IN THIS EDITION : Crochet Special Issue, Kathy Merrick’s Cover Shawl, Top Crochet Tips, Stitch N' Pitch, Your Copyright Questions, Free One-Skein Patterns from Skacel
So far so good. We’ve been getting wonderful responses to our Vogue Knitting Crochet Special Collector’s Issue 2012, and it isn’t even (officially) on newsstands yet! It’s now available in the Vogue Knitting Magazine app for your iPad, and we’ve heard it’s at some local yarn stores already.
There’s plenty to intrigue the skilled. In an uncommon blend of techniques, Lisa Daehlin’s Lace Coat (#37) alternates Tunisian crochet and broomstick lace. The ultimate in poolside wear, Kristin Omdahl’s sultry, drawstringed Long Dress (#7, right) contains so many different patterns it’s a sampler unto itself. Just getting started? Any of the several bracelet designs would make for a great first project—or a quick summer accessory fix.
VK360° videos provide up-close views of each design on a model, narrated with helpful technical notes by Patterns Editor Lori Steinberg.
Cover Girl
Cover designer Kathy Merrick talks to Yarn Editor Christina Behnke about being a lefty crocheter and achieving one of her oldest dreams as a designer, and shares some tips on making her Motif Wrap (#42) in Rowan’s luscious “Kidsilk Haze.”
Copyright, Written
Last month, we asked Vogue Knitting email newsletter readers and Facebook fans for their questions on U.S. copyright issues and knitting. New York-based attorney Jason M. Krellenstein responds to five of them.
Crochet Tips from the Stars
Whether you can loop with the best of them or are new to the hook, every crocheter can benefit from some expert advice. We asked a host of the starriest crochet designers and teachers we know for their all-time favorite crochet tips.
Needles and Hooks do the Wave
Spring has sprung, the sixth season of Stitch N’ Pitch has begun. Get your projects ready and head to the games for the big-time stitch-ins organized by The National Needlearts Association, alongside Major League and Minor League Baseball.
A few fastball facts:
· Guinnness World Record for “Most People Crocheting at the Same Time”: 2010 New York Mets game
· Highest Stitch N’ Pitch game attendance: 1200
· First yarnbombing at Major League stadium: 2011 Mets game
· Where you’ll find Vogue Knitting booth: Citi Field, home of the New York Mets, on June 3 (Stop and say hello!)
Six Free One-Skein Patterns from Skacel
This month, we’re showcasing six free Skacel patterns—the result of a terrific partnership—on our website. Each uses just one skein of HiKoo Simpliworsted.
Here’s the tale of how the patterns came to be:
In junior high school, Karin Skacel of Skacel Collection chose shop class over home economics. “Ironically, I grew up to own a knitting company, but I am a journeyman carpenter,” she says. She doesn’t want men to feel “like outcasts in a women’s world,” the way she did in the male-dominated field of carpentry. “So when the Men’s Fall Knitting Retreat came to Seattle,” where Skacel is based, “we welcomed them with open arms.”
“The Men's Knitting Retreats are an opportunity,” says Mike Wade, the fall West Coast edition organizer, “for men to come together and celebrate their love of all things fiber.” The first took place in spring 2008 in New York, and it soon spread to other U.S. regions, as well as to the U.K. and New Zealand. Many who’ve participated report an amazing experience. How often do they get to talk knitting shop, man to man? You know, bobbles and lace and stuff?
Before the start of last year’s MKFR, Skacel sent the men a goody bag with a pattern design challenge: What could they create with one skein of HiKoo Simpliworsted? Nearly half showed up with designs, and Skacel bought them all.
