Yes, it has been that long since I updated the blog, and I'd been thinking for a while that it was time for a bit of a revival.
So I thought what I'd do was trace how a new design comes about, at least for me. At the very least, it's kind of a way for me to go all kind of "meta" about my process; maybe you'll find it interesting too.
What I'm working on at the moment is a design I called "Hana-bi", Japanese for "fireworks". As with much of my designing, it started with a trip to my LYS about two weeks ago, and the news that a new yarn had just arrived in the shop:
Okay, a few thoughts: first, cotton and linen are not normally my cup of tea as a knitter, but laceweight is, and this yarn is actually very nice quality and very good value for price. I'm on a tight budget, so at the very least, trying something out with this gives me a chance to see how it works up, and also gives me scope to move on to a different, maybe more expensive laceweight if I like what I'm noodling out. Also? When someone arrives in the yarn shop, and they see the yarn, and there's actually a sample of something in it displayed there, they can get a good idea of how the yarn will work up, whether they ever knit that particular sample or not. And the yarn is new, so, we figured, well, why not a new design?
And when I say "we", I mean the folks at the yarn shop. They're a great support for me, and a pretty good sounding board when I have new ideas, AND, they often send me in a direction that sparks something new, as was the case here.
Then we talked colour. I have a partiality towards green. I'd likely make everything I ever designed in green, because it's my favorite colour. You, though, may not like green. The nice folks at the yarn shop remind me of that fact, that there are lots of other colours out there, and they are all loved, by someone.
So, we laid out a few colours of the Pima Lino, and finally settled on one that I believe the folks at Diamond Yarns call "cranberry". It is, really, and truly, the most vibrant shade of pink that I've ever set eyes on. And it reminded me of this:
The film Hana-Bi, written by, directed by, and starring the great Takeshi Kitano. I have seen this film. I love this film. It's not for the faint of heart, this film. But, suddenly, my design had a name.
A yarn. A colour. A name. But, you know, no actual pattern.
So, I set about browsing my stitch pattern books, and at one point, thought about doing a variation on Sunspots, until I realized how crazy that was going to be A. in a shawl and B. in a fine laceweight. More searching led me to the lovely "Fountain" pattern in one of Barbara Walker's treasuries, and at that point? I knew I had my fireworks.
Next step was working a swatch -- some of you may have seen this, I think I posted a photo of the thing in-progress last week on Twitter, but this is the whole thing done and blocked:
Actually, what you can't see is the top of the swatch, which is where I played around with a couple of ideas for finishing it off. And you can't see a nice close-up of the blackberry coloured bead, which is my current favorite colour of bead, AND FOR WHICH I HAD TO MAKE A FLYING TRIP INTO TORONTO on one of the WORST WEATHER DAYS IN THE LAST FEW WEEKS because I HAD TO HAVE *THAT* BEAD for *THIS* YARN.
Yes, I can get a little obsessive, but I loved that colour bead on this colour yarn so much, that it was worth it. Totally worth it.
Ah, but I bet you're wondering? What shape is it?
Originally, I thought I'd do a riff on the crescent shaped shawls I'd designed this year. And I am, but not in the way that you'd think. I'll write more about that as the design progresses.
For now? I've cast on almost 500 stitches, and have been slowly chugging along the bottom border:
Happily, the Tech Guy and I have been working up all the charts, and I've actually pretty much got the pattern written at this point. Once my sample is done, I'll hand it off to a test-knitter to make sure everything is clear and concise. I'm so happy about this, we've worked hard to make the charts lovely and despite my not being a cotton/linen knitter, or a pink person, this is working out to be really lovely, and I'm *itching* to get it done!
Comments