let's check the mags, eh?

I was really excited about the re-launch of knit.1. I always enjoyed it before--it was young, different, kind of kitschy. Now, it is a little more polished and more like everything else, but I'm glad to see they've kept up some of the silly things, like the amigurumi zodiac characters.

There's a great article on natural dyeing by Shannon Oakey (not that I'm into that, but the pictures look very instructive). What I was really excited about though was the article on the bloggers. They got some popular bloggers, including some I hadn't read before, to all submit patterns, and they have some information about each of them, such as their motivations/inspirations, and pictures of their work areas. I'd seen a couple of the bloggers talking about their designs on their blogs, so was curious to see how the spread would look all together. Not bad! Obviously not everything is to my taste, but I do so love these socks. I've long admired Ysolda Teague's designs, although I've never knit any of them. But these are the best knee socks I've ever seen. I am so in love with them. I also love the sparkly shawl and the airy scarf, but those aren't part of the bloggers' story. One of the things I'd really like to try is knitting with beads, and these two patterns are really cool. Maybe someday... I don't really care so much for the hippy fashion spread, but I kind of like Cathy Carron's crazy 'mock cardigan' with the lazy daisies. The color choices wouldn't have been mine, but I would love one of those in a blue and brown perhaps. I also LURV her two tone preppy cardigan with the bobbly front. I WOULD SO WEAR THAT EVERYDAY.

Favorite pattern count: 5

So what else have I been reading? Pretty much everything. I'll have to do a few at a time, I think. Let's go with the VK Winter 2008/9. I have a subscription to VK, and boy, I'm always excited when it comes, especially now that IK isn't so satisfying. This issue is not my favorite one, but it does contain a lot of beautiful garments. The one thing that does irritate me about VK is the size of the type in their columns. It is so small that it is like they're encouraging you not to read it. "Move along, you've got PATTERNS to peruse." I'm really glad that they have an explanation for the EZ snail hat, which I love. I also love the whole bulky yarn spread, especially the Faith Hale cape (the purple one in the preview). In the 'Winter Whites' section, I love, love, love Heather Carlson's sweater with the buckle across the chest. Love it. Not so sure I'd ever knit it, but I would really love to have it. That's about it. I'm not so into long gloves, and Tom Ford's cape thingie is not really that original. Not a big fan of Twinkle, although I'm weirdly obsessed with her little bra top vest. That's about it. Who knew I was such a fan of Cathy Carron though? Weird.

Favorite Patterns: 3

Oh well. Lots of pretty pictures in the mag, but not so many things I'd actually knit or wear. Next up: Interweave Crochet and Crochet Today. Yippee!