Had a mini photo shoot yesterday for a friend. Borrowed these great tanks from one of my favorite Portland shops, Bliss.

astrid

I have a new pattern and her name is Astrid. The sweater is actually very similar to one I made for myself a while back, however this one does not have set in sleeves and is knit in Lark, one of my favorite yarns. I think I may just live in this sweater all season long. It's simple to knit—one piece from bottom to top. Easy-peasy.

And, I know, I know—too many pictures in this post. But, the light was scrumptious that evening!

Pattern is available on Madder, Quince, and Ravelry.

xo
c

still lusting for double seed stitch.

new wool

Have you noticed that Wool has a new logo? Well, Quince & Co. recently received an email from the lawyers who represent the designer Orla Kiely saying the leaf motif I created for the book was a trade marked design and we were infringing on her copyrighted work. Wow. I was really floored.

Yes, the designs look very similar. I absolutely agree to that. But, I saw the resemblance as being reminiscent of not just her design, but also of the design that appears on the Japaneses vintage mug above (maybe from the 70's?), and of our very talented, local designer Angela Adams, whom I have had the pleasure of working for for several years. So, if anyone gave me inspiration, it was Angela and that mug that I sipped my morning decaf coffee from every morning this summer. And, I really didn't see that I was infringing. When I started "doodling" around on Illustrator I wasn't thinking I want to make a leaf that looks a lot like Orla Kiely, but just different enough so no one notices. No, no, no. I started with some clip art, morphed it. Took off the petal top. Removed the stem. And, was left with 2 lovely, colorful, whimsical leaves. I saw the similarity, but it felt to me like we were different Airstreams at the same camp ground.

So, anyway, that's that. We changed the design as we didn't want to rock the boat and find ourselves drowning in a sea of a lawsuit. But, I am left wondering if a designers intention means anything? Having worked for Angela Adams, I am well aware that there are companies out there who blatantly sell products with designs that look almost identical to hers and so there is a need to protect the brand. However, it was never my intention to do this. I find it very disheartening to know that my creative process has led me to the path of "infringement".

It's an interesting topic. Us knitters are very lucky to have full access to several knit stitches that were thankfully never copyrighted. Barbara Walker has endowed the knitting community with some stitch treasures! We should all be so thankful for those books. Can you imagine if someone had copyrighted stockinette stitch? Or worse—garter stitch! Also, I must say that I am very happy my designer friends and I can laugh with each other when we design something similar or use a similar (or the same) stitch pattern. I joked with a couple of them recently, saying that I think we designers share a brain sometimes. What makes it okay is that we are able to recognize the differences in the design, making it unique to being "ours," if anything really is unique and ours.

I'm thinking of that saying that there is nothing new in art anymore. And, the mug pictured above (I imagine was created long before Orla hit the market), makes me think that there are only manipulations of what has already been created. Well...I don't know....maybe not. Who knows! I'm just a little designer who likes to knit things, who like to draw from time to time, and likes to design book layouts. Excuse these ramblings and back to what I was originally writing here: Wool has a new logo—dots. Colorful little circles. Hopefully, those haven't been copyrighted already, too.

plant

velvet texture from the farmer's market.

for immie.

I have been spending a lot of time with the new book Interwoven. I would kiss it, but that's a little odd, so I just look through the pages with complete admiration instead. Stephanie Barnes and Maria Vettese make up the team 3191 Miles Apart, a creative force that continues to inspire, excite, and engage me. And you, too, I imagine. Their work always makes me want to dream just a little bit longer, you know?

Quince is so lucky the project spiraled into this keepsake-of-a-book. When really, I just got in touch with Maria (who I've met only a couple of times through a mutual friend) to see if she would be willing to take still life snaps of our yarn. She and Stephanie cooked up a book idea and off they went making this incredible goodness.

I'm pondering colors for my necklace...I'd like to make a bracelet, too.

Immie is 8 months old today! I can't believe how fast time flies. She is crawling, climbing up onto anything she can find, and even tries to stand up on her own. AH! She'll be walking soon—I know it. Oh, and note she has 2 teeth on the bottom and they are crooked. So cute.

ps: she is wearing her immie tee a lot these days. we have chilly nights and mornings, here.

pretty penobscot

Immie and I took a quick trip up north to visit my folk's place. We always take a walk down Lighthouse Road—it has such a nice view of the bay. So calm and peaceful today.

texture rocks. (heehee.)

good things

Remember this post? I was working on a layout...
Well, alas, this past Wednesday Quince & Co. launched an e-book called Wool. Did you see it? Probably. Sorry—a bit late to the party here but, I wanted to post about it anyway because I love those girls, Cecily and Melissa. They are both so talented!
There are 5 gorgeous projects included in the e-book, along with tips and a few bits about wool itself. I'd really like to knit Anastasia in gingerbread and Lena in boothbay. Just need another pair of hands! But, seriously, I'd really like to knit them both. Will you be making anything from Wool?
OH— the other project I've been excited about was just mentioned here. More on that soon.