Phew. Twenty fourteen was a great year for me in many respects, but I’m also very pleased to see the turning of the calendar – and I’m celebrating by releasing two long awaited patterns. I like starting off on the right foot!
The Wallflower designs began over a year ago (my how time flies) when I decided my mom needed a fancy tam and mitten set. Yes, I decided that without consulting her. Anyway, perhaps you’ve noticed, but I’ve been just a little bit obsessed with stranded colorwork accessories for the last few years. I love how the small pieces allow me to play around with color and design motifs in a way that’s more difficult with larger scale items.
My previous colorwork designs have leaned towards the whimsical (elephants, anyone?), however, that really isn’t my mom’s scene. I felt like she would prefer something a bit more subtle, like a simple, allover floral pattern. I also wanted to play around with positive/negative space and tessellated geometry, you know, just because. The resulting stitch pattern is a small scale checkerboard of diamonds framing stylized 4-petal flowers. For the samples that are featured in the pattern, I chose colors that are similar in value, so the resulting fabric is very subtle. However, the first prototype was knit in red and white, for a much more dramatic effect:
I love the way swapping out colors can totally change the way a design feels. I can’t wait to see what color combinations everyone else chooses!