Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Fair Isle Knits

It has been cool and crisp in Los Angeles and all my "winter" sweaters have been pulled out of the backs of drawers and closets.  It struck me, that other than one or two fun, bright cardigans, I play it pretty safe with my sweaters- lots of black and grey and brown. 

So I think I want to add something a little busier to my collection, and what better than the versatile and beautiful Fair Isle design.  With so many patterns and color combinations the options are endless! And while some can be quite loud and cheerful, others are simple and understated.  

And now that I have started to knit, I am able to recognize the effort and skill that must go into every Fair Isle design. I can't even comprehend how you could knit with so many colors and make such small patterns!  

These first two pictures are from the Fair Isle website and show authentic sweaters made from start to finish on the island. I liked the look of the sweaters alone and then I saw them worn by adorable kids, wearing wellies, bottle feeding a lamb! The cuteness is too much!!
http://www.fairisle.org.uk/fairislecrafts
I am in love with this picture. Seriously.

This one isn't as pretty as the hand made ones above, but for those of us who can't actually get to the Fair Isle area to buy an authentic homemade sweater, going to the mall to find a substitute might be an option ;) 
www.gap.com


Oh! This is my one of my favorites.  It is just fabulous looking! I love the use of just a few colors, not quite as cheery as some of the other designs, but I'd probably wear it a lot more too.  This sweater reminds me of a sweater my mom used to have from the 70s or 80s- it was the same cut but hers was dark blue and grey. This one is a bit out of my price range (I have never owned a sweater that costs over $400) but I guess that is what you have to pay for the designer name.  Maybe one day, a long long time from now, I'll be good enough at making sweaters that I can make this one for myself! 


I even found a little something for the kitties, so they can enjoy the pretties of the fair isle design- this little mouse is a repurposed sweater and is filled with catnip, I believe.  You can find just about anything on Etsy!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/babahepziba

To learn more about Scotland's Fair Isle, go to http://www.fairisle.org.uk/

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