Refined Knits

Jennifer Wood of Wood House Knits and I have worked together a few times on past book projects. I was excited to get a copy of her new book, Refined Knits (Interweave, 2016) and see more of her lovely designs that combine 2 of my favorite techniques - cables and lace. Not only are the garments in this book beautiful, but the photography and fiber color choices are wonderful. It's an aesthetic delight!

Jennifer was kind enough to sit down and answer a few questions about her new book for us, available now.

Tanis Gray (TG): Your new book is stunning!  You pair two popular knitting techniques together - cables and lace. How did your book idea come about combining the two?

Jennifer Wood (JW): It came about naturally, it was the direction that my designing was moving into. While playing with different stitch patterns I would add a cable to lace pattern or lace stitches to cables just because I liked the way it looked. It was not something that I set out intentionally to do. I think that it is so fun to knit cables and lace together and I like the way the two techniques enrich each other. Like I said in the book it is like uniting strength and grace.

TG: I really enjoyed your intro and the story about how you began knitting with your daughter. Can you tell us more about how you got started? Does your daughter still knit at all?

JW: Yes, it seems rather crazy that I owe my introduction to this wonderful craft to my daughter and that it is what I do for my job now. I learned how to crochet and needlepoint as a child but my mother did not know how to knit so I was never taught. I was enthralled from the beginning, I do not know what it was about knitting that captured me so but it certainly did. I wanted try every technique I found. I would read books and ask questions at my local yarn store, for some reason the thought of taking classes never entered my mind. I pretty much learned by trial and error in my knitting and designing. I was terrible at lace when I first tried it and now it seems like second nature. I am so thankful that The Witch of Blackbird Pond was on my daughter’s reading list, I can not imagine not knitting! My daughter however was not so taken by it. She like it alright and will occasionally knit something in garter stitch. She is glad the learned though and enjoys crafting in general and really likes watercolors.

TG: Where did you draw your inspiration from?

JW: My inspiration comes from many different places. Sometimes I just have an idea pop into my head and then I find a stitch pattern to fit the idea. This was the case with Victoria and Brielle. Or I discover a stitch pattern that I really like build the design around it, this is how Corinne and Idril came to be. Other times I see a pattern in nature that I want to incorporate into a design like the pine cone shape in Camelia and the waves in Dwyn. Then there are times when my inspiration is from time old traditions like the Aran pullover for Keavy and the classic cabled cardigan for Willa.

TG: I love that your book covers a wide array of garments. From fingerless mitts to cowls to scarves and wraps to cardigans and pullovers - you’ve got it all!  Do you have a favorite garment type to knit?

JW: I would have to say sweaters. And I go back and forth between cardigans and pullovers. I like that with pullovers there is very little finishing and you do not have to pick out buttons. I always have the hardest time picking out buttons. Cardigans are such a fun canvas to work with because there are so many different things you can do with the two front edges.

TG: I know it’s like choosing your favorite child, but do you have a favorite garment in the book and why? Mine is the Corinne Oval Pullover because of those gorgeous motifs running down the front and back!

JW: That is a hard choice! If I had to pick favorites for the garments I would say either Corinne or Camelia and for the accessories I would say Dwyn. I think Corinne is so lovely with the lace ovals accented by the cables. The pine cone shaped pattern around the yoke of Camelia makes me happy just to look at. And Dywn because it was one of those designs that surpassed my exceptions. I love the waves that are created by the stitch pattern and that it appears to be worked with cables when actually there are no cables in the stitch pattern.

TG: You’re working a very elegant color palette throughout the book (and the photos are gorgeous!). Tell us how you chose your colors and yarns?

JW: Earth tones are my favorite colors and left to my own devices I could end up with a pretty muted color palette. Kerry Bogart (from Interweave) helped my get out of my color box and we picked out some colors that added a pop of color to the rich earthy tones.

TG: Do you have a favorite color and fiber?

JW: As I said earth tones are what I naturally gravitate to and if I had a favorite it would probably be a mustard shade. As far as fibers I really like a wool blend. The wool to give good stitch definition which is crucial for my designs. And another fiber for example alpaca or silk to add some drape.

TG: What’s coming up next for you?

JW: As far as Refined Knits, I have several book signings coming up, mostly in the East Tennessee area. And I will be signing books at TNNA. Also I will be running lots of KAL’s for Refined Knits in the Wood House Knits group on Ravelry. These will be a lot of fun and a great place to get help. As far as Wood House Knits lots more designs! I will be publishing a pullover in March called Winterberry that I am very excited about. I have a shawl design that will be coming out in April with the Woolen Rabbit Yarn Club. And I have just started on another shawl and sweater design that I will be publishing late spring or early summer. Then in late summer or early fall I have design that will be in The Knitter magazine in the UK. Of course there are more ideas brewing!

Check out the other garments in the book here.

Street Is My Canvas

Yarn as public art has become a global phenomenon. Whether it's yarn bombing a tree trunk by wrapping it in yarn or an entire installation, yarn can be simply a dash of much-needed brightness on a drab street or an amazing color sensation! I came across an article recently (original article found here) about a Brazilian studio Dolorez crochez. Inspired by music, she raises yarn to an art form and calls her project "street is my canvas."

Crochet + Graffiti: I Cover Sao Paulo’s Streets In Yarn

by Karen Bazzeo 

Dolorez crochez is a studio based in São Paulo, Brazil, that works specially with street art, using crochet as a way of expression. The project called “Street is my canvas” is about drawings and phrases crocheted pasted on the walls.

Street is my canvas, yarn is my ink: that’s when I express myself inspired by some thoughts, songs, feelings and everything that is inside my world. From my hands to the streets.

My inspiration comes from music, feelings, poetry and also guerilla arts, politics opinion, etc.

Sea

“Sea, half of my soul is made by ocean breath” (Inspired by Sophia Andresen poetry) Made in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Visceral

“Where does your fear hurts?” (Inspired by Alessandra Leão song) “People was passing by the street where the heart was installed, taking pictures, tagging me at social media and answering the question. It was a really cool way to get answers and to know that my work is teasing and poking something very deep. This is the best reward.”

Green

Mermaid

Moon

Project with Felipe Primat

Project with Julio Falaman.

Square Peg, Round Hole

Simplicity is sometimes more difficult to achieve than the ornate. I've ripped out dozens of complex designs that I'm super excited about in the sketching, math and chart drawing phase, yet when I cast on and begin knitting, I find myself dreading the next row. If I don't enjoy it and it's so complicated that it makes my brain hurt, I know that whomever is knitting it when the pattern is available will certainly not either. Back to the drawing board.

We see this in life constantly - yards overrun with lawn ornaments, clothes in stores (although I salute the tacky Christmas sweater phenomenon), poodles with out-of-control haircuts, the toothpaste aisle at Target (why so many choices?!!), or getting behind the guy at the coffee shop that orders a drink that takes longer to explain than the State of the Union. It can be hard to edit oneself.

I've had a blue hank of one of my favorite yarns on my desk for months. I've been waiting for it to tell me what it wants to be and while at first I thought, "lace, no - cables," it's one of those hanks that is so beautiful by itself that it finally hit me - keep it simple, stupid. With that in mind, I'd like to introduce the Square Peg, Round Hole Hat. Designed to be a fun, simple, quick knit, this has become my new favorite hat.

With a generous brim of twisted ribbing, the effortless textured square design is an easy combination of knits and purls in the round, finishing off with slouchy crown decreasing on US 5 and 7 needles. The stunning Shalimar Yarns Enzo Worsted ( I will never get tired of knitting with this cashmere/superwash merino/nylon yarn) has such a wonderful subtle sheen and drape to it that feels lovely on the head. This hat has gone everywhere with me and I plan on keeping it that way.

The phrase "square peg, round hole" is an idiomatic expression which describes the unusual individualist who could not fit into a niche of his or her society. Everyone feels that way at one time or another and the textured squares on this hat are placed in a way that there's an illusion of a circle between them.

I'll work on those complex designs again someday soon, but in the meantime, I'm having fun keeping it simple.

Download the Square Peg, Round Hole Hat here.

Gotham Cowl KAL

We had a great bunch of knitters in the String Ravelry Group who participated in the Fair Isle Nordic Slouch Hat KAL! Learning in a group (and there's something really fun about a virtual group who meets up from all different locations) is a fantastic way to make new global knitting friends, meet up when it's convenient to your schedule and be able to go back and read everything as many times as it takes for the lightbulb to go on. I'd like to introduce the Gotham Cowl, my next project for String Yarns and our next String Yarns Ravelry Group KAL. Inspired by my years of living in and around New York City, this cowl may look like it's cabled, but in fact it's all lace!

I'll never forget sitting on the edge of my bed on my last night in Boston before leaving for Brooklyn. I had just graduated from RISD, my childhood room was filled with boxes ready to put on the moving truck in the morning, I was nervous, scared and unsure if this was the right path for me. I had a picture of the person I would be next time I sat on that bed. New York was close enough to catch a train or bus home and I wondered if I would have mastered the subway by my next visit back, would I have made any friends, would I hate it and want to come back, would I meet any other knitters, would I survive on my own? Looking back, I'm sure everyone who leaves home has these exact same thoughts and feelings. I was terrified.

I spent a lot of time walking in New York once I got there - I think that was my favorite thing about that city. Every turn around the corner could be a different world, a different neighborhood, a different experience. One day a friend and I walked Manhattan tip to tip (about 13 miles), starting at the north end of the island at 6am and finally reaching Battery Park late that evening. My feet were tired, my throat was dry, if I had to wait at another red light I may have screamed, but my goodness, did we have an adventure! I look back on that day and want to take the person I was then, sit her next to the scared person on the bed I was the night before I left home, and let her know everything was going to be okay. I wanted her to know that New York would become part of who she is, that it's ok to be scared, knitting would help me through and to embrace it.

I lived in New York for 7 years, but never once thought of myself as a New Yorker. I met my husband there, I had a lot of amazingly creative freelance jobs, I worked in film, television, at Vogue Knitting, Martha Stewart, made lifelong friends, learned about new cultures and learned how to widen my view of the world and everyone in it. Living there made me who I am today and I look back at my time there fondly, but always knew it was temporary. When I dream of New York, I find myself walking the streets, feeling the city vibrating below my feet, smelling the city smell and hearing the city noise. I picture the skyscrapers towering far above my head and feel like a rat in a maze trying to get where I need to be - that's what I picture when I see New York in my head - tall buildings stretching to the sky and me looking up from far below, clouds and sky blocked by steel and glass.

Inspired by the elegant and unparalleled skyline that is New York City, I'd like to invite you to join String Yarns and I in our next KAL, starting Tuesday, March 8th in the Ravelry Group. The Gotham Cowl is an ode to the city grid, with lines converging and fanning out like the streets seen from above. The architectural structure of the vertical columns is softened by the contrast of the feminine lace, bringing to mind New York City itself. I remember thinking, "If I can make it here, I can make it anywhere" and while the city can be tough, New Yorkers are some of the nicest people you'll ever meet.

Commencing with a provisional (or temporary) cast on, we'll learn how and why to do that, to read a lace chart that's knit back and forth, master basic lace knitting, read our knitting, find our place in a chart if we get lost, execute kitchener stitch and block lace to reach its full potential when finished. This is the kind of cowl I wore daily in springtime in New York - there's still a nip in the air but you don't need a big, bulky scarf to keep your neck warm. Designed to be worn long and open or doubled up and wrapped snug against your neck, this is a stunning cashmere cowl that you'll find yourself wearing every day. Knitting up on US 7's in String's luxurious String Classica, a worsted 100% cashmere, this cowl requires 3 balls and an appreciation for elegance.

Join us by becoming part of our Ravelry Group here. We start March 8th and I'll check in weekly with step-by-step photo tutorials, tips, tricks, advice and clear instructions on how to knit lace with ease. String Yarns is offering a 15% off discount with the code MarKAL16 when you purchase the kit directly from them here. Chose from over 25 colors of their yummy cashmere and join me!

And that girl, scared to death sitting on the edge of her bed? She turned out just fine.