Soundtrack of a Sweater: Copper Canyon Pullover

The Copper Canyon Pullover is rustic, warm, and relaxed with an allover slipped stitch rib, raglan sleeves, and a henley front placket. Made from Cascade's Eco Wool (available in a number of gorgeous natural colors), this pullover will keep the cold at bay.

I designed this sweater for my little brother (the model), who lives in Colorado and is huge into outdoor activities. Wool is the original fleece and I wanted something to keep him warm whether he's out on the slopes, sitting around a camp fire, or riding his bike around town in the fall and winter. While my brother is fashion conscious, he feels that anything heavily patterned, like an aran sweater, is too flashy for him to wear. You can see my dilemma as a knitter, because the patterning is what makes a garment fun to knit. I think the slipped stitch rib is a happy medium, subtle enough so that he feels comfortable in it, and interesting enough for me so that I don't fall asleep at the needles.

I hope that the men in your life enjoy wearing this as much as you'll enjoy knitting it.

Happy knitting!

Alex

PS As always, I hope you enjoy the music I was listening to while designing and knitting this sweater.

Soundtrack of a Sweater: Plowman and Bryn Mawr

First, I have to say, I was freaking out when I saw that I got the cover. This is a first for me and I am so thankful.

©Interweave Knits

Plowman Cardigan

©Interweave Knits

©Interweave Knits

Plowman reminds me of summers at my dad's house in Colorado. Living on the east coast, the only place you get a southwest influence is on the pages of Vogue and Marie Claire and perhaps at the American Indian Museum (I'm just south of DC). But in Colorado, I see people actually wearing it and their homes decorated in it. I have to say I love the simple beauty of southwestern geometric art.

Chevrons are having a moment for me in my designs (in fact, you'll be seeing a lot more chevrons later on this fall and winter in new patterns I'm releasing). The motif on the back of the garment was actually inspired by a rug at my dad's house. I was thrilled with the contrasting variegated green that Interweave chose for this design.  Brown Sheep's Lambs Pride Worsted couldn't have been a better match for this pattern. It's incredibly soft and warm with great structure and has a large color palette. I can't wait to see what you guys do with it.

In my design.

Bryn Mawr Dress

In my design.

This has to be my favorite thing I've designed so far. I wanted a form fitting dress that used texture to make a woman's curves look amazing (not to brag, but look at my butt in this dress). I believe that the chevron/diamond traveling cables achieved this. It was quite the challenge sizing this five ways and making sure that within the skirt of this dress you can't tell that stitches are being decreased. I have to give a HUGE THANKS to the tech editor at Interweave that reformatted my original charts for the magazine. The yarn, Rowan Wool Cotton, was a dream to work with, and despite the dark colorway, the cables really popped off the fabric. I can't wait to get this sample back and wear it all fall and winter long.

©Interweave Knits

©Interweave Knits

©Interweave Knits

Soundtrack of a Sweater: Matins Dress and Eva's Blouse

I'm excited to announce that two more of my designs were featured in Interweave Knits, Spring 2013. Introducing, Matins Dress and Eva's Blouse. Music is an integral part of my design process and I wanted to share with you the music behind these Spring designs. I hope you enjoy these songs as much as I do (don't be afraid to get up and dance- it'll make your day better!). And while you're listening to these samples read about the inspiration behind Matins Dress and Eva's Blouse.

Matins Dress

When sketching Matins Dress I had Titania from A Midsummer’s Night Dream in mind. I really like the ethereal, ultra-feminine, and delicate aesthetic of this dress. I would wear this day or night with a pair of espadrilles or cowboy boots and a jean jacket.

Matins Dress features a close-fitting bodice with a cascading lace tiered skirt. Each lace tier is knit with a progressively larger lace pattern and a progressively darker shade of the same color to give the dress an ombre look. The sleeveless dress shell incorporates waist shaping, a deep scoop neck, and finishing around the armholes and neck edge. Lace tiers are knit separately and then are gathered and attached to the shell. To maintain elasticity the waist band around the top tier includes a back closure. Sized for small, medium, large, 1X and 2X.

Eva's Blouse

Eva's Blouse features a vintage sweater girl silhouette with a high waist and cap sleeves. The ribbing at the waist gives the garment a feminine shape and the diagonal lace top with a button feature at the back neck makes this sweater eye catching. I wear a lot of high waisted a-line skirts and wanted a summer sweater that would work with this look. I love how it turned out and can't wait to get my sample back so I can wear it on my summer travels.

Soundtrack of a Sweater: The Susie Tee

My design, the Susie Tee, is the table of contents page of the latest Spring 2013 edition of KnitScene! It's available now for download and will be available on newsstands January 22, 2013. I'd love to see your finished object on the Ravelry project page.

I thought it would be fun to put together a soundtrack of music I was listening to while designing and knitting the Susie Tee. I hope you enjoy the music as much as I do.