Twist (and Shout)!

Seeing how the next issue of Twist is about to come out, I thought it was time to blog about one of my designs that I've been promising to write about - Victoria - from the premiere issue of the Twist Collective. The online magazine is the brainchild of four wonderful fiber folks - Kate Gilbert, Irene Vandervoot, Julia Farwell-Clay, and Mary Jackson. That's a lot of talent there and I am so impatient to see what future issues will have in store for us. Patterns are sold individually in downloadable pdf form and the business model makes it a truly collaborative and creative endeavor between the designers and the Twist team. I'm really honored and excited to be a part of the first issue and hope that I'll be lucky enough to make more appearances in the future.

For Victoria, I was aiming to create an ultra feminine cardigan with a casual feel. Picot edgings give it a girlish whimsy and the high necked collar makes it a little formal. Small, bead buttons (chosen by Kate) also give it a dressed up vibe. Yet, when unbuttoned, the cardigan can be very casual. Unfortunately, the Twist team was interrupted during their photo shoot and had to scrap plans to photograph it opened (they blogged about it here).

From that post, here's a picture of it unbuttoned:


This is one of the few designs I've done where I didn't knit the sample myself. Terri, of KnittingTheBlues, did a fantastic job knitting it for me. When I design, I tinker quite a bit on the fly and she was patient enough to ride through the bumpiness that results from that tinkering. I think she reknit the front bands three times to make sure it looked just right. She sent me a picture of it when she was almost finished:

The deep rich, tonal color of that Shibui Merino Kid yarn is so lovely. I had a skein of it to swatch with and I just adored how the modified seed stitch picked up the subtle color variations.

I can't wait to get this sweater. I think it's making the rounds with the other projects from the premiere issue.