Tag Archives: process

cey & i: exactly

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17 days until the photo shoot for ‘artistic differences’.

feels like yesterday that susan and i first sat in her office

and discussed ideas and possibilities.

still, 17 days until

my end of things is done.

then the cey staff tech editors, layout and various other people

have the ball in their court.

here’s the thing.

i’m still swatching for the last piece

of the collection.  back at that again tonight.

IMG_6318cropand it’s not that i couldn’t have knit the full piece

about 10 different times over.

i could have,

and it would have been 10 different variations on a theme.

but, it’s not quite what’s in my head yet.

this is why

i often refer to myself as a ‘hack’.

i know i have skills, experience, and all kinds of excitement for the process.

what i don’t always have is the ability to mold my fingers

and the yarns they’re holding

into the picture in my head the first time out of the gate.

or the second, or the third.

so when i say ‘hack’, i mean not intuitively able

to leap from idea to final design in a single bound.

maybe no-one can.

some people sure do make it look

just about easy, though.

my friend pam send this quote to me sometime before i woke up this morning:

being a hackperfect.

this is exactly what i mean when i label myself a ‘hack’.

it is often one mistake,

one detour or another, that

pulls any given design of mine into a place

where it can hold its own as an original.

this is mostly likely why i always feel more like a happy kid

whose crayon drawing was hung on the fridge

by an adoring parent who sees the effort as beauty

rather than a grown-up holding her own as a ‘knitwear designer.

i admit that every time i write

‘knitwear designer’

as profession on a form, i giggle a little.

so now you know.

‘original’ from 24:13 of 2nd chronicles.

(this is an ongoing series of posts chronicling

the process of my yet to be released collaboration with classic elite yarns.

to search, all post titles will include ‘cey & i:‘ and be tagged with ‘artistic differences‘.)

have holder, will travel

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it’s beautiful outside.

well, beautiful to this new englander.

it feels like early fall, a bit early i admit

but since spring and fall are my very favorites so

it’s all good with me.

the kids want to play outside

(i’m all for this) and i want to watch.

best of both worlds would be to watch and knit,

but i’ve written a new chart to test out and

there’s a breeze.

not a good combo that

normally would change my plans.

that is until i acquired this magma pattern holder from knitter’s pride.IMG_5715the smaller size fits my half page, the magnets keep it still and

suddenly i’m portable!

 this is so great. now i’ve got my sights set

on the larger sized one.

think of all the places i could go with that one.

‘test’ taken from 12:21 of job.

cey & i: _ + _ = ?

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when i want to take

something out of my head

and have it look in real life what

i saw in my mind’s eye, i turn to clearance rack

sweatshirt fabric and packing tape.

true.

i know people who use paper,

but i have trouble looking past the lack of drape involved

plus, i want to move it all around and try it on and paper tends to want

nothing to do with me after that.

big scissors are my friend for cutting and trimming, ditching and recutting…IMG_5804crop…until the mock-up is close enough

meaning with my eyes squint shut a little i can

pretend i’m looking at the real thing.

it does take a little suspension of disbelive, but you know what i mean.

so last night i took over the kitchen island, and begun.

only took me 4 different new shapes

to get to the one that behaved like i wanted it to.

tonight, the math begins.

cey & i: experiment gone good

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this was originally a swatch.

then i forgot how i did the swatch

(because i brazenly thought in the moment

that i was knitting it, that i would never forget how i did it).

then i dissected the swatch and wrote down how it was done in the first place.IMG_5695crop

now it’s one of the pieces in ‘artistic differences’

to be released later (i know, i’m a tease).

but, it you will see it later

(i promise)

and when you do, i hope you think the same things that i did

when i first stumbled over how to make it happen.

“oh.” … “hmmm.” … “wow.” … “cool.”

‘later’ taken from 20:25 in proverbs.

(this is an ongoing series of posts chronicling

the process of my yet to be released collaboration with classic elite yarns.

to search, all post titles will include ‘cey & i:‘ and be tagged with ‘artistic differences‘.)

cey & i: poking about some more

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2.5 hours alone, 4 days a week.

that’s how many daylight hours i have

all to myself for each week of july.

it may not sound like much to you

but in my world (at least for the past 14 years)

it’s a landslide.

once the kids were deposited at their activities,

for the entire first week i dabbled.

a little of trying to refind the herbs in what had become a mini jungle,

a little of sorting out children’s drawers to see what really still fit and what did not,

a little playing the piano, writing letters and having a sit in each room of the house

just to reassess the state of things and ponder what is crying out for change.

this second week i ventured out to the local shops.

fyi: any shop seems new without the constant buzz of my kids along for the ride.

threw in some thrift store browsing as well

since i love the adventure of looking for ‘who knows what’

and the little rush of finding something unexpectedly rare.

here are the finds that will most likely make their way

IMG_5635satinto fall’s photo shoot for my collaboration with classic elite yarns.

at this point, i’m nearly done with the styling.

nearly done with the knitting.  well into the grading.

still having ever so much fun.

‘sound’ taken from 4:12-13 of ezra.

(this is an ongoing series of posts chronicling

the process of my yet to be released collaboration with classic elite yarns.

to search, all post titles will include ‘cey & i:‘ and be tagged with ‘artistic differences‘.)

when winding up is winding down

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cowls are notoriously tricky.

there’s too small, just right, too big,

followed by just right to be doubled, and then way, way too big.

i’ve been working on this cowl for a couple of weeks now.IMG_5618crop

it wasn’t until i wove in the ends this morning,

that the proverbial light bulb went off in my head.

this is not wool.

which i knew all along and is significant because

when i swatched at the begining, i calculated the # of sts to co

based on the swatch stretched out (my cheater’s version of blocked).

since i’ve planned this all along as a spring to very early fall piece,

 i chose a silk cotton blend.  intentionally.

the faux pas is that only when trying it on for the first time

did i discover my mistake.

so, instead of ‘just right’ i have too long to be a single loop

and too short to be doubled.  sigh.

now i’ll have to keep

my eyes open for a friend who likes their cowls this length (because some people do)

then this can become a well loved gift

and i can have another go,

a fresh start with

new #’s.

my cowl is still coming,

just a little a later than i thought.

file this under: live and try to learn to pay more attention from the get go.

‘fresh’ taken from 3:11 of james.

the horizon

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three days ago

i dropped my oldest off at camp.

overnight camp – for seven days for the very first time.

surely she’s making friends and having a great time.

the lake was so lovely and the people so nice, that i wanted

to grab a bunk and stay myself.  truly, i did.

her being away just makes home different.

it’s not quiet here as i’ve got 3 kids remaining of my own,

and often 3 or so from the neighborhood on any given day,

but the space filled by my oldest is oddly empty.

this puts me in a thinking mood.

i’m seeing some personal ruts i want to break out of,

some walls i want to break down,

and pondering what new adventures i want to begin…

as a small start, i have this lovely _

(in the colorway ‘confiture’)

from julie asselin.

the adventure part is that i have in mind

a shape that is new to me (although not uncommon)

and i want it to be somewhat lacy.

not this kind of lacy

(don’t get your hopes up), but lacy none-the-less.

since things feel different here this week,

i’m also revved up to try my new square needles from knitter’s pride.

IMG_5601cropi wasn’t sure how they would feel to hold in my hands,

but although they feel different,

they don’t feel square.

the wood is smooth and warm (as opposed to the chill of some metallics).

the grain is very pretty which makes my artistic side happy.

my practical side didn’t really care what they looked like one little bit,

but it’s glad that the artistic side of me isn’t griping.

i’ll need to knit a little more with them

to find the words to describe

just how they feel

‘different’.

maybe i’ll be able to explain

about the same time my sweet girl arrives home

full of stories and new outlooks and penpals galore.  can’t wait.