New Toy Thanks Uncle Sam!

So this year I got a really good tax return. The best ever. It probably had a lot to do with not working for those 4 months and paying really high taxes all the other months...Anyhow I have been having a really good time with my new found fortune. I bought a skateboard, a bunch of clothes & shoes in Hong Kong (was there for work last month), a Marc by Marc Jacobs bag, and best of all A KNITTING MACHINE!!

I haven't been on one of these puppies in about 9 months, but I guess it really is like riding a bicycle. My first "e" wrap cast-on came quite naturally and I was knitting away in seconds. I owe some of the ease to the machine itself. I got it from an ebay shop called Woodsmokeandoranges. The owner of the shop specializes in selling knitting machines and knitting supplies. She is a power seller with 100% positive feedback. She re-furbishes and knits with every machine before she posts it for sale. I HIGHLY recommend this seller as my machine runs like a dream and she was extremely helpful with information and prompt with shipping.

The machine I purchased is a Brother KH860 standard gg machine complete with punchcard and separate lace carriage. I haven't tested out the lace carriage yet but I'll get there. So far I have started the sweater directly below this paragraph. I am pretty impatient so I use a lot of holding (or partial knitting?) to get interesting shapes. I really like back details and fluttery things. I also knit the scarf below, using a yarn that was really much to skinny for the machine. But the machine is a trooper so she knit the odd yarn well enough. I will hopefully finish the sweater within the week and post will post it soon. It's so nice to have a real hobby..

Nothing to do with sweaters but...

The Spring/ Summer 2009 Athe Collection by Vanessa Bruno is EXACTLY how I want to be dressing this summer. Everything looks so cool and loose and care-free. Plus it is a very blonde hair/ fair skin friendly color palette. I'm a little surprised at myself for loving the Katie Holmes baggy rolled cuff thing. I guess she was on to something that whole time... although it kills me to admit it.

Made by..

One of my good friends recently made a very bold move and started her own line of sweaters and sweater accessories. The line, Made by, is hand knit in Peru with eco-friendly 100% baby Alpaca yarns and practices fair trade policies. Each sweater is stamped with the name of the woman who knit the sweater and access to a full biography of the artisan will be available on the company's website.

In addition to being socially and ecologically conscious, Made by merges fashion forward silhouettes and knitting techniques with old world craftsmanship. I made a little collage above of some of my favorite pieces from the line. I have seen the poncho in person and it is gorgeous. The yarn quality is super soft and the rich colors are made from all-natural plant based dyes.

Sweaters from this line will be available starting this Fall/ Winter. I have been promised a list of stores, which I will post as soon as I receive them and also have been informed that some pieces will be available for retail directly to the consumer on the website soon.

Best of Fall sweaters .. Part une

I've been slowly and steadily working my way through the Fall 2009/2010 shows and so far sweater highlights have been as follows:

Missoni:

Even though Missoni is one of the most well- know designer houses for knitwear I don't usually look to them too much for inspiration. Their signature zig-zaggy multi stripes and weird stitches are usually a little machine-y for my taste. The fall '09 shows were a much different story this year, however. Their knits were rich, full, and chunky. I am in love with the deep cowl, fold- over tunic as a key body shape for the upcoming season. The accessories are almost a collection within themselves. The stand-out accessory for me was the mixed rib eternity scarf. If you are a knit accessory enthusiast I suggest checking out the full show on NYmag.com. I've only posted a few of my favs due to time/space constraint.

Kenzo:

The most cohesive knitwear statement at Kenzo was pattern mixing: Stripes + Jacquards and within the patterns mixing matte + sparkly + fuzzy yarns. There was also a stand out chunky sweater dress of mixed cables, ribs and bobbles and an impressively embroidered coat that may or may not be sweater... Also a non-sweater aside: the boots are amazing!

Marithe + Francois Girbaud:

If you can look past the kind of creepy styling of the models you will notice 3 really beautiful sweaters. The body shapes are soft and feminine and the rather simple rib, jersey and reverse jersey stitches are engineered artfully. This is the second season I have noticed some really stand-out knitwear from them and I would love to know who is designing the sweaters right now...

There are of course many more beautiful sweaters to come..

hey where've you been Mersh...

The answer is finishing my knitting class, spending 2 weeks drinking and traveling, moving back to Philly, working on my portfolio, waitressing, interviewing in NY, getting a job, moving to NY, working at aforementioned job and uh... finally learning to handknit. So that's my excuse. But now that I'm sorta settled I figured I wold turn my attentions back to my bloggie blog.

I'm going to write about sweaters only from now on. I know in the past I had posted about random other fashion things, but sweaters are what I really know and you should usually stick to writing about things you know right? And boy do I know sweaters man. Anyway I was going to post some of my handknit stuff but I realized my camera battery is dead so I'll leave this alone for the night and save it for another day. A demain.

My new label - kinda

I made this tag for a cardigan I knit in class. I would post the actual sweater but it doesn't really have what industry types would call "hanger appeal". Although it is looks well made and flattering on a person, off it looks like a big 'ole pile of yarn. And I am alone at the moment, with no one to put it on or no one to take a picture of it on me.

I've already gotten a lot of positive reactions to this piece though, and it has inspired me to work a little harder at doing my own line when I get home. Nothing big of course- I still wouldn't quit my day job (If I had one); just some supplementary income on the side. More importantly it would help me stay a little more true to myself as a designer. In the past I have fallen into the rut of editing designs to meet the needs or preferences of some higher up person and in the end have lost myself a bit aesthetically. I think this class has really helped my confidence in terms of knowing what I like and just doing it, without seeking permission or approval, which ultimately is what leads to new and interesting design.

Hyperbolic Crochet

So one of the cool things about the Knit-1 class I'm taking is that we get to go on lots of field trips. And they are way better than the field trips I remember from High school. So far 3 of them have involved shopping. But there have been educational ones as well and my favorite has been our trip to the Hayward Gallery in London to see the hyperbolic crochet coral reef exhibit.

What is hyperbolic crochet you may ask? Well that link can explain better than me, but basically it is a method of using crochet to illustrate the mathematical concept of hyperbolic space. The Hayward exhibit is comprised of hand crocheted versions of the Great Barrier Reef. Although parts were submitted from women around the world, I think the bulk of the ladies were from Australia. The exhibit is completely free and you can take as many pictures as you want. Which I did as you can see. It only runs till August 17th so if you are in or around London I guess you have to try and catch it this week.

Macrame

So I was really excited last week to get a chance to do some macramé. I have never really done it before but it is a lot like a fancy version of the friendship bracelets I used to make in Junior high. The above picture is a macramé sweater by Ferragamo. (I apologize for the poor picture quality, I don't have access to a scanner here so I am taking digital pics of the magazines) I love this sweater though... not sure how many guys would actually wear it... but that's not really the point. Below is the macramé swatch that I made. I ran out of yarn because I tied so many knots so it ends a little abruptly. Also I actually made all the yarn for the top bodice on the machine, 3 stitches wide strips of jersey, so that I had something thicker & more rope-like to work with.



The bottom panel is using holding cam again to get all the volume at the bottom but with drop needles for a more open look. There is a trend on at the moment for really webby, open stitches and this was a pretty simple way to achieve that look.

Notes from Knitting School-Week 1- Stripes and holding

As you may or may not know, I am currently spending the summer in Brighton, England to take the 12 week Knit-1 design workshop for machine knitting. We just wrapped up or second week and I wanted to post some pictures of what I've made so far. The first week was all about stripes and holding. "Holding" is a technique on the knitting machine where you don't knit certain needles and it creates shape. It makes kind of a triangly shape and if you stripe it at the same time you can get triangle or chevron patterns. It is actually really easy but can look super complicated. This swatch I made below is a pretty good example of holding. All the swatches we make look like little mini sweaters. I have to sew the sleeves on this one over the weekend.


The toes I think add a certain something as well. Another thing we learned in the first hour of class is that you can pretty much knit any kind of fabric in with the yarn on the machine. I made this kind of silly looking swatch below that has a bunch of crazy fabric ruffles knit into it:


All of our swatches for the moment are in black, ivory and shades of grey. It is mostly so that we concentrate more on the patterns and techniques, instead of getting caught up in choosing colors. We will eventually move into color though.

Mersh goes to England

Well it's been a long long long time since I have last posted. But I had to mention that Mersh is going to England soon, June 19th to be exact for approx 3 months to learn the true art form of knitting. I am planning on maxing out my credit card even more in order to get a laptop and properly document this adventure so stay tuned it's just starting to get good. Knitting can be very sexy and bad-ass I swear...

PS this image is one of the more interesting ones that popped up when I google image search "England + knitting needles". This is in no way a picture of myself..