Here I am in New York, after a stop in Los Angeles, where I explored yarn shops (of course). Visiting Wildfiber is like going back to my childhood home, with one exception: it is as big as I remembered, with lots of space to sit and knit, which I did last Wednesday night in the company of some old friends I’d not seen in three years. It was a lovely way to begin my trip to the USA.

The next stop on my shop tour was Knitter’s Studio, on 3rd Street in West Hollywood, followed by Twist, in Manhattan Beach. Both are charming, with beautiful selections of natural fibres. Cathy Karen, of Twist, has her very own selection of beautiful yarns she dyes herself.

Now that I’m in New York, having spilled a glass of tomato juice all over my lap during the flight and arriving without my luggage which took another 24 hours to show up  – amazing how helpful a little shampoo and a hairdryer in a hotel bathroom can be when you have no other options and you’re late for dinner – I’m excited that Abigail, a new cardigan I designed for The Knitter magazine, is on the cover of Issue 20, out this week.

Abigail is inspired by the blouses of the 1950’s and 60’s which I love. Think Betsy of Mad Men, and a pair of slim pants or a full skirt.. It could also be lovely worn open, over a dress.  I gave it a tailored, Peter Pan collar which I’d wanted to try for some time.  I’m excited at the way it turned out!

It’s very fun to knit (one piece to the armholes) with no dreaded button band to pick up or attach later. It’s all done as you go. One of my favourite details is the touch of eyelet gathering on the sleeves and pockets.

Sizes are 81cm(32″) to 117cm(46″) chest. The yarn is Debbie Bliss Eco Baby.

Now I’m off to explore New York with India. We’ve heard there’s a new knitting shop in Brooklyn that has a liquor license!  Now that’s a new angle.

But before I go I have to mention String, on East 65th St. It’s a lovely shop, airy and light, located upstairs in an old brownstone. Linda Morse, the owner, imports cashmere  and has it dyed by  Koigu in some of their Kpppm colours.

This an easy hat pattern, but sometimes such a thing is hard to find.

I made it for my son, Pete, who is very particular in his taste. Like most knitters I fear that my efforts will end up on the rag pile, so on one of his visits home I asked him for specific instructions on just exactly what sort of hat he would like to wear.

The result was two versions, one in butterscotch, a gorgeous golden shade of chunky, soft Blue Sky Worsted (worn by Polly, above), the other in an evergreen shade of Koigu Kersti, a classic dk. They both have long bands of ribbing that can be folded back watch cap style.

The circumference of both hats is 33cm[13"] in 2/2 rib unstretched and will fit a medium-large head 48-56cm [19-22"]

Here are the instructions.

POLLY’S HAT:

Materials

Blue Sky Alpacas Worsted Hand Dyes; 1 skein  2022-butterscotch

Size 5mm [US8]  40cm circular needles

Size 5.5mm double pointed needles (DPNs)

tapestry needle

stitch marker

Cast on 72 sts on smaller needle. Join in round, taking care not to twist. Place marker.

Work K2, P2 rib for 16cm.

Change to DPNs and work 9cm in stst (all rounds knit).

Begin decreases:

Round 1: *K6, k2tog; repeat from * to end. –63 sts.

Rnd 2 and all even rounds: Knit

Rnd 3: *K5, k2tog; rep from * to end. –54 sts.

Rnd 5: *K4, k2tog; rep from * to end. –45 sts.

Rnd 7:*K3, k2tog; rep from * to end. –36 sts.

Rnd 9: *K2, k2tog; rep from * to end. –27sts.

Rnd 11: *K1, k2tog; rep from * to end. –18 sts.

Rnd 13: *K2tog; rep from * to end. –9 sts.

Break yarn and thread through remaining stitches. Pull tight and with tapestry needle, weave in ends on WS of hat.

PETE’S HAT

Worn above, with the ribbing folded back twice.

Koigu Kersti; 1 skein shade K1510

Size 3.75mm [US5]  40cm circular needles

Size 4mm[US6] double pointed needles

tapestry needle

stitch marker

Cast on 104 sts on smaller needle. Join in round, taking care not to twist. Place marker.

Work K2, P2 rib for 16cm.

Change to DPNs and work 9cm in stst (all rounds knit).

Begin decreases:

Round 1: *K6, k2tog; repeat from * to end. –91sts.

Rnd 2 and all even rounds: Knit

Rnd 3: *K5, k2tog; rep from * to end. –78 sts.

Rnd 5: *K4, k2tog; rep from * to end. –65 sts.

Rnd 7:*K3, k2tog; rep from * to end. –52 sts.

Rnd 9: *K2, k2tog; rep from * to end. –39 sts.

Rnd 11: *K1, k2tog; rep from * to end. –26 sts.

Rnd 13: *K2tog; rep from * to end.–13 sts.

Break yarn and thread through remaining stitches.  Pull tight and with tapestry needle weave in ends on WS of hat.

Tomorrow I leave on my trip to TNNA in Ohio and then New York. Shipping for South Seas Knitting will continue while I’m away. In the meantime, happy knitting!

Time flies when you’re having fun, even faster when you’re knitting.

This is not so good on a rainy Sunday afternoon that you’d like to last for days, but excellent on a long haul flight.

I’m about to embark on just such a thing, to a trade show in Ohio, USA. I always knit on flights, and I’m shocked when people ask me if it’s ok. I thought that had been resolved a long time ago but it seems not. I’m told that knitting is forbidden on Qantas flights. Can this be true? It’s years since the USA airlines officially approved knitting. How cranky of Qantas.

My favourite needles for travelling are bamboo circulars. They’re compact, friendly-looking, and there’s no danger of a needle dropping and rolling under the seat of the person three rows in front.  A knitter crawling along the aisle peering under seats is bound to cause an international incident.

I will be taking a nice lightweight project on my circulars, perhaps a small mohair shawl in a light coloured yarn so I can see it when the cabin lights are dimmed.

Speaking of trips, let’s head back to the 90’s. Hard to believe it’s more than a decade in the past, and that soon we’ll been talking about the 10’s in sepia tones.

During that decade I was, for the most part, designing knits for LL Bean of Maine while living in Santa Monica. It was a happy time. My children were big enough to ride their own bicycles but not yet demanding to dropped off at the mall.

1993. The cardigan above and below was so dear to me that I wore it for most of the decade. It’s a little bit South America, a little bit Amish quilt.

Then there was American Quilt (below) which was a best seller in 1995.

Here’s a pattern that combined my love of Native American motifs with Maori weaving patterns from New Zealand.

This abstract floral cardigan  (note in all of these the emphasis was on the motifs, not the shapes, all of which were simple and boxy) was inspired by some stenciling I’d seen on a wall in India.

Later in the 90’s I did some designs for a company that made, of all things, cowboy shirts. The beautiful ones with piping and embroidery. The owner thought some cowboy themed knits would work well in places like Montana where it’s cold out on the prairie. I designed several and although they didn’t really work for the cowboy market, they’re enjoying newfound popularity with my son Pete and his friend Polly here. This one is based on the classic 1950’s shawl collar jacket.

In resurrecting some of these designs it made me think I’d like to update them. Picture knits are coming back, I think.

If any of my knitting compadres from Wildfiber read this, I’m going to be there on Wednesday evening, June 9, 5:30 -7:30, and I’d love to see you. Come and join me for a knittin knit in!

–Mel

Thank you for your comments on my 80’s knit parade last week. I really appreciate it. I did not mean to apologize for the 80’s. I have very fond memories of that decade: I arrived in the USA, my children were young, small enough to willingly wear anything I knitted them and sit on the back of my bicycle, I was young and because of that, could wear shoulder padded jumpsuits and not look silly. I also wore apple green-and-hot-pink cowboy boots, Native American Seminole skirts cinched at the waist with a silver belt, and my ears dripped with turquoise. It was an exciting time in fashion.

For a moment, the 90’s will have to wait. They’ve been interrupted by this news flash from my friends at Koigu: Maie Landra’s latest design, this stunning dress.

I’m absolutely wowed by it. Doesn’t it look like something Maid Marian might wear in Sherwood Forest? When I look at it I see many influences:  the Renaissance, 1970’s caftan, art deco, and most important, a future when we will all be wearing comfortable ankle length hand knits that hide a multitude of sins and are also elegant and fashionable. What do you see?

Evidently a simpler version of this will be appearing in Vogue Knitting Fall 2010. For fans of Koigu Kersti, the lovely model is none other than the little girl the yarn was named after, quite grown up now.

I’ve been at a loss for words this week.

So I thought I’d do some reminiscing. Taking a look at the past can provide a clue to the way forward, don’t you think? An astrologer who did my chart a long time ago told me I should look through my photo albums at least once a month to remind myself of who I am and where I’ve been. This, he said, is essential for a gemini because we tend to live in the present and jettison the past too easily.

The past in this case is some of the work I’ve done in knitting in the years before I had my shop in California and before I wrote my book with Tracey.

Some of these are designs that I sold under my own label. They were made by  a group of dedicated and intrepid knitters in New Zealand and sold to boutiques in the USA, mostly on the East Coast. Does anyone remember Stewart Ross on Madison Avenue?

This week it’s 80’s: the puffed sleeve and shoulder pad decade.

The design above has the sleeve equivalent of big hair. It’s called Fantasque, named after a Clarice Cliff vase. I find CC an inexhaustible source of inspiration. She is one of my passions, along with shoes and buttons.

Below is a cardigan inspired by the line drawings of Matisse. It was published by Vogue Knitting Winter 1989.

This is Hopi, my best seller from that time. It’s a big cozy shawl collared cardigan that reflected my love of the South West and anything Native American. The buttons were old Indian head nickels.

Cleaning out my Mum’s apartment after she passed away last year I found one of these cardigans in her closet. She wore it up until the very end of her life.

Another southwest inspiration. In the late 80’s and early 90’s crushed velvet prairie skirts, lots of big turquoise jewellery and big concho belts were the thing. This style makes a comeback every couple of years, it seems. No wonder. It’s classic.

For something totally different, a designed inspired by textiles from the Kuba people of pre-colonial Africa. I wish I still had one of these.

This feels a little like being on an archaeological dig in my own life. Next week, it’s the 90’s……

Yes, it really is autumn.

I say this with emphasis because my family in the northern hemisphere are always incredulous when I mention it. I remind them of the teacher in grade school with a tennis ball (earth) circling a soccer ball (sun), tilted and spinning as it goes, exposing one half of our planet to more sun than the other half for half of the year. Phew. Hold on while I try that with balls of wool to see if I understand it myself.

On my morning walks I’m reminded of the ephemeral nature of autumn colours. How quickly the chartreuse, yellow and red fade to a dull dry brown.

I want to capture them in my knitting.

There’s a new Rowan yarn that’s inspiring me. It’s made from used garments and it’s called Revive. The fibres are collected according to their silk, cotton and viscose content, carded and spun into yarn, so it’s 100% recycled. The word that comes to mind is scrumptious, like the home made granola bars from my local cafe. Sweet, satisfying and guilt free.

Revive lends itself beautifully to lace. Here it is in Trellis Leaf pattern from  Barbara Walker’s A Treasury of Knitting Patterns. It’s going to be my between season scarf.

It’s also handsome in good old stockinette stitch.

I want to make this tunic top, named Parsnip!  I love the neck button and subtle gathering on the three quarter length sleeves. Doesn’t it look like just the thing for picking fruit from the pear tree?

Parsnip can be found in this booklet: Purelife Recycled Collection, beautifully styled and lusciously presented as is the Rowan way. All the patterns are designed by one of my favourites, Marie Wallin. Here are a few. I’ll pretend not to notice if you drool.

It’s not all melancholy here. Amongst the autumn pile there’s always a hibiscus or two, reminding us that tropical islands are not far away.

This week I have a mystery to solve with the help of you, dear Readers.

David and I have been staging our own personal Luis Buñuel film festival. You can do fun things like this when you don’t watch TV.  I know, I know, there’s TiVo if you find the ads tiresome, but we like to support the guys at our local independent video store  who seem to stock everything that’s ever been made.
Buñuel’s movies are in Spanish, subtitled in English, which makes them counter productive for those of us who can’t sit on a sofa sans needles, except that you might just want to put your knitting down anyway, because they’re so beautiful you won’t want to miss a frame.

If you have an appetite for social commentary, his scathing portrayal of Spanish politics and customs, fascism versus socialism, the Church and the bourgeoisie will give you plenty of nourishment.  Or you can enjoy the stories at face value, as dark romances where women are used, but always have the last word. If this all sounds a bit heavy handed, fear not. Buñuel has a light touch and is often funny.The wallpapers, silverware, embroidered table cloths and crocheted bedspreads make a satisfying meal, to say nothing of the superb acting and richly textured settings. It’s a feast, with lashings of hot chocolate and delicious Spanish cooking.

Our two movies this week were Viridiana, made in 1961, and Tristana, from 1970. Both feature young women who are seduced, with tragic consequences, by the old devil who shows up in many Buñuel films and is always played by Fernando Rey. It’s painful to see these innocents in the grip of the lecherous old man, but without giving the plots away, they do manage some revenge. I think Buñuel liked women.

Here’s where it gets interesting: the lovely young women in both these movies are knitters. Viridiana, played by Mexican actress Silvia Pinal, wears a knit(or crochet?) cape, and is seen throwing her knitting into the fire, so deep is her despair. Buñuel makes a point of showing this in detail. Needles, basket, yarn, everything gets tossed into the flames. She does shake off her seducer and gain her freedom but does she really need to burn her knitting to do it?

Here she is, about to do the deed….

Tristana, played by Catherine Deneuve, is seen wearing a capelet very similar to the one worn by Viridiana. She, too, knits. Now get this: Catherine Deneuve, a French actress in a Spanish movie, is NOT knitting continental. She’s knitting English style.

But the most important question is: are the capes knit or crochet? I’ve tried stopping  both movies multiple  times to try to figure this out,  but I don’t have the answer. Look closely. Any ideas?

Tristana

Viridiana

and finally, my favourite line from Tristana…..

The men in my life are very specific about what they will and won’t wear.

To give him credit, Pete willingly wore all kinds of dubious hand made items until peer pressure kicked in and he became master of his own fashion decisions. On the  first day of kindergarten he set off for school wearing a pair of home made Jams, about to find out the hard way that store bought is cooler. Gone were the days of his Mum deciding what he would wear. No more corduroy knickerbockers for him.

Just one year old, my little nephew Lucas is still delightfully lacking opinions about his own clothes, a stage that won’t last long. What to make, then, to celebrate his first birthday? A little fishermans’ vest with pockets for his favourite things.

I attribute my fondness for vests to my Dad’s love of clothes and his signature look, which was something like this: a tweed suit and vest.  Timeless. He didn’t have much money and the same suit probably lasted him for twenty years, but he always looked well dressed , never old fashioned.

Here are some vests from the various eras my Dad lived through. Vest and cigarettes were inseparable, it would seem.

The cardigan….

the classic v-neck….

and the argyle…

You could say that Jimmy Page brought them back in the 70’s. I became a fan of the Yardbirds because of this vest. Worn tight and short over a full sleeve shirt, it was classic rock star chic. I wonder if Jimmy’s Mum was a knitter?

Here’s a very 80’s vest from a book of knitting patterns with Australian motifs. A good Aussie bloke loves his Mum, and will wear anything she makes him, it seems.

Will these neck lines ever stage a comeback?

Now, if you’re in the mood for a little retro style and your man won’t object, here are some of my favourites.

A classic Fair Isle by Alice Starmore, in her book The Celtic Collection

A stunning argyle in Knitting For Him, by Martin Strory and Wendy Baker

and in the same book, a chic Fair Isle cardigan.

Who could resist a man in one of these? Whether he’s a metrosexual or the old fashioned macho type, there’s something for everyone in vest style.

For Lucas’s vest I used Koigu Kersti. It would be handsome in Cascade 220 or any dk wool. The pattern will be available just as soon as I’ve written it in some larger sizes.

Scatter Daisy, by Florence Broadhurst.

I’d not heard of this lady until a beautiful pillow caught my eye in a local design shop. It very quickly forced its way into my life and onto on my couch.

Reading up on her in this fascinating book, Florence Broadhurst: Her Secret & Extraordinary Lives, I discovered a colourful woman who led many lives, a few of which may have been pure invention. She was adventurous and a bit naughty, which makes her a very good read as well as a design inspiration.

Born in a country town in North Australia, she had a career as a starlet stage performer in Asia, opened a fashion house in 1930’s London, and was a painter of classic Australian landscapes before starting her textile business as a last ditch effort to make some money!

Never short of ideas for self promotion, she made quite a splash in Australian society, always good for business. Her design inspirations are varied, a little art nouveau here, Japanese there, Op Art over there.

Butterflies (below) is restrained and timeless.

Others are lavish and exuberant, perfect for celebrity boudoirs, bars and hotel rooms.

An Asian influence is obvious in many.

Her groundbreaking designs languished for 20 years after her death in the 70s. Nowadays they’re available again, produced in Sydney by Signature Prints and sold worldwide.

Japanese Floral (below) is the fabric of my pillow.

Ikeda= love!

Hollow Squares, from the  late-sixties. Dizzying.

What I love most about Florence’s story is that she didn’t start her textile printing business until the age of 60!

This is very good news for any of us who are still making up our minds what we want to be when we grow up.

It seems it’s not necessary to grow up at all.  Like Florence, we can go on re-inventing ourselves and having fun until we run out of steam.

Isn’t is satisfying to make things for your house? You get to enjoy the making, the using, and  you have a daily reminder of all those hours you lovingly stitched something that you’ll have forever.

It used to be my ambition to have a completely home made house.  Not being much good with hammer and nail I’ve scaled that down to having a home made item in each room. At this point I might have reached my goal but that won’t stop me because I’m addicted to making things.

Here are some non-knitted things I made for my garden in Santa Monica. I left them there for the new owner (a twinge of regret permeates these words as I type) and on visits, I walk past it and see those little bits if myself that are still there no matter who the owner is.

These pots were made following an inspirational few days in Barcelona (the plates were already broken – I just couldn’t bear to part with them). My Antonio Gaudi phase.

Pebble pattern on my bedroom patio, surrounded by gardenias. Mmmmm.

Perhaps it’s because the hot summer days disappeared all of a sudden last week, the days shortened and it’s altogether an autumn-ish feeling around here, that I embarked on making my own little bit of sunshine to cover the dull grey tiles in the bathroom.

I’ve always loved rag or hooked rugs and have had it in mind for a long time to make a knitted version. The moment arrived (funny how something that’s been brewing for years decides, for no particular reason, to slide itself onto your knitting needles) so I spent my evenings this week making this colourful  folk art-ish mat while watching episodes of Midsomer Murders, the irresistible modern day Hercule Poirot-style mystery set in an ultra picturesque English village brimming with dozens of typically eccentric characters, and this delicious documentary about Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton. Now that’s what I call living!

Please don’t hate me for owning a large stash of the scrumptious, soft Blue Sky Cotton, left over from various projects.  I just can’t stop using this yarn, as much for its softness as its gorgeous colour palette.

For extra sumptuousness I used double strands throughout.

My mat weighs 550g, so you’d need that much yarn to make one the same size. I used seven colours (700g) but you could make up your own colour scheme, perhaps using only 2 or 3 colours.

Here are some  more subdued (but no less beautiful) combinations I’m considering for my next mat.

81-sand & 604-aloe

80-bone & 81-sand

and now, to Mel’s helpful hint of the week, told to me by a Los Angeles gent who seemed to be an expert in these matters:

If you’re trying to sell your house, instead of stashing towels or keeping them in a cupboard, roll a few and put them on display. It gives the visitor (or potential buyer) a feeling that they’ll always be on vacation or at a spa if they buy your house!

P.S. I like the idea of making this mat much bigger with leftover wool and felting it. It would be beautiful in a child’s room or as a hearth rug.

The recipe  for my Folk-ish Mat is over in the free pattern menu.