I do love this time of year. It is still warm outside but there is a hint of autumn in the air. A faint promise that one day I can wear my tweed skirts, my woolly jumpers and my favourite coat once more. This is the season of new autumn/winter yarns too and I had a go at swatching some colourwork in the new Rowan Angora Haze yarn. Unfortunately I think I am allergic to angora (lots of sneezing plus some red blotches on my hands) but my swatch is very, very pretty. The yarn has a great handle and blocks beautifully.

I had planned on knitting myself a 1950s angora jumper in red (think  Ed Wood and, yes, that is Johnny Depp) but that plan will have to change. Also, I think I shall revert to my stated intent of knitting wardrobe staples rather than throw myself into some flights of fancy. I have limited knitting time for myself and I need to get clever about what I knit. Incidentally, my Stevie cardigan is one sleeve away from being finished and I'm very excited about the fit. More on that when it happens!

In my books, wardrobe staples & sensible knits do not need to equal "boring knitting experience". I have learned that I need projects that I can work on at knit nights and patterns heavy on stock stitch deliver that - they just need to have some little detail that makes for some knitterly fun too. Onwards for a look at the Rowan autumn/Winter 2013 patterns, then.  My favourites in no particular order:

Tabatha is on my short list - stripes never go out of fashion and it looks like a great layering piece. Colour choice will determine just how versatile it will be. I can see this knitted in shades of grey or a navy/cream. A less classic look would go for black plus shocking pink - or maybe red and pink like my Angora Haze swatch?

Land Girl's Moving Cable Sweater needs long sleeves but then it'd work perfectly for the Bloomsbury Librarian look I tend to work every autumn/winter. Rowan Felted Tweed has a gorgeous colour palette - deep burgundy? dark green? camel? dusty brown?

I love, love Monyash. It would, however, not be a great knit night project nor is it a sensible knit. It is just gorgeous. Wicken is designed for Rowan Alpaca Colour, a self-striping DK alpaca. I'm thinking it could look marvellous in a solid colour too. I just adore its shape - could it work on me, though?

Anatolia is another "not that sensible but just look at it" pattern. I'd change the colour palette subtly to make it look even more like a faded kelim rug. It'd work like a charm for the Bloomsbury Librarian look too - and I could knit it in the round! (I feel like I'm persuading myself here)

And another colourwork project: the Bodrum jumper. I'm linking to the men's version, though there is a free ladies' version. I just prefer the male colour svheme with its deep browns, reds and mustard yellows. I recently finished a small project in Rowan Fine Tweed (one of those I cannot talk about just yet) and I'm rather keen on knitting something for myself in Fine Tweed. It blocks like a dream.

Funny how I started out all "yay! sensible knits in stocking stitch!" and ended up writing about intricate colourwork. Happens every year..