today i am very excited to be the next stop on the vintage modern knits blog tour.
kate + courtney are 2 lovely and hilarious ladies that i am proud to call friends. when i first found out that they were working on a book, i just knew it would turn out to be something amazing. the other day, i finally got my hands on a copy and whoa, amazing it is!
i'm going to show you a few beautiful knits from the book, but you can see and queue up all the designs on ravelry here.
some of my favorites from the book:
ajiro scarf
yvette
adelaide
rhodes point
ahhh, now i'm going to scramble to finish some deadline knits, just so i can have free time to start knitting from this beautiful book. i am dying to cast on for the ajiro scarf. i think it'll be the perfect project to carry around in my tote everyday.
i asked kate + courtney to answer a few questions, just to get to know them and their book experience a little better. read below for their comments. and after you do, please leave a comment on this post and you'll be entered to win a copy of vintage modern knits! comments will close at the end of the day 2/19/11 est. i'll announce the winner the next day. good luck! this contest is open to residents of ANY country :) winner will be chosen by a random number generator.
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Hi ladies!
Congratulations on your absolutely beautiful book. You must be so proud! I've already been through it several times and there are just SO MANY things i want to knit. what struck me as i went from page to page was how timeless the designs are. I think the title is great, as these designs feel fresh and new, yet old and familiar in a knitterly sense. I love how you've created a collection that will never go out of style.
Kate: Thanks! It means a lot that so many people (including you!) really appreciate what we set out to accomplish - and dare I say, actually accomplished - in designing the patterns for the book.
Courtney: Thank you! I love that you used the word "knitterly." I think that as knitters, while we want to create designs that are beautiful we also appreciate the little details and techniques that make them a pleasure to create.
When you first started the book, did you start with the idea of "Vintage Modern" as a jumping off point? Or did you just start working on the designs and let them inspire the name?
Kate: The name came last, and the process of picking the "perfect" name was a little difficult! We are really happy with it, though, so believe it was worth the extra effort (and slight headache). When coming up with the proposal and then the patterns themselves, we focused on the individual chapters and themes first - "Vintage Feminine", "Rustic Weekend" and "Winter Harbor", and those names and the aesthetics of the individual chapters stuck throughout the process. Our "thesis" statement (for lack of a better word) in our initial proposal to interweave was: "...designs that incorporate a traditional technique and have a vintage, well-tailored feel with updated lines, proportions and colors", so now the title "Vintage Modern Knits" makes a lot of sense!
Courtney: The designs came first, with a few adjustments as the process moved forward. The name was incredibly difficult to choose, and Vintage Modern was actually one of the last proposed names. I was being a bit difficult during the process, I'm afraid, because with an art history background I was very against using the word "modern," as it refers specifically to the Modern period. I just had to get over it, and it really is the perfect name. Vintage Contemporary Knits just doesn't have the same ring to it!
What are your 2 favorite designs from the book?
Kate: This is a question we get asked a lot, and I am realizing my favorite changes day to day according to my mood, how cold I am and what I'm wearing - or, more accurately what I want to be wearing! For Courtney's designs, my favorite is probably the Yangtze Cardigan because I love the cut, style, color and patterning of the sweater. I think it is a really successful example of what we were striving to achieve when designing the patterns for the book.
For my designs, I am really proud of the Yvette Roositud Beret because, even in the few short weeks since the book's release, that has stood out as a project that has already taught knitters something, and opened them up to the possibility of new techniques. My favorite all over design (today) is probably the cover sweater, the Adelaide Yoke Pullover - it is in a yarn I love, Terra, in colors I love, greys and pinks and is definitely a sweater I wish I could be wearing a lot on these cold February days. I'm not sure if this was a subconscious decision on my part - or if deep down, I knew those two projects were going to be special to me - but the Yvette and Adelaide designs are actually named after my paternal and maternal grandmothers. Yvette is my father's mother's name and Adelaide is the town in Australia where my mother's mom, Verna, grew up.
Courtney: I agree with Kate that my answer changes every time we are asked this question! But, right now my favorite pattern of Kate's is the Margarethe Shawl. I wore it at TNNA in January when the a/c was really pumping and it was so warm and soft, the drape was just right and the pattern understated and also beautiful.
Of my designs I also really like the Yangtze Cardigan and am reknitting one for myself (very very slowly!) in Canopy Fingering in the color Laguna. It's a cardigan I've always wanted in my closet. But, for knitter appeal I am going to say the Brigid Jacket. I think it's so cute and versatile. That one is next on my reknit list!
Beside working on the book together, you both own Kelbourne Woolens, which distributes the Fibre Company yarns? Was it a challenge to work on a book together, while you were also running your business? Or, did it make things easier?
Kate: Kelbourne had already been running for about a year when we started the book process, so we had a solid core of day-to-day experience working with one another. Most Kelbourne work is a lot of little tasks and projections, not one large project, so we hadn't ever worked on something as large or as time-consuming as a book, so there definitely was a lot of added stress at certain points of the process. It wasn't a challenge working together - we are both each other's worst critic, but it comes purely from a place of wanting each other to be the best that we can be and the book to be the best that it could be, so even when we were questioning something - a color choice, design idea, sweater concept - it was from a place of respect and we knew we had each other's best interest at heart. Working together also made it so we could touch base with one another a lot more often that if we had to arrange for dates or times to check-in.
Courtney: It was definitely a challenge, but I think the timing was just right. We work really well together and keep each other on our best game. We had just sort of began the distribution company, it had only been a year as Kate said, so it was great to have all this creative energy happening all at once. It really focused us and pushed us to work really hard. Seeing each other every day helped too, for better or worse!
What were some of the biggest challenges you encountered while working on the book?
Kate: Egads. It was so long ago, I really can't remember the specifics! I am sure, though, our friends and family probably remember more than we do! (Chalk it up to repressed memories! Hah). Because we started the process almost 18 months ago, and have learned so much along the way, I think my biggest anxiety was (and in a lot of ways, still is) wondering just how the book would be received and if people would like the projects and "get" just what it is we were trying to accomplish. Also, always, time. There were a few projects that I wish I had just one more day - not because I am not happy with them, but because I really don't love the feeling of rushing things.
Courtney: Time management for me was definitely an issue. Having started a business, having a baby at home, my partner was in grad school...there was NO free time. None whatsoever. I stayed up very late at night and knit at every chance. Weekends were spent sitting in coffee shops trying to edit patterns and knit!
Just so folks can get to know you two...
How did you two first become friends/ business partners?
Kate: We met in October of 2006. Courtney was managing a LYS here in Philly, Rosie's Yarn Cellar, and I was in grad school full time and started working there on Sundays. We worked on and off together throughout that fall, winter and spring and in the summer of 2007 really got to know one another as we were both working full time at the shop and Courtney was a (very spacey) 4 months pregnant and I was a stressed out and disgruntled grad student. The following spring, in about April of 2008, Courtney got word of the possibility of distributing the Fibre Company yarns and since I was still pretty disgruntled in school, she called me to see if I would be interested. When considering starting Kelbourne, we figured if we could live through that hot, pregnant and stressful summer working together, we could probably live through most anything!
Courtney: True, true! So far so good!
Favorite thing to knit, just for fun? (cables lace, colorwork, miles of stockinette)
Kate: Colorwork. All the time. If, though, I had a 1,000 hours to kill, I would knit myself a long, comfortable sweater, probably with a lot of stockinette stitch. I am not averse to seaming - in fact I rather enjoy it! - so the sweater most likely would be knit in some number of pieces.
Courtney: I love texture, cables, knit purl patterns and ridiculous color work (hence the Maple Bay Cardigan). Kate and I agree on sweater construction as well. There are some useful applications of knitting in the round, obviously. But for a tailored fit and best effect a sweater knit in pieces rules the day. I also love knitting socks, but never have the time and end up not finishing them. So, if I had all the time in the world I would first outfit my son in dozens of handknits (which is he woefully lacking in--the cobbler's children have no shoes) and I would fill my family's sock drawers with hand knitted socks.
Metal, wood or bamboo needles?
Kate: Hmmm...I own more bamboo needles than anything, but a certain fuzzy housemate of mine has a penchant for eating them if they are left on the living room table, so I am slowly moving towards metal, although I don't love heavy needles. I just got a few HiyaHiya metal needles and really love how light they are, though, so they may be my "go to" brand in the very near future if my stash continues it's path towards depletion.
Courtney: Metal. I use almost exclusively Addi Turbos, but have a lot of Inox as well from the pre-Addi era. They get a fair amount of use for slippery yarns and they have that amazing feature of having the size etched into the join! I love that about Inox needles.
Favorite knitting trick or technique?
Kate: I really love a tubular 1x1 rib cast-on. It is a bit finicky, but the end result is really beautiful. Also, there is nothing better than an attached i-cord border.
Courtney: I always slip the first stitch of any bind off. It makes a nicer, smoother edge. I also almost always slip the first stitch of my row when applicable. Also, it's not a trick by any means, it's totally cheating and horrible. I can't believe I'm admitting it. I use a 3-needle bind off on sock toes. Shhh! And I use provisional cast-ons a lot, not usually in writing patterns, but because I'm indecisive. That way I can jump right into a pattern and decide how it will begin later.
Color you knit with too much?
Kate: Others would probably say Grey, but I can never get enough, so I keep knitting with it!
Courtney: I knit a lot of blue things, but I love love love weird off tones. Pale peachy browns, purpley-grey, mustard yellow. Not all together, mind you!
Someone once told me that people have lives outside of knitting. What are your other interests? How do you spend your time when you're not knitting?
Kate: Life? What life? In all seriousness, we are both lucky enough to really love our jobs, so we do spend a great deal of time thinking about Kelbourne and the Fibre Company when we are not at work and do most of our designing and knitting "out of the office" and after our traditional work hours. When not knitting, though, I spend a great deal of my spare time at ACCT, the city animal shelter here in Philly. ACCT is the only open intake shelter in the city, which means the facility is open 24/7/365 to take in all the stray and unwanted animals, of which, sadly there are many, and cannot say "no" or "we're full", so they receive between 40-100 animals a day. I have been fostering from and volunteering at ACCT since Sept of 2009 (strangely, about the exact same time as we started working on the book!) and despite some of the most overwhelming heartache, it has been one of the most rewarding and uplifting experiences of my life. And, just in case (shameless plug!) anyone reading this is in the market for a new furry friend - I have an amazingly friendly 1-2 years old adorable male orange tabby who had his leg amputated a few weeks ago in foster care with me, and he will be ready for his forever home in a few weeks time. Both Melissa and I are lucky to have 3 legged kitties of our own, so we can attest to how special they are.
Courtney: At the risk of sounding incredibly corny, I really like spending time with my family. My partner is a Nurse Practitioner in the city with a focus on HIV/AIDS care, and has a pretty high stress job. We cook a lot, and like to go camping and things like that. We have a really neat house in Philly, it's right on the Schuylkill River north of the city, and right on the bike trail to Valley Forge, which is awesome. Our idea of a good time is having a bonfire in the backyard, drinking some beers and watching the river roll by. We also spend a fair amount of time in Maryland at our other house. We do things sort of backwards, we rent in the city and own a vacation home. In 2005 we bought a house on Smith Island, in the Chesapeake Bay, and it's absolutely perfect. If we're surrounded by water, we're totally happy.
Thanks, ladies!
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don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of this beautiful book!
. gail is the kind of person who shares her gift with people. don't you just love people like that?
! while stuck in mass pike traffic, we made up a game where we guess which other cars were headed to the peaches show. cranky looking folks and line cutters were definitely NOT going to peaches, happy, laughing, and singing folks were DEFINITELY going to peaches. it was such a fun show, with costume changes, good friends and hilarious music, how could it not be?
