, from textiles to pottery, gardening to animal care, literature to cooking. I've found that knitting is one of the few hobbies that can really include all of my interests, and upon that revelation I caught the bug.

I've been an knitter since I was about 9, but really dove back in with active interest when I started my undergrad. Since then, I've sold pieces, done a commission or two, and really focused on developing my skill and style of knitting. I often look to other blogs for inspiration or new ideas, but I'd love to create a running journal of my experiences knitting in New York City, not just so that I can look back someday, but also so maybe others can learn from my experiences and projects. So, here it goes...