S20C 409120813342

s u b 11 e shibori

Shibori knitting has no limits when the door is openeri wide Lo a myriad of shaping opportunities and color bravado. While eontinuing to ceiebratc Ihc blending of fiber and color, this chaplcr explores what happens when you cliange directions. By Iiterally turning the kniillng un its side, you start to play willi thc wcaving concepts of warp and woft -ihe Iwo components of a woven piece thal work in perpendicular directions. Wilh knilling, this change of knit direction intcrfaces with a varn's tendency to move in parlicular directions when it is fellcd. TI te cnd rcsults are sublime—ruffles, ripples, and spiraling shapes magically appear when lite knit is felted. This exciting direction-al effeet is inost evident in the Portrail Scarf (page Tl 0), but is explored subtly in lite Wild Side Skirt (page 98), thc Contempla-live Wrap (page 92), and the hand wanners (page 88), to name a few projeets.

Changing knit direction is madę even morę fascinating when wc incorporate the methods expiorcd in lite first two chapters, as well as venturc into morę complex color opportunities. My friend, lite great designer Kaffe Fasscll, has long inspired me reinterpret knitting, design, and color. I've aiways fcll con-ncclcd to his other li fe as a painter, as 1 once madę my living as a sailptor. Kaffe's abiiity to knit a sophisticated palctte with skill and confidence is a great complcment to the way he writes his knitting pallcrns. Most of the time, he dutifully dclails every

adventures in color, composition, and construction

color used in a piece. But every now and then he just put.s torth his own crcalivc cxpression, and gives the reader only a generał idea of how to approach color. Rathcr thau spell out nil 47 hues in a design, hc encourages the reader to find her or his personal aesthetic, offering generał suggeslions, such as grouping fiber into tlirec calcgories: light, medium, and dark. Thus, the knitter is able to take on morę crcalivc rcsponsibility and make seme-thing uniquc and original while being held in thc wisdom and experience of Kaffe's personal cxploration.

The offerings in this chaplcr will hopefully inspire knitters lo cxplorc personal color aesthetic in a similar way. For instance,

1 love green. lt's bccn my favorite color all my lite, unabashed and uncontested. T work in it everv chance I get. But if your favorite color is blue, then work in blue! Take what 1 have donc with my love of green, and draw inspiration from the pictured work while bringing together liarmonious colors that will celebra te vour Iove of blue.

+

Mclaphorically, this finał chapter is aboul celebrating personal sincerity and truth In one's exploration. If you gravilalc loward a different palette, how to your prefcrcnce and be truthful to your own creativily. The knitwear pieces coliectcd will serve vou faithfully, as you find your way a little further down the shibori path.

82 *iiibon kin!-:-