Catherine Lowe Design & Fit Workshop
knit1frog2 (see her post) and I took Catherine Lowe’s Design & Fit Workshop together. This is the second workshop I have taken with Catherine Lowe; I am amazed and delighted again.
And INSPIRED!
I learned much about:
fit
style
fit
sweaters
fit
shoulders
fit
sleeves
fit
fit
fit
There seemed to be a lot of emphasis on “fit”.
A good fit makes all the difference, as does a bad fit for that matter!
We learned what a good fit means and ways to get a good fit.
We all brought in our own sweaters that:
we love
we hate
we can’t figure out what is wrong with.
We modeled and critiqued.
OUCH!
That was illuminating and will influence my designing, knitting, and buying choices.
I am inspired to knit sweaters with great fit, that look great and make me look great.
We each created our own personal sloper.
That’s me!
A useful tool to have! It was great to be measured by a professional and get those measurements onto paper in a way that I can use to design, alter, and modify sweater patterns.
I purchased this sweater back in the 80s; I love the collar and can use my sloper to design one like it and a sweater to fit.
I have been working on Poetry In Stitches – Leaf Stripe Cardigan with Velvet Trim (page 166)
I had pretty much given up on it being anything other than a drop-shouldered-frumpy-fair-isle with a gorgeous color pattern. I was just knitting it per the instructions, though I had hoped to give it a little shaping, I was resigned to only giving it a bit of shoulder shaping.
No longer! After Catherine’s workshop, I have a better understanding of how fit works. I am incorporating a few alterations that will improve the fit of this sweater and how it looks on me (or any body).
I have reshaped the sleeves, trimming out 2 inches of bulk from the armpit (armpit bulk even sounds bad):
sleeve per the pattern
sleeve altered to improve fit
I will reshape the square neckline to suit my face shape. I modeled the sweater below with a similar square neckline for the workshop. Catherine showed us that this wide square neckline doesn’t flatter my wide square jaw. I can wear a square neckline, but it needs to be the right width – which I can pull off my sloper!
traditional square neckline makes my jaw look wider
square neckline with better personalized shape
flatters my jawline
Finally, I will add shoulder shaping, because like everyone, I have a slope to my shoulders. Without shoulder shaping, there is extra fabric that ends up in bulky folds in the armpits.
Again, armpit bulk = BAD.
I am excited!
Trying Something New
I purchased and intend to read A Romance Novel.
Here is my knitting posed with Rachael Herron’s book at Barnes & Noble in Tukwila on the ‘New Arrivals’ table:
Uuuuuuuuummm.
I think it looks better up here:
😀
Madrona Fiber Arts Retreat 2010
I didn’t sign up for classes this year.
So, knit1frog2 and I made of day of visiting the Madrona Marketplace and going out for lunch.
We hit the Blue Moon booth, it’s great to see the colors in person and an extra treat to check out the Rare Gems (one off colorways) and Mill Ends.
Socks That Rock
two lightweight Rare Gems and
one heavyweight Mill End in ? Denim?
habu textiles had a booth, it was exciting to see so many habu yarns in so many colors.
I ordered yarn for my next project:
Catherine Lowe Simple Couture 4.01 Hat and Cowl
I ordered alpaca silk in black violet.
I took Catherine Lowe’s class at Madrona last year and have been pondering what I learned ever since. She is an excellent teacher and a delightful person.
It worked out perfectly that I hadn’t signed up for Madrona classes; a Catherine Lowe Design & Fit workshop is being offered locally in May and I was able to sign up for that!
Lucky for knit1frog2 and me, walking to lunch took us past
hello cupcake and we wrapped up our day with yummy cupcakes.
And who is this fun looking bunch?
Nine Pound Cabbage
from the Mom Says Don’t Eat Anything Bigger Than Your Head files:
The guys at the farmer’s market were excited to hear this beaut was bound for sauerkraut:
Cabbage + Salt + Time
=
Sauerkraut
But not everyone was happy about it
Success!
DD emailed this hat picture, taken with her cell phone, and asked if I could knit one like it for her:
Result:
Colinette Jitterbug in Morello Mash from Knit Purl in Portland
DD says it’s “AWESOME!”
Me: 🙂
When Life Hands You Lemons, You’re Lucky
If you’re growing them in Seattle.
I was happy to see this Meyer lemon plant survive on our deck all summer.
It came inside when the weather turned cold and it went (blooming) crazy.
The citrus fragrance fills the room.
While taking photos I spotted two tiny lemons:
Clover stitch marker for scale and attempt to include
knitting content.
Continuing with the citrus theme, we’ve had this orange plant for a few years, it lives indoors full time:
Tiny orange, these don’t get any bigger,
DH uses the peel in martinis.
Okay, here’s something more seasonal (for Seattle):
Pumpkins!
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Finally!
Vogue Oversize Lace Top by Deborah Newton
in Butterfly Super 10 cotton, color 3834
I started this last year on a vacation in Canada with yarn bought on a previous trip to Canada and finally finished it on this vacation in Canada.
I wove in the last end while waiting in line at the border!
Well, I had to stop briefly to chat at customs but finished within a mile after passing through. It had been sitting for a while but, I forced myself to weave in the ends by not taking any other knitting in the car with me for a 3.5 hour drive.
Modifications:
knit small size so it wouldn’t really be “oversize”
shortened the ribbing and the whole sweater
left out the “eyelet” row in the ribbing
added shaped ribbing sleeves instead of the straight 1.75″ of ribbing border
For the neck bind off, k2 p2tog all around on larger needles so it would lay nice and flat.
I LOVE summer, but there are things I like about fall
Busy couple of weeks. No time to blog!
Weekend before last we went huckleberry picking:
And mushroom hunting:
chanterelles
It’s killing me that we haven’t had time to do more berry picking, the berries are the best I’ve seen in years:
huckleberries
and when the huckleberries are this good, the blueberries are INSANE:
blueberries
DD asked, “When you close your eyes, do you see huckleberries?”
Yes.
Love it.
Oh yeah, and
THE HUSKIES BEAT USC! WOOOO HOOOOOO!
Shibui fingerless Mittens
Shibui Sock yarn from Knit Purl in Portland:
Shibui Sock yarn color 229 Mulberry
New mitts:
Shibui Sock color 229 Mulberry
with a bit of Blue Moon STR in Star Sapphire
The STR trim is leftover from another pair of mitts; they were much loved and appreciated and when one got lost, the only consolation was a new pair.
Framing a Menu: Matson Lines Eugene Savage
Again, from the Not Knitting But I Made It files:
This bit of framing has been waiting a long time to get done.
I had to put the knitting down. In fact, I could always avoid this task as long as I had ANYTHING knittable going on. (does knittable have one ‘t’ or two? -you know, if it was a word)
DH found a vintage Matson Lines menu with Eugene Savage artwork when we were in Kauai on The Best Vacation Ever. Way back when, as a child, he had traveled to and from Hawaii on the Matson Lines.
A God Appears by Eugene Savage on one side
Framing it was a bit of a puzzle; I wanted to frame it so both the artwork and the menu could be seen while providing adequate support for the piece.
Matson Lines dinner menu on the other side
It took some fancy thinking to get everything lined up and mats cut with openings in the right places.
…and when I turn it over the text will be…where?
Final result:
Knitting In Mind 