Saturday, June 6, 2015

A Peak into My Vogue Knitting Magazine Stash

Over the years, I've reviewed my entire knitting library here on ChemKnits, plus other books that I've checked out from the library.  But did you know that I am also a hoarder subscriber of Vogue Knitting Magazine? My now mother-in-law gave me a subscription for Christmas many years ago and I've been a faithful subscriber ever since.


Now with all of these issues and patterns, how many items have I knit from Vogue Knitting?  ONE.  From Spring/Summer 2010 - the second issue I ever received.   (Well two if you count the cardigan back in high school, but I don't think that counts since I wasn't a subscriber at that point.)



I don't always read the magazines cover to cover, but I love getting a glimpse of what is hot right now in knitting design.  I love to look through pictures of notions and accessories and to be introduced to new tools that will fit right into my hoard collection.  There is also a thrill of seeing "celebrity" contributions.   I have seen patterns from Project Runway Alumnae, and models from ANTM between the covers.  I see so many delicious sweaters that I would love to knit for myself someday.  

A key part to managing my subscription is keeping my Ravelry library updated.  It is much easier to tag the patterns I love as my favorites in Ravelry than to sort back through dozens of old issues.  Now when I'm searching for a new project these can come up tagged and I'll be ready to go!  

Most of the patterns are geared towards women, but there are occasionally some designs for men.  (Early Fall 2014 I'm looking at you!  Love the bow ties!)  Most of the designs are garments, with a few accessories sprinkled in each issue.  Since my shape changes so frequently I don't knit many sweaters, but I always find at least a couple of patterns that really make me itch to go yarn shopping.

If I could make changes to Vogue Knitting (ha!), I would like to see more designs for kids and men.  I know that ultimately the demographic is for women's apparel, and I wouldn't want to change the essence of the magazine but there are many male knitters out there and they should be included in the industry.  Having the magazine show up 5 times a year (I seriously never know when to expect it since the publishing dates are seasonal and not monthly) is one of the highlights.  This is seriously one of the best knitting gifts I've ever received.

Have you ever knit anything from Vogue Knitting? If not, you should subscribe to Vogue Knitting today!