A blog about my life, knitting, and other stuff.

June 14, 2011

Interweave Knits Weekend Preview

I saw the hard copy of this one in Columbus and I really like it. I don't love every single pattern but there is a nice variety and some of my favorite designers. I know many of you feel disenchanted with Interweave. What do you think? See anything you like?

23 comments:

Adrienne said...

Wow. Not a single thing leaps out to me and says "Knit Me Yesterday!" Bummer.

Cathy said...

A bed skirt? I can honestly say I've never seen one of those in a knitting magazine before

Talvi said...

I'm in love with the Spoked Cardigan! Not in those colors but the construction looks interesting.

mly said...

Loved Eunny Jang's blog and designs before she went to IK. Liked several projects in each issue, before her. Now tempted to drop the subscription, next time it's up for renewal - haven't been tempted by anything in ages. Don't mind one of the coals in this preview, but nothing looks like a Must Knit Now.

Nanners said...

To me the Weekend editions are always a jumble of patterns I would never make. How about special
"Socks and Shawls" or "Sweaters for the Whole Family" issues? If they're going to put out a special issue why not make it special.

Caroline said...

Sigh. No, sorry....

Sasha said...

I'm looking forward to seeing how I feel about Spoked Cardigan when I see it knit up on Ravelry in a different color. And Lester the Fox is pretty cute.

Florence said...

The patterns are ok, but I'm not in love with any of them. There were a couple of the sweaters I might try if I could get the pattern for free but I wouldn't pay for a subscription for just a couple of patterns.

Yarndancer said...

Nope, nothing there for me. I've always tended more towards VK than IK, but this leaves me even more meh than normal...

Therese said...

I think there are lots of nice designs in there - I like the cover sweater, the fair isle sweaters and FI-trim socks, the kids' striped-yoke cardigan, and the leg warmers, cowls and scarves (especially the 2-color brioche scarf). The little baby doll top is interesting too. Good to see stuff for men. What's not to like?

Unknown said...

Meh. I kind of like the baby vest, but there isn't anything in this issue that made me want to run right out and buy the magazine.

The magazine offerings from almost all the major publishers are just not great lately.

Anonymous said...

The fair isle hoodie - that's choice. Not enough else to justify that $14.99 (!) cover price, that's for sure.
-- Gretchen

tukats said...

This is exactly why I dropped my subscription a year ago and haven't regretted it. I've gone to Knitscene, which I love, and I still get VK, although they may be on my short list too. IK is jus too Midwestern housewife dowdy for me. (And I'm not bashing the Midwest at all, just the style)

Audrey said...

I'm with mly... I miss pre-editor Eunny's designs... and while the two she's put in this issue aren't bad, they just aren't the level of awesome I came to expect from her blog. I gave up my subscription to Interweave this year, figuring I'd get the one or two patterns a year I really wanted from the digital store and still save some money. So far, haven't bought a one.

fluffbuff said...

Hm, no. The only thing that caught my eye was the Riot Yoke Pullover, that I suspect would not be flattering to most people. So no, nothing I want to knit.

Shelly said...

I'd cast on for the fair isle hoodie today, I really liked that. Why is it that all the stuff for guys lately makes them look flamingly gay? (Not that there's anything wrong with that). Just sayin'.

Elizabeth M. said...

My knee-jerk reaction is an overwhelming...YUCK.

Red said...

1. loved Eunny's blog prior to taking on IK.
2. none of the magazines have appealed to me in years, not just IK.
3. What are the market forces that makes the designs on Twist Collective more attractive to designers than the print mags?
4. what role has Ravelry and self-publishing patterns played in the decline of designs in the mags?

Anonymous said...

Red's question no.3 is key, imo. Twist Collective has been blowing the ink-and-paper mags out of the water. If it were a paper mag too, I'd have subscribed by now. I love nearly everything in the last three issues and am rapidly stuffing my Rav queue with TC designs. I just won't buy any pattern until I'm ready to start work on it. Too bad we can't get a quantity discount for x number of purchases!

-- Gretchen

lookinout said...

@yarndancer. I don't think you'll be into the newest VK either. I looked at it on the newsstand today and had little trouble putting it down.
I pretty well agree that his issue of IK won't get me going either.

Unknown said...

I agree with what others have said. I just got my last issue of IK in the mail, and I won't be renewing. I have shifted to buying almost all of my patterns online, through Ravelry and Twist Collective. I also like knitty.com a lot. The other pattern source that I have really started to enjoy are the booklets that yarn companies put out to support their yarns--they have gotten really good, particularly the ones from Berrocco and St. Denis. I've also bought a couple of patterns online from Quince & Co. Other than that, I still really love buying full-on books from the Fiber Gallery, where I will also continue to pick up copies of specific magazines when I want them (e.g. Knitscene, which I also love).

GinkgoKnits said...

I love getting knitting magazines to flip through but IK has been making me feel so dispirited -- I even prefer the article in VK now. The magazine might have some good designs but it seems to have terrible yarn/color choices and very dated looking photo styling. Something fairly basic like the Veddy Vest looks ill-fitting and unwearable. And that should be so much easier to style than the Pea Shoot Pullover. There's some great talent and wonderful colorwork pieces here but none of that is obvious from the pictures.

I think what makes me cross the rant line is the bedskirt of bulky alpaca that will is a total pet fur and dirt magnet. I can't even imagine what editorial process could lead to this being a good idea. Were they cleaning out the bulky yarns closet?

Lynda in Oregon said...

Like most posters, I don't see anything that prompts me to pick up the needles. Fave from the selection would be the 8000-Foot Hoodie.

And, like many posters, I have a general dissatisfaction with most knitting mags at the moment.

I thought it was just me! After knitting for almost HALF A CENTURY (boy, does that make me feel old!), I've been-there-done-that with almost everything that's not way out on the edge. And since I prefer classic designs, the edgy stuff doesn't do much for me when I do see it.

I feel bad for the folks who work very hard to bring new patterns and ideas to knitters, but I suspect there's a major shakeout coming for the field in the next few years.