Hi everyone! It’s the end of the aughts! We’re almost in the tens! This is crazy. And I have some crazy good news for local knitters! I’m very excited to be teaching a workshop at the Slater Mill Knitting Weekend in Pawtucket, January 22-24th. I’ll be presenting a Berroco Trunk Show on Friday evening and on Saturday I’ll share the finishing tricks I’ve picked up over the years.

How has this decade been for you, knitting wise? I’ve known how to knit since I was 7 but when Debbie Stoller’s Stitch and Bitch guide hit the market in 2004, the game changed forever for me. It went from a quaint hobby to an all-encompassing lifestyle. That change was cemented when I joined the ranks of Ravelry in 2007. I’m forever grateful for this site since it allows all of us to feel like we’re in a vast (and TALENTED) community. Case in point? I recently posted some of my favorite Berroco accessories and the list was so long I decided to save my favorite cardigans for another day. That day is today!

A gorgeous Angela knit by Raveler Martel in Sundae (I recently finished a Sundae sweater in 24 hours!!)

Claire-Bennet, an original design in Peruvia by Raveler Ariane Caron-Lacoste. I love her adorable photography.

Next up is a pattern I truly wish I could knit for myself. It was designed by fellow Providence designer Deborah Newton, shown here knit by Lucy in Ultra Alpaca in a color I like to call “sweatshirt grey.” Such a pretty way to keep cozy!

I have a half-knit Treeline Striped Cardigan under my bed, but I was boring and started it in the very same colors shown in the original pattern. I love the winter fresh combination Elif chose–Peruvia in green and white.

Last but not least, this is a stunning Moch Cardi knit by Julia in Inca Gold. I can’t say enough about this pattern, this knitter, this yarn, it’s all good!! Very very good!

I don’t know about you, but I am really looking forward to finding a bit of down time during the holidays…to knit like MAD!!

Cheers,

Cirilia

I am a very lucky lady. It is part of my job to spend at least a few minutes everyday perusing Ravelry to see what is up in the knitting world. The sheer volume of greatness out there is kind of staggering! It’s especially fun when I spot Berroco FOs! Since I can’t share what’s on my needles (even though I really, really want to), here are the items I really wish I’d had a chance to knit for myself, things I wish I had in MY winter wardrobe. Hope they inspire you as well…

First up is a gorgeous accessory set from prolific sweater designer Connie Chang Chinchio. This FO was knit by Sarah from Scotland, who used less than 2 skeins of Ultra Alpaca!

Next up are Sniffle Mitts from the shop owner of Purl Diva! No pattern yet, but we suspect these are going to be HUGE in New England! She used just 1 skein of Ultra Alpaca.

The End of May Hat and End of May Mittens are yet another fantastic Ultra Alpaca project and perfect for colorwork lovers. The only difficult part is picking two shades–I love the combination Mandy has come up with (Tiger’s Eye Mix and Prune Mix, I believe).

I’ve also noticed a few Sundae FOs! Since Sundae knits at 2.5 stitches to the inch, there is still plenty of time to whip up a holiday gift using it, perhaps something from Booklet #287. That is where Joan found the pattern to knit Rickie for her adorable daughter (Joan also made a really cool looking Gondry–lucky daughter!)

While we’re looking at quick knitting hats, I have to point out I Come From the North, appropriately designed by Canadian designer Ariane Caron-Lacoste, who offers very cool translation services for knitters! She knit this very cute earflap hat with Peruvia Quick, another project you can whip up in an evening or two.

I’ll be back in a few days to share my favorite garments! Cheers,

Cirilia

Our art director discovered a fun little program called Pixelmator, which can transform an image or a small bit of an image into an elaborate all over pattern or a kaleidoscopic wonder. I am totally mesmerized by it too. Check out these transformations of our free pattern Baby Ferris (shown unaltered  bottom right).  Those baby feet are cute and kinda weird at the same time.

Update from Norah:

It’s always a thrill for the design team to see folks knitting and wearing our patterns. Imagine how cool it is to see a whole group of knitters in one of our designs. The Purl Diva did a KAL using Ditto, a free pattern originally knit in Latitude.

Liz knit hers in Vintage.

…and Susan made hers in Ultra Alpaca (in one of my very favorite colors)

I love the sleeve length on Susan’s, especially for Ultra Alpaca and it’s perfect on her. A shop KAL encourages folks to make modifications to suit their own style and needs and I am all for that!. You can see more versions on the Purl Diva blog.  For those of you who didn’t catch it the first time, here’s a link to a movie of me wearing ditto at the trade show in Columbus (TNNA), back in June.

Among the Dittos on Ravelry: Ultra Alpaca and Latitude.

I’d love to see images from some other Berroco KAL’s – send em along !

–Norah

Hi everyone! The winner of our Vintage giveaway is…blog reader Barbie! She commented with the correct answer so we’ll be mailing her the prize pictured below (I’ll need a mailing address and color preference though so Barbie, please email me at crose AT berroco DOT com, replacing the words with the usual symbols).

The prize includes several styling items that we used in Booklet #290 Vintage Arts & Crafts from Recycled Planet, a company that heads to the recycling bins for their raw materials. As a designer who is also concerned with the constant stream of waste that the fashion cycle seems to encourage, I’m always interested in any company or person who can manage to straddle the line between conservation and novelty. Two such projects have popped up on my radar and they manage to do that:

• Waste  Not Want Not in Providence, RI. Part boutique, part resale shop, part artist’s workshop, part social club. Located in a very crafty nook of Downtown Providence, this store has a really novel approach to retail, and locals take note, they’re hosting knitting nights!

• The Uniform Project is a thought-provoking fundraiser that also raises consciousness about how we dress ourselves. By wearing the same basic garment everyday and accessorizing it with vintage and donated items, Sheena Matheiken is hoping to raise money for schools in India. I’m sure many of us are still shopping conservatively this year–f you need any inspiration on how versatile one staple wardrobe items can be, head over to her photo galleries.

Okay, over and out everyone. Have a craftastic weekend!

CR

Today is an exciting day for me! As you’ll read in KnitBits #307, Booklet #290 Vintage™: Arts and Crafts is my very first complete collection. When we planned the fall collection, we talked about the need for a book of designs for young, preteens and yes, “tweens,” a cutesy word for a really underserved demographic in the knitting world.

Since I was the closest thing to a tween on staff, the task fell up on me to design for this age group. Knowing that some tweens grow faster than others, we decided to include sizes that go all the way up to a ladies’ large. The lovely model wearing Miroux is my size (5′8″, around 34B):

I confess, I was a bit nervous designing for tweens. I spent hours looking around websites, trying to get a feel for what that age group wants to wear. I remember being insanely particular which probably drove my mother crazy. As long as I was WARM, it didn’t matter what color or brand or whatever I was wearing…I, of course, felt differently!

One lucky day, Mary, one of our sample knitters, stopped by with her beautiful daughters and their friends in tow. I seized the opportunity for a little market research and asked them to draw some sketches of the sort of things they would like to wear. I was delighted when they brought in their sketches–they were TOTALLY in line with what I’d been working on! Simple, earthy colors with touches of bright, stripes, blouse-y shapes, comfortable details like pockets, hoods and handwarmers, all tween approved =)

I had so much fun styling this photoshoot. I sourced some awesome jewelry made from recycled materials (the tweens also noted that they were way into being green, which thrilled me). The model above is wearing some necklaces made from recycled magazines and the models below are wearing pins made from soda cans!

ETA: OK, so it wasn’t as hard as I thought! Glad so many of you know the film (rent it if you don’t, it’s very crafty!!) I’ll pick a winner from ALL the comments. But enough about the patterns, it’s PRIZE TIME! Tell me in the comments what inspired the names for these patterns. Next week I’ll pick 1 lucky winner from the correct entries who will win these accessories , a copy of Booklet #290 Vintage: Arts and Crafts and Vintage yarn to knit Diorama!

Okay, over and out everyone, have a great weekend!!

CR

Last week a KnitBits subscriber wrote in asking if we’d ever think of designing a maternity sweater. To be quite honest, we don’t have any in the works but we had fun coming up with a list of sweaters that we think would work for ladies who are in the family way. Though we’re flying blind here, so please feel free to chime in with your comments!

Left to right, top to bottom: Nuss, Anhinga, Haight, Paron, Peace, Moska, Pucker, Bitok, Cosima, Bantam, Remember, Montparnasse, Juliana, Pike, Hibito.

Any others?

CR