cey & i: variations

we are all different.

that’s the way it’s supposed to be.

a world of clones would be boring at best and dysfunctional at worst.

knitters are a good example of this.

no matter how much

i like a designer’s version of a pattern,

it’s inevitable that someone will make modifications

(lovingly called mods)

and the piece will take on a whole new personality;

a fresh life of its own.

in ‘artistic differences‘ i wanted to expand on that.

setting aside a knitter’s skills (which can be many),

how does a person’s personality affect their choices in knitting?

7272cropand does the end result ‘look’

more like them than

the designer’s

version

did ?

when an existing song

gets dolled up a bit

by a new band,

we label it ‘a cover’.

when the original artist

reworks the tune

it’s labeled ‘a remix’.

you seldom see remixes

by knitwear designers.

instead,

we decide what a thing will be

and then do our best to present it in that light.

maybe it’s my musical background showing, but i’ve always loved

the contrast of the textural similarities and differences

between song remixes and the originals.

the group of patterns in

artistic differences is my version of ‘knitting remixes’.

 i took two parts of who i am,

a little bit boho and another little bit rock & roll,

and allowed each pattern in the book to reflect those two sensibilities

(just for extra fun, there’s a third mod written in for each pattern as well).

here’s a band i love doing a musical thing that’s similar

with their song ‘gang of rhythm’

(be sure to check out their ‘powerful’ version

which starts in all its rock and roll vibe-ness at the 7:22 mark).

now that you’ve heard it done musically,

check out the book to see me doing it knit-wise.

then the question becomes this:

what is it that makes you different?

and how in the world are you gonna knit that?

needles at the ready and

thinking caps on…

‘fresh’ taken from 92:14 in the psalms.

pretty things

i have a pair

of red velvet gloves.

you would think that they

might be from my life before wee ones

(kids & red velvet don’t get along),

but they were a gift that i

specifically asked for

just this past Christmas.

because i really

like pretty things.

i have a 5 yr old and a 4 yr old

both often covered in goo-

mud to bubble soap to peanut butter and jelly sandwich crumbs,

a teething one yr old (think drool in lots of crazy places),

and a sweet 11 yr old who inherited my general clumsiness.

so ‘the good stuff’ at  my house is up high or secured inside the china cupboard…

but equally as well,

i like plain old rocks.

i like beach rocks and

broken sidewalk rocks

and even gravel when it glitters in the sunlight.

if i go someplace special, i tend to bring home a rock.

not sure why

but they feel real to me-

solid, strong and substantial.

i even have a few special ones with

crystalline growths in them from a small

island in maine and from my bass player’s wedding.

now tomorow, knitcircus will release their summer issue.

my contribution

is a pattern that marries

these two pieces of my life

(the fragile but pretty things and

the sturdy things that carry their own weight) seamlessly together

and really

what knitter

doesn’t love nearly

anything without seams?

*

*

‘fragile’ taken from 8:14 of job.

road trip: day three

no road today,

(which is great)

and still no snow.

even brown leaves

are shocking in lieu of

what we left just two days ago.

snapped these playing in the yard

while the kids darted here and there.

oh how i can miss what is buried

so deeply under the

drifts at home.

my oldest and her cousin

cozied into the couch

to knit tonight.

such fun.

love seeing them

starting up-

so intent, so new.

i was (almost) exactly

their age when i first knit.

taught them today to

add beads w/dental floss.

what a breath of fresh air

as i watched them

with the endless

possibilites

spinning

around

inside their

young heads.

‘seeing’ taken from 15:31 in matthew.

sts away from home: played with openwork in berroco ‘remix’. kitchenered ‘tamarisk’.