vendange

we all have knitting heroes, right? i gotta tell you, mine is barb. cuz the only reason this pattern is ready to roll so soon is that she brought in the big needles and put them to work.

first, she knit this gorgeous short version of my new cabled coat design, vendange. doesn’t emily look stunning in knit in this sample, knit in cabernet red vesta, a new merino bulky yarn from spirit trail fiberworks? (i once read that true red will work for any coloring and i think it’s true!).

i don’t usually wear much red, but this one is rockin’—jen called it exactly right.

anyway, back to barb and how she is my hero, she barely had that red jacket off the needles—actually, she didn’t have it off the needles, come to think of it—when she was itching to start a second one in our chebris worsted (i was originally supposed to knit it but we all knew that would just slow things down).

anyway, before i knew it she was dropping the chebris coat off for me to complete the finishing work. that was sunday. she is god.

i got all the seaming and trims put on by yesterday and today we photographed it. and i just couldn’t take it off—this garment is simply to die for. soft as a cloud and nearly as light, it is both warm and breathable—my very favorite combination. i wore it all day and not an itch or a prickle.

thank you barb; i love it. i look froward to wearing it all weekend at the NYS sheep and wool show (rhinebeck)!

this sweater has several versions and we love them all—from the short jacket, which is so sexy looking when paired with a skirt or dress as emily wears it here

to the coat version, also in red vesta that i showed you last week. the longer one is elegant with pants or no nonsense with a short skirt.

 

not to mention warm—if you (or someone you love) are fond of wearing thin leggings all year round, a longer sweater coat might be just what you were wishing for as the season begins to get chilly.

and lucky for you, this sweater knits up so fast in bulky weight yarn that you can actually have one by the time the wind gets serious (and if you’re anything like barb, you could have one in just a few days).

whether it’s the coat or jacket, hand dyed or natural, you will enjoy the cushy depths of its cable texture and deep, ribbed collar that converts to a button-up cowl

speaking of buttons, aren’t these glass buttons by moving mud spectacular? sarina is absolutely visionary when it comes to making custom buttons—we write, enclose a swatch that is a good representation of the knitted fabric, and couple weeks later a little package arrives that contains the perfect buttons (even if you don’t think so).

for the frosty beige chebris coat in color frappé, i ordered some from sarina, but until they come, i am using a set i sorted out from my big box of vintage abalone shell buttons. i love the way they look; i may just keep them on this coat and use the ones i ordered for another garment i am knitting.

the chebris yarn has a really cool feature, a result of its mix of long mohair (which blooms to form a big halo) and short, fine merino (which doesn’t). as the mohair gets worked a bit and begins to really separate from the yarn shaft in long, shiny tendrils, it forms a sort of “fog” over the underlying merino, lending the fabric a frosted appearance. it is the coolest thing.

mine has been washed and is drying now—and as it does, i’ll be “encouraging” that effect by shaking and reshaping frequently. it will take a little wearing as well, but i plan to never take it off for the next week so that should do it.

yes, it’s going to be increasingly chilly as the week goes on but we will be ready.

shown above, long coat in size small, knit with spirit trail vesta in colorway vendange (BTW, vendange is the french term for grape harvest, but also an untranslatable word for the way the season feels). 1-inch flat glass custom buttons by moving mud. jen will have this color of vesta in her booth at rhinebeck and i believe she is also taking orders through her website.

shown below, jacket in size small, knit in the exact same yarn and colorway.

we all take turns wearing this one—it’s the shop favorite at the moment, so cozy and yummy

and finally on myself above, the long coat in size small, knit in bare naked wools chebris worsted, color frappé. chebris worsted is also currently available in dragée and truffe; we are expecting a good sized order of these and more shades in a few weeks—including a new cream shade (haven’t decided on a name yet). and as soon as we can score some dark mohair fiber, charbon will be in the works.

to purchase pattern or view complete pattern information, please click here to purchase in our knitspot online shop and here to purchase in my ravelry pattern shop.
(if you wish the pattern to appear in your ravelry library, please use this ravelry store link, thanks!)

rev up your fall knitting by meeting up with us in the BNWs rav group threads or the knitspot rav threads to knit along and share updates on your progress. we enjoy a wonderful community of knitters in our groups—it’s the best place to get advice, ask pattern questions, and find support and answers; won’t you join us?

ok, then, it is VERY late (after 3 am) and i still have a few things to take care of before i can sleep tonight this morning. tomorrow, kimkimkim arrives and i’m so excited i don’t think i could sleep if i tried! in a few hours, i need to bake that cake i promised her and david . . .

she is gonna LOVE this coat.