Wearing a Rock Wall Around Your Neck

As mentioned in the last few posts, I have been looking at inspiration from the past as a way to rekindle my enthusiasm for pattern design in the present.

Most recently, a trip to Shetland has come to mind. A trip that became the subject of a magazine article for the first issue of Knit Edge Magazine in which I took inspiration from trip photos to create swatches for later garments.

Below are more of the photos and the swatches they inspired. Shetland, incidentally, is the collective name of a hundred islands in the North Sea between the mainland of Scotland and Norway.

First is a bit of whimsy. Puffins are odd looking birds. They are prevalent along the coasts of Shetland and have become a common theme in the tourist shops on the main island...mostly because they are so darned adorable!

Puffin at Hermaness on Unst

Puffin

Sheep, as you might imagine, are in abundance. We were lucky enough to witness one of the annual gatherings for sheering. A sight that has been seen on the islands for hundreds of years.

Sheep sheering gathering on Unst

This swatch was the start of Wilkins, a classic pullover created with 9 natural shades of Jamieson & Smith 2 ply yarn. (The completed sweater included a tough of red...just because I like red.)

Wilkins

The swatch from the last inspiration photo was the design the folks at Knit End selected to be made up into a pattern and included with the article. Thus the Mousa Lichen Cowl was born.

Wall with lichen on Mousa

Mousa Lichen

Mousa Lichen Cowl from Knit Edge

So there you have it ...from inspiration to pattern. A rock wall covered with lichen on the small island of Mousa to a swatch with nine shades of yarn to the Mousa Lichen Cowl pattern.                    

What you do think? Can you see any of the other swatches from this post or the last becoming garments? Let me know. I'm looking for inspiration.

Varian
brandonknittingdesigns.com
Ravelry: varianbrandon

A Picture is Worth...

While we are on the subject of inspiration....a few years ago, I finally got my sweet husband interested in a trip to Shetland...a return trip for me, first time for him. It took the European Tall Ships anchored in Lerwick harbor to get him there, but we made it.

Lerwick Harbour with Tall Ships

The topic of our trip came up later in a conversation with Shannon Okey (Cooperative Press) and before I knew it, I had agreed to write an article for the first issue of Knit Edge. Shannon's good.

What in the world could I write for a knitting magazine about Shetland that hadn't been covered before? I had wonderful memories...and hundreds of sightseeing/tourist type photographs...as opposed to knitting and fiber photos.

I came up with the concept of taking the reader along with us on our tour....and using a few of the photographs as the inspiration for swatches using Jamieson & Smith, Shetland 2ply yarn. The article was entitled "Shetland by the Colors" and here are some of the swatches and their inspiration...

St Ninian's Isle

St Ninian swatch

Sandbar

Sandbar swatch

Wildflowers at Hermaness

Wildflowers

Next time: More inspiration photos and swatches. I figured a picture is worth a swatch or two..or three...or four. (I had a good time with this project!) The article also included a pattern designed from one of the swatches. I'll include a link next time.

Varian
brandonknittingdesigns.com
Ravelry: varianbrandon

Inspired by a Former Math Teacher.

The second half of my inspiration tour started as we left Shetland, flew into Aberdeen, crossed the highlands in a small bus...and boarded a ferry to the Outer Hebrides.

Did I mention I get seasick? I spent the three hour ferry ride talking to fellow knitting people in the lounge…standing. The idea was to try to counter the inevitable rise and fall of the ship with bent knees serving as shock absorbers.

Did it work? Let’s just say…every so often I had to walk around the deck, stare at the horizon, and take deep lungs full of cold air until my stomach settled down. Mercifully, we docked at Stornaway about sundown.

Our class in the Outer Hebrides was taught by Alice Starmore.

When I think about it now, the whole idea of taking classes with Kaffe Fassette and Alice Starmore in one trip is mindboggling, but at the time they were just “the instructors.”

Our class was held in a bed and breakfast on Lewis Harris...actually two islands that are so close together that they are often referred to in one breath. Truth is…at low tide, the two become one. Harris is the home of Harris Tweed, BTW.

On the way to the B&B, we stopped to visit a couple who were using natural dyes to create cloth in “the old way” on huge antique looms.

  

                            

Alice’s class, when I look back now, was a major inspiration in my knitting life. At the time, it was a bit overwhelming. I had never tried any kind of colorwork before this trip (witness my intarsia fiasco). Like Kaffe’s class, yarn was thrown in a heap in the middle of the floor and Alice got down on all fours and began arranging yarn to make the patterns standout against the backgrounds. It was fascinating.

Six months after our trek across Scotland, Alice was in the states for her Knitting Across America tour. She taught classes in Fair Isle, Aran, lace, and a fascinating needle point technique over three days on a shop in Asheville, NC…and I was there…all three days. Can you say “fan girl”?

During the weekend, AS signed one of her books for me…which ended up a minor casualty of a major flood in a basement apartment I once lived in. The book looks a little worse for wear now, but by gosh, I still have that autograph! See “fan girl” note above. 

                            

Alice’s use of color and pattern is incredible. She is a former math teacher and her work reflects the exquisite blending of an artist who appreciates the subtleties of shading with the mind of a mathematician who enjoys the precision and beauty of a perfect equation. To echo last post, would that I could have a fraction of her talent.

I probably have all of AS’s books and most of Kaffe’s. Such wonderful, inspirational artists…both of them.

Varian
brandonknittingdesigns.com
Ravelry: varianbrandon

Note: Again, these photos were taken long before I had access to a digital camera.

Renewed Inspiration

I have been reminded recently of why I started designing and the events that influenced my love of color, pattern, and yarn…a reminder that has sparked the return to a past trip to the islands of Scotland.

You see, several years ago, a freelance job resulted in a reasonable sum of money burning a hole in my pocket. I decided to take a trip and selected a tour organized by the Rowan Yarn Company. At that time in my life, I had only picked up my knitting sporadically. I had always loved knitting and thought a trip like this would be fun. 

There were several tours to select from…each going to different locations with different instructors (two each) on different dates. I chose my tour from the dates I was available, not knowing much about any of the instructors.

First stop was Shetland, a group of wonderfully remote islands off the north coast of Scotland.

The group consisted of eighteen individuals, if I remember correctly, from all over the US. Included was a child advocate lawyer, a botanist working in South America, a writer who would become an editor of Interweave Knits, and a music legend’s mom.

Our first instructor (and incredible designer) was Kaffe Fassett who was accompanied by his assistant, Brandon Mably, who would become a designer in his own right.

Kaffe and Brandon were introduced...and we all trooped into the very posh, four star, dining room for our evening meal. The restaurant seated us in an alcove a little distance from the local diners. Diners who thought they were going to have a nice quiet, four star meal on a Saturday night.

For some reason, either because of European ideas of fashionably late dinners or American ignorance of fashionably late dinners, the meal seemed to take an eternity to be served. We entertained ourselves with dinner table chatter. Somehow the conversation turned to the memories evoked by certain songs. That led to at first timid, then raucous, renditions of whatever song was suggested. Did I mention that the wine was not on the same timetable as the food?

The turning point was a version of the title song from Oklahoma! delivered at theater level volume by eighteen Americans who were having a really good time!

My recollection is that the food arrived rather quickly after that.

Kaffe’s workshop was fabulous, as you might expect. Colorful yarn was dumped on the floor and we all scrambled to find just the right shade to make our masterpiece for the master.

Knowing nothing at the time about Intarsia, my swatch embarrassingly fell completely apart. Kaffe was gracious enough to say something complementary about it…as he did for everyone.

Kaffe later branched out to designing fabrics for quilting among other glorious things. Brandon followed suit and both men are known these days as the Color Guys.

A few years ago, I ran into both of the “guys” on their “return to knitting” tour. They didn't remember me…I really didn't expect them to…but they did remember the dinner in Shetland.

Note how Kaffe addressed his autograph in my copy of his book…

Kaffe's use of color... and just the way he talked about color... was an inspiration to me. Would that I could have a fraction of his talent.

Note: These pictures were taken long before the use of digital photography...or at least before I had any access to a digital camera.