Saturday, March 6, 2010

Who Are You Knitting?

If you watch the Oscars, you know that the pervasive question on the red carpet is "Who are you wearing?" As a knitter, I thought it would fun to ask you all who you are knitting.

Right now, I am knitting a Kate Gilbert. She is the creator of Wisteria, but she is also famous for several other popular patterns: Sunrise Circle Jacket, Arwen, the Pea Pod Baby Set (rav link), and Anouk.

I reviewed my projects and there are 3 designers who I've gone to repeatedly:

1. Kim Hargreaves: Her designs are classic, well-fitting, and really wearable. The details are usually subtle, and the construction takes no shortcuts. Admittedly, the patterns are not always the most interesting garments to knit, and--in the Rowan tradition--her schematics lack detailed measurements. In the end, though, the results are worth it. I've made Calm, Emily, and Jasmine.

2. Nora Gaughan: The woman is a genius. Her designs are innovative yet organic; I guess that's the combined art and biology focus from her college studies. Not all of her designs are flattering for my figure though--there are a lot of A-line tops and oversized flowy things. Oh, and she does not always have the best tech editor. But the garments are fun to knit, and the construction is often out-of-the-box. I can always glean something from reading her patterns, even when I don't make them. The ones I did make were Flutter, Loppem, Athos, Tilted Duster, and Eastlake.

3. Olga Buraya Kefelian: wow! I enjoy following her blog and covet the beautiful things she has made (Rav link) with such careful attention to detail. I just love her aesthetics. When Olga started designing, it was as if I now had my own personal designer. Her patterns, too, are creative and often have unusual construction, but they are generally a better fit for me. So far, I have made the Petal Halter and Akomeogi. Although it is currently in hibernation, I also have the Balloon Sleeve Jacket on the needles.


What I'm most excited about is her new book, Ori Ami Knits. There are some lovely designs by Kirsten Johnstone and Vanessa Yap-Einbund, and it is Vanessa's gorgeous photography that makes the book so beautiful. But most of the designs (Rav link) are pure Olga, and I can hardly wait to start them. I have already purchased some Habu Cotton Gima, which I hope to turn into an Axonometric top and a Vespertine Necklace (Rav link).


There is a definite Japanese influence in Olga's designs, and now that she has moved to Japan, I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

So, who are you knitting?

3 comments:

  1. I love that Ori Ami Knits! I've never seen these designs, they're awesome!

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  2. I rarely "repeat" a designer. Not that I don't have my favorite designers. Norah Gaughan, Cathy Carron, Michael Kors and Connie Chang Chinchio pop up first in my mind. I like variety in my knitting and skip from one style to the other easily. Currently, I'm knitting Eugen Beugler, Petra Manis, and Norah Gaughan, the only one that's a designer repeat.

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  3. I had to go through my completed projects and see who I knit most. And I discovered -- I am so boring! Apparently, when I find a pattern that I love, I knit it repeatedly. Checking finished items only, I've knit 3 Sursa shawls (Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton), 5 lace capelets (Mary-Heather Cogar), and a whopping 13 "A Good Plain Sock" (Stephanie Pearl-McPhee). So it's not designers that I go to repeatedly - it's patterns.

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