from Aug 4, 2010: Slow & Steady Wins The Race... (I hope)

Working through the C&G exercises I am definitely not the hare! Progress through module 6 has been slow, but there has been some progress. I'd really like a week to myself ...so I can immerse myself in it.
I'm finding I start with an idea & knit a sample then this leads me to think 'ok, now what if...' but before I can get too far down the creative path it's time to return to my real life as mum & wife & employee. Then when I get back to it the process has to start again. I've found it helps to have a notebook handy & jot down ideas as they come to me, before they are lost forever. Doing this has helped my ideas to flow ... just need my fingers to knit faster.
Monday is my dedicated C&G day and what other snippets of time I can find during the week. My plan is to 'tackle' the body block next Monday.

And a picture so this post isn't totally boring :)

from April 26, 2010: Kaleidoscope Tool

Here's a nifty online tool I've played with before (a couple of years ago) but just found it again. It's for making a kaleidoscope image. I have always loved kaleidoscopes. I was fascinated by them as a child & I can still play with one for hours even now.


This online tool is nearly as good as the real thing and I think it may make a great tool to use in designing. You can use it to play with colour & to get inspiring shapes and pattern repeats.

Basically you add the url of the image you want to use, click a button & the image is transformed into something you may see looking down a kaleidoscope. Once the image is transformed by the tool then you can place your mouse over the image, click and drag & the image changes just like you were turning the kaleidoscope.

from April 15, 2010: It's Been Much Too Long

It's taken me far longer than I wanted but module 5 is finally complete & on the way to the UK.

Here is a peek at what I included:

I quite like knitting Aran designs. It takes me longer than plain knitting of course...seeing what stitch is next, passing yarn back & forth, juggling a cable needle...but the end result is definitely worth it.

I loved the wall paper samples that Loraine sent. I haven't seen anything like that around here. I do live in a bit of a rural area so sometimes it's hard to source interesting materials.

The knitted on embellishment exercise was fun, so I chose to use bright, fun colours as well.




Now for module 6..........

(slightly out of order) from Jan 23, 2009: Texture & Colour

Last weekend I flew to Sydney to attend a workshop with Jane Thornley. Jane is a designer from Nova Scotia who calls her style "free range knitting". Using the feather and fan pattern we explored texture & colour.

from Nov 27, 2009: M5 Paper Manipulation Exercises

Here are a few samples of the paper exercises I have been doing. Great fun...it's like being back at school.......concertina folds, origami, paper weaving, etc. There are lots more samples that I've done & more that I want to try.

I've also been thinking about how this relates to garment construction by suggesting folds & pleats.

from Oct 10, 2009: My Cat Ate My Homework

Need I say more. Think the teacher will believe me?

from Oct 3, 2009: More Inspiration Photos

I was putting the garbage into the bin outside & noticed the colours on the paling fence separating our house from the neighbours.

from Oct 3, 2009: Blocking Cables

I've started blocking my cable samples before I forget what's what. For the most part I haven't been too adventurous in my yarn choices...the cables just don't show up well if the wrong choice is made. I'm using a variety of weights & fibre contents but no novelty yarns as yet.

This would be my favourite so far:

I really like complex cables. They look fantastic but I have to keep alert when I'm knitting them. They also don't suit me in most traditional jumper/sweater designs as I don't need the extra bulk but I have been thinking about placement & where I CAN use them.
In other knitting, I've cast on Liesl, a feather and fan top down cardigan by Ysolda Teague. I'm using Cascade 220 in a deep rich red. A lot of people have knit this & nearly everyone seems very happy with the pattern & have commented that it's a quick knit. So far, so good. I'm past the armholes and I only cast on a couple of nights ago (it's my evening TV knitting)

from Sept 23: Workshop Pictures

Here are some pictures from the 3 day Adrienne Sloane workshop I attended in Sydney.

Denise demonstrating hand knitting:

Class samples (learning how to do protusions, folds, inserts, short rows, fringes & ruffles.

We learnt to knit a globe in one piece (lots of short rows).

Some of Adriennes work:

Adrienne does a lot of her pieces on a knitting machine. The coloured squares above are all done on a machine.

     

from Sept 20: Day 2

Today was another great day with Adrienne Sloane.




We talked about directionality of knitting....thinking about what we wanted to achieve & then thinking about HOW to achieve it. There was lots of sampling of protrusions (made various ways), and making holes. I also learnt a cool new edge to try.



Lots of short rowing, discussions on how to make various shapes and then we knit a ball/globe shape. We also did some ruffles and fringing.



I wonder what tomorrow has in store.

from Sept 19, 2009: Day 1 Adrienne Sloane workshop

Today was day 1 of a 3 day workshop with Adrienne Sloane who has travelled from the Boston area in the US for workshops in Australia & New Zealand.




For me to attend it means leaving behind my family for the better part of 5 days, with a day by day list of what to do & when to do it, catching a flight to Sydney, then 2 trains & 1 taxi cab (& the reverse when I leave on Tuesday) and paying an exorbitant price for nearby accommodation. Luckily one of the other participants has offered to give me a lift to the workshop & back each day, other wise it would be more cab fares. But it's worth it!



I get to spend 3 days with like minded people, being inspired by someone I had read about online & in books but never dreamed I'd ever meet or be touching her sculptural knit pieces in my own hands and being able to pick her brain on concepts & construction (returning each evening to a gin & tonic, a spa bath & someone else cooking my meals also has its benefits!).



Today, (after the usual introduction/tell us a bit about yourself & Adriennes talk about her background), we began by experimenting using "different linear elements".....basically knitting with 'stuff' we normally wouldn't knit with( I'll get some pics up when I return home as I don't have my camera cable etc with me.)

I was knitting with plastic tubing of various diameters, some tinselly ribbon tie, fishing line, video tape, different strings & twines, wire, raffia etc. We looked at a power point presentation of works by different artists who knit using some of these materials & who do sculptural knitting. There was a great display of books and other publications to look through.....a couple more to add to my wish list.



We looked at the construction of the knit stitch and what happens when we twist the stitch, different ways to knit a square were discussed & we practised a mitred square, moving stitches (cables), knitting backwards and short rows.



Tomorrow Adrienne's plan is to venture into openings, slashings, protusions & ...........

from Sept 14, 2009: Started M5

M5 cable samples I've made a start on module 5. Here is a sample of my cable samples, still to be blocked & mounted. There's lots more of these to be done. I think I'm going to really enjoy knitting the sample exercises for this module. In each module so far there have been things that I've enjoyed & others that I've "endured". M5 looks to contain everything I really enjoy. The fibre study this module is Linen and boy did I learn a lot! I guess I've never really thought much about the process of making linen before. I knew it came from the flax plant & that was the limit of my knowledge. So that part of the module was interesting as well.

I ordered a new book from The Book Depository this month. The Essential Guide to Colour Knitting Techniques by Margaret Radcliffe. I ordered the soft cover edition. It's over 300 pages, about A4 size. I've just started to read through it but it looks good. Lots of great pics too. The contents are color basics (I found it interesting that the title of the book has colour spelt the British way but in the contents it's spelt the US way), stripes, pattern stitches, multicolor yarns, stranded knitting, intarsia, other techniques,finishing touches, design workshop. Then there is the appendix that has a glossary of techniques, using charts, garment-sizing guidelines, abbreviations and symbols.
 Whilst waiting for the picture of the book to load I noticed that the swatches in most chapters are colour coded. So as well as learning a technique you can also see how different colours combine. For example, the chapter on stripes is in purples, pattern stitches is in greens, stranded knitting in blues, intarsia in gold/orange, other techniques in purple & green and finishing touches in pinks. Very nice.

Vox is closing

As part of the Hand Knit Textiles course I am doing through Knit Design Online, and like many of the other students, I have been keeping a Vox blog. Recently Vox announced that it was closing at the end of September. So, in order to have some record of my postings, I will be attempting to move my Vox blog posts over here. Vox can assist with moving blogs to Typepad & Wordpress but no mention of Blogger, so for now I will be doing this manually.

Comfy Cardigan

A slightly modified Jo Sharp Loose Textured Cardigan. I'm still looking for the perfect shawl pin or stick so I can wear it closed.

 The shedding mohair in this is starting to drive me crazy. I usually can't knit with any mohair but can tolerate working with the Jo Sharp & Rowan mohair yarns. And as long as I have a shirt on under this that isn't too thin, I can wear it ok without any annoyance. But once it's on I can't take it off...my t shirt is covered in bits of mohair fibre!

The Sketchbook Project

This morning whilst enjoying my first cup of tea for the day I caught up on some blogs that I follow. Whilst reading Jennevieve's blog House Inside Out I discovered the Sketchbook Project. Over 11,000 participants have signed up so far. Basically what it's about is that you pay $US25 (plus $US3 postage to Australia) for a 5.5 x 8.5 inch Moleskine Cahier sketchbook. The book is catalogued with a barcode. You pick a theme (or have one randomly chosen for you), fill the book with sketches etc & send it back. All the books go on a tour. If someone views your book you get an email notification letting you know & also telling you what city your book is in. What a fabulous idea! At first I was going to be a passive bystander but after reading more about the project I found it is not just for  'proper' artists... it's for anyone, it's about being creative & involved. Let me know if you decide to join. Sign ups continue until Oct 31, books are to be returned by Jan 15 2012.

Beginner Drawing Week 1

Yesterday was the first of 6 beginner drawing classes I've signed up for. Let's just say as an artist I make a pretty good knitter!

A couple of years ago I developed an interest in drawing & painting and even started a blog about it, My Art Journey. Looking back, that was in 2006....I wish I'd kept up the daily practice from then.

Yesterday's lesson was great....an enthusiastic teacher and a small class of 8. At one point the teacher commented that he could tell about our personalities from our drawing...how we made our lines, how much space we used on the paper, etc. Me ... apparently he gets the impression that I'm confident & enjoy a challenge.

My Ray of Sunshine

I've used the Free Pattern Testers  group on Ravelry when I needed testers for both Arwen and Jamesina. I also recently held another test for Dual, a two piece cowl. I had one great tester for Dual but am not sure whether to release the pattern or not. I thought the concept was good (otherwise I wouldn't have written the pattern), but maybe I was off on this one. I think I'll reknit in worsted weight (& re-write the pattern based on this) and perhaps try again later in the year (when the northern hemisphere is getting colder weather & perhaps thinking about holiday gift knitting).

Anyway, because the Free Pattern Testers group has been invaluable to me I decided to 'give something back' and offer myself as a tester for someone. The test knit I was involved in was for Umme Yusuf's Sunburst Cardigan. It was a great experience to "see" things from the other side. The pattern was well written and a really quick knit. I'm now the owner of a warm, well fitting cardigan.

One day I hope I'm in the position of being able to compensate my test knitters (great test knitters and tech editors are worth their weight in gold!); in the meantime I'll use the Free Pattern Testers group, both as a designer & a tester. 

Facebook

As of this afternoon yarnaboutyarn now has a Facebook page. Come join us and keep up to date with new designs and who's knitting what.

Designing With Shirley Paden

When I heard that designer Shirley Paden had written a book I immediately pre-ordered. I love Shirley's designs. The book arrived & I wasn't disappointed. It's a large spiral bound workshop/class/pattern book in a hardcover.
Then by chance I stumbled across a group on Ravelry of Shirley fans who were embarking on a KAL. I had missed the initial webinar held by Shirley so was a bit unsure of all the details but I signed up anyway. I'm so glad I did!
Shirley supplied us with a lovely lacey stitch motif and we are designing our own garments based on this, either a classic body garment or a scarf. I decided that I would knit a sweater in the round using the lace pattern all over, with a low round neckline and probably 3/4 sleeves.
Swatching began



My first swatch was using Jo Sharp Soho Summer 100% cotton DK in Calico. It was very drapey & open and the yarn was horribly splitty so I tried something else.



The second swatch was done with a favourite of mine Filatura Di Crosa Zara. It has great stitch definition but the lace pattern didn't show up too well in the black. While I looked around at the other colours available in the quantity I needed (having to order online) I started crunching numbers.
In the meantime Shirley organised to hold webinars with us in small groups to discuss our designs, go through our calculations and offer advice. I can't believe how generous she has been, in both her time & her knowledge.

I've had a few setbacks...like twisting the cast on, not once but twice, confusing my k2togs & ssks, making the mistake of swatching flat and then knitting in the round (my stitch gauge was different by 1.5 stitches) so I had to number crunch all over again, next I had a needle tip snap!
Thankfully it seems I'm back on track (& it helps that Shirley has extended the deadline for having the body section complete before we tackle the sleeves & sleeve caps).

I decided to go with a denim colour in the Zara and love it.