hats!

Last Friday was an exciting day over at the Wisdom Arts Club. Two of my students, Eliza and Ruby, finished knitting their hats!


I love all the colors in these hats. They learned how to knit in the round and how to decrease, and how to stick to a project even though it felt like it took forever. Patience! Rewards!


Eliza, did all her funky embellishments as she knit. So, the braids and flowers you see were worked in the first week. She had a story to tell about her design. It's about a magical land.


And, isn't it great how the girls wore such pretty flowery dresses on the same day.
Happy Spring!

All photos were taken by Laura Cooper. Thank you!

red shoe bird

PICT0007, originally uploaded by kat coyle.

I took my knitting with me to the park but decided to enjoy the lake instead. Funny, but my knitting bag was packed with yarn to make birds. In the car on the way over I wasn’t feeling any bird vibes, but now, I have some inspiration for making birds with personality; as well as some fashion ideas. Maybe red shoes and a yellow hat will remind me of this duck when ever I need to remember a very good day.


Happy Weekend!

smiles

Hey do you feel like smiling? Then take a look at this book! Sock Monkey is page after page of sock monkey portraits. Guaranteed to make you smile!

garter stitch and inspiration

I'm knitting simple garter stitch projects for the kids learn to knit class I'm going to teach. These will be hand felted but I haven't gotten to it yet. There's a part of me reluctant to felt knitting!


Garter stitch and short rows make a circle shape; and garter stitch worked straight for twice as many rows as stitches for a square shape.



The pot holders and lot's of project ideas are in this amazing, delightful knitting book, Invisible Threads by Annemor Sundbo available from Schoolhouse Press. If you love knitting, love to read about knitting, and knitting history you will love this book. It's definitely a favorite of mine, with the author's personal style of relating history through knitting and traditional craft.


When I'm working I always gather piles and piles of reference material for inspiration. I thought it would be grand to gather lots of exciting imagery for the kids to enjoy.

Endless inspiration is to be found in The Quilts of Gee's Bend.



And a new book that I'm really enjoying is Vera Textiles Add Color To Everyday Fashion. Indeed! Loads of beautiful color combinations and diverse pattern design on every page.

things

This Saul Steinberg drawing (from 1971) says it all. Is there anything else? I have (books), here are some images that inspire me.


Embroidered coverlet, Mexican dated 1786, image from American Quilts and Coverlets in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Wouldn't these characters make charming dolls?

The next few are from Knot ISBN978-4-07-257058-6. Click the photos to see them bigger.








ETA: Sources for Japanese craft books Kinokuniya. I shop at the store in Los Angeles. Here is a link to Knot on Amazon Japan. I haven't ordered from them before so I don't have advice on how to navigate the site. I also found Knot listed on Yes Asia. I have ordered books from Yes Asia before. It's pretty straightforward.

babette blanket begins

You've seen my stash, now see it at work. The Babette Blanket by Kathy Merrick (available to purchase from the Knitting Daily site) is a perfect pattern for all my Tahki Cotton Classic and Gedifra St. Tropez leftovers. Crocheting around and around is addicting. Just one more square, just one more square….
What will these two colors look like together, and then this one too? What will happen if I combine these together?


An embroidered Spanish shawl guides some choices.




The blanket’s explosion of color compliments my painting of two skunks kissing.


Who am I kidding; it’s pretty psychedelic over here at my house.

motifs and inspiration

Most of the crochet pins from the last post are made of multiple motifs that I found in this gem: Mini Motif crochet pattern ISBN978-4-02-190416-5. I bought the book at the local Kinokuniya bookstore a few days ago. Dangerous place for me as I saw SO MANY books I wanted. I will be returning soon. There was a paper cut out craft book that I swooned over, maybe next time.


I spent some time pouring over this Karl Blossfeldt book which shows flowers in beautiful, graphic,


stark simplicity but also with a dark edge that highlights their graceful shapes.





The pieces grow motif by motif and have inspired a few simple drawings.



Inspiration everywhere, even in this crowded corner of the yard.

Rosy Tams

rosy tams
Originally uploaded by katcoyle.

I bought this book, Knitted Tams by Mary Rowe, earlier this year from Interweave Press; but have yet to put it to good use. It is full of thorough directions on designing your own stranded colorwork tams, something I have longed to do for years but never got around to it. I've never joined a knit a long before as well, so seems like a good time to get into action. Uh, actually, there will be no action on that front until after the New Year but in the spirit of the knit a long I thought I would post what projects I have in mind. There are a couple of amazing sweaters that I’m dreaming of too but I don’t know if I have the time to commit to something huge; on the other hand does it matter how long a project takes? I usually like to knit something as quickly as possible otherwise I loose steam and move on to other projects. I have a couple of UFO’s in the workbasket. Sadly, languishing with just a few missing details. Hmmm, there are only two of those, not too bad for a mad knitter! Anyway, what is quick in the world of knitting? I would say two weeks and that usually entails a couple of sleepless nights and missed meals. It is doubtful that a sweater from Poetry in Stitches could be worked up in two weeks.
Well, I’ll start small with a tam; a beautiful circle of radiating colors.