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Didn’t Make it to Rhinebeck? Learn about the “It” Sweater of the Season

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birkin sweater rhinebeckThe New York State Sheep and Wool Festival, known in knitting circles as Rhinebeck, is pretty much the fiber-related gathering of the year. It always falls around my husband’s birthday, so I’ll probably never get to go, but I love seeing pictures and hearing stories from the event.

Kay Gardiner from Mason-Dixon Knitting indulged my desire for Rhinebeck-news when she reported on the must-knit sweater of the season based on her trend-spotting at the festival. She said she saw lots of Birkin sweaters, designed by Caitlin Hunter, and that the design looked great on a lot of bodies and in a range of colors.

Its a top-down, circular yoke sweater with bands of floral motifs on the yoke. The original was worked in pastels, but there’s a black and white version, too, that comes off a lot more geometric and visually striking. It’s all about what you like and apparently this is a garment for many moods.

The pattern runs $7 and is available on Ravelry.

Have you ever been to Rhinebeck? If you were there this year, did you notice this sweater? I’d love to hear all about it!

[Photo: Jonna Hietala via Ravelry.]

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Comments

  1. I didn’t go to Rhinebeck and I haven’t see this pattern before, but it’s gorgeous! I love the color combination in this photo. Just beautiful. Thanks for posting this story!!

Have you read?

Knit a Glasses Holder for Your Bedside Table

knit glasses holder

Not too long ago I was seeing a crochet pattern for a glasses holder shaped like a bear all over the Internet. It was super cute, and also useful as a place to put your glasses on your bedside table instead of just throwing them somewhere random.

This project stewed in my brain for a little while and I decided I needed to make a knit version, but I didn’t want to make a bear. If you know anything about me you might know that I’m a cat person, so of course my version had to be a cat.

The base is just a basic little basic worked from the center out to the desired size, then up the sides as long as you want them. Knit some ears and add embellishments to make it whatever kind of animal you want.

The way I figured out to work the base from the center out was to use a crochet cast on, which gives you an easier way to pick up stitches from the back of the cast on than if you worked a more traditional cast on for a knitting project. It’s kind of fun to do things in a different way from time to time.

This little project is adorable if I do say so myself, and even as a plain little basket not made into an animal it’s a cute way to keep your glasses or other little things in one place. I’m tempted to make one for my desk to hold pens or even little little scissors and sewing needles that are always on my desk but somehow always seem to get lost on my desk.

If you need a little holder for your glasses on your table, check out the pattern at Our Daily Craft.

[Photo: Our Daily Craft]