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KnitBits Archive

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KnitBits Archive

Dear Knitters and Crocheters,

I returned from Florence, Italy with my head spinning from a dose of the Italian imagination. This time, armed with our trusty new digital camera, I shot pictures of fashion in the store windows as well as inspirational shots of exhibits at the international yarn fair called Pitti Filati.

At this fair, which is held twice a year, the opening exhibit is created to inspire and direct fashion knitting from the finest hand knits to the mass merchandizing of machine knit garments and accessories. This exhibit was forecasting Fall '05. The theme was "the animal" and the story unfolds as a 21st century redesign of nature. From the animal to the sweater and from the sweater to the animal, this unique exhibit tickled my imagination.

Here are some shots of animal armatures fashioned from chicken wire and partially dressed in yarns, creating a "wolf in sheep's clothing" theme. Twenty first century hybrid animals grazed the gallery floor, carpeted in real sod. The smell of live grass and earth combined with the visual and tactile sensations of the animals created a wonderful multi-sensual experience.

This forecast, while very "outside the box," certified that Berroco's current Fall '04 collection of fur effect yarns and leather-like materials will be an enduring trend. So you can go ahead and knit some of our wonderful designs feeling confident that they will remain fashionable for seasons to come. In our disposable society, it is a good feeling to know that some things will endure, especially if you are going to invest your time and money in creating fashion.

For example, have a look at our beautiful swing jacket trimmed with a generous amount of faux fur. It's called Rosalyn, from Book #228. It's knit in Lavish, a mélange yarn with a soft fur touch and a dash of bling. It is available in 6 luxurious colors. Rosalyn is trimmed with two strands of Zoom, one black and one brown, held together to create a real long hair fur look. The long and short of our Zoom eyelash and the color blending really fools the eye. I saw the same long cuff detail on a coat in a shop window in Florence. This fur was the real thing. Again our finger is right on the pulse of fashion with an animal friendly eye.

Mill exhibitors expressed individual styles through their magnificent displays. One of my favorites was an homage to French Impressionism. It was created by using yarns and fabrics to render the style of paintings and sculptures from this important movement in the history of Western Art. Here are a few that you may recognize from the works of Van Gogh, Degas and Manet.

This week our free pattern is a poncho. For fall, the poncho is a category that is perhaps even more popular than the sweater for back to school or off to college. Loretta Lynn is a fringed poncho in alternating stockinette and garter bands with a garter cowl neck. It makes a perfect topper for the cold autumn weather and it is much easier to knit than a jacket. There are no seams at all.

You can download and print out the pattern. It is knit in Duo, our engineered striping solid and mélange combination yarn. We knit the poncho in Sky Blue, but you can choose from a range of 10 shades.

This week, we begin to post new combinations of yarns to Scarf Central. The 3 top swatches are knit in yarns including 3 of our new yarns for fall, Softy, Lavish and Crystal FX. Click again on the swatches to find great alternative color combinations.

THIS WEEK'S WINNER
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Congratulations to Jean of Springfield, VT who chose to knit My First Vest with Fringes from book #230.

That's it for now. Next time I will show you more pictures from Italy. There will also be another great free pattern and more additions to Scarf Central.

All the best,

Margery Winter
Creative Director