Here are some swatches from my Columbus TNNA trip; I took a class with Danish knitwear designer Marianne Isager and these were the swatches I came away with. Marianne's knitting books (Knitting Out of Africa, Japanese Knits) offer inventive garments that are relatively simple yet include techniques that keep the knitting process interesting for more adept knitters. Marianne has designed a series of wristwarmers that correspond to each sweater, so you can try out a given technique before embarking on a whole sweater...but unlike gauge swatching, you'll end up with a finished object. I thought it was a brilliant idea, but unfortunately the patterns for wristwarmers weren't included in the published books.
Unlike the typical knitter, I don't mind swatches...as you can see above, I made lots of them! It feels like all I did was knit swatches and socks in Columbus. Plus lots of ripping! Anyway, swatches above are as follows: left and center, staggered drop stitch pattern- I thought this looked really cool and would make a beautiful scarf or stole. Of course I began knitting said scarf the very next day out of my pink experimental yarn, but decided to rip it out after all. It wasn't what I wanted for that yarn in the end. Then, on the right, a little mitred square. It's from a sweater inspired by the children's fairy tale "The Fir Tree"...so if you look again you can see it has a little tree trunk that starts at the bottom of the square.
I love Marianne's idea of using one inspiration for a series of designs, also the small project that links to a larger one. I came away with tons of ideas for my own knitting, walking away with my head buzzing. And that with very little caffeine!!!
Unlike the typical knitter, I don't mind swatches...as you can see above, I made lots of them! It feels like all I did was knit swatches and socks in Columbus. Plus lots of ripping! Anyway, swatches above are as follows: left and center, staggered drop stitch pattern- I thought this looked really cool and would make a beautiful scarf or stole. Of course I began knitting said scarf the very next day out of my pink experimental yarn, but decided to rip it out after all. It wasn't what I wanted for that yarn in the end. Then, on the right, a little mitred square. It's from a sweater inspired by the children's fairy tale "The Fir Tree"...so if you look again you can see it has a little tree trunk that starts at the bottom of the square.
I love Marianne's idea of using one inspiration for a series of designs, also the small project that links to a larger one. I came away with tons of ideas for my own knitting, walking away with my head buzzing. And that with very little caffeine!!!
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