Tag Archives: cey

cey & i: a question of shaping

Posted on by

fit counts.

the catch for me

is that it counts differently to different people.

everyone seems to have their own opinion of something fitting ‘right’.

and it changes for any individual depending

if you’re talking about a sweater,

fingerless gloves,

or socks.

IMG_3893brighturbanso, when i design i make a judgement call.

sometimes i pick shaping to fit something the way i’d like to wear it,

sometimes i shape something a way i’ve not seen many other patterns done,

sometimes i’m just challenging myself to see

if i can make something fit

in a different way.

and any way you look at it, there’s math to be done (and checked and rechecked)

to be sure that i hit the mark on

whatever fit i aimed for.

so back to it.

‘fitting’ taken from 26:1 of proverbs.

cey & i: needle and thread

Posted on by

to pull it all together, the seams have to be right.

lace can be challenging, but once i figured out the best techniques,

it all fell into place in a great big ‘ta da!’ moment

(with a sigh of relief and a thankful smile).

IMG_3528flarecrop‘fell’ taken from 13:3-9 of matthew.

(this post is part of an ongoing series chronicling

my current collaboration with classic elite yarns on an upcoming

indie collection.  all posts tagged with ‘artistic differences‘ and titled ‘cey & i‘.)

the outer edges

Posted on by

i like fringe on things.  i like it a lot.

not on everything mind you.  fringe has its place,

but i’m definitely a fan.

the thing is,

i’m also quite anal about it being straight and clean.

at least until it’s worn a bit and goes all boho on its own.

so, i’ve played around with ways to line it up

and found this way the best:IMG_3385shadesat

lay the piece to be fringed

flat on a table

or similar surface.

i like to use

the kitchen island

because

the light is good there.

tape a piece of

masking tape

under

IMG_3387brightthe edge to be fringed.

this will be your

guideline

your goal is to

keep the edge of

the knitting lined up

with the tape line.

next use a ruler/yardstick/etc

to measure out

however many inches long

you want the fringe to be.

stick a length of tape,IMG_3382shade

parallel to the first piece,

to mark this length

you’ll cut the fringe.

now, if you keep

the end of the knit piece

on the first tape line

and cut on the second,

your fringe will be even.

slick, no?

and the only clean-up to do

is ripping two pieces of tape off of the counter and whisking away a few bits of yarn.

a job well done.

‘fringe’ taken from 26:14 of job.

cey & i: out and about

Posted on by

there is always something new to try.

part of what i get to do for ‘artistic differences’

is being involved in styling and choosing the outfits for the photo shoot.

that gives me an excuse (ha! thrift stores never fail to inspire me!)

to jog on over to the local 2nd hand shops

every couple weeks

armed with my loose leaf ring full

of little knotted bundles of all the yarns involved.

IMG_3475cropthere are people who would see something and know

(just know) if the colors worked,

but i am not even close to being one of them.

instead, i carry the little snap ring around in my pocket

to be sure that things will go well when they’re matched up,

but not too well.  it’s not

classically clean or preppy or too overly pulled together that i’m aiming for…

now, i’m not ready to reveal the theme just yet.

(a girl’s got to hold back and have a little mystery when she can.)

i will say this though: i’m having such a good time sussing out

how the personality of the clothes

will breathe extra life and skads of character into the knitwear.

i haven’t done anything like this

since i was ‘costume director’ for a play my junior yr of high school.

it was fun then.  still, i’m pretty sure it feels like even more fun now.

you gotta love that.

i’m really not ready to tell,

but to not leave you hanging completely, here’s a quick peek

at my favorite finds from this morning’s jaunt.

IMG_3166cropupgood stuff, no? oh yeah.

‘excuse’ taken from 14:18 in luke.

cey & i: nothing is safe

Posted on by

i was only gone for a minute.

just long enough to blow my nose and

wash the sick germs off of my hands.  then i was back

to find my youngest’s train set ambulance

being driven by a cocky looking blond brio man.

he seemed to have been

considering a little off roading while eyeing the ‘field of lace’

that is currently pinned to the blocking board.

IMG_3468urbanit appears that after revving the engine and hitting the gas,

he got his tire hung up at the last moment

on a t-pin

(whew, that was close)

before he was able to leave even one

skid mark across all that work done up in the silky ‘magnolia’

which is so close to being the first finished piece

of ‘artistic differences’ at this point.

how thankful am i

for such a well placed

blocking pin?  so thankful!

‘first’ taken from 18:17 in proverbs.

cey & i: beautiful disaster

Posted on by

sometimes

even failing can be really lovely.

cey’s montera is a versatile work horse yarn.

it’s been in their line-up for quite a while now

and i just love the feel of how it knits up.

it brings so much personality

to the table.

IMG_340dimmedbut, despite the things that it can do,

i can’t get the cables i have planned

to stand up and ‘pop’ enough in it.

so, it’s time for a little

rearranging of fibers and colors.

not that that’s a problem for me in any way.

getting to dream about what more yarns could be,

and picturing in my head what a different color will do to a design

are my version of daydreaming.

really for me

any excuse to try to listen to what a yarn wants to become

is an unexpected treat thrown into a normal day

like running out of homemade bread and having

ice cream for breakfast instead.

all good.

‘stand up’ taken from 78:13 in the psalms.

cey & i: forward motion

Posted on by

math tamed: check.

swatches done: check.

wet blocking complete: check.

pinning it up to get a better look: check.

the magnolia becoming wearable: to be continued…

IMG_2586crop

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 ‘tamed’ taken from 3:7-8 of james.

(this post is part of an ongoing series,

chronicling my collaboration with classic elite yarns on

an indie collection.  all posts tagged with ‘artistic differences‘ and titled ‘cey & i‘.)

cey & i: down, but not out

Posted on by

even with 2 pencils in play

there was so much tip breaking and wearing down points

that i eventually resorted to a trusty pen.

still, it went something like this:

*write, reconsider, scratch it out; rep from * until your very last nerve is frazzled.

then wait and

…hold on!

time for a time out.

i find a break almost always helps,

or at least it gives me the perspective to cut my losses and move on.

in this case, it gave me the ‘ah ha’ moment that i’d been missing.

IMG_0400

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

whew.

that one was a little too close for comfort

but, all’s well now.  on to the re-swatching and the actual casting on.

‘comfort’ taken from 16:5 in job.

(this post is part of an ongoing series

chronicling my collaboration with classic elite yarns on

an indie collection.  all posts tagged with ‘artistic differences‘ and titled ‘cey & i‘.)