A few weeks ago, we announced through a blog post that we had some things planned when it came to the way we use this blog and how interact with you here. In the past, we mainly posted our free patterns on this blog and that was pretty much it. There were no possibilities to comment on our posts or interact with us. Now that we opened our online shop, we will not be posting any more patterns here, so we realised that we have to do something new in this space, which is why we have started to actively write about all the things that are on our minds and we have also opened up for comments on the blog, in order to be more interactive with you! Today, we want to write a little bit more about inspiration:
We have always been passionate about our work and we’ve always said that it’s not the end product designed by us that interests us the most. No, for us, the interesting job is the design process, how we conceive an idea, how we develop it in our minds, how we research it, put it in a historical context, sketch it and how we see it come to life. We are constantly researching and looking for new ideas. Inspiration can come at any time! We may be walking on the streets of Paris and suddenly stop to pick up a candy wrapper that someone has thrown og the ground, which catches our attention due to the colour. We pick it up, save it and glue it in our art journal. And that piece of wrapping paper can start a huge process in our brains. Maybe it can be an idea for a sock yarn or a full 12 piece collection for Rowan later on. Who knows!
Here are a few examples of how we process thoughts in our Art Journals:
Many of you noticed the magazine with bobbin lace next to Carlos, on the photo below, which we posted on a blog post 2 weeks ago. And many of you were asking if we were designing some projects for bobbin lace. Well, the answer is no. We weren’t looking at that old magazine because we wanted to design projects in bobbin lace, we were just enjoying the photos of the ready made designs and thinking of different ways to translate the pattern itself it into a simple crochet pattern and from there on, create some interesting hand bag designs for the Schachenmayr Knit & Mix Summer 2020 collection.
There are so many approaches to a design process. One of the most interesting for us is looking to the past, studying and learning time honoured techniques, looking at old photos of old designs and patterns. We take those designs, break them down to their basic elements and then rebuild them again in our own way and from a totally different point of view but always with a fresh eye. This way, we can design items that are modern and fresh, but deeply anchored in the past.
This week in the (radio) studio:
Yes, it’s that time of the month again, when we convert our space into a radio studio, to sit down, do a craft and talk about anything and everything that is on our minds! In our latest podcast, we cover everything from the insane weather that we’ve been having here to a deep discussion on trends to our upcoming projects and more!
Check out Podcast in our YouTube Channel.
The project that we are doing in this week’s podcast is the floral crochet throw that we have decided to name HEDVIG and which we have featured in several YouTube LiveStreams in 2018 and 2019. Many of you fell in love with the design and we have FINALLY been able to write a pattern and make our intricate, but easy-to-follow crochet charts for you to enjoy! You can download out the pattern on our online store.
Floral throw Featured on several LiveStreams, here from February 2019.
And here it is, in the back seat of our VW Beetle 1969
We hope you enjoy this week’s podcast and we know that you will enjoy crocheting these flowers, as they are a lot of fun to do!! Next week, we are going to be featuring the U.K. in our blog – so look out for a new post very, very soon!
Enjoy!
ARNE & CARLOS
Calendar of events (click on links for more info)
Update May 22nd: The Vogue retreat is is open for registration. Click on the link for more: https://www.vogueknittinglive.com/newmexico/306875
Update May 20th: the Taos retreat will happen but Vogue Knitting has not yet opened registration. It was supposed to open up soon and it will. As soon as it is opened, we will add it to our calendar of events. For more information on the retreat, please contact Contact Lori Horak (212) 937-2554 or lorih@sohopublishing.com
NEWS!! The TAOS retreat with Vogue Knitting has just opened up for registration! It will take place from October 24-27 and you can sign up here. There are only a few spots available and the early bird offer ends on August 18th.
May 28th – June 3rd, 2019: “Knitting Under the Midnight Sun”. Cruise along the stunning Norwegian coast together with us. Due to another cancellation, we still have 1 cabin available. More information is available here.
August 15th – 19th, 2019: Tour some of Britain’s most stunning gardens together with us. In addition to visiting some seriously beautiful gardens in the Cotswolds, we have tickets to Prince Charles’ Garden at his private residence, Highgrove. These tickets are almost impossible to come by, so this is a unique chance! There are still a few spots available. We are SO excited about this trip!! More information is available here.
March 3rd – 9th, 2020: “Knitting under the Northern Lights”. Cruise along the stunning Norwegian coast together with us. We just opened this cruise for registration and half of the spots are already gone. We expect it to sell out very soon. More information is available here.