Tag: experiment
Intarsia – colour & yarn
by connie on Jun.08, 2010, under ConnieleneKnits blog, Intarsia
Many many years ago – I attended my first Kaffe session on colour and knitting in New Zealand. I purchased a Kaffe videotape at that time, I do not have it with me here in the Netherlands & cannot recall the title – the subject was knitting with colour, as in many many colours, and viewing your world for ideas to create new knitted pieces using many colours and shapes.
When Kaffe came to New Zealand then I had already been knitting & crocheting using many colours in freeform intarsia since the early 1970′s. I found as everyone does great inspiration in listening to him then & I continued to knit with many colours and yarns even though I was informed by others that my knitting was not normal, nor was my passion for playing with colour. I do however feel quite quite normal.
I have searched the Kaffe Fassett listings in Youtube and cannot see my video tape there. But the concepts in this new video apply to knitting as well as quilting, mosaics and other art and textile art forms.
A new Challenge for the Knit Sisters (Sarah)
by connie on May.31, 2010, under ConnieleneKnits blog, Intarsia
I was wandering about the internet – which is remarkably easy to do – and I happened upon a blog I have not read before and there in was the challenge. Knit Sisters Blog – A year of knitting dangerously
Excerpt from the blog: and do follow the link above and read the rest. It is good reading.
Item 1 on the list is – Learn something new
…… However, there are a couple of techniques that I’d like to tackle this year: entrelac and twined knitting. These seem worthy goals. (Please do not unkindly point out that I have not included intarsia in this list; I feel that intarsia should not be asked of anyone.)
I will not be unkind regarding the exclusion of Intarsia.
I will however take umbrage at the vague suggestion that taking up intarsia as a challenge could be somehow “unworthy”
Now I really am in a state of distress, my heart is going crazy. How could any form of knitting be considered unworthy? If you had remained silent, I would never have know of your view with regard to Intarsia.
Below are some points for Intarsia knitting which I personally regard as an important item in the arsenal of any knitter – especially the freeform colour work.
And I do have to say it again – I really want everyone to play with intarsia.
I do have to confess, even though I have done so many times before – I do have other knitting skills to be learnt on my list as well, such as the knitting of socks – (still on my to do list for 2010, and they were there in 2009 as well, and I am sad to say I have 2 IOU’s for 2 pairs of hand knitted red socks, for Best Beloved and Son) – and if you take up the challenge to knit a piece of freeform intarsia, I will add Entrelac and twined knitting to my list for 2010.
So to Knit Sister – Sarah
Take up the challenge – Knit dangerously with Intarsia please
My knitterly view of the Vogue Trend Report for 2010-2011
by connie on May.27, 2010, under ConnieleneKnits blog, Not Knitting
Vogue Trend report for Autumn – Winter 2010 – 2011
from A-Z my own comments are in italics
A-Line – easy to knit
Beehives – hard to create knitted or crocheted hats for. Me, I remember the Beehive, I will not be going there again.
Camel – Colour, fabric or animal. I love the colour, I love the fabric. Camels spit.
The trend for C that I found was for capes or cloaks. Capes began to be fashionable again, or were still fashionable and in Vogue, in 2002. The hits on the Vogue Website to fashion shows which included capes showed 85 results over the 9 years (2002 to 2010). This year – there are 6 hits for summer trends and 8 for winter 2010 – 2011 so the average is under 9 a year, and this year there are 14 shows or designers with Capes in their shows so I am calling the C trend
CAPES – okay with you? I design and knit capes and cloaks.
Dryclean only please – knits are embroidered or feature colourful prints. It is good advice, but I think the trend should be
Delicate Knits to be drycleaned only please.
Expensive Simplicity – I like that statement but what does it mean for me – expensive yarn, one colour, great design – okay
Fur – If you don’t say it with fur next season then say it with feathers – knitters can knit both and I like to play with both faux fur and feathered yarns. [according to Vogue - fake or real, it’s too big to be a trend, on and off the catwalk it was more of a deluge]
Grunge Glamour – when you’re not dressing up, dress down in high quality – I not sure I understand this one, maybe it is an age thing, not understanding Grunge and Glamour together
Hairbands – I had a pattern for a knitted plaited headband from my mother-in-law. Perhaps I need to resurrect it especially as I am riding a bike often here in the Netherlands
Intricate details – beading, pleating, twisting, draping, embroidery. For me and my knitting – I love twisting (moebius), plaited (cables), Pleats with colour hidden in them and lots of colour. I have been playing a little with a bit of beading in my knitting and I am not in love yet. I have also knitted silver wire with beads. I really enjoy the challenge of that – but my results are not interesting enough as yet.
Jewellery stories – big necklaces still an outfit make – they could well be knitted or crocheted by other wonderful knitters and crocheters. like the Bloomin Neck Gardens by ScarfitUp.
Knits top-to-toe – the perfect trend for me, although socks have still escaped my needles. I have those IOU’s to complete for red socks. Leg, arm and neck warmers and dresses and even skirts and of course sweaters, jackets, vests you name it I have probably created it somewhere sometime.
I like the letter “K”, what a great trend “Knits top to toe” is
Lace – Forget the cold, it looks beautiful over goose bumps. And if you don’t like lace, buy a leather dress, possibly with pockets. Knitted or crocheted Lace is beautiful – I can, and have created shawls and scarves in lace, in simple lace that is, I do not call myself a lace knitter
Mad Men Secretaries – I do not know what this trend is really
Navy – Wear it with everything. Wear it with black. It is the new black – well all knitters and crocheters and yarn creators and dyers – I hope you are ready for the new black. Navy looks great with purples, turquoises and Red and ……..
Orange – Colour trend – Orange also will go extremely well with the new black – Navy or be bold and knit orange with actual black.
Polo Neck – great knitters style
Quantum Leap (futuristic) – knit futuristic is real
Retro hair – with a net I presume to keep it sitting soo still – great to show off the knitted and crocheted hats see Constance Willems marvellous Hats
Shearling – ……. Just about everywhere – include with your knits if you can afford it or knit loopy to fake it as faking is always an in trend
Teddy Bear fur – Faking it in true style and apparently it was everywhere – WHY?
Understated – supremely good quality but passive in colour and shape. It’s the new way to show off. My trend here would be
Unique Knits and we all understand that.
Victoria’s Secret models – Curves are back, ladies. Where did the curves go? I think this trend should be called
Vogue and Vintage knits, knitted for the real woman or it could be called Vogue Knitting.
Weather – was on display at many of the fashion shows. Me, I think of weather and knitting as
WOW, the Winter Wonderland of Opportunity to create wonderful, sexy, in Vogue, trendy, fitting, colourful and creative knits
X – was a band at the shows – Is that a fashion Trend? I think not, so lets stick with
XRX Books – The Knitting Universe
Yeti – You could knit in the Yeti Look if you wish – not for me.
ZigZags – herringbone tweeds, chevron furs – tesselations to be knitted sometime. It is on my knit radar.
The two Big Trends
1. A celebration of womanliness that will allow us to use traditional wiles and graceful curves to ….. You need to go and read it yourself.
2. Is for absolute, supreme, take-your-breath-away quality…….. I like that.
Cape knitted with mohair and faux fur fibre
Kiwi Cape Pattern is available on etsy at uniqueboutiqueknits
So that is my “in Vogue” trendy news for knitters.
I may change the information as I find new reports or items of interest.
Meantime remember that Capes are in – okay!
Hot Pink Jacket
by connie on May.10, 2010, under ConnieleneKnits blog
This creation is no long available – BUT the style can be re created.
It is a unique piece due to the way the colours and yarns are used, therefore it cannot ever be repeated exactly.
It was created with many many different vibrant and gorgeous pinks in many many different yarns. The yarns have been knitted using short lengths, in simple intarsia and stripes. I carefully weave in the ends as I go, to reduce the finishing required once the knitting is completed.
The Jacket was knitted from the bottom to the shoulders in one piece including the lapels.
A pattern for the Sleeveless Jacket will become available soonish. It will not include the specifics of how this was created – the yarns and colours, line by line, it will include information on playing with simple freeform intarsia on a pattern.
working with colour by taking advantage of the yarn
by connie on May.09, 2010, under ConnieleneKnits blog, Design Process
I Love Colour
I Love Colour Work
I love Intarsia
I love playing with colour in my creations
So you are not sure about how to proceed with adding colour to your work?
Cheat a little
Don’t knit a picture in intarisa
Don’t knit with a design in mind
Do knit with a colour theme
Do knit with an abstract free form kind of freedom
go with the flow of the yarns you have to hand and this is especially easy if you have variegated, self striping or oddments of various thickness, colour or texture in your yarn stash. This is stash busting 101.
You can add colour to your knitting with the help of those yarns – whatever they are – be they variegated, self-striping, or two or more different colours of yarn knitted together. Let the yarns do the work and take away some of the guesswork and planning to add the colour to your knitting. Simple intarsia or stripes with these yarns adds excitement and drama to whatever you are creating. Whatever you create this way cannot be repeated ever. You will create a unique piece. 
Self-Striping Yarn:
Creating with a self-striping yarn is an easy way to add colour and drama to your knitting as the yarn changes colours for you. These are great for knitters who want to add colour to their work, but are not yet confident about choosing and knitting with many yarns as in intarsia, or on deciding on a colour range.
When I am creating with self striping or variegated yarns I often use a solid for my bands. But I may change to a range of solids – one colour each for the two wristbands and the bottom edge as well as another colour for the neck edge. Or I will use black or brown for every band or edge but I will cast on with the coloured yarn. Either way it produce a unique piece and the effect is wonderful.
The garment or piece created with a self striping yarn will most likely have colour changes that line up more or less in stripes along the piece. The stripes will be deeper on a narrower section of knitting such as the sleeves and thinner on the body or wider section of the knitting.
But you can still play – You could choose two or more self striping yarns or one complimentary solid along with the one or more complimentary self striping yarns and create a unique piece by doing free form intarsia with only two or three yarns.
Self-striping yarn can be used with any stitch, but depending on your design wish, the stripes can display more clearly with a Stocking Stitch (Stockinette Stitch), or reverse Stocking Stitch project. But this is colour work – and any stitch or pattern that that you like and enjoy is perfect. There are simply no rules in this. Just Play.
Working with Multiple Strands:
Knitting with two or more strands of yarn together is another way to add colour, drama, magic, individuality, uniqueness and texture to a project.
There may be some technical management issues for you when knitting two or more strands together – that is the yarn will tend to twist and tangle – NOTE that it does not adversely affect the finished knitting and there are ways to reduce the problem should it drive you crazy.
You can wind the yarns together in a ball, or feed the individual yarns from a separate ziploc bag. Or you could go with the flow of the knitting – you are playing with colour after all, and you are creating a unique piece – SO be brave – Break the yarn, add another colour and continue knitting. Wind the tangled yarn back to the ball it came from and add it to the knitting again later.
Variegated or Multi coloured yarn:
I love variegated yarns – and I love the surprises one gets as the knitting progresses.
Variegated or Multi coloured yarn can create colour pooling which may be an issue depending on your view of it. You could also call it a design feature and just take advantage of it.
Colour pooling is a bit unpredictable. Manage it by changing the yarn when you can see that you are developing a pool – for example: The colour red has a couple of sections/rows together – so break the yarn when you are back at the red section. Reattach at the red point on the yarn to be knitted so that the Red pool becomes bigger – and a design feature. You will have a short section of yarn of other colours – keep it and you will find somewhere else to add this into your knitting. Weave in the yarn ends as you go.
Add Swiss darning over your knitted stitches, when you have completed the piece – to alter the way the colour looks either by making the pool of colour larger or by adding another colour to distract from the pool if you do not like the effect.
Include slip stitches to break up a block of colour – the slipped stitch colour then shows in the next row – breaking the colour section of the new row.
Free form design on Beret
Add a Stripe where you do not want the colour to pool, or insert a two row stripe of another colour every 4 or 6 rows of the varigated yarn knitting.
You can also work from the centre and the outside of the same yarn ball to knit two rows with from the inside and two from the outside.
or do what I do – call it a design feature whatever happens.
It is your project, do what feels right for you.
Trust your own instincts
and Play with Colour
Blockety Block – It is not easy finding news or information
by connie on May.06, 2010, under ConnieleneKnits blog, Intarsia, Intarsia Book, Not Knitting
Just now it is not easy to find something to tell you about.
Maybe this is called Writer’s Block
Maybe it is called Designer’s Block
Maybe it is called Knitter’s Block
Maybe it is Ball Withdrawal Block
Maybe it is just called Blockety Block
Whatever it should be called in my case – I do believe I have a big case of whatever it is just now.
I am knitting – slowly.
I am thinking about new designs all the time – but slowly.
I am quietly frustrated trying to slowly complete those creations that I told you I was knitting.
So yet another to do list
- mohair shell sample
- 100% wool shell sample
- finish and photograph the carbon footprint bag
- publish the carbon footprint shadow knitting graph
- complete and publish the pattern for the sleeveless jacket in English
- translate the pattern for the sleeveless jacket into Danish
- maybe translate the pattern for the sleeveless jacket into Norwegian maybe
- finish black ball cover
- decide where and when to install black and white ball covers
- Intarsia E-book or print book planning
- I may be thinking about knit kits (thank you Constance for bringing that up)
- I may also be thinking about cloaks again (thank you Constance for bringing that up as well)
- I may be thinking about the Alexandra Blossom Festival committee invitation to participate in the WoolOn Creative Fashion Event of the 2010
- I may be thinking about the Fibre and Fleece Exhibition
- I am NOT thinking about creating for either event while I am in New Zealand
- I may be thinking about “King of the Mountain” run/walk in NZ on the first Sunday in July
And I am planning a trip to New Zealand to see our very special small person (grandson), our daughter, my courageous Mother In law, and family and friends – and that seems more important than everything and anything else just now.
Maybe that is the cause of the blockety block.
Because this a state of Blockety block – or is that Blankety Blank – if I have forgotten anything then please please remind me, thanks.
And in case it occurred to you, the Constance mentioned above is not me, myself and I. My name is really Connie Lene and not not Constance.
Oh, and did you pick up that my Norwegian is not as good as my Danish, which is certainly not as good as my English.
You can find Connielene Knits in many places on the net
by connie on May.05, 2010, under ConnieleneKnits blog, Not Knitting
I hope that after looking through the site you will choose to be a fan of my Facebook Page or as it is now on facebook I hope you will choose to like ConnieLeneKnits
You can find me in many places on the net –
My Etsy Shop Unique Boutique Knits for patterns and garments
Crazy but this is my other Etsy Shop Connielene Capes and my unique and unrepeatable knits Capes because I adore cloaks and capes, the others because I cannot tell you exactly how I created them other than the pattern for the style but not the intarsia on them.
And because I managed to create and install a Ball Warmer and really enjoyed the experience and the story World Urban Art – a site still in development – Installation art in the urban environment including Knit Art Graffiti or Yarn bombing.
Our travels in Europe – two oldies from New Zealand exploring the Netherlands, Denmark and Europe as time, money and energy allows.
You can find me on Ravelry here and believe it or not I am also on Twitter here as Connieleneknits
I am a Freelance designer, knitter, lover of colour; lots of colour, Intarsia lover, pattern writer, fashion knit trend follower, Colour and yarn trend follower.
They tell me that I am also artist, graffiti knit artist. I know I am a storyteller, writer, blogger, mother, wife, sister, grandmother, teacher, friend, photographer, and speaker.
My loves are colour, texture, shape, flow, drape, drama, magic, passion and yarn and I hope you enjoy the results.
When I can I do participate in fibre exhibitions, and I have curated two exhibitions with a wonderful artist friend. In 2009 I had a felted jacket in WoolOn at the Alexandra Blossom Festival, and a dress with intarsia of course in the Alpaca Festival in New Zealand.
My Mission is to excite and challenge all knitters, designers and wearers of hand created pieces – to experience more colour in their own knitted pieces and to enjoy the freedom and the magic of wearing such a unique piece because it is created with many colours, passion and with magical yarns
My Major Project with delivery in 2011 is My Intarsia Knitting – Book as yet with no name.
I hope you will be a fan of my Facebook Page or as it is now I hope you will choose to like ConnieLeneKnits on Facebook.
I have added my Shell pattern to uniqueboutiqueknits on Etsy
by connie on May.03, 2010, under ConnieleneKnits blog, Patterns available on Etsy, Technical Information
This is a sweet and easy shell to create in one colour or as I have done in many colours and yarns. It is knitted in the round to the armholes, and is a great starter piece for someone wishing to experiement with colours and yarns. It is also a great stash buster.
If you are not sure about a rolled edge at the bottom I do include instructions for a ribbed edge as an option. I am a firm believer in options when spending your hard earned monies on patterns.
The shell in the photograph was created for the “Colour Play” exhibition held in Auckland New Zealand in 2007
Click through to the Etsy pattern listing here. The pattern will be provided via email as a PDF once the US$5.00 payment is received through Paypal. I will include with the pattern general information about knitting in the round, using many colours and yarns in simple stripes and/or simple intarsia, plus the option for knitting with a ribbed band if you prefer.
Celebrations for Queens Day began last night – but it is actually tomorrow
by connie on Apr.29, 2010, under ConnieleneKnits blog
The shops windows all have orange decorations, the orange merchandise is flowing out the doors, and the country will be in an orange shambles by the end of tomorrow.
In Amsterdam there will be an orange mess for some days because the cleaners strike at the railway station has become a Queens Day cleaners strike all over.
So an orange mess everywhere after the celebrations for the Queens Birthday.
I have an orange hat and have been knitting a crown for fun. Trouble is I decided to knit it out of crepe paper and not yarn. My wrist is not coping.
My crown will not be in use this Queens Day – maybe next year instead.
Crepe paper is interesting to knit with – but it is slow knitting and doesn’t flow well. The knitting looks okay – and the texture is great, so I will complete it just not for this Queens Day. it might turn out to be something else of couse. Since I have been in the Netherlands I have added shadow knitting, felting, knitting with plastic, moebius with magic cast on, carbon footprint graphs, knit graffiti, Danish shawls and now knitting with crepe paper to my list of new experiences.
It is not so quiet outside – 10.20pm and the party is already on in the park.
Pattern – Sweet, Simple Shell – in one or many yarns & colours
by connie on Apr.26, 2010, under ConnieleneKnits blog
My next pattern, by the end of this week as long as life goes to plan.
The original was created for my “Colour Play” exhibition held in Auckland, and it went to Angelica in Switzerland.
It is a Simple, Sweet Shell – which could be knitted from any yarns – such as wool, mohair, faux fur, eyelash yarn, what ever stash yarns you have that knits at the same tension or similar tension, or in just one colour or just one yarn. This shell was knitted in the round to the armholes.
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Connielene - Unique Designs & Knits
The Gallery
From March 10th 2010
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