Rowan Knitting & Crochet Magazine 60: A Review

Rowan has released issue 60 of its knitting and crochet magazine. Let's have a look at it!

Ember. This is a Kaffe Fassett design -- and it's available for free from the Rowan website. I rather like this vest, but I am finding the styling choices made here to be rather inexplicable.

Tabert. This design is very "overwhelmed stay-at-home and homeschooling mother of six".

Reiver. I'm really loving the unusual and striking embroidery motifs, but I'd nix the blanket stitched edges and go with a more polished edging.

Braveheart. This scarf is some seriously innovative argyle design. I wish I could get a better look at that sweater.

Barley. Classic cabled sweater and hat with some good shaping.

Balfour. I'm loving the intricate fair isle stripes.

Glen. Some great colourwork here, and I love the cardigan, but I'm not crazy about the shaping of the vest.

Brodie. This one's fun and playful in an adult way. I'd neaten up the shaping of the sweater. The hat is good as is.

Hartwist. The pattern is beautiful, but I would neaten up the fit. Very much liking the scarf with its dots of contrast colour.

Numbus. The colourwork is interesting and evokes the 1940s. I wish I could see the neckline.

Barista. Warm and comfy with some interesting stitchwork.

Cupcake. A classic cabled cardigan that didn't get the buttons it deserved.

Echo. Very much liking the ruched cables on this sweater, which is almost more of a fabric-like effect than one common to knitwear. The shaping is very good as well.

Caliban. I can't properly evaluate this poncho because I can't see it well enough in this photo. All I can say is that it appears to drape well.

Pretzel. This doesn't look too bad when worn belted by a professional model, but I have a feeling it would take a turn for the frumpy when worn open by a civilian.

Havana. This one looks divinely comfortable and I love the loose cable devices. I'd raise the dropped shoulders and neaten up the fit a little -- but only a little, because this is a piece that calls for a relaxed fit.

Reya. Some really lovely two-tone fair isle work in this one.

Granola. Some simple yet effective stitchwork.

Torte. So frumpy, and those short sleeves look ludicrous.

Lorenzo. I like the overall stripe pattern, but would make a few tweaks. The stripes in the cuffs, neckline, and waistband don't quite work with the stripes in the body, and I would also nix that lavender and put in another colour with more oomph and contrast.

Rainey. Nice piece with a beautiful yoke.

Teacake. How perfect is the Rowan's Kidsilk Haze version of this one (inset)? It's nice in the bulkier version as well, but I would go with a more interesting colour.

Brew. Not bad. It's quite wearable at any rate. It could use a more interesting colour.

Nyla. This one has a strikingly graphic appeal.

Mara. This colourwork of this piece is incredibly innovative and cool, but the shaping is terribly unflattering. I'd take the chart and apply it to another piece entirely.

Cookie. I love the all-over leaf bobbles in this one, and the back looks good. I can't see what's going on the front and so have some reservations about it.

Biscotti. A handsome scarf.

Ariel. This is... okay. It's a bit different, and it's wearable, but somehow it isn't quite grabbing me. Perhaps it's the choppy effect of those sections on the sleeves.

Prospero. An okay cowl. It's hard to say more based on this photo because I can't see the detailing.

Umbra. This is rather an elegant coat, though I'd still prefer it to be more shaped.

Shadow Hat & Scarf. I'm liking the beanie version (inset) of the hat rather than the slouchy version, because the edges of the latter look unfinished.

Thorn. The intarsia pattern is excellent and the contrast bands really set the design off.

Rowan Knitting & Crochet Magazine 59: A Review

Rowan has released Rowan Knitting & Crochet Magazine 59. Let's have a look, shall we?

Gifu. Well shaped and has a pretty lace pattern.

Hiyama. This one is crocheted. It's a rather graceful-looking piece that would dress up simple summer clothes.

Kushiro. While I like the lace stitch used in this piece, it has some truly unfortunate and weird proportions which even this model isn't able to carry off.

Miyagi. Good shaping and some truly impressive stitchwork.

Osaka. Lovely. I especially like the delicate colour palette used here.

Oshima. Rather a nice combination crochet and knitted piece. I'd shorten the knitted ribbing on the sleeves to just a few inches as those awkwardly long sleeves are visually dragging down the look.

Gunma. This one's more than a little too slanket-like for my liking.

Saitama. Lovely and polished little classic cardi.

Iburi. A very successful marriage of traditional lacework with modern shaping.

Mie. This one looks like it's straight out of Dorothy Zbornak's closet.

Tokachi. I like the design of this, though that colourway is not an especially happy choice.

Memuro. This one looks to be in a style vein that my sister always refers to as "old lady", and by that I don't even mean the Golden Girls style of dress. I mean this sweater belongs in the same category as girdles, black lace ups, and blue rinses.

Yamagata. Not bad. The colourway is very good, which is not surprising given that this is a Kaffe Fassett design.

Niigata. Fabulous piece. Check out that artistic pleated diamond stitchwork and beading!

Yamanashi. This looks quite a lot like the curtains that were in the mistress bedroom of my house when I bought it. And that I used as drop cloths for painting.

Tochigi. This isn't bad, but I'd fix the drop shoulders and add some waist shaping.

Nemuro. Simple yet polished kimono-style cardigan. I'm imagining it in some higher impact colourways. Not that this subtle one isn't attractive, but this a piece that would look very sharp in, say, black and ivory or some other high contrast pairing.

Ibaraki. A lovely combination of lace and silk/mohair yarn.

Corton. Not thrilled with this one. The concept of combining nautical stripes and cables in one sweater has potential, but it didn't get the execution it deserved and looks tacked together, like some sort of Frankensweater.

Briston. Attractive, wearable, useful piece for summer.

Burnham. This isn't a bad example of a spencer, and it isn't badly styled here. This is what, in reviewer terms, is known as "damning with faint praise". Spencers are hard to wear.

Watton. These two models, one garbed in a bulky-looking, oversized design, and one in a wee spencer, are clinging to one another while they gaze off into a middle distance future in which they shall wear garments proportioned to best suit their figures.

Cottishall. Classic textured cardigan. I do love outfits composed of denim and chambray blues for summer.

Ludham. It never fails to amaze me that regardless of how many thousands of classic cabled sweaters there are out there, designers are still able to come up with little twists on the design. This one has a diamond motif, and it's a good look.

Darsham. The stitchwork in this pullover creates some very flattering visual lines. Excellent work.

Glaven. Bulky and oversized. It would look better if the fit were neatened up a bit.

Felbrigg. This one's so nice it almost makes me feel like going out somewhere to get myself a man for whom I could knit it. Almost.

Leiston. Call me hidebound, but my rule is never to make any knitted garment that sleeps more than two.

Kelsale. An excellent take on the classic gansey style.

Thursford. I wish I could see this one better. From what I can see, it looks like a decent piece.

Bodham. Solid classic cardigan.

Binham. Not too taken with this. The "sweatshirt detail" at the neck has a rather crude look to it.

Egmere. Some striking texture on this one.

Morston. So heavy and oversized looking.

Reydon. The large scale diamonds on the front of this classic sweater give it an updated look.

Heacham. This open shouldered top wouldn't ordinarily be my type of thing, but I think it works. It sits well and has a certain breezy, "sexy without trying too hard", style to it.