Which Came First?

Sometimes when planning a new project the yarn inspires the pattern or the search for a pattern. At other times the pattern inspires the search for yarn or an excuse to buy some yarn. Then there are those rarer times when it ends up being a combination of the two and it is hard to say which came first. Like that age old chicken or the egg debate.

A few weeks ago I had one of these types of situations when I was looking to start a new project. I had recently finished my first Brioche knitting project and was excited to start a new one (click here to read more about me learning this new technique). Something that would be just a step harder than just the basic Brioche pattern. So, I set out on a pattern search and found a pattern that I liked and thought would be just a bit harder than the basic Brioche. I didn't want to be too ambitious, after all I am still just learning this skill.

Now that I had a pattern it was time for me to search for some yarn. Brioche patterns always look better with two colors of yarn, so I set out to find two colors that would look good together. Sometimes this is its own struggle. I want them to have enough contrast that there is a distinction, but too much contrast that people question why those colors were even paired. After a bit I decided to use some yarn that I had just recently gotten for Christmas. I thought that this yarn would be a good choice because it is self-striping. This would make one of the sides stand out even more than if there were two solid yarns. The pattern used variegated yarn as well, which is one of the reasons why this new yarn came to mind during my search. I pulled out this new yarn and I found a gray yarn that I thought would work well with it.

When in doubt with color choices I tend to lean on neutrals like gray, navy, black, or tan. They work with any other color. This tends to be how I make fashion color choices as well. I sat down with my self-striping yarn and the gray and began to work on my project. But, something wasn't right. I quickly realized that this was not going to work. The colors looked good together, so that was not the problem. The problem was the pattern and yarn combination. This yarn was just not meant to be this pattern.

Would it have worked? Yes.

Was something actually wrong with it? No.

Am I being a bit unreasonable? Maybe.

Something with this yarn reminded me of another pattern the Pioneer Braid Scarf by Hither and Yarn. One that was on my list, but ending up being forgotten about. This is one of the problems with Pinterest. It allows me to keep getting longer and longer knitting lists.

As soon as this project came to mind I knew that I would not be able to use this yarn for any other project. This yarn and this project just seemed belong together.

I am glad that I listened to my gut instinct and changed the pattern. Although either pattern would have paired nicely with this yarn, this braided scarf was the best fit for this yarn.

This pattern initially stood out to me because it is 100% reversible. Unlike other patterns there is no top, bottom, front, or back. I like reversible knits especially scarfs because I know that the end product will look good no matter which way it lays. I personally have a few non-reversible scarfs that I love, however I know which way to wear them. I also might fiddle with them throughout the day to get them to lay "right". This is one reason why I tend to look for reversible patterns when planing gifts. I realized a long time ago that other might not see the "right" and "wrong" sides like I do. This is especially true if he or she is not a knitter. With a pattern like this it doesn't matter. It can be worn in any way. 

One of the reasons why they go together so well is because the pattern uses short rows at an angle which allows this self-striping yarn to be used in a unique way. Rather than producing stripes the yarn looks as though the colors are interlocking. The length of the stripes is almost perfect for making each section different colors which adds to this effect. This pattern with this yarn allows both of them to shine. They come together so well and produce an interesting scarf that is sure to stand out.

Although I am still not sure which came first I am glad that they found each other.                             

Inspiration while Traveling

 As some of you might know, I just recently came back from traveling to Ghana. We went to go spend time with my husbands family. I was a little nervous before our trip. International travel combined with meeting new people and the language barrier. But, It was the best vacation ever. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Ghana and cannot wait to go again. 

Photo from Google Maps

One aspect that had me very nervous was the flights. I don't have a fear of flying. I was more worried about security and what I would spend time doing on the flights. People told me to take some books and maybe even my knitting. I went back and forth on packing my knitting.

I have heard stories about it not being allowed on the plane and projects being ripped out by security. I did not want anything to prolong that security line. I had also heard about people dropping a ball of yarn on the plane having it roll away from them. Knowing my luck and my tendencies to drop things this would not work out well for me. I ended up taking my knitting, but I put it in the checked bags. 

When I put the knitting in my checked bag, I decided that instead of physically knitting I would allow myself to be inspired while traveling. Once I made this choice it was easy to see inspiration in every little thing. The two areas that spoke to me the most were colors and shapes.

Getting to and from the airport was a four hour car ride. I spent most of these hours staring out the window. Something that I noticed fairly quickly were the buildings and how they were painted. A lot of the buildings that I could see from the car were painted using great color combinations. Some use more expected pairings such as brown and yellow, dark blue and yellow, or gray and light purple. Then there were others that used more unusual pairings such as sea green with a light pink, light blue with purple, or orange and green. Unfortunately I did not take any pictures that could give a good example of these buildings. 

Three examples of fabrics.  

My color inspiration extends to more than just the buildings. I was also inspired by school uniforms and fabric in general. I found the uniforms to be better than any of the ones we have in America. The shorts or skirts were a solid color typically brown. The tops or dresses were different for each school. I saw pink, yellow, and green; just to name a few. Depending on the grade you might have a pattern or a solid top. I liked this idea and the colors that they used if only because it is different than what I am used to. For the fabric the colors are bright and will have either be patterned or striped. Thankfully I did bring back some fabrics and clothes, so you can have a small idea of what I am talking about. 
 

I tend to play it safe when it comes to color. I might have a bright color, but I would pair it with something safer. I would not put two bright colors together. Seeing all of the color combinations and the bright colors inspires me to be more adventurous when it comes to colors. Since coming back I have been looking at a lot of Fair Isle knitting patterns and other ways of incorporating more color. Now I even have a Pinterest board just for color work.

Shapes were another area of inspiration for me. While flying into the Paris airport I noticed the land and all of the different shapes. The fields were not all squares and rectangles that come together at right angles. There was nothing uniform about these shapes. As you can see from this picture, that I attempted to take from the plane, the shapes are all different and join at odd angles. The colors are all fairly similar, so it is the angles and non-uniformity of the shapes that make it interesting.

I imagined this aerial shot as a blanket. It would be monotone, maybe all grays and blues. However, it would be the shapes and the angles that would make it different from other blankets. There would be no set pattern. I would start it off with one shape and then pick up stitches to add a new color that would come at a different angle. This might be a fun idea just to play around with and see what happens.

While in Ghana this balcony caught my eye. I liked the way that the diamonds looked and how it was open and not closed off. I picture this as a lacy scarf or shawl. It would have a row of diamonds going from the bottom to the top. Like the balcony, it would be open. Using a lightweight yarn and having yarn overs throughout the project would give it the same feeling as the balcony.

These are just a few ways that I was getting inspiration for knitting even though I only picked up my actual knitting once or twice during the whole trip. Anything can be an inspiration if you are open to it. Have fun and allow yourself to have some knitting daydreams you never know what new idea they may produce. Inspiration can be found no matter where you are.