I can scarcely believe it has been a week since I boarded a bus to NYC, bound for the inaugural Vogue Knitting LIVE! It was a magical weekend, and I certainly hope it won’t be the last in New York, a city with undeniable draw for almost any creative mind. Knitting and midtown Manhattan might seem incongruous–don’t knitters prefer to be at fiber festivals, petting live sheep? Or in front of the fire, sipping freshly brewed darjeeling? Sure, that’s part of it. But if you’re like me, you jump at any chance you have to be in a sparkling, bustling, indefinable city.
There were many highlights, especially our (standing room only!!) fashion show. It was a thrill to share our Fall/Winter 2010 collection; we’ll have video footage of the show later this season.
After the show I was lucky enough to be able to take a class with Josh Bennett. I’d been admiring Josh’s work for Vogue and have been personally fascinated by men’s wear of late. I jumped at the chance to enroll in his Designing and Knitting Men’s Wear class. Josh shared some amazing tips about fit and finishing, and we goaded him into a private fashion show!
He favors a “clean” look (not just “simple”) and he is an ardent supporter of thoughtful knitting and finishing. He urged us to use needle size changes to manipulate the fabric as necessary. A tighter ribbed cuff, a looser hood, these are all the sorts of things that can be forgotten in a rush to finish a garment. He was inspiring, and hilarious, the very best sort of teacher!
I couldn’t leave New York without a couple of pit stops! In addition to feasting at the Farm in Brooklyn (rule of thumb: any place with Farm in its name is pretty much guaranteed to be delicious), I snuck over to the free galleries at FIT, and the charming Tender Buttons.
Knitting tips, Bakelite and Japanese fashion retrospective? It doesn’t get any better, does it? Oh, but it does. I overcame my cupcake aversion (they’re just so CUTESY) to try the tiny cakes at Magnolia Bakery. Besides looking absolutely dreamy, they weren’t overly sweet and had the fluffiest frosting I’ve ever tasted (buttercream MERINGUE? Such a thing exists?!)
Many thanks to the Vogue Knitting Live team! I told them every chance I got, but it really was such a fun, exciting event and their hard work was evident everywhere.
Now, to turn these city memories into some knitwear…
CR
So exciting! I’m definitely with ya on that one… I’d love to bring my yarn to the hustle and bustle of NYC, perhaps sip a martini by the fire instead 🙂
I took Josh’s class on Friday afternoon – he is awesome!!! We had a crazy crowd for ours…so there was no fashion show :o(