ori ami knits

April 06, 2010

It’s well past time to blog about my favourite new pattern collection. Last year I signed up for the pre-order of Ori Ami Knits, and the digital version arrived a while back, issued in four instalments. It’s fabulous! (You can order the digital and/or hard copy here).

The pattern collection is by Olga Buraya-Kefelian and Vanessa Yap-Einbun, with two of the patterns written by Kirsten Johnstone. The patterns are all designed exclusively with Habu yarns chapters are divided in to the four themes of Practical Geometry, Subtle Layers, Dimensional Folds, and Nautical Structures. As I was expecting, the designs all have a very stylish, architectural quality about them, and are all constructed with the unique qualities of Habu yarns in mind. Just my kind of thing!

There are two patterns in particular which jumped to the top of my queue. First up is the Rhombus Wrap (Rav link) by Kirsten Johnstone. I love her simple, textural style, and already had some of her other patterns in my ‘must knit’ queue. I think this one will be perfect for layering in London’s climate:

It’s also reversible, making it even more clever:

However, it was the pictures of the Axonometric Top used in the book promotion that first caught my eye, and I think this might be my first knit from the collection:

It uses two strands of Habu’s Cotton Gima in order to get this amazing stitch definition and texture:

The only downside to this book? I just wish it was published a year ago! I visited the Avril store in Tokyo last February, and in September I visited Habu in NYC, but only bought a few cones of yarn at the time because I only had one pattern in mind (actually it was another one of Kirsten Johnstone’s: her lovely Thursday). Now I have a whole book of inspiration, and limited access to Habu yarns over here in the UK. I don’t normally use the yarns recommended in a pattern, but this is the perfect opportunity to knit with some very intriguing and unusual yarns. I predict much internet-purchasing ahead.