I see your true color

I knit this as a gift for a “friend”, we’re only Facebook friends really. I attended a party at her house once upon a time, maybe twice, and we had some mutual friends. I’ve been inspired by her photography ever since. She’s been doing beautiful black and whites recently, her 365project was one of the only reasons I would go near Facebook last year. Ironically or not, I am having the hardest time to get the true color of this piece to show. It’s a black base with really vibrant jewel tones. I’ve used this to my advantage somewhat, as I’ve yet to deliver the shawl to her, if she does stumble upon it somehow she won’t “actually” see it.

There are ways to photograph your work so that the true color shines through. A lightbox is fairly easy to put together with things you already have. Taking the extra time to be selective about the backgroud can help too. It seems to be one of the biggest complaints especially in the knitting world. The color on your screen, differs from the color on my screen, and both of them differ from what we see In Real Life. Which is all true, because science!

I hope to get some pictures back from Megan at some point. The draw to knit with this yarn in particular was her works in color as well as those in black and white. Either way, I’m sure they’ll be wonderful. The pattern is Mariposa by Maiden Brooklyn. I really enjoyed this knit. To see the butterflies, you need to look at the negative
Space. There’s a better pic of the full shawl, but again the color got lost somewhere along the way. I had one friend who told me she thought it was gray.

Related articles

• Getting Started (knitknotadventures.wordpress.com)
• Norah’s Knits: Top-Down Knitting (or Never Say Never) (berroco.com)
• Ask Amanda: What’s the difference between Fair Isle and intarsia? (berroco.com)
• Floralise Shawl (knitcircus.wordpress.com)
• New Pattern: Surfacing (crazyknittinglady.wordpress.com)

Bella of the ball

I wanted so badly to attend my friends’ wedding in Italy. A destination wedding is a wonderful thing, but I just couldn’t afford to go. I was there in spirit however, having sent along a shawl I knit especially for the occasion.
The pattern is Bella Botanica by Karen Strauss, she is an excellent pattern writer and designer. Someone who is so passionate about the craft that she has tested theories about bead placement.
This is the kind of designer I love. She responded to questions along the way and the pattern was very easy to follow.

Beads and nupps are a wonderful touch, I was hesitant to do either, but I do enjoy the challenges of lace. I did leave out some beads along the edging. Also, I agree with the designer, placing beads on the purl row is just better, they hold a bit more centered on the work.

There’s no need to go overboard when gift-wrapping a shawl. While it is a delicate thing, it’s amazing what a piece of paper and some glitter can do.

I cut a whole to match the shape of one of the design elements, and painted a glittery match just above. The wrap is inspired by Japanese techniques called tsutsumi.

In Japan, the style of wrapping is chosen to harmonize with the present. It may even hint at the present’s contents.

The best part was the wedding day photo my friends sent me, the shawl draped over the bride’s shoulders and the message “I got so many compliments at the reception”. That’s what you want to hear when giving a gift like this, everyone showering the recipient with compliments.