This amazing picture is what Hilori sent me to convey her idea when I mentioned wanting to design something with 3 colours. It’s a stunning picture from a colour perspective. (It’s been messed with, though, since a moon can only be full if it is rising as the sun is setting and will therefore be at a different angle in the sky than the lighting on the wheat implies, but that’s just the moon-watcher in me…cough, cough)
As inspiration point it’s amazing for colour, but also for design. You see, I have a permanent sticky on a page of Barbara Walker’s A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns on a pattern called Ears of Grass that I think is a fabulous lace pattern for wheat. In other words, I’ve been wanting to design with this stitch pattern since I first got this book, about 10 years ago.
I had the design all planned out. I knew how it was going to be. I could SEE it. It was amazing. The first time for me as a designer where the idea was so clear all I had to do was knit it. Better swatch, though, right?
It’s a crummy picture and I’m sorry, but it actually shows the pattern off better than it looks in real life. In the book, it’s an amazingly crisp pattern, full of detail and shape. Apparently I’ll need to keep looking for the right yarn for it; I’m not giving up. I did abandon it for this project. I searched my through my stitch options, looking for something that could convey a field of wheat. I ended up going with sinuous lace ribs. The wider lace rib reminds me of the way the heavy heads of wheat splay out, and the faux cable rib reminds me of the way winds shift through a field, creating a curling ocean of golden waves.
As you can see from the striped swatch and the sketch, the pattern is a parallelogram. It’s such a fun shape to work! Simple increases and garter stripes that feel crisp, satisfying, and easy. Then, when you’re bored of that, you switch to a lace panel, then more stripes, then lace in a new colour and you’re curious to see how that looks, and then it’s time to reduce the stitch count again and enjoy crisp, simple garter.
Now, what colours would you like to use? This silver and gold combination looks so fabulous with midnight blue, but you might be in the mood to convey a softer mood, a bolder mood, a more tonal mood.
Hilori has kits for you if you’re looking to hit a different note with the colours. Or you can mix and match your own colour sets. Or talk to her about what you want to bring to life. She’s got a great colour sense, obviously. The colours you see in these two photos are Stormin’ the Castle, Tiger Lily, and Humuhumu.
Want to see Luna Sol knit up in a few colours combos to get your creativity flowing? My test knitters are linking up their projects and the range of possibilities are really stimulating!
And don’t forget about the Flatlands Collection Knitalong! All of the patterns are 30% off until midnight August 6th..
Wonderful colour palettes and I enjoy designing stories.
Looking at the unsatisfying swatch, I wonder if some twisted stitches would help. Maybe for next year’s collection.