New American Knits takes the slim, functional silhouettes from American sportswear genre and spices them up with lovely details inspired by famous American artists. I’m utterly smitten with each of the projects in this collection, starting with the absolutely gorgeous Nevelson Lace Pullover featured above. The color palette, photography and unexpectedly modern details has me reaching for my needles and contemplating another attempt at set in sleeves just so that I can have a few of these pieces in my growing knitwear collection.
The Rockwell Hat (above) and the Alvarez Hat (below) have both made it into my short-term queue of hats for Christmas gifts and yes, I HAVE started knitting for Christmas in July. The Rockwell pattern repeat looks simple enough to work through in the evenings when I want to relax on the porch with enough visual interest to make it a special present for someone on my list.
I also like the unusual use of sport weight yarn for the colorwork Alvarez Hat. One of my hesitations with colorwork projects, even hats, is that they’re usually either in the fine fingering weight yarn (and would take forever) or they look too chunky in a worsted yarn so this one looks like a lovely compromise and has me putting together different color combinations in Galileo. Pearl with Firefly, Nebula and Quartz would be absolutely gorgeous!
The Georgia (O’Keefe) Sweater set off my “raglan radar” and I love the deep ribbing and high neck of this silhouette. The free form flower motif is such a neat detail on a plain stockinette sweater too!
The Remington Cardigan features a sweet asymmetrical lace motif and simple garter stitch cuffs which give this cardigan a light, feminine touch while maintaining it’s everyday wearability.
John Singer Sargent is one of my favorite painters and the inspiration behind the Sargent Pullover. I was surprised to see set in raglan sleeves which are a really neat structural detail to ensure that the sleeve caps aren’t too tight.
I LOVE the hood shape on the Moses Hoodie. It’s got such a nice, rounded shape that I rarely see in patterns and the extra band of ribbing on the cuffs is a nice little detail too.
I’m smitten with all of the projects in this book and have queued up most of them for the very near future, especially once the weather cools down a bit. Are there any new books that have caught your eye lately? Or have you been rediscovering some old favorites this season? We’re having a Book Sale right now so it’s the perfect time to try something new or to finally get your hands on a copy of something you’ve always wanted…
