linear

knitting is mostly

about lines.

the straightaways

that form the vertical columns

of stitches.

then more lines formed

by the horizontal rows of stitches.

if you’re a designer, those lines must be translated into the math of sizing.

21269771293_c7673275d7_zsome designers (of advanced skill) learn to think

beyond the ‘x’ and ‘y’ axes.

they manipulate and reconfigure

the lines within their patterns.

enter ruth garcia-alcantud (aka: rock & purl).

have you seen her

new patterns:

 in ‘the linear collection’?

these patterns are fascinating.21891336245_fc81f7a31f_z

it’s so interesting to think about

how her math skills intertwined

with the stitches

to make the textural details

of these pieces come alive.

i like to consider how fun it will be

to work the diagonals

watching them form at their intended angles

21271624273_a41011c979_zto the parallel lines of the

knitting needles

(both hers as she was still imagining the outcome

and now other knitter’s needles as they follow

her maps to knit them).

 because patterns

are basically maps, imo.

they help us to navigate the creative idea

that hatched from a designer’s mind

and make it

(by yarn choice & the fact that it is formed at our fingertips)

our very own. you gotta love that.

right? i do.

21270660853_024251f919_zas an added bonus, all 5 of ruth’s patterns in ‘the linear collection’

are on sale for 25% off

(from now until friday, november 27th at 11:59 pm eastern standard time)

as part of ‘gift-a-long 2015’ over on ravelry.com.

use the code giftalong2015, and the sale prices are yours.

now that’s a bargain.

‘branches’ taken from 17:8 of ezekiel.

project ping pong

i was having trouble

focusing on just one idea (this often happens to me), so

i cast on for three new things at once

(and no, this is so not the first time i’ve done that either).

first up was new fingerless mitts

 in malabrigo mecha.

the rich blueberry color (called prussia blue)

drew me right in, but…

(can you see the uh-oh?)1t16m-8nvuss sqgot to the finish line with one mitt a good 3/4″ longer than the other.

easy enough to rip back, but my motivation veered

onto new project #2.

this is gorgeous yarn from a swap box.

it’s bare naked wools ‘better breakfast fingering’ in mocha.

now, you know that usually ‘fingering weight’ and i are not pals,

but this stuff knits up beautifully on bigger needles

and i was definitely more motivated

to do this, than to undo and redo the longer fingerless glove above.

IMG_1513sqdoesn’t the mocha look nice up against

the little project bag it’s living in from third floor studio?

yes, it does.

but, i got to the crown decreases and lost steam.

i was so enjoying just knitting in the round

and around and around.

my head wasn’t up to the math of the crown shaping, cue project #3.

i’ve been on a kick about octopoli (a plural of octopus).

my friend joan loaned me a book and

i’m just fascinated.

therefore, my third new project is inspired by tentacles.

you might not be able to see the inspiration when it’s done,

but i sure will.

every idea comes from somewhere

and no matter what this ends up like, i’ll know exactly where it started in my head.IMG_1514 sqthe yarn is long island worsted in marsala

from string theory hand dyed yarn, inc.

(i know that the bag says indigo dragonfly.

new and exciting stuff from them is coming later on).

for now, i’m knitting away on the worsted

with the deep lair of the octopus

on my mind,

and wondering how i’m going to regain the motivation

to finish the first two things i started.

‘mind’ taken from 3:20-22 of lamentations.

bouncing

when the day starts with an e-mail saying

that my library book

(which i haven’t’ yet finished and i didn’t know was even due)

is now far overdue,

it does not feel good at all.

then i go to try out the new recipe i’ve been waiting to try

and i don’t have an ingredient. i don’t have the main ingredient.

so i decide maybe  little guitar playing is in order,

but the song that i most want to play has a

solo lick that is kicking my butt.

so i think: knitting.

grabbing a skein of malabrigo mecha and dpns,

i settle in to whip up a pair of fingerless

no pattern, no pressure.

just to ward off

the chill at the bus stop each morning.

i spend a few happy minutes on the ribbing at the cuffs

only to realize that i don’t have the right size dpns to knit the rest of the glove.9700well, who needs ‘the rest of the glove’ anyway…

feeling a bit like alexander

(in the ‘terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day‘),

i decide that it’s late enough to go to bed.

every creative thing attempted all day came to nothing,

so sleep and a clean slate kind of morning

sound really, really good.

now it’s the next day.

the library fine is paid and the book renewed.

there is a huge head of califlower in the refrigerator,

i got over the hump of the tricky lick and am getting better at it,IMG_1692 sq

and a quick trip to a lys later, i have the size 10 dpns that i need to work

the rest of the mitts.

what a difference a day makes. seriously.

‘feeling’ taken from 59:10 of isaiah.

 

combos

when i am cold

i feel the most motivated

to knit something for myself.

the other night, feeling quite chilly,

i ran into holly priestley‘s ‘nomadic night’s slouch’.

ooh, i love how much personality this hat has

and how much room it gives

each of us individual

knitters to

express ourselves in color and yarn combinations.

in true antiestablishmentarian style,nomad yarns collagei chose three different yarns altogether.

it’s a big ol’ hat, so matching up exact gauge is optional, right?

i almost never would think that,

but in this case

i did and it’s working.

holly’s version is much more colorful than mine,

which in a different mood i might have wanted,IMG_8710upbut right now, all the neutrals and mixed textures sing to me

of varied experiences and how they’ve

shaped me, made me

who i am.

i have worked through the corrugated rib,

and found the colorwork chart to be fabulously simple.

nothing like clarity to make a project feel like it’s flying off the needles!

if i juggle things right today (ie: get the necessary stuff done),

i could have my ‘nomad’ ready

before the storm hits

tomorrow afternoon.

that’s my goal.  we’ll see if i hit it.

‘nomads’ taken from 13:20 of isaiah.

yarns in top photo: (left) hudson valley fiber farm ‘farmstead’ from a local market,

(center) malabrigo ‘twist’ in terron, and (right) classic elite yarns ‘blackthorn’ in alabaster.

square metaphorical ripples

i like to believe

that even our smallest actions count,

that they ripple out and affect people and things that we never even know about.

that’s the little stuff.

then there’s the big stuff, like birth.

at first we mostly change those closest to us because our worlds are so small,

but the more we grow, the more distinctive our impact becomes.

my newest pattern, laska, is all about that.IMG_4275shade

i’m told i think to much.

i am often accused of that.

so be it.

feel free to skip the rest

of my explanation

if this being a pretty blanket is enough for you.

each to his or her own.

in my head, the small center of the blanket represents the beginnings of a person.

the bands of stockinette stitch get wider and wider

with each repeat to show that choices

IMG_4279shadebig and small matter.

they matter

our whole lives through.

the final edge is garter stitch,

intentionally a combo of

the stockinette stitch

and reverse stockinette stitch

of all the other square bands.

as life, i think,

is a result of each thing

that we do or don’t do.  symbolism just moves me.

i’m made that way. and i made this.

‘laska’ is polish for ‘grace’.

‘grace’ taken from 22:11 of proverbs.

‘corner of the roof’

this is a favorite proverb of mine:

“better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife”.

you better believe it.

when i start to feel all snarly and discontent

i remind myself of this.

no man of mine is gonna wish he was on the roof.

when i think of a roof,

i think of a pagoda.  no idea why.

the new england roofs of my childhood are nothing like them.

i’ve never even seen one in real life.

still, that’s what comes to mind at the mention of the word.

amazingly intricate and interesting.

442-5247B-B-R18Ai was aiming to capture

both of these things in this new cuff design.

the way the increasing creates a textural ‘x’

across the top of the square is pagoda-like to me.

IMG_4373crop27do you see it?

now that roofy-ness on my arm

is a good reminder to take a deep breath and be grateful

no matter what.  and always.

pagoda pic from www.novaexperience.net.

‘corner of the roof’ taken from 25:24 in proverbs.

things coming this week

you’ve been patient.

so patient, as my designing has taken every detour in sight lately.

this week, finally, i can share some new patterns.

three new patterns to be exact.

it’s april, right?

so when it rains, it pours.

now i don’t have ‘sneak peeks’ per se.

instead, i have a ‘behind the scenes’ shot from during

the photo taking for each new pattern.  ready?

for tomorrow’s pattern, this is my youngest testing out

the remote attached to the camera to see if the set-up is working.

and yup, he pressed the button to take this picture all by himself.

IMG_4392cropthe photographer for wednesday’s pattern

was my 14 year old.

she said she just ‘couldn’t resist’ taking pictures of the yard

in between taking pictures of the knitting.

IMG_4333crop2last, but in no way least,

is friday’s pattern.

picture this, i’m making

some slapped together kind of dinner

when i look out the window and the light is gorgeous.

the ground is wet from rain and i’m in my slippers and the food’s on the stove,

but i’m running out (zig zagging to find dry spots) to the kid’s clubhouse to take pics.

a designer’s gotta do what a designer’s gotta do.

i didn’t even burn dinner

too badly.

so this last shot is me balancing on the base of the clubhouse

trying to keep my feet dry long enough

to catch some of the light.

IMG_4280cropthree patterns in four days, starting tomorrow…

‘least’ taken from 14:7 of job.

the stories behind ‘the great deep’

it was a year ago

(where did the time go?),

that malabrigo yarn got in touch to say

i had been picked as an mfpp (malabrigo freelance pattern project) indie designer,

paired up with alison, and given the theme ‘glittering fish’

with this photo for inspiration.

alison and i spent the next few weeks

sending notes & sketches back and forth.

by the end of the summer we had a

rough idea of who would

do what and in which malabrigo colorways.

 then the nuts and bolts

of putting patterns together began.

re-swatching, tweaking, and lots of math.

now here it is june already.

my 6 patterns (also available as an e-book)

were released on friday.  alison’s are coming up soon.

do, i’ll spend the next 6 days posting about the underwater inspirations

for each of my patterns,

why i named them what i did,

and a little about some of what did and didn’t turn out the way i expected.

remember my leap into steeking?

that was one of the patterns in ‘the great deep’.

check out the e-book patterns here

can you tell which one?

up next – ‘peixe’: what i thought it was going to be

and how it set me straight.

‘the great deep’ taken from 51:10 of isaiah.

one day out

and as a final shot

(before the e-book release tomorrow),

here are the ceramic pots that line the cobblestone walk

that leads to one of my favorite local yarn stores, fancie purls.

ann, the proprietor of said lys and an all around cool knitter, was kind enough to let

me change in her bathroom, because it was that or changing in my car.

and her bathroom is infinitely nicer, although

my car has a better stereo. (grin)

‘changed’ taken from 15:51 in first corinthians.