Nearly a year has passed and suddenly it’s time to move again.
We never planned to be in Saint Louis more than a year, so it’s no surprise.
But still, it’s a stressful time.

I won’t rant and rave about all the pressure falling down on me right now,
but I will say it’s two weeks away and I’m gearing up to just power through it.

It’s been a long time coming, and we’re very excited to say we’ve chosen
Ann Arbor, Michigan as the place where we are FINALLY going to put down some roots.
We found a lovely 2.6 acre lot just NW of town, half a mile from the Huron River.
Architectural plans are being finalized and we will soon begin building.
I’m sure I’ll be posting more about that as things develop, so stay tuned.

Very exciting!

A few more months of dealing with storage units and living like gypsies,
but there will be a very silver lining at the end.

As a thunderstorm rolls in today, I’m headed to Hartford Coffee Co. for one last knitting group time.

Last night we spent another wonderful evening in Webster Groves with some amazing people,
whom we now call dear friends.

With impeccable guidance (and companionship), I’ve once again gotten to know a city
through exploring its food/restaurant scene.

I try not to be sentimental about leaving a place, but these are the things I will miss, most.

In the meantime, work has not slowed down for a minute.
A new and very exciting special collection will soon be released for Brooklyn Tweed.
(I promise, you won’t be disappointed! We are all gushing behind-the-scenes.)
We’re well underway with production on Fall 2013 designs and planning for Winter 2014.

More to come. x

I should mention, there’s a little pattern/yarn giveaway at the end of this post.

Earlier this month, our Brooklyn Tweed in-house design team published 18 new patterns – all of which we are very exited about. It’s always fun to see people debating which one they will knit first.

As our next collection deadline approaches (just wait until you see what we’ve been up to!), it’s fun to look back on the pieces I designed for the Winter Collection, remembering the inspiration behind them as well as the techniques I worked through to perfect each one. Each time I see one of my patterns published, I’m somewhat amazed it came out of me!

When seeking inspiration, I sometimes look in my own closet and find a favorite shirt or pant and ask myself what would go great with it. That is exactly how Hudson took shape. I love turtlenecks but for Hudson, I wanted one that had a more updated and flattering shape and more interesting texture. When it came to working through the waist and raglan shoulder shaping, I tried over and over until I was happy that I had created the perfect double decreases that blend with the twisted rib pattern. I’m going to make another one soon, maybe in a bright color (gasp).

I. Love. This. Scarf. With gorgeous texture and a simple cable repeat, it’s knitted extra wide and long for a really amazing accessory. During our initial concept meeting, I declared that I preferred the WS of the textured stitch pattern, while Jared voted for the RS as his favorite (shown above). For the pattern, we happily provided instructions for both. My design aesthetic leans well into the unisex category, so I made sure Kirkwood works equally well for a man or woman. Good luck fighting over it :) Head over here to see the WS version in Fossil (off-white) that the lovely and talented Nicole sample-knitted for me.

Over the past year I have played around in Illustrator working on a few ideas for potential colorwork. When we decided that we would feature colorwork in this collection, I came back to those ideas with new energy. The result was Kimmswick which quite honestly took on a life of its own as I worked through putting different charts together, building a cohesive balance of traditional and modern and putting some diagonal “white space” in the mix. Yes, I did plenty of ripping back to get it right. While there were moments when I thought it would never end, who knew that I would enjoy colorwork so much.

Last week, we were at Madrona for a fun meet and greet with knitters in the Rotunda. Our samples from this collection were featured in the Churchmouse Yarns & Teas booth in the market area, and every time I would stop by, people were trying Clayton on. Of course, it gave me great satisfaction to see that and it really worked for so many different ages and body types. I’m exited to explore more tailored garments in the future.

Thanks to my gorgeous friend Karen for modeling the sample garments before I shipped them off.

The names for these patterns are all neighborhoods in Saint Louis (paying homage to my current host city) with the exception of Hudson, which is the fantastic location of Hudson, NY where we shot the photos for this collection.

I’ve talked about myself long enough, but if you’re still reading, you can pop over to whitknits.com to read more about me in this month’s designer interview. (Psst, there’s a generous pattern collection and pattern/yarn giveaway as an incentive.)

Mostly, I am really interested in your thoughts. Please don’t be shy and leave a comment below!

Cheers. x

Nell
Lucie
Melissa
Julie

Congratulations and happy knitting :)

It’s very pleasant to see things still green
and growing here in Saint Louis, rather than
covered in layers of snow and sub-zero temperatures
as we left behind in Anchorage.

The red of winter berries always catch my eye.
I happened upon these this morning.

The next few weeks are going to be a
whirlwind of travel, loving on family,
visiting friends and (my personal talent)
eating as much wonderful food as possible.

May the upcoming holiday be warm and
peaceful for you and your loved ones.

May you also find plenty of time to knit. xx

A little teaser for one of them in the photo above.

This post may seem a bit premature, but there’s no telling
when I might get to it later, as demonstrated in my last one.

The pieces for this collection have been worked
over the past year, in my bits of spare time.
As you can see, there was a definite focus on
luxury fibers with rich color drama.

Yes, black and grey are colors :)

I’m very excited to be working with Jones & Vandermeer and Shibui yarns for these.

In the spirit of the holidays, leave me a comment
below for a chance to win a free pattern of your choice:
Bécot, Doux, Frontenac or Garance.

Make sure to leave a valid email (kept private)
or your Ravelry username so I will know how to contact you.
The winners will be announced on Sunday the 9th.

As always, enjoy, and let the holiday knitting kick into full gear!

xx

Early last spring, when it came time to conceptualize the Fall Collection, I was already in love with, but still relatively new to using Brooklyn Tweed yarn. There is something so calming and comforting about its unique woolen spun tweedy goodness. The resulting fabric from one stitch pattern or gauge to another is infinite and well, just special. So with such a range in front of me, I went crazy swatching for days.

Little by little a few of them kept finding their way into my hands and into my pockets and handbag as I went about the other parts of my busy life. Soon I was sketching the shapes I felt best suited each one and then our first design team meeting took place. (That is a story worth a whole other blog post, but simply put, it was magical how it all came together. Let’s just say, I am the luckiest woman to be part of the BT team, end of story!)

If there is one driving force that defines each of the pieces I contributed, it would be easy comfort without sacrificing style.

First is Bowen (shown above) ‐ a funky, unconventional, textured turtleneck. This began from a stitch pattern I used for my palette cowl, which I fell in love with for its supple, stretchy and reversible texture. After swatching in a couple different gauges using Loft, I knew it would work great for a modern, semi-tailored garment. This piece is fitted through the collar and shoulder area, then takes a decided turn and becomes loose and boxy through the body down to the offset hem. Worn alone it has a very casual, relaxed feel; but layered over something like a button-down shirt, it can easily smarten up for work or an afternoon on the town. Either way, it’s seriously easy to wear.

Next up (seen above, and actually the first piece I worked on) is Driftwood, which is the ultimate in comfort. When Jared saw the stitch pattern I chose for this long, oversized fit, the first thing he said was “Oooh, that’s going to be so squishy!” and he is so right. It’s a bit of a yarn hog, so Shelter is really the perfect choice to keep a good amount of loft in a pullover that might otherwise become very heavy. The wide turtleneck collar is the finishing touch I can never get enough of, so get used to seeing it from me!

Loose oversized tops are always on my list for the go-to wardrobe piece. Hayward (seen above) went into sketch phase immediately, as the idea for it had been floating around in my head for some time. Knitted at an even looser gauge than normal for Loft (which is a fingering weight yarn), it drapes perfectly and flatters most body types despite it’s boxy shape. The seams up the sides and deep raglan shoulder shaping helps the garment to hold together structurally (just in case you’re inclined to knit it in the round – think twice!) and gives you the opportunity to expose the seams during finishing for a more urban look. I love the unusual fit of this top. It’s hard to describe until you just put it on and it falls into place.

And then there’s the Turnagain cowl. Pure indulgence for my addiction to graphic stripe sequences. (You’ll see me do more of this, too!) The name for this accessory is a play on the endless nature of where you can turn the stripes to show (or not show) as the cowl is worn, but it also happens to be a location that I greatly admire and miss for it’s beauty, just outside Anchorage to the south as you drive toward Girdwood. The Turnagain Arm, for those who know it. For those who don’t, Google it.

I’d love to hear your opinion, especially if there is a piece you’re working on and want to link to your project by leaving a comment below.

We’re already jumping into a collection two beyond this one, so look forward to more amazing things from the BT design team, as well as the upcoming Wool People 4 collection, which is coming very soon.

A few subtle hints have been dropped and some of you reading this may already know, because I was officially “outed” yesterday. But, now the teasing is over …

I’ve joined the Brooklyn Tweed Design Team!

Buckle up, because this post is going to be much longer than usual.

It’s hard to find the right words to express what the last few months have meant to me.

For the past year I have hemmed and hawed over whether to officially stop my freelance work as an art director and pursue knit design full time. I knew in my heart I wanted to, but there’s always that little bit of doubt.

Enter Jared Flood.

First, the shock when he asked me if I might be interested.

Uhhh… hang on a minute while I get back on my chair and check my pulse.

The chance to work with Jared and Michele and Leila (although she’s now behind the scenes… and missed for sure) is an opportunity any designer would die for. Of course I “thought” about it for a few days, but my answer was already YES!!!

Then the extra excitement when I heard who else was joining the team. The master, Véronik.

And before I knew it, we were all diving head first into our initial collaboration together.

(All while my life was quite literally turning inside out moving from Anchorage to Saint Louis!)

Let’s just say, I am one lucky woman and yes, I know it.

So now, I am honored and I am humbled and I am excited beyond words to finally be able to share this with a wider audience than just my family and closest friends. (All of whom deserve an award for patiently putting up with having such a knitting nerd in their life!)

If you haven’t already done so, go immediately to see the Fall 2012 Look Book for our first of many collections to come. And while you’re trying to decide which 4 or 5 or 6 are your favorite and which one you will knit first, I will work on putting together another post giving you a behind the scenes scoop of my individual pieces.

Fall is here. And you know what that means. Let the knitting begin!

xx

It’s been several months in the making.
And I know some of you have been waiting very patiently.

Ahem, myself included.

It was a wonderful experience to work
with Manos del Uruguay yarns
and Fairmount Fibers (their distributor)
designing these five new pieces
for their collection of Fall patterns.
I thank them, warmly, for giving me
the opportunity and such creative freedom.

With no further ado, the patterns are now available
for PDF download via the Manos Ravelry Store.

Introducing:
Beaubourg
Flore
Marly
Palette (shown above)
Fumior

I hope you will knit one or two
for yourself, or someone you love.

Enjoy. xx

I also want to give a shout-out to both
Jana Yu (miss you!) and Karen Tedesco
for jumping in to model for the photos at a moments notice.

In Karen’s case, having just moved to Saint Louis,
I was desperate and asked her quite spontaneously
as we were waiting in the reception area of
the Aveda Salon. After getting to know her,
I can honestly say I’m so glad I did!

(The photo above is a little hint.)

Something I CAN tell you, however,
is that the wonderful people at Manos del Uruguay
have assured me that my collection of patterns for Fall
are in the final stages of photos and layouts
and will be up on Ravelry on or near July 24th!

The samples will be going out for trunk shows then as well,
so I will try to get a schedule posted here, soon.

Yeah!

Wishing everyone a wonderful week. xx

Moving is never fun,
and this move has been a particular challenge,
but things are beginning to return
to some sense of normalcy for me.

Thank goodness.

I’m still unpacking and organizing
in my scarce free moments
when I’m not designing and knitting.

No, you didn’t read that backwards!

The photo above is a wrap / scarf I most happily created
for the Brooklyn Tweed | Wool People 3 Collection.
Such a pleasure to work with Jared and Crew.
And to be in the company of such amazing talent! xx

For giggles, you can tune in to the Ready Set Knit Podcast
this Saturday to hear my interview with Kathy from WEBS.
(Apologies in advance for my soapbox rant about the virtues of seaming!)

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer
and finding some time and energy for the needles.
I know my lovely Aussie friends
are ready for some serious knitting!

Very excited to have this collection finished!
As I mentioned in my last post,
these are for Manos del Uruguay yarns, Fall 2012 Collection.

Still coming up with names for each.
1 | Oversized pullover in Maxima
2 | Striped raglan pullover in Silk Blend
3 | Boxy Tee in Serena
4 | Chunky textured cowl in Classica
5 | Handwarmer/Sleeves in Maxima

They’re busy getting the patterns ready now.
So if you happen to be at TNNA in June,
stop by and see them in person.

They should be available via Ravelry download soon, too.

In other news, we sold our house last month!
And as of yesterday, the movers have begun packing.
By next week I’ll be off traveling with the family.
Arrival in Saint Louis around May 20th.

Lots more exciting things to come…

xx