Good morning, knitters! It’s a truly gorgeous spring morning here in New Orleans. It is the perfect day to introduce my new spring sweater, the Cumberland Pullover. Like the Baja Hoodie, Cumberland is part of Interweave Knits Summer 2019 collection. Believe it or not, this lovely lacy pullover was inspired by good ol’ Southern grits!
Standing at the cornerstone of all Southern food are humble grits. More subtle and delicate then the name implies, this simple corn staple comes from hominy which is related yet distinct from the common yellow corn used to make corn bread or polenta. Hominy is soaked in alkali to remove the yellow husk and germ giving it a delicate flavor and a silkiness when cooked. At its best, hominy is scented with herbs like rosemary, lavender or herbes de provence and simmered slowly in cream rather than the commonly used water.
It is this silkiness and delicate color and flavor that I hoped to evoke with the Cumberland Pullover. It is simple, soft and tender with classic raglan shaping. It features an all-over lace motif that represents tiny ears of corn. It is humble in its restrained form and feminine in its details such as a wide neckline and naive garter edging.
Cumberland is worked from the bottom up and features an intuitive lace motif. Because of its bottom-up construction, Cumberland makes for great travel knitting. Take along a sleeve or two or toss the simple body section into a project bag and go! There’s a little “pay attention” knitting when the pieces are joined and the yoke begins, but just enough to keep things interesting.
The soft silkiness of 100% merino makes Zitron Feinheit an absolute dream to knit and to wear. It is a light fingering weight yarn with an incredible micron count of 16. It is cashmere soft and boasts a glorious loft and springiness. The shade card is brave and gorgeous too!
I’m thrilled to be a part of this collection which includes so many fresh ideas from so many wonderful designers! Many thanks to Harper Point Photography for the wonderful images and to the entire Interweave Knits team. I hope you enjoy Cumberland!
Love,
Cheryl
