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 entry was posted on Friday, June 18th, 2010 at 2:12 am and is filed under designs, published patterns, yarns. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.