I really hope you all enjoyed the preview for pure knits! posting all the pictures got me all excited for the book all over again. I need to figure out what I have in my stash that will work with some of the patterns. actually, I still need to decide what to start first. stash diving should help. what about you? what do you think you'll knit? what yarn and colors are you planning on using? I would love to hear your ideas!

thank you so much for all your comments last week. I loved reading all of them and I'm so happy so many of you came out of lurkdom. now I have a ton of new blogs to check out.

I used the random generator today and...

the winner is:

andrea! send me your address and I can get the package out to you!

I also found a hank of malabrigo in natural hiding amongst the book stuff. so guess what, we get another winner!

little miss s! surprise! send me your address as well.

Posted by bitter purl at 3:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

tonight brings us to the fourth and final chapter, cables! I didn't realize until now how much bigger this chapter is.

both the scarf and hat in the cameron set are knit in the round with multiple strands of baby alpaca, making them quick knits for the winter. I love that the scarf is basically a big cable you get to wear.

Continue reading "artic cables" »

Posted by bitter purl at 11:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

chapter three features touches of lace to full on lace sweaters. there's a nice range of styles and experience levels for everyone.

I love the easy styling of athena. not to mention the fact that it's knit in silk with a silk mohair trim. it's all about the details for me, like the full fashioned shaping in front, the subtle draping neckline, the little bit of lace at the hem, and the braided belt. it all comes together to make a sophisticated tunic.

Continue reading "wintry lace" »

Posted by bitter purl at 2:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

I'm sorry I'm a little late on today's post, but I was hit with insomnia last night and I'm really dragging today. hopefully I'll actually make sense!

while chapter one is all about shaping and contrasts, chapter two plays with textures using stitch patterns.

the herringbone and chevron patterns in the pilatus hat and scarf set are set off by the use of two different yarns, grace wool and silk and a merino wool. the sheen of the silk really highlights the "crags" of the pattern.

Continue reading "cool textures" »

Posted by bitter purl at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

with a book of all white pieces I had to figure out a way to organize the patterns. there obviously wasn't going to be a color work chapter :) if you picked up sensual knits, then you noticed that it was pretty sweater heavy. pure knits follows suit; what can I say, I love sweaters. don't worry, there are a few accessories, a couple of baby projects, and two men's sweaters included. eventually I split up the projects by how the yarn was used. the first chapter, pure white, is about the little details.

I love the idea of combining two different gauge yarns in one project. the pintuck panel combines shibuiknits sock and silk cloud to create a modern and sexy cap sleeve sweater. I can't wait to see what yarn and color combinations you come up with. this pattern is offered in NINE sizes!

Continue reading "pure white" »

Posted by bitter purl at 11:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (18)

or rather the book is shipping early from amazon!

I'm so excited that it's finally out there for people to knit from! I may be biased, but this is a gorgeous book. there's cables, there's lace, there's cashmere, there's silk... pretty much all of my favorite things. I'll be posting photos of the designs this week, but in the meantime you could win a copy of the book plus a bundle of yarn.

I've been saving up this yarn now since we wrapped up the book, which feels like eons ago! the bundle includes some louisa harding grace, pear tree merino, a little ball of shibui sock yarn, and some kraemer yarn. grace and kraemer yarn are used in a beautiful hat and scarf set, so you'll be able to start right away! all you have to do is leave a comment on this post or any post this week and I'll pick someone at random by monday the 26th.

Posted by bitter purl at 5:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (171)

I feel that I worked on this book forever ago. it's been so long in fact, that I basically forgot about it! ok, not completely. but still, we finally have a cover. I just hope I get a proof to edit soon. yikes!

Posted by bitter purl at 8:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (19)