October already! If you’ve read my blog before, you probably remember how much autumn energizes me. Yes, I’m a nerd who loved going back to school, but the cool weather, the colorful leaves, Halloween, it all makes me so happy.
For years, another autumnal high point has been the release of the new Rowan Magazine.
This year it’s volume 74 (in my old fogey voice: “I remember when the volume number was in the 20s….”). When I first started doing book and magazine reviews, the internet was not what it is now and many knitting companies didn’t have much of a presence on the web. It’s much easier now to find lots of photos of what’s in a book or magazine, so I’m going to just highlight some of my favorite designs from this issue.
How about this glorious stranded colorwork scarf called Scree, by one of my all-time faves Martin Storey?
Scree, by Martin Storey (Martin, I love you so much)
One design theme that fascinates me is the use of stranded colorwork in slightly unusual ways. I like the way Martin Storey combines colorwork and a textured diamond pattern in this cardigan:
Chloe Thurlow’s Banner combines panels of colorwork with an allover lace pattern.
Banner Vest
Lisa Richardson fuses a top-down yoke with Fair Isle motifs, but the zigzag row at the bottom reminds me of Lopi designs. But wait — it comes in a jumper as well as a cardigan (in another stunning color combo):
I also like the use of Felted Tweed with Felted Tweed Colour (which morphs from shade to shade) as the contrast, smoothly changing as the pattern develops.
Range sweater
In my book, there’s no such thing as too much Kaffe Fassett. Here’s a fun geometric design knit intarsia-style (left) and a long coat with more geometric motifs (right):
Another thing you can rely on in a Rowan Magazine is variety of techniques. We’ve seen stranded and intarsia colorwork; how about adding some slip stitches, for the cover design?
Serac by Martin Storey
The colors are lovely but I’m also imagining all kinds of color variations, since Rowan Felted Tweed comes in over 50 shades.
Some great stitch patterns at work here — a more playful cardi on the left and a long elegant jacket on the right.
Mulling over patterns is such a pleasure. The leaf motifs on this Vibeke Lind sweater (swoon!):
If you’re looking for some easier projects, there are some low-key choices for you, too. It’s fun to have multiple ways to style the same garment, like this design from Lisa Richardson:
Rowan Magazine 74 is available at Rowan stockists all over the world — use this tool to find one near you or online.
