When I started Francoise Danoy's challenge, I had an image in my head of what I wanted to knit. But as I worked through the steps of her process, it changed completely. My results were a little mixed. I liked what I had designed and thoroughly loved the process. But I didn't LOVE the finished result. Her process began with finding a source of inspiration and creating a mood board. Next step, selecting stitch patterns that came from that inspiration. It was interesting and surprising.
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| http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/silver-birch-summer-wrap |
For my next project, I approached things a little differently. I found inspiration from the stitch patterns themselves and worked to create harmonious combinations in colours that I liked. I decided that I liked working this way better and I liked my finished project more.
Now I had two finished patterns and I was itching to put them out in the World. (Remember, I need a lot of approval and the dog couldn't be less interested in my knitting). But I had read a lot of good advice from people in the design challenge who suggested that it was best to have a few patterns to offer before opening a store. So I decided I needed one more before I launched.
I didn't really have a firm idea for my next pattern so I looked at my yarn stash. As I sorted through my yarn, I came across two skeins of yarn that I had bought in a bit of a frenzy at a knitting party at Northbound Knitting, a fantastic local indie dyer that I love. I had purchased three skeins of a colourway that combined rich indigo with sunny yellow and cream. Yum. But when I got home, I realized that one of the skeins was a heavier weight than the other two and so wouldn't work for my original plans for it. In that same frenzy, I bought another skein in the heavier weight (also by mistake) that was a subtle blend of pale yellow and light gray. Because I tend to use fingering weight most of the time, I decided that I needed to find a way to make these two oddballs play together.
I knew that I wanted to offer this next pattern for free because I hoped that it would help to generate some attention. So I wanted to keep it really simple. I cast on for an asymetrical triangle shawl. An easy and popular shape that I happen to really like. I knit six rows in garter stitch with the yellow. Pretty. But the blue combo was a much more dramatic, variegated yarn. I really liked the way the drop stitch pattern on my first shawl showed off the variegated yarn and I think most knitters will agree that they are tricky to work with. They look beautiful on the skein, but don't always knit up in the most attractive way. So I did a simple drop stitch section with the blue. Gorgeous! I knit another yellow stripe. Then another blue. I was liking it, but I wondered if it was too simple?
But then I remembered that it was going to be free, so I just kept alternating the stripes until I ran out of yarn and then I cast off and wrote it up. It reminded me of Van Gogh's painting, "Starry Night." So I called it the Van Gogh Shawl.
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| http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/the-van-gogh-shawl |
Want to guess which pattern went crazy? Yup. The Van Gogh Shawl. It was the pattern that wrote itself. I loved every stage of this process. It grew from materials that I loved. From this experience, I gleaned three more "Purls of Wisdom."
- Use the good yarn
- Choose stitches that highlight the good yarn
- Keep it simple
And that's the process I follow now. It led to The Monet Boomerang, which is enjoying some modest success.
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| http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/the-monet-boomerang |
And, as promised, here is a sneak peek at my newest design, The Degas Ballet Shawl.
It's still on the needles, but I am loving the way it is coming together and I'm looking forward to sharing the finished product with you soon!
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