I started the first of the gift hats last night. It looks good but the in-progress photo I took shows up as too dark on my monitor screen - so no photo. (I think I need to get a very strong lamp with a high wattage bulb for my photos. I do not like how the flash makes things look, and since I'm just one person taking photos, I can't easily wave a white paper around or something to diffuse the flash.

So oh well.

So, here's my pretty-much-unsnarky review of the patterns in the Winter '06 Interweave Knits. You can play along if you have the magazine, if not, go here and look at the "preview." (except the patterns are out of order relative to the magazine).

And why unsnarky? Well, there are three main reasons. First: Yes, these are professional designers and they should be Big Girls and Big Boys and be able to tolerate a little criticism from a reader, but still: they're someone's mom. Or someone's brother. And I don't want to hate too much on someone for one design they did that I didn't like. And: they're published designers and I'm not.

("You know, Homer, it's easy to criticize." "Fun, too!")

Second: de gustibus non disputandum est. (Or is that "de gustibus non est disputandum"? I've heard it both ways and I don't really know Latin...)

Third: I was raised according to, among other rules, the Thumper Rule: If you can't say somethin' nice, don't say nothin' at all.

And yeah, I know, that makes me less Fun and Exciting and Slightly Dangerous than the people who verbally rip Annie Modesitt or Veronik Avery a new one for a design that maybe went slightly bad, but meh. It's not "me" to be mean, and frankly, I've kind of had it with the snarkomatic tone of so much of popular culture these days.

So, with no further ado....

p. 14 A Cardigan for Arwen. This is probably the one that's the darling of the knitblogger world right now (from what I've seen). Part of it is, I'm sure, the Arwen connection, which doesn't do a lot for me. But it is a nice design. Although if I were going to make it, I'd lengthen it; cropped sweaters don't play well with my body type. (And one complaint: it is very hard to tell just how long the sweater body is. The schematic is - unusually, for IK - less than revealing, and the photo doesn't really help a lot).

p. 20. Venezia Pullover. I admire the technical skill that this sweater involves, but that much Fair Isle just kind of leaves me cold - both the thought of doing it and the thought of wearing it. To me, the sweater is kind of like a Modigliani painting - I recognize that it's great art, but I just fail to be moved by it.

p. 26. Equestrian Blazer. Cute! And something I'd definitely wear. Lots of plain stockinette but that's ok. It calls for an aran weight yarn which makes me think of all the lovely colors of 1824 Wool and how it might look in some of those. That said, I'm mainly imagining it in a plain rich brown color.

p. 39: Pewter coat. Again - for some reason I am left oddly cold. I think it's the collar; I'm generally not fond of wide-collared garments for myself because I have broad shoulders and I think wide collars enhance the "linebacker for the Powder Puff team" effect.

p. 52: Enid cardigan. This one grows on me. I like it more each time I look at it. It has sort of a vintage-y feel and it's just sort of plain but knitterly. Then again, I like most stuff Veronik Avery designs.

p. 58: Retrograde pullover. Meh. I'm sorry. I just don't care for this one. I can't even really explain why.

P. 62: Nantucket jacket: cute, doesn't move me as much as some things in the issue though. I'd definitely lengthen the sleeves were I to make it - I'd want full length sleeves on that.

p. 68: Refined Raglan. It looks like it bags a bit on the model which is concerning, but I really like the idea of putting a fancy stitch on the raglan-parts of a sweater. Clever and understated.

p. 74. Rambling rose cardigan. There is too much going on in this sweater for me. It would make me look a veritable battleship in wool.

p. 82: Provincial waistgoat. Squeee! This is my favorite, favorite thing in the whole issue. I think is is SO cute. It is most definitely something I would wear. I said "I want this" when I saw it the first time. (The only problem? I fear a 46" bust size would not be fitted enough, as it features a 37" waist and I'm more like a 31, but I'm not sure if it would stretch adequately in the 40 1/2" size to fit properly over the, uh, boobage. Maybe if I played with gauge a little and knit the smaller size at a slightly looser gauge?)

p. 88: Cabled yoke pullover. Not for me. Not even if I were 15 years younger and had the bod for it.

p. 92: Cabernet ribs: kid mohair next to the skin, no thanks. I'm also oddly unmoved by the design.

p. 97: Touch me tunic. I am wary of designs that make the models look chunky. I think it might benefit from some waist shaping. Another not-for-me design. (Which is just fine as it's made of Touch Me, a yarn that costs the Earth.)

p. 106: Thrummed mittens. Cute, and I am sure, warm, but I just wouldn't relish the idea of knitting with unspun roving and also the feel of them inside the mitten once it was done. (I have issues with anything that feels "linty" or "loose" on the inside of things I wear).

p. 110: Arctic diamonds stole. Yes, but in a different color.

p. 113: Blue skies cardigan: I can't see enough of it on the picture to really decide but it reminds me a little of a Woolrich sweater that I had in high school that had little sheep on the yoke and I gave it away when I realized 7 other girls (in my class of <100) had the same sweater.

p. 114: Rustic holiday stocking: sure, wear it as a hat if you want to. I dunno, I'm not that moved by it.

p. 118: Jawbreaker cardigan. I am one of that "small percentage" (according to Sally Melville) of people for whom asymmetry is the visual equivalent of nails on a chalkboard. Also, it's designed in Colinette, another line of yarns that cost the Earth.

p. 122: Wine and roses mitts: Cute, and I hadn't thought of the idea of using fingerless mitts to keep my hands warm while reading in a chilly place (usually that means reading in bed with the heat turned down). They would make a nice gift, too. Doubt I'd be using cashmere to knit them though, even as a gift.

p. 128: Cable and bobble headband. Cute, made of what is doubtless an accessible yarn (it's a Caron yarn). I'm more of a hat person (I have sinus trouble so when it's cold I really need something that covers my forehead) but I do think this is cute. I wonder if there's anyone in my life that this would make a good Christmas gift for...

p. 132: Cowgirl socks. I'm not very much moved by the pattern. And is buffalo fiber strong enough to make socks that won't blow out on the first or second wearing?

p. 134: Tweed beret. Cute. Not sure I'd wear a beret.

So there you have it. A mostly snark-free assessment. I probably used the word "cute" too many times.