Fall 2009 knit fashion forecast

Perhaps the super hot temps we're having have addled my brain, but I'm going out on a limb here and predicting what will be hot when the weather turns cool. What do I think will be "in" for ready to wear knitwear, so you know what projects to focus on to be stylin'? How about:

Double breasted cardigans, or deep vee cardigans with 2 buttons at the hem/band. Big, round buttons are also going to be... big. Funky collars, cowls, shawl collars, and dangly sweater fronts will also be everywhere.

Another thing I've noticed: texture still abounds, especially cables, and sideways knits will still be around. While there are some stripes, intarsia and Fair Isle/colorwork hasn't made a big comeback yet (oh, but it will someday). Chunky is also going to be hot (I have this on good authority, beyond my researches).

Sleeve lengths for cardigans will be "any" -- you can pair a short, cap or 3/4 sleeved cardigan with a long sleeved shirt underneath, which is handy dandy for people like me who want to wear their hard work for more than one season. Cascade Sierra and Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece, both cotton/wool blends make great sweaters that can be worn year round. Just choose a year round color (hot pink or robin's egg blue don't qualify). Pullover sweaters are mainly long sleeved, and I haven't noticed any flashy dangly lacy poetic cuffs. Just plain.

Sweater lengths are coming back into the "adult" range -- those little cropped half sweaters aren't showing up as much outside the teen departments, and even there they are disappearing. Since I don't have six-pack abs and I'm long past my teen years, all I can say is HALLELUJAH! Um, and to be perfectly honest, since I sell yarn, that means I'll sell more because you have to knit a whole sweater, not a half sweater! Maybe we should have an "add length to your crop" class this fall?

Oddly, I don't see a lot of vests in ready to wear. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong places. I hope so. Vests are awesome, and a great knitting project because you don't have to knit sleeves-of-doom-and-endlessness and "Now I have to knit ANOTHER ONE?" If you make a cardigan vest (and I have seen some of these) you can put it on and take it off at will, or like me: whenever you get a hot flash, and your hair stays intact.

Colors? Tweeds will be big. Other colors are the standard ones: plums, browns, deep tones that are kind of "jewel tones" but without the brightness, because, well, the economy is bad, so you don't want to be flaunting amethysts, rubies and sapphires in front of the impoverished masses. But "purple heart," "American Beauty," and "Majolica" are OK to wear -- they're slightly toned down versions. Add to those a gray, on the darker side, a honey gold and an olive green. Interestingly, the color palette of semisolid colors from Handmaiden pretty much covers what will be in colorwise (as seen on sea silk).

Scarf knitters, take note! They're now calling them "neck wraps" and we saw them this past spring: sort of a bedouin look at least once around the neck. Well that's going to carry over into fall and winter when necks actually get cold. These scarves are 12" to 14" wide and at least 60" long going around the neck once in sort of a cowl. They're long enough that the ends hang down but not past the hip. Skinny scarves, not so much. You can still wear 'em, but loop them around your neck several times otherwise it's going to look... dated. And those fun fur scarves are officially extinct. Please put them in the back of your closet.

Hand knitting trends:
Menswear. For men. I predict that sweaters for men will make a resurgence. Maybe even men knitting their own sweaters will take hold, but that might be really way out on a limb. There is an emergence of nice classic guy sweater designs; Norah Gaughan has an excellent booklet for Berroco. And if you pair "chunky yarn" with "men's sweater" you can knit one in no time.

WWKIP Day

World Wide Knit in Public Day is June 13. As one of my friends says, "There are no good weekends" -- this conflicts with Car d'Lane. Next year it will conflict with Ironman, I think, which is a scary prospect.

Undaunted by this, we're forging ahead anyways and meeting on the lawn across the street from Bakery By The Lake -- the one at the Parkside Highrise, on Front street from 9am - noonish. Bring a chair, and your knitting or crocheting or your "The Shop on Blossom Street" paperback. More info is here: http://www.wwkipday.com/find_kip.htm?kipid=1332

I hope to see you before I have to dash off to open the shop!

In other news

Since the shop isn't exactly on the tourist track and only 3 people have ever asked (two of them producers), I don't carry any local Alpaca. At $9/ounce, with most skeins being 3.5 ounces, I think it's kind of a tourist thing, moneywise. Of course the shop does have local handspun and hand dyed yarns, and I just got in some undyed alpaca that's 220 yards/3.5 ounces. It is a suitable replacement for any housepet, I swear. I keep petting it, it is that soft. The yarn on the top in the picture is Eastport Alpaca, which is 70% US grown Alpaca and 30% wool, made in the USA.

Sadly, I'm not going to TNNA this year. I'd rather spend the travel money on yarn. I'm sure you all understand!

A bunch of blather

Well, OK, fabulously important stuff.

Ha!

First -- Dream in Color takes 8 weeks to get so it's going to be a while since I only placed the order on April 30. Well, the rep did.

Second, the latest issue of Wild Fibers magazine is in now. That is an excellent magazine, and you know how guys say they read certain magazines just for the articles (ahem), well, Wild Fibers really does have fabulous articles, ferinstance:

Busting out of Brooklyn
Contrary to his parents sincerest desires, Francis Chester was determined to shed his Brooklyn upbringing and reconnect with his Italian shepherding roots which go back at least five generations. Confronted with a myriad of obstacles, including a lost horse that ultimately “led” him to his wife, Francis Chester operates one of the oldest cottage mills processing 25,000 pounds a year from his combined herd of Columbian and Merino sheep. Although a lawyer by training, Francis has never regretted his “break-out” from the city life more than fifty years ago.

Transylvania!
As the lore of Dracula continues to quench those with a bloodthirsty desire, the mountains of Romania are still alive with shepherds and their sheep who continue to battle tremendous issues of predation, and now the new regulations imposed by the EU of which they have recently joined. For many, it’s not the fear of vampires, but can shepherds survive the bite of modern times?

Habiba’s Field of Dreams
Surrounded by Tanzania’s Usambaru Mountains and wandering Masaai shepherds, Habiba Bota’s life was transformed when she joined the Katani family of sisal growers and saw her income grow from one or two dollars a day to approximately $400/month. Sisal, one of the most important plant fibers featured in the International Year of Natural Fibres, not only makes durable carpets and rope, but it’s a renewable source of energy using biogas and bringing electricity to some of the most rural parts of the country.

Speaking of reading -- my reorder of CookieA's sock book "Sock Innovation," is on its way along with a few other backordered items. in fact, I missed the UPS man today and for some strange reason the package required a signature, so he didn't leave it next door like usual (which is truly odd because they're OK with signing, but I think the Friday UPS guy is more, um, lazy that the rest-of-the-week UPS guy. This is based on past experience, not just a crystal ball vision, but I digress)

Sadly, the coffee mugs I ordered are out. Not just backordered, but gone entirely! I'm working on an alternate source and I do have an excellent supply of mugs with pictures of knits on them.

While I'm working on an alternate source of beverage dispensers, I'm also working on picking up another line of inexpensive self patterning sock yarns. In fact, I'm doing that today, so I'd better stop blogging shortly. I will say that I've tested one out and the sock I made is yummy and is wearing well.

More needles

Just a quickie, but I got in more circs and DPNs today, including the elusive 16" US6 circs.
Also on a shelf are some rare and unobtainium colors of Lion Cotton Ease -- from the warehouse of House of Marley, these are kid colors (brights) that Lion quit making for whatever reason (and now they only make grownup colors). Oh, and some Nature's Choice organic cotton is here. It's cool stuff and I can get more colors, I'm not sure why I have the colors I do. In my mind there was probably some crazy idea about making myself a sweater. Crazy.

We have press

Hopefully this link works!
http://tinyurl.com/c2nrun

It's an article from April 12 Spokane Spokesman Review, about the shop (and I don't sell fabric bundles, but oh well).

Spring

The crocus are up (and will probably wilt when we get that 70 degree day coming soon), and I have daffodils blooming as well! The deer didn't eat them, probably due to the large amount of deer repellent that Wee and the gang have squirted around the yard. Bless their little puggy bladders. We have tons of spring yarns in the shop so you can continue knitting in warmer temps. Also coming soon is more Malabrigo, but they are backordered on Abril and Solis sock colors, which seem to be two of the favorites.

Also coming are some camoflage colors from another company in Uruguay that I order from twice a year -- it's the same soft merino as Malabrigo, but different colors, plus they have some superwash. I got greens and camo this time so everyone can knit "Knucks" for their favorite hunter guy. Or birdwatcher guy. Or gal! (Well, maybe "Fetching" for women). Those patterns can be found at www.knitty.com

Also on order are some fabulous dyed spinning fibers in superwash Merino and Blue Faced Liecester, more easily spelled and pronounced BFL. Also in that batch are some silk "bits" for spinners, felters and quilters.

Crochet

It is official -- I can crochet! I say this because those of you that know me are well aware that I don't really think I can, having made a granny square that had 5 sides, and sticking mainly to flowers. Since then however, I realized I've crocheted three hats, a Rastafarian pug tam (complete with black yarn dreadlocks) and a million flowers.

Yesterday, a woman came in for help with a granny square and... and... I helped her! And she's on her way! So I guess I do know how to crochet. Or at least decipher the crochet code directions in old Leisure Arts booklets. This particular thing had unfortunate parenthesis that would totally lead me to making the same mistake the woman did, causing too many ch5 loops. (Yeah, look at my blatant use of crochet abbreviations! I feel so smug.)

Meeting with a rep

First, did everyone have fun at the Spin-In? It was great this year and I wish I could have stayed longer, but the shop called.

I met with a rep yesterday and bought some lovely stuff. Now I just have to coordinate the "go-with" items!

For instance, I bought a large pile of Plymouth yarn's new undyed yarn. They had a lot of different ones and I can't remember them all! Sock yarns (including one with silk and cashmere) and alpaca lace and there was something about llama if I recall. What's the go-with? This spring, when the sogginess dries up, how about a dying workshop?

Then there's the new Renaissance buttons I'm getting. Some of them are perfect for baby sweaters, and I made sure to get plenty. Button storage and display needs to be worked on.

I also bought some Artyarns so that people can make the Wool Peddler that will be hanging here shortly. Of course the go-with for that is the book, Folk Shawls (I think that's it -- I'll need more copies). And I ordered up some yarn that you can make Ice Queen from Knitty. I should probably get on making a shop sample.

Then there's SouthWest Trading Company. Bamboo has been quite popular here, and there is a free-with-purchase shawl pattern that uses 4 skeins, so I ordered some more colors including black and also white because it's going to be wedding season eventually! Honest, spring will arrive sometime later this year. The go-with is a shop sample. Yeah, someday. Ha!

Noni has some cute new patterns that I'm getting, including a cool laptop bag and some great evening purses.