Knot-Cha-Chá!™: October 2015

Friday, October 30, 2015

Update on the Old Shale Shawl Project

Three week ago I shared a photo of a swatch for a ripple pattern that is a type of Old Shale Pattern, of which there are many variations. I started a shawl in this pattern as a gift, and it has been fun to knit because of the relaxing rhythm to the undulating waves.

This shawl combines three different yarns: one laceweight merino yarn has been paired with a thin yarn that is a combination of 78% Suri Alpaca and 22% nylon. (See the ball on the lower left corner of the photo.) The Suri Alpaca has a superb fiber halo, almost like mohair. The third yarn is the other ball in the picture. It is 100% superfine alpaca. I am alternating these two balls every two rows.

This shawl is 90% complete. When it's been finished and blocked, I'll post more photos of it and also the ball bands from the yarn.

The colors are like candlelight or the canyons in Utah. (It's for a redhead who is going to look great in it.)

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Mother Would Like That - Ma

Yesterday the Flash Mob, a treasury team on Etsy, had a treasury contest on the Japanese concept of "Ma," the empty space between things.

Here is what Wikipedia says about this concept:

Ma (間) is a Japanese word which can be roughly translated as "gap", "space", "pause" or "the space between two structural parts." The spatial concept is experienced progressively through intervals of spatial designation. In Japanese, ma, the word for space, suggests interval. It is best described as a consciousness of place, not in the sense of an enclosed three-dimensional entity, but rather the simultaneous awareness of form and non-form deriving from an intensification of vision.

Ma is not something that is created by compositional elements; it is the thing that takes place in the imagination of the human who experiences these elements. Therefore, ma can be defined as experiential place understood with emphasis on interval.

My mother loved feminine accessories and jewelry, but she was spartan and minimal in her home decor. In this way she practiced Ma, and for me, there is a tremendous negative space where she used to be. I chose these treasuries to feature here, because they reminded me of her. These are collections she would have liked. (The images are clickable, in case you want to start your holiday shopping early.)

By CaryeVDPMahoney: