Knitwear Designs by Carolyn Noyes

07/01/2014

Home is also where Gale Zucker was...

Anyone remember Heather Locklear's TV commercial for Faberge shampoo in the 80s? "When I first tried Faberge Organics Shampoo with pure wheat germ oil and honey, it was so good I told two friends about it. And they told two friends. And so on, and so on…" (and if you weren't even alive then, well, hello youtube).

With pro photo tips from Gale Zucker, and another student's amazing color work, my camera and I are starting to become friends

It took a similarly multiplying word of mouth (not from Heather but the KnitGirllls!) that I found out that Gale Zucker would be coming practically to my backyard to lead a workshop on photography for handcrafters. Sign me up!

I had heard Gale's lecture on how to shoot knitwear at Vogue Knitting Live in New York in January, and as with most talks of that ilk, I kept wishing I could watch her in action, or at the very least, have my camera in hand to try out her tips right then.

Eight other students and I met up with Gale in workspace at Portland's own A Gathering of Stitches (more to come on this dream space for crafters). Each of us explained her reason for being there. My reason? My Rav designer page shows FOs that have been professionally shot on models for magazines, and then, well, there are the self-published designs. Some of these things are not like the others...

It was more than time to confront my fear of photography. For so long, the idea of me behind the camera was funny, as I spent 20 years as a magazine editor in New York and it was part of my job to tell the art department why a particular photo just didn't work for a particular story. Karma is a you-know-what.

The uncorrected swatch for X-Cable Turtleneck

It wouldn't be fair to pass along too much of Gale's great advice, but I can distill it to one overall point that resonated with my particular photo phobia--the idea that "real" photography comes only through controlling your camera via its manual settings. Thanks to Gale, I don't think it's "cheating" to let the camera's auto settings do some of the work--white balance in particular. And, as I found in trying repeatedly to shoot the swatch for my X-Cable Turtleneck (right), no amount of changing backgrounds, settings or lighting rendered the yarn's true lavender color. So, now, off to (free!) photo-editing I go.

Find out more about Gale's photography--yarn-related and otherwise--as well as her latest book projects at one of the best site titles ever in the fiber world: she shoots sheep shots.

Posted at 09:26 AM in Published Designs, Techniques and Tips, Vogue Knitting Live | Permalink | Comments (1)

06/16/2014

Home is where the yarn is

The obtuse triangle (had to look that one up!) on this map shows my life travels from my hometown of Portland, Maine, to college in Boston to my post-college years (20+ of them) in New York City, to finally return to my homestate just a few years ago.

While I had a never-a-dull-day career in magazine publishing in NYC and met a lot of terrific people (some great knitters among them!), I am amused when I think that only by reconnecting map dots back to Maine did I have the good fortune to meet Helene Rush and her staff at Knit One, Crochet Too yarns.

Helene has been a knitwear designer for more than 30 years, and has owned Knit One, Crochet Too for the past eleven. She is also one of the smartest and nicest people with one of the best eyes for color in the knitting/yarn business. Not that it's needed, but here's proof!

X-Cable Turtleneck in Knit One, Crochet Too's new Covet superbaby alpaca yarn

Driving around my new environs shortly after the move, I happened by Helene's yarnie HQ--a mere 5 miles from my house. And I thought, hmmm, home really is where the yarn is, for once not referring to my own crazy stash in the closet. It was months later before I finally stopped in to introduce myself. That day I left with some skeins of top-secret new yarns to swatch with--fall yarns that Helene & Co. were prepping for their debut at this year's fall TNNA. And today we're posting the first of my designs for Knit One, Crochet Too, the X-Cable Turtleneck, made up in Helene's new Covet.

Covet, 100% superbaby alpaca, is one of those yarns that is so lovely to knit with that I can honestly say I wouldn't care if I had to frog my FO, because it would give me the instant-gratification experience of knitting with Covet again.

Helene and I have three more designs coming in the next few weeks, featuring her other new yarn--Sebago, a DK 100% superwash Australian Merino in an intoxicating array of colors--and two designs in an old K1C2 favorite of mine, Brae Tweed.

Posted at 12:57 PM in Patterns, Published Designs | Permalink | Comments (0)

04/14/2014

The deadline difference

Zigzag Mesh Pullover from Knit.Wear Spring 2014

This is a tale of two cast-ons--same pattern, same yarn, totally different amount of time each WIP spent on the needles.

I usually consider myself to be a product knitter rather than a process knitter, more so since I have been designing patterns, when the beginning (acceptance of a design idea) and the end (a sweater being shipped out) of the knitting is defined by someone other than me. But I suppose I have always approached knitting as a time-driven task--an enjoyable one, of course, but one that should progress quickly so that I could wear the garment as soon as possible.

And so it was with my Zigzag Mesh Pullover design in the spring issue of Knit.Wear, which was on and off the needles in seven days as I juggled it with another design-with-a-deadline for that issue, the Fitted Turtleneck Tee.

When I finished the Zigzag prototype, I decided to make one for myself, since the first one had flown off the needles, and the calendar, at least, indicated that spring was soon to arrive. But as I sat knitting on it last night, I was aghast to realize that this Zigzag has been on the needles for fourteen days already and I am only up to the armholes! Yes, I will cut myself some slack that there are maybe a few more stitches per round than that lovely little sample size I worked up for the magazine, but really--double the time and only half done?

Zigzag the 2nd

This morning, though, I woke up feeling horrible that I had allowed myself to think of knitting the way I regard some of my not-so-favorite activities--like cooking, which to me, is unfortunately only for the purpose of having something hot to eat. And as I picked up the needles again today, I got lost in the rhythm of the double yarnovers that help create the allover zigzag pattern; those same double yo's that I had secretly called speedbumps as I knit the prototype.

And then I thought, why does one have to be a product OR a process knitter? Because this Zigzag saga seems to be telling me that I could quite possibly be both--not that there's anything wrong with that.

Posted at 10:54 AM in Interweave Press, Patterns, Projects, Published Designs | Permalink | Comments (1)

03/17/2014

I have cast-on-itis itis

What do you call the condition many knitters suffer from--the one where we can't wait to finish one project before starting another? I've heard it referred to as "casting on all the things", non-monogamous knitting, and this one--"cast-on-itis."

Now, it may be the former magazine editor in me that is overthinking this, but I can never quite wrap my brain around the prevailing positive meaning of knitter's cast-on-itis. To me, an "itis" is something unpleasant, something that afflicts you without your consent, like, say high-school student "senior-itis", which can negatively affect your college prospects, or sinusitis, which can fell you with searing head pain. And so, cast-on-itis seems like something no knitter would seek out or brag about; I always think it would cause you to avoid starting new projects.

Like now, I am experiencing writing-itis, having gotten out of this chair multiple times to tend to laundry, take out the dog, get the mail, and then settling back down in front of the computer but promptly opening a new browser to check in on Pinterest and Ravelry.

I just can't shake the idea that cast-on-"itis" incorrectly labels the condition that causes us to cast-on more WIPs than we can possibly ever knit to completion as a bad thing. But, no matter what each of us calls it when we start a new project, I think most knitters would agree that the little thrill of seeing those first few rows shaping up on the needles is worth the pile of UFOs that they might end up in.

And so, after listening to other knitters on podcasts, at yarn festival meet-ups and on Ravelry boards reporting their bouts with cast-on-itis, I realize I need to set my twisted linguistics aside and focus on the bottom-line implication of the phrase, which is Mo' Knitting!

Gotta go--I just spotted a pair of empty needles over in the corner.

Posted at 09:19 AM in Projects, Published Designs | Permalink | Comments (0)

11/11/2013

Eureka! A no-flip foldover hem

Last week, the online preview of the newest Interweave Knits (Winter 2014) went live; the print issue is on sale November 19.

I have a design, the Nunavut Pullover, in the "Out by the Woodpile" story. I get a secret chuckle out of that title because I do, in fact, have my own woodpile, but I no longer have the stove it was intended for. But that's another story for another time.

The Nunavut Pullover started life in my sketchbook with a heathered blue for the main color and gray for the contrast, but I love the colors IK chose for the sample knit (I sooooooo wish I could wear them!). I also love textured stitches in any design, so I may just have to knit one up for myself--it's COLD here in Maine!

There's another knitting detail that I love almost as much as textured stitches--and that's a folded hem. I know, I know, they tend to flip up, and it's nothing short of annoying when they do. But, I tried something on this sweater (and another design I have in progress) that helps curtail flipup.

The red circle indicates the first row of the facing, which is purled; the blue outlines the hem's turning ridge as seen from the RS

It's really simple: I used a provisional cast-on, and after joining to work in the round, I purled (instead of knitted) the first round; then I knitted the remaining number of rounds for the facing before purling the round that becomes the hem's turning ridge. Then, once the hem facing (the live sts of the provisional cast-on that have been placed on a spare needle) is joined to the live sts of the main body by working k2tog (one st from each needle), that first round that was purled helps the facing's edge to lean toward the WS of the main body rather than pull away from it. And it's that pulling away that causes the hem to--you guessed it--flip up, and causes us knitters to flip out!

Posted at 09:01 PM in Interweave Press, Patterns, Published Designs, Techniques and Tips | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hitch Winner!

Congratulations to Miss Agnes, who will receive the digital copy of Hitch. (The winner was drawn by random-number generator this morning.) Miss Agnes, please pm me on Ravelry (CarolynNoyes) and let me know if you would like the file emailed to you or added to your Rav library.

The Judy Henley from "Hitch"

Thanks to all who entered--for another chance to win, check out the remaining stops on the Hitch Blog Tour:

11/07/2013: Ramblings 11/12/2013: Hazel Knits 11/13/2013: Knitcircus 11/19/2013: indigodragonfly 11/9/2013: Fyberspates 1/25/2013: knittingkirigami 11/22013: A B-ewe-tiful Design

11/07/2013: Ramblings 11/12/2013: Hazel Knits 11/13/2013: Knitcircus 11/19/2013: indigodragonfly 11/9/2013: Fyberspates 11/25/2013: knittingkirigami 11/22013: A B-ewe-tiful Design - See more at: http://www.carolynnoyes.com/knitwear_designs_by_carol/2013/10/hitch_knits.html#sthash.mrXG2WU8.dpuf

Posted at 11:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

11/08/2013

One is silver, the other gold

Stash enhancement from (clockwise from top left): Good Karma Farm, Oasis Farm Fiber Mill, Miss Babs, Still River Mill

There are many fun things about being a designer of handknitting patterns, but probably topping the list is discovering new-to-me (and maybe out-of-my-comfort-zone) yarns and fibers.

We all have our go-to brands, the ones that never let us down, that always get us gauge, that always come in the exact color we envision for our FOs. Before I began designing, I was strictly a solid-color worsted girl--the occasional DK might work its way into the stash, but usually only because I was doing colorwork. And to buy something other than faithful old worsted felt like, well, cheating on old faithful.

But then came Ravelry and knitting podcasts and online yarn sales and indie dyers, and suddenly, I was tempted by the many fruits of many others. And then, last year, when a package of yarn arrived from one of my favorite knitting magazines and out spilled seven skeins of a cashmere/silk blend, I fell hard. I was reminded of the song we used to sing in Girl Scouts: "Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold."

With that thought, may I present this year's Rhinebeck stash enhancement? Just as I always used to buy worsteds in solid colors by rote, while browsing the 2013 barns, I was equally unaware of my blossoming obsession (and I am not a sock knitter!): Sport/sock weight multis, anyone?

If you're having a similar yarn obsession, check out the vendors at: Good Karma Farm, Oasis Farm Fiber Mill, Miss Babs, Still River Mill.

Good Karma Farm, Oasis Farm Fiber Mill, Miss Babs, Still River Mill - See more at: http://www.typepad.com/site/blogs/6a017c32b69ab4970b017ee45dbd5a970d/compose/preview/post#sthash.B8w0xTOj.dpuf

Posted at 08:27 AM in Rhinebeck, Stash Enhancement | Permalink | Comments (0)

10/20/2013

Channeling Alfred Hitchcock

Can't you just picture Alfred Hitchcock, sitting on-set in his director's chair, needles and yarn in hand, musing silently--no, no, make that aloud--about all the knitwear designs his movies would inspire for the knitters of 2013 and beyond? Ok, maybe not, but it is a funny mental image, no?

Well, the folks at Cooperative Press had a somewhat similar musing when they put out a call for design ideas inspired by the films of Hitchcock over a year ago. And the result is Hitch, a book of twenty-nine patterns for sweaters, shawls, gloves and hats that modern-day Judys and Midges, Lisas and Melanies will just love.

The Judy Henley from "Hitch"

Full disclosure: I have a pattern in this book, the Judy Henley, inspired by Vertigo (one of my faves initially because of the mere presence of Jimmy Stewart!), but I am dying to cast on Elizabeth Green Musselman's San Juan Bautista Shawl (don't miss her KAL starting November 1--there are prizes!). The KAL for the Judy Henley will begin in February--see you then? We'll have prizes, too--a special basket of yarnie goodness from Quince and Co., whose Lark yarn I used for Judy.

My other favorite Hitchcock film style moment

In the meantime, I am giving away a digital copy of Hitch to blog readers: All you have to do is leave a comment here telling us who your favorite Hitchcock heroine is--and certainly, if you have a favorite fashion moment from that film, we'd LOVE to see a pic! The white coat, left, (again, from Vertigo, what can I tell you?!) is my other favorite style moment.

Do remember to leave your ravelryID or e-mail address, so the file can be sent to you if you win. The giveaway is open until Sunday, November 10, at 11:59 p.m. I will draw a winner by random number generator the next day. Good luck!

Be sure to also visit the other stops on Hitch's blog tour for more behind-the-design inspirations as well as contests and KALs: 9/28/2013: Sunset Cat Designs 10/5/2013: Knitting Kninja New! 10/05/13: Knit One, Heart Too Podcast 10/7/2013: Herrlichkeiten 10/8/2013: Knit and Travel 10/9/2013: Knit & Knag Designs 10/10/2013: Wooly Wonka Fibers 10/11/2013: Verdant Gryphon 10/15/2013: Impeccable Knits: Shifting Stitches 10/16/2013: Rewolluzza 10/21/2013: Knitwear Designs by Carolyn Noyes 10/22/2013: Peacefully Knitting 10/23/2013: Dark Matter Knits 10/24/2013: Turnknit: Dani Berg Designs 10/25/2013: SweetGeorgia Yarns 10/28/2013: doviejay knits 10/29/2013: Triona Designs 10/30/2013: Tactile Fiber Arts 11/4/2013: A Knitter’s Life 11/5/2013: Catchloops 11/6/2013: Yarn On The House 11/07/2013: Ramblings 11/12/2013: Hazel Knits 11/13/2013: Knitcircus 11/19/2013: indigodragonfly 11/9/2013: Fyberspates 11/25/2013: knittingkirigami 11/22013: A B-ewe-tiful Design

Posted at 08:59 PM in Books, Patterns, Published Designs | Permalink | Comments (7)

10/11/2013

All Aboard for Rhinebeck!

Train to Maine Hat (c) CNoyes/KAngell

When I was a kid in Maine, there was always a lot of talk about the cargo rail lines being reopened to passenger tr ains to make for an easy connection between Portland and Boston. Let's just say that I grew up, went to Boston (not by train) for college, graduated and then lived in Manhattan, traveling home to visit (still not by train) for more than a decade.

But the train finally did come back to Maine, in 2001--and it beat my own return to the state by a full nine years.

And since coming back to the place I always called home no matter where I was actually living, I have been lucky enough to start a new venture--designing patterns for hand-knitting. When I started sketching out this self-published collection, I wanted it to be a roundup of all things Maine--the state whose climate taught me early on that sweaters and hats were wardrobe staples for about eight months out of the year--like it or not!

Train to Maine Pullover (c) CNoyes/KAngell

And so, the "Train to Maine" collection was:

--designed by a native Mainer (me!) with contrast yarn created by a Maine indie dyer (Heather, of Highland Handmades)

--modeled by a lovely Maine girl

--photographed by another native Mainer (whom I fortuitously met one snowy day as she was shooting fashion on a rarely traveled lake road)

--and named for the journey that brought me back home (but maybe I should have called this mini collection "Design Local, Maine edition"?)

Or maybe "Design Local, New England", because I owe Wendy from Massachusetts (pennywenny from the Knit 1, Heart Too podcast) a huge thank you for her wonderful tech-editing skills on both of these patterns.

Wendy and her co-host Sheila (SheilaD37) will be giving away a copy of the hat and sweater pattern, plus a $10 WEBS certificate on their podcast after returning from Rhinebeck. And, if you'll be at Rhinebeck, too, be sure to enter the "Where's Carolyn?" drawing for the chance to win a $20 WEBS certificate plus a copy of the "Train to Maine" patterns! All you have to do to enter is spot me at Rhinebeck (October 19-20) wearing the Pullover or Hat, snap a pic of you and me together, post it on the Knit 1, Heart Too Ravelry Group thread, and tune in to Wendy and Sheila for the drawing.

Patterns for both the Train to Maine Sweater and Hat are available for download purchase on Ravelry; (you don't have to be a member to buy patterns on Ravelry).

All aboard!

Posted at 11:25 AM in Patterns, Published Designs, Rhinebeck | Permalink | Comments (0)

10/10/2013

The Sweater's in the Mail

Greetings for your favorite sweater girl

A few weeks ago, it was the 85th birthday of a very dear friend of mine. And even though she is a knitter, it just didn't seem to fit to buy her a knitting-related gift; it is she, after all, who passes along to me her quadruple-extra set of dpns, vintage buttons and 5-inch zippers, and skeins of yarn we bought together 20 years ago. But--because she is a knitter herself--I knew she would get a kick out of anything that even remotely brought yarn and needles together.

So I decided to acknowledge her birthday not with some funny animated e-card, but rather, the old-fashioned way--with an actual card that required an actual envelope and stamp, and, yes, the post office to get it to her.

I had seen "sweater cards" through the years and thought I'd make my own from some lovely leftover merino/cashmere Ariosa yarn from Classic Elite. (They call it bulky, but it acted more like an aran on my needles. Not to worry, gauge isn't important for this project--just pick the stash yarn you like best.) And in some odd arrangement of the constellations, it was poetry week in my eight-year-old daughter's class, and she fortuitously came home that afternoon with her newly written "Ode to Knitting". Well, there we have it--perfect sentiments for the inside of my card. (My daughter's agent and I are still working out copyright issues, so I am unable to post it at present ; ) While waiting for rights to clear, I'll pass along my instructions for the sweater-dress, below...

Birthday Card Sweater-Dress (steps 1-10 make one 3-inch-tall sweater-dress)

① With size 4/3.5mm needle, CO 14 sts, work St st for 6 rows, slipping 1st st purlwise at the beginning of every row.

② Next row (RS), decrease row: Sl 1, ssk, k to 3 sts before end, k2tog, k1. —2 sts dec'd

③ Work 3 rows even. Rep dec row. —10 sts rem

④ Work 7 rows even.

⑤ Next row: Using backward loop method, CO 4 sts; k to end.

⑥ Next row: CO 4 sts; p to end. —18 sts total

⑦ Work 4 rows even.

⑧ Next row (RS): Sl 1, K6, BO 4, K7.

⑨ Next row (WS): Sl 1; BO this shoulder in p1, k1. Cut yarn, leaving tail to weave in to secure sts.

⑩ Reattach yarn after neckline BO sts, and BO shoulder in k1, p1 but do not sl 1st st.

Finishing: Sew 3 beads on center front.

Blocked measurements

Make card: With a medium-point felt-tip marker, draw the hook and top edge of a wire hanger on cover of card. Lightly apply a gluestick to back of dress at corners to hold in place for the next step. Place sweater-dress onto front cover, aligning it to "hang" on the marker lines; press to adhere. Use invisible thread and an embroidery needle to stitch sweater onto cardstock, securing it at neckline edges, sleeve corners and lower hem corners. Cut a piece of decorative paper to the size of card's cover; glue to inside front to cover stitching. Write your message--and don't forget your stamp!

Abbreviations

BO bind off CO cast on dec ('d) decrease(d) k knit k2tog knit 2 sts together p purl rem remain
rep repeat sl slip ssk slip, slip, knit st(s) stitch(es)
St st stockinette stitch

©2013 Knitwear Designs by Carolyn Noyes. Not to be reproduced, sold or re-knit for sale or profit. - See more at: http://www.carolynnoyes.com/knitwear_designs_by_carol/free-patterns/#sthash.5EHwwjPu.dpuf

Posted at 01:47 PM in Free Patterns, Patterns | Permalink | Comments (0)