PJ's had a coffee morning.. and I went. It was the review of all the new Jaeger and Rowan books. For £10, you get coffee, pastry, review led by the lovely Jane Crowfoot, and a 10% off voucher.
The best bit of course was trying on the ready made jumpers. Unfortunately, the best bit is only the best bit if you take the smallest sizes, but it a good way to see how the garments would look without being over stylised. Now, I'm not suggesting for one moment that Rowan stop trying to have the high fashion look, because that's what made it so well loved. What I would hope that Rowan takes away is, knitters do not want to play 'spot the knitting' in the photos. Oh, and an occasional photo where we can actually see the collar of the garment or how the garment would be worn in real life would be nice too.
Rowanette Jill very kindly agreed to model a few of the designs from Rowan 39. This is Rambling Rose by Martin Story.
This is Celeste designed by Anna Tillman, who I 'knew' from the Rowan forums before she became a famous designer.
The lovely Jane Crowfoot... how can you not like a designer with her honesty and sense of humour?
Well, she had to have a sense of humour when she showed the slide for Minnie,
and the back row on the right side started giggling about Polly's dinosaur. (For the record, I saw Minnie in person recently, and it is a very nice cardigan, but I think that it's very heavy in HK Cotton, especially with those beads, but it would look wonderful on a tall person with a wider frame, otherwise the sleeves and heavy cotton would probably be a bit overwhelming.).
Rowanette Sarah and bump also modelled Glad from Rowan 39.
... as did Rowanette Jacinta. I actually liked Glad more than I thought I would. I thought that the drapiness was a bit impractical, but in real life the KSH was light as a feather and the design meant lots of options on how to wear it. So stylish .. whether there's a bump or not.
Oh and did I mention that I ended buying yarn... the first time in a long time...
The purple yarn is to make Polly from the Rowan Bambino book. Yes, I am a sucker, but how can I not kit a design that shares my name?
Speaking of "Spot the Knitting"...this photo is Rosa from Rowan 35, isn't it? http://www.alltangledup.com/movabletype/my_images/holiday/pj2006/janecrowfoot.jpg
Posted by: Jade at August 21, 2006 11:37 PMSorry to leave this comment so late but am knitting Glad as fast as I can go having read your posting. Looks fab on real people, I hadn't even given it a second glance when I was reading #39. Must be a real fun event!
Posted by: sarah at May 1, 2006 11:08 AMI love your real people photos, they all look great, I would love to see the dinosaur cardi on a real person as I actually quite like it, though am probably too short for it. Polly is a very cute design, I might have to add that to my list.
Posted by: yvette at April 17, 2006 07:23 AMIt sounds real fun! I also love seeing the clothes being worn by the Rowanettes, who all look great! Would be seriously considering Glad now...
i had no interest in glad until i saw your photos...but now i quite like it! particularly if you happen to have a bump (which i don't).
the pics of rowanette jill are fantastic. the garments look seriously better on her than they do on the rowan models!
thanks for sharing these pics.
Posted by: jacqueline at April 16, 2006 03:43 PMPJs was fun, although I'm not sure the other participants thought much of our heckling! Polly looks very sweet though - a really nice choice.
Sarah
Posted by: Sarah at April 16, 2006 01:54 PMIt's so good to see these designs being worn by real people.
I'm a sucker for anything to do with my name, especially as I see it so rarely. I'm not a fan of waistcoats, but I do like the bottom edging, maybe I could crochet some sleeves... hmm ideas.
I found a tape yarn called Celeste too, the two might combine.
Thank you so much for posting these "real" photos, it is so helpful to see how the knits will look when just being normal rather than posing like a dinosaur, tee hee. I am wondering if Jane Crowfoot is wearing a Rowan knit from an earlier magazine? I think I recognise it as one I have toyed with, am I right?
Posted by: Rebecca at April 15, 2006 08:31 PMWhat a nice idea, sounds like a fab day and it`s great to see the things on real Rowanettes (don`t they look great?)
I love the dinosaurus cardi but I`m afraid I`ll look like one too, wearing it. (being only 1,66 meters).
Your purchases look good, have fun with them.
Love
Enjoyed looking at the designs on the real would-be knitters.
I've been coaxed many a time by seeing the knitted up garment in John Lewis whereas I have overlooked the picture in the mag.
I love the knits modelled by the Rowanettes. It makes it much easier to see. I also like Polly. Very cute. I love knitting little girl's cardigans and jumpers. My 4 yr old would love it. Cannot wait to see your new yarn knitted up.
Posted by: Sue at April 15, 2006 01:11 AMGreat models - its always good to see the knits on real people. It is the fashion aspect that first attracted me to Rowan and although it is hard to see the knits sometimes, I hope they continue and don't dumb it down. Lovely knits you have planned - I am a sucker too for the names of some of the designs. None named after me but I did knit two that had my grandmothers names and they have turned out to be my favorite knits ever. Happy Easter to you and yours..
Posted by: Carol at April 14, 2006 05:39 PMJill makes a lovely knitwear model! And I love the Polly- the sweater too :)- and it would look adorable on my 5yo girly-girl who loves pink, lace, and anything ballerina-ish. I found a LYS downtown that stocks Rowan yarn and books so I guess I'll have to make a return trip. Oh, the things we do for our loved ones! :)
Posted by: Tish at April 14, 2006 04:26 PMOh, how nice to have such kind of gatherings! And Jill is so lovely! I've always liked Glad ... and actually have yarns set aside for it. MUST.KNIT.FASTER!
Posted by: Agnes at April 14, 2006 04:13 PMI like Glad much more than I thought I would after seeing your photos.
Tempting....I could knit that in KSH.
Posted by: Sarah HB at April 14, 2006 04:05 PMI love the colors of yarn you picked up, they'd go lovely together I think. Polly is a cute sweater.
Posted by: Rebekah at April 14, 2006 04:03 PMas always lovely colour choices and well OF COURSE you would make a pattern named after you :)
Posted by: stinkerbell at April 14, 2006 03:05 PMSo lovely to see the garments on real people. I, too, love the 'high fashion' aspect of Rowan - it's one of the things that makes them special but I do agree that the actual knitting can be a little hard to spot on occasion!
Polly is very pretty - I'm a sucker for seeing my name on something as well!
Posted by: Anita at April 14, 2006 02:36 PMOh I wish I could have come! I'm still not dazzled by the designs, though they look a lot better on real people. Now stop trying to tempt us with new books and stash! Polly's a lovely design!
Posted by: dawn at April 14, 2006 01:33 PMIt's great to see real people modelling the Rowan designs . . . and looking fabulous in them!
Posted by: Wendy at April 14, 2006 12:41 PM