ConnieLene – KnitDesigner

2010 Woolon entry 1

Some of you may have followed my Woolon entry story a little. I kept making mistakes in my knitting; I had problems getting it to New Zealand on time and I didn’t write the patterns properly as I went and so on.

The ensemble was entered in the Out there / Streetwear category. It looks great on the model, the first time I have seen it together as I sent the various pieces to New Zealand in 2 parcels as the top wasn’t completed in time for the first parcel and post from the Netherlands takes an age. WoolOn may have had a topless ensemble. But as you can see I got there in the end.

I am a little sad that the arm warmers were not worn from over the hand to above the elbow as I had intended – in the rush to send the parcel I probably didn’t describe it well enough for WoolOn to work out just what I meant. It would have looked much more funky then.

WoolOn entry 2010

WoolOn Here I come

Sometime Twitter a story makes

Skirt and top were created with Touch Yarns, Magic Merino Sock yarn. Various yarns were used for the Beret / Slouchy hat and the Moebius Scarf/Cowl. And then those funky feather & fan, fingerless gloves / gauntlets – they were in a variegated yarn.

The top does have a dramatic keyhole centre front and is sleeveless, knitted in k2 p2 rib.

The skirt increases were done using the hyperbolic plane method – that is every # of stitches increase 1. now I am writing it I cannot remember how many stitches were between the increases) I do have it in my notes, but I was just excited to get up to these photos this morning. Thank you Karin.

Gosh now I am checking there were many references to the WoolOn event, I won’t add them all here though. WoolOn link

Well there you go – I have gone and done it, posted the work at last. TNT post say it will take 6 to 8 days for my parcel to get to Alexandra. So I hope it will be seven days as it is due on the 15th September.

Last Saturday they said, it won’t go till Monday even if you post it today, and when it does go it will take 4 to 10 days. Is the post shop taking an unusual middle ground saying 6 to 8 days. I just so hope they are right and it takes 7 days.

Why didn’t I post it yesterday, well I discovered that when I undid the creation and reknitted, I didn’t knit the fronts and back at the same time, and then I found that the rows for the front were more than those on the back. Which meant my armhole band had 14 more stitches than it needed. So what did I do?

I went for a bike ride to the beach on Sunday and relaxed and enjoyed myself. A very good thing for Best Beloved and I to do together. Then I started sorting out my problem by knitting something else.

Crazy woman it seems. But that is what stress can do, and I do not like quite this much stress.

Anyway it has gone.

No photos of the finished pieces yet and there won’t be as it seems they are to be judged anonymously. Now that I don’t quite get. I understood they were being judged as a composite – you know, on a person in the fashion parade. Seeing the pieces individually will never show the effect of them all together on a living body.

How will they know that these pieces worn by a young model on stage will be so out there, and so spunky, and just so perfect? Just how will they know that a pile of hand knits could become this organic, moving, flowing, dramatic piece of art on the body?

Wish I had realised earlier.

It may have reduced the pain.

WoolOn™ Creative Fashion Event Oct 2010 is the creative fashion event of Central Otago, New Zealand. All the garments or outfits must be there by 15 September 2010. Yikes!

So I must go knit and knit and then knit some more as stuff posted from the Netherlands can take a long time to reach the New Zealand destination.

So you can see how they do Creative Fashion at WoolOn™ and if you are in New Zealand and intend attending then please take some photographs for me.

Do consider celebrating the arrival of spring as they do in the south at the Alexandra Blossom Festival, in Alexandra, Central Otago 24th September to 9th October 2010.

Laurel Judd was Supreme Award winner in 2009 at WoolOn.

Aug 17, 10:51pm

Will I dream the skirt stitch counts? k1 – 25, slip 1, k1, PSSO, k1-25, slip 1, k1, PSSO, k1, will it work like counting sheep? snore bizzzz

Aug 18, 10:42am

Skirt is still in progress – think about the lace, not sure yet if I will add it. Maybe the lack of time will influence the decision.

12:31pm

Brain dead in the knit dept today. Skirt is at crisis point – what to do?????? stop or go on ???

12:35pm

should I be tweeting, kweeting, kneeting, knieting, knitting? I think I should, I think I could, I think I will, I think I am KNITTING now!!

2:30pm

Skirt at 200 stitches, casting off, then I will check my brain & decide what next. Brain is a little strung out just now, need colour & drama!

7:40pm

Skirt is sitting on chair saying go on, do something, do something else, go on. So I did do something. I bought yarn at De Afstap in Amsterdam

10:19pm

Thinking of top part of this outfit. Is it really called that today? I don’t know. I am to create full deal – top to toe for the parade.

10.25pm

Top design loses, bed wins. Brain is shutting down. I was skyping NZ at 1.30am my time (NL) to talk with sister at 11.30am her time (NZ)

Aug 19, 9:19am

Pile of mags, internet, knit books, ideas file, friend Meredith in Adelaide, We have to design the perfect top to go with the perfect skirt.

From Connielene – NOT A TWEET: There will be no more pictures – as I do have to keep the lid on what I am creating. I will still tweet a little of course so there may be a further chapter in the story of Lake Hawea.

Tweets for the uninitiated – can be no more than 140 characters. If you take the trouble to count the tweet characters you will see that mine here are 140 or 141 or 142. What that means is that I have added a full stop, or a space when I added them to my blog – which I ignored when I tweeted to keep the piece within the 140 characters.

The skirt on my needles is being knit in the round from the waistband. The increases and now the decreases are being managed using the hyperbolic plane method. I have used this for increases many times now, but this is the first time I have used the concept for my decreases. It will be very interesting to see it a little further on as I am unsure just how it will hang. I hope it doesn’t add a twist to the skirt. BUT I will have to continue and wait with you to see the result.

I am knitting with Touch Magic Merino for Socks which is from Alexandra and WoolOn is included in the Alexandra Blossom Festival. It is such a pity that I will not see this skirt on the stage there.

It is jumping the gun a little – I have to finish it first, and then the top, and then the capelet and the beret, maybe. It depends on time really.

I will endeavour to keep you posted.