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Dear everybody,

It’s hard to believe our epic adventure in intarsia—the knitalong of Kaffe Fassett’s fabulous designs for MDK Field Guide No. 16: Painterly—is coming to an end. It’s not the end, though; it’s our firm policy here at MDK that a good knitalong never ends, and a finished knitalong project is cause for rejoicing, whenever it comes.

But we do want to award some prizes before we ride off into the shimmering intarsia sunset, with saddle bags full of Felted Tweed and a tangle on our saddlehorn.

It’s been tough to choose winners. All of you have been reveling in color and form and inventing new ways to use Kaffe’s charts and palettes.

Here, Take My Sweater

For sheer ambition, for scope of vision, for hours strapped into her knitting seat, and for love of the Felted Tweed palette, we have to salute Stacy, the great @ms.shutterhoney.

Stacy knit not one but two pullovers—an achievement that is all the more astonishing when we consider that this Field Guide does not even contain a sweater pattern. She started with the motif for Kaffe’s Village Scarf, and added wide and narrow stripes to the sleeves. For her next feat, she used the Cityscape chart. Stacy confirms that Cityscape is by far the easier and less tangly of the two motifs. Check out her Instagram for a shot of the Cityscape pullover with one sleeve on.

The Street Where We Live

Lois @loispetren charmed us by knitting an entire neighborhood of little houses, again using the motif from Kaffe’s Village Scarf, which was a real fan favorite of Field Guide No. 16.

Hardly tangly at all! (OK, pretty tangly, but a pretty tangle.)  Lois’s color sense is amazing, her checkerboard street is a visual vacation.

House Plant

Gretchen @grettaetta went all in, casting on a greenhouse worth of succulent Field Guide No. 16 projects. But she captured our imagination with the whimsy of her felted plant cozy.

Way to put the felt in Felted Tweed, Gretchen!

Look Out—We Have a Cross-Crafter!

In the MDK Lounge, Robin shared her needlepoint inspired by Kaffe’s Coins from Field Guide No. 13,  plus her Watercolor Cowl from Field Guide No. 16.

Who knew Felted Tweed was a needlepoint wool?  Good to know, Robin!

Go Big and Stay Home

One of the sermons we preach most fervently is that no project is too ambitious if you crave the result enough. In the MDK Lounge, Dinah proved this principle, and then some. For her very first intarsia project, Dinah cast on a little ol’ thing called the Kites Throw.

It’s not a little ol’ thing, at all. It’s an epic tangle of awesomeness. It’s going to be just great, and seeing a knitter so committed to a project has filled us with all the happy knitting feels. This is what makes knitting such a great sport, er, craft.

And Whoosh Go the Prizes, Out the Door

Cue the dream sequence soundtrack. These bags of Rowan delights will soon be on their way to Stacy, Dinah, Robin, Gretchen, and Lois.

A hearty thank you to Michael del V. and all our friends at Rowan. You really know how to put together a delightful prize.

We also send out hearty thanks to every knitter who accepted the challenge of knitting glorious intarsia with us. We hope you’ll continue to share progress photos and FO triumphs with us. We look at each and every photo and just cannot believe all the talent and love of knitting out there. It gives us such joy.

Love,

Ann and Kay

 

19 Comments

  • Congrats to the winners and all knitters of intarsia! My hat is off to y’all;)

  • Wow I’m in total awe of all projects, especially Stacy’s sweaters! Well done!

  • Thanks for the inspiration. I am absolutely LOVING the Village scarf cushion covers I’m knitting. I see much more intarsia in my future!

  • Totally honored! Thank you for keeping me inspired with the lovely patterns.

  • Love this article. The talent and perseverance is amazing to create such ambitious and beautiful works of art. Thanks for sharing. The sweaters are amazing! I am expecting my Painterly issue in the mail today! YAY!

  • Thank you so much MDK! I am truly honored. Those sweaters though! Just amazing!

  • Lovely, all of you! Well done and BRAVO!

  • OMG these are all so fabulous! And inspiring! Just beautiful.

  • Thanks, MDK! It’s an honor. You and this community inspire me everyday!

  • I’m glad we don’t have to vote for a favorite, because those are all spectacular!

  • The extraordinary creativity of knitters and other crafters constantly astonishes me. If for not other reason than those colors bringing a smile to my face on yet another grey winter day, I applaud you all.

  • Congratulations to the winners. Your knits are all gorgeous! And thanks to Ann and Kay for being such awesome hostesses as always.

  • Good job, everyone! So beautiful!

  • Amazing knitting out there! And Stacy’s sweaters… just wow!

  • Just a big thanks for the Transatlantic Sessions music from last Saturday’s newsletter. It made my knitting time even better!

  • A fabulous celebration of color – thank you, all. Oh, and that word picture: “before we ride off into the shimmering intarsia sunset, with saddle bags full of Felted Tweed and a tangle on our saddlehorn” – I want to see this in an actual picture. C’mon, you graphic artists!

  • Congratulations, Knitters!! Beautiful and inspiring work! I’m working on the Waterfall Cowl & my fingers are itching to get back to it!!

  • So inspiring ! & Bravo Ann & K for the community you bring together!

  • All of the above plus the word “cross-crafter.” Is that in the dictionary? Maybe it will be. (If I ever attempt intarsia my first project might be a trim such as the gray item on the table there under Go Big or Stay Home. Very effective. You guys are sneaky.)

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