Interweave Knits Spring 08 Review

I'm sure subscribers have had theirs for a few weeks at least, but the spring 08 issue of Interweave Knits just showed up on the shelves, and I have it!

Opening with the articles as usual, we have Yarn Review: Exploring Linens (there's no author listed).  It's a quick overview of a number of linen and linen blend yarns, along with a super-fast discussion of why linen rocks.

Ravelry Rules by Marilyn Roberts: OK, yes, I like Ravelry, but really it's not as great as all that.  It's very handy to have a central place for things like yarn reviews, but you know as well as I do that not everyone's going to bother doing a review of every single yarn they use.  And I have a record of my needles already, thanks.  It's a nice little article and all, but I don't think Ravelry is going to change the face of knitting. 

Knitting for Keeps: Jane Hutchins by Lauren Weinhold:  When the cover promises a treatise on how to take care of knitted items, I'd like to have more than a sidebar to an article about someone who works as a textile conservator.  Not that she's not cool, but I'm a little disappointed.

Legwarmers from Knit So Fine by Lisa Meyers, Laura Grutzeck and Carol Sulcoski:  I am so buying this book when it comes out, and this pattern just makes me more impatient.  I hate the color they did it in, but I love the one-stitch cable patterns and it'd be easy to add feet and make a pair of kneehighs.

Finishing: The Thrill of the CHASE by Véronik Avery: How to do the finishing without going insane.  Nice, though I'm not generally a big fan of acronym-mnemonics. 

And on to the patterns... 

Mirabella Cardigan by Jennifer Tallpaneni: Surprisingly delicate for something that looks to be done in a bulky-weight, with a whole row of mother-of-pearl buttons.  Bust darts and waist shaping are nice touches, and the sorta-band collar is nice.  The color I don't like too much, being a sort of medium peach.  Speaking of which...

Flutter Sleeve Cardigan by Pam Allen: This one's a slightly darker shade of peach, but it also has waist ribbing for shaping and mid-bicep sleeves.  Fortunately the neckline is utterly different, with this one being a deep vee that absolutely requires wearing something under it.  I just don't get putting both of these on the same spread; they're too similar.

Holly Jacket by Theresa Schabes: I think the inspiration here is Holly Golightly--they've put the model's hair up in a very Audrey Hepburn sort of thing, and the sweater as a whole is seriously 60s looking.  I hate it--boat neck, three gigantic wooden buttons, reverse stockinette in a slightly slubby yarn that makes it look pilled, and a horrid mustardy yellow.  Ugh.

Auburn Camp Shirt by Chrissy Gardiner: Recreating woven styles in knits is always a crap shoot, but I think this one works.  I love the tabs on the sleeves, and the body's done in a neat wide seeded rib.  I get a little tired of melon, but color is easy to change. 

Frock Camisole by Katie Himmelberg: Looks like 1970s maternity wear, and I do not mean this as a compliment.  Plus, the description says that the yarn has a metallic component, which I'm just as pleased I can't see.  Ugly.

Aleita Shell by Marie Burns: It's a sleeveless vest, and I'm torn; I sort of like the idea but this execution leaves me utterly cold.  It's in a linen yarn, which is nice, but they put on the model over a horrid polyester shirt in a weird color that doesn't go well.  Something about the shaping just rubs me the wrong way.  

Linen Trumpet Skirt by Kat Coyle: I like the skirt, and the shape's likely to be flattering on a wide variety of figures, but I'm a little less pleased with the reverse-stockinette shaping stripes, because they look a little ragged.  Plus, knitted skirts are always risky.  Also, it's beige.  Beige is boring.

A Good Stripe Dress by Mareike Sattler: What the hell is with bad colors in this issue?  Light sea blue, honey brown, and a random beige stripe make for 70s flashbacks.  That said, the dress itself is cute for a little girl.

Banded Peasant Blouse by Mary Jane Mucklestone:  It's awfully cute, but you'd have to be teensy to wear it.  The body of the thing is a simple eyelet pattern in white, with a very, very wide neck--like, practically off-the-shoulder wide--banded with a stranded color pattern in shades of red.  I'd simplify it, myself, since I can't see buying a whole skein of yarn in order to use like ten yards of it.  But they really should not put a four-inch-wide belt over it.

Printed Silk Cardigan by Connie Chang Chinchio: More melon, alas, but the bodice has a really neat twisted-stitch pattern that looks almost embossed.  Also, I'm always a fan of three-quarter sleeves.

Sylph Cardigan by Robin Melanson: Really cute, in a deep pink that is not quite fuchsia and not quite lavender, with half sleeves.  The neckline's quite deep, and the bodice has a neat lacy cable pattern.  Sleeves and body both have deep ruffles.  It's adorable, but I'd never wear it.

Dovetail Pullover by Kathy Zimmerman:  Your basic cabled sweater--not Aran-level cabled, which keeps the weight down, thank heavens--in a light purple.  The front cable is neat, but overall the thing is not to my taste.

Chameleon Scarf by Lorilee Beltman: Really impressively ugly, being made of squares with intentional holes in the center in a varigated yarn including bubblegum pink, orange, and a variety of olive greens.

Twisted Tulip Socks by Chrissy Gardiner:  Oh look, socks.

Hexacomb Cardigan by Katie Himmelberg: I do not get cropped tops.  They look good on so few people, especially when worn over long things.  But if you made the thing a little longer, it could make a nice spring coverup.

Katharine Vest by Eunny Jang: I generally adore Eunny, but last issue's Ivy League Vest was not a winner and I don't like this either; it's a totally pointless garment.  It's a lace pattern, with essentially no front; it wouldn't actually add any significant warmth and it's not terribly decorative either.  Plus the color is an insipid light blue.

Cobweb Lace Stole by Michelle Rose Orne: Lace is never as successful in grey as you expect it's going to be.  I'm also less than enchanted with the fifty-cent-sized holes in the lace patterns.  Even if I liked lace scarves, I wouldn't care for this.

Drawstring Chemise by Connie Change Chinchio: Cute, but no one with breasts can wear it; it's got little teeny spaghetti straps that preclude a bra.  The color is a lovely green, though, and I like the lace pattern around the bottom and in a panel at the top front.

Bleeding Hearts Stole by Anne Hanson: This is much better if you're into the lace scarf thing; it's a neat varigated green and the lace pattern is intriguing--looks to be an every-row lace, if you're in the mood for a challenge.  Still not my thing, but pretty. 

All in all I am rather disappointed; there's not one pattern in here that I saw and immediately put on my list, and there aren't many that I'm even thinking about (not that I need more on the queue, anyway).  This in the wake of the lackluster winter issue is a problem.

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