Spring Magazines

The spring issues of Vogue Knitting and Interweave Knits have hit the shelves, with the expected ratio of winners to losers for spring knitting magazines.  Here's what I liked.

The Color Zig-Zag Top from Vogue Knitting is pretty cool, especially considering the Missoni-mania going on lately.  I'm not sure about the color palette for me, but I think this would be a really fun piece to knit and wear.  The shaping and finishing are pretty minimal, and you know how I feel about a good stripe.  The tee was designed in Debbie Bliss Eco Baby, an organic sport weight cotton.  We stock this yarn in some soft baby colors, but I would probably go for the richer color palette of the Cascade Ultra Pima or Karabella Vintage Cotton.

I also really like the Slit-Shoulder Top in Classic Elite Seedling.  We don't have this yarn in stock yet, but it will be here when the temperatures rise a bit.  Again, I love the stripes, but the dolman sleeves and the slits at the shoulders really caught my eye.

Interweave's spring offerings were wide-ranging.  I like the cute little Birch Point Hoodie out of Tahki Cotton Classic.  We always stock up on that yarn in the spring, and the price is quite reasonable.  This cardigan feels like a good summer staple.

Warmer months are also a nice time to try out a new technique on a smaller project, and this cute little intarsia bag is full of tricks.  I don't know that I'd recommend using cotton for your first intarsia project, but I think this would be just as cool in wool.

By far my favorite design in Interweave Knits Spring 2012 is the Cobble Hill Pullover.  I love a weird sweater, and this one is all kinds of wacky.  You can wear it frontwards, backwards, right-side up, or upside-down.  Seriously.  Designed in chunky alpaca, this is most definitely not a spring sweater.  I'm not sure I would suggest using chunky alpaca for a whole sweater no matter how cold it is.  It would be so warm and heavy, you could use it as a jacket all winter around here.

I was perusing the shop looking for some good alternatives.  Here's what I found.  Berroco Peruvia Quick (the pink below) would be great, and the smaller sizes would require nine skeins. 

Cascade 128 Superwash (the blue above) would be good, too, and you'd need seven skeins for the smallest size.

I can also recommend Debbie Bliss Glen (above) and Rowan Renew (below) for a more tweedy look.  The Glen would do some interesting shading considering the unusual structure of the sweater.

Cascade Eco Cloud, a shop favorite, would be dreamy.  The chained construction of this yarn makes it lofty and light for an alpaca blend.

The most economical option is the Cascade Eco Wool, but I can't promise it will be the most luxurious.

Whether the weather has you thinking about spring cardigans or enormous upside-down sweaters, we have a magazine for you!