ConnieLene – KnitDesigner

Using Google Analytics since 18th Nov 2009

It is one year and one day since I set up google analytics on this website. Since that time 11,556 people have visited. I am uncertain what to do with that information. I know I would like more visitors, and I can see the trends so more visitors will come.

My top posts were:

A-Z of the Vogue Winter Trends 2010-2011 A,O,K,E,P from May 28th has attracted the most readers 466.

Followed by the Category – patterns – Free Patterns which attracted 429 readers.

Then Beret Pattern in 8ply or double knitting is on Etsy now with 417 views.

This is a brief skim of the Analytics.

Maybe today I could have 444 visitors – isn’t that a nice number – to make 12,000 visitors in a year and a day. It would be interesting to see if that could happen.

I have been knitting for more than 50 years. Did you notice, I said that out loud. I have probably been knitting for more than 55 years, as the actual start date is lost in mists of time.

When I was a much younger knitter, Feather and Fan was used for baby things like shawls, matinee jackets and bonnets. I used feather and fan stitch when knitting for my own babies.

Since that time, until now that is, feather and fan stitch and I have not crossed needles and yarn together (or paths or swords).

I have rediscovered the beauty and the simplicity of this stitch pattern and am now designing pieces using it.

I really love the effect of it with the variegated yarns above and now as you can see, I am knitting with a cream yarn looking at the affect of the stitch on the edges of the knitting.

But my circular needle on which is sitting my wrap all excited and ready to go – BROKE – and I do not have another spare 4.5mm circular needle. And yes, I know the wrap is being knitted in cream; I know it looks like baby stuff, but when it is finished, if ever, it will look like a gorgeous, warm, sexy, delicious, and feather light wrap and I am or was enjoying the wavy affect on the edges.

BUT it is raining and the wind is blowing, and to purchase another such needle will mean adding lots of layers and walking about 20 mins along narrow Haarlem streets, across a draw bridge over a canal (the Spaarne) and along and along to the wool shop Kleinvak van der Raad where they do not mind my lack of Dutch and probably giggle at some of the yarns I buy to try. But that is okay.

And today I just do not feel like it. In short I am really and truely hacked off. I might have to open the wine!

There it is, I have been blithering on about communication and I missed a really great question from a lovely artist/designer on Facebook. Today I did something I have not done on Facebook before – I checked the tab “Just Others” and there was the question from May 2010.

The question was “Where can I learn more about your method of intarsia freeform knitting?”

Now that should have sprung out and said “Hey, Here I am”!!!, and I missed it.

There are books out there and much on the internet explaining Intarsia, but my free form Intarsia, there is no resource available as yet that I am aware of.

And so there is no single easy answer to the question, although I am working on an answer to it as I am putting together a book proposal.

For the design on the piece I consider the shape of the canvas, which might be a sweater or a cloak, or a jacket; and the person or exhibition for whom this piece is being created, and then I work to the idea or concept. In other pieces I might simply change the colours and yarn types as I feel, as I view what I am creating.

Very very basically, I sort yarns by colour, texture and weight (more or less as I don’t let the weight drive my work) and then I knit (play) always with the idea or concept in my mind or on the sketch.

The biggest hurdle for most knitters is to plan too much, and while I do plan, that is I have a canvas, which is the shape of the knitted piece, and concept and colour group, then I just knit.

I would love to run workshops on working with intarsia generally and including freeform work, or on “Playing with colour and yarn”. I hope I will have the opportunity to do that when I return to New Zealand.

I am working on a proposal for a book which will have basic knit designs, Instruction on working in the Intarsia method, a planned intarsia design for each knit design, as well as exercises to play with the yarns and colours and so go on to work on a free form intarsia design within the knitted design.

There is a lot work even in putting together a proposal as I am sure you all know, and of course I have to convince a publisher that it is worth their while.

No I didn’t knit this multi coloured cape over night. I am working on completing works in progress and this is one of those. It is still a “WIP” because it needs 2 perfect buttons – in two different shade I think.

This cape was born because I bought a hank of Vera Moda Tracey yarn at Spotlight, in New Zealand. It says it is 5% wool, 6% acrylic, 45% polyester, 40% nylon and 4% lurex. Now I think this is a very bizarre yarn for me to have purchased, and I have another in pinks and purples and who knows what, which I will have to knit at some time.

When I started to really look at the yarn I found that it is made up of many different yarns joined together. I don’t like joins or knots in my knitting so I carefully undid the components, how stupid is that – after all it was intended to be knitted as a scarf or shawl – knots and all, and I looked at what I had purchased. Of course I did not record the total number of different yarns in it, and there were quite a few. What I did do, was consider what to do with this rash of very odd and quite sparkly bits of yarn and I decided to knit this little cape which I have done before with many colours. I included wool, mohair, sock yarn, and faux fur yarns.

So it is nearly a done deal this little cape. It just needs two gorgeous buttons and of course my reasonable button collection is in New Zealand. I have purchased a few here, but none are quite right for this cape.

So a “WIP” is nearly off my list.

Link to the pattern for a cape like this is available on Etsy.

It is warm
It is lovely
It will be a pattern

It is a cowl
It is a Wimple
It is nearly a poncho

It is gorgeous

The yarn is Sean Sheep Armytage, colour is Sticky Date – 6 x 50gm balls