This week, we’re challenging you to think ahead and show your work in a representative photo. If you set New Year’s resolutions, give them some thought a few weeks early. If resolutions aren’t your style, show us something that you want to achieve — it could be setting a new goal, making plans, or even tackling that pile of laundry waiting by the washer. The goal is to get out of the busy “now,” and imagine your new horizon. Go!
The photo:
I am excited about new horizons in 2017! My hope is to change all of my design monikers to knit equals joy. This will include my designer name and my Ravelry group. The beautiful gold and blue colors you see on this page consistently and constantly call to me, so I foresee them as being front and center in my branding palette (not necessarily in my design palette, although they certainly crop up a lot!).
I enjoyed pulling together the yarns and other items for this still life. Photography continues to be a love of mine, and I look forward to improving my photography skills in 2017 by taking classes and getting in lots of practice!
I’m so excited to be part of the wonderful group of knitters who crafted these beautiful and wonderful gifts we all opened on the second Sunday of Advent. I love the different choices made and the beautiful craftsmanship. These handmade decorations really put me in mind of Christmas, and it brings me joy to see them all together in this collage.
So, we are having a summer swap in my Ravelry group, and Paula drew this on the envelope for her swap partner. Maybe it was a simple act for her, but it brought joy to her swap partner and, later, to the rest of us. I hope it brings a bit of light and beauty to your day as well.
This week, let your inner world and the outside one converge in a photo.
Beach Glade
Viewed through a protected glade north of Cannon Beach. Looking outward, finding joy in observing the world around me, enjoying quiet solitude and thought. The inner world and the outer converge in this photo.
Photos show us the surface of things, but they often tell much deeper stories about the objects they depict — and about the people who take them.
Every photo we take says something about our emotions at the moment of taking it. So this week, share an image where you see a particularly strong connection between what we see and what you felt as you pressed that shutter button on your camera or phone.
If you have followed my blog for long – or read my “about me” page – you know that I LOVE the beach. Part of what draws me to the beach is the endless variety of texture to be found there. Especially here on the rugged Oregon Coast, the objects to be found on the beach are richly varied, always interesting. I’m always looking for something unusual, something new, something lovely or striking.
Texture strikes me. It draws my attention. It is beautiful in its order and in its variety. Visually, as light moves over the surface of an object or vista and the eye detects changes in line and shape, this is texture. As light plays over differences in density within an object, and we see these differences, we see texture. And when the eye travels over a surface and, along the way, discovers changes in the nature of that surface, we recognize this as texture.
Ebb pattern by Susan B. Anderson
The pictures in this post were originally published in a Wordless Wednesday in August 2015. There were reasons for choosing these specific photos, so I wanted to revisit them – and to think about the nature of texture.
During a ridiculously long walk along this section of the beach in Newport, which I paid for later with complaining, swollen ankles and aching muscles (note to self: no more beach hikes wearing flip flops!) I was the winner in finding amazing textures, such as those in the barnacles and driftwood above.
And what about these wind shadows? I found them enchanting – sand protected from the wind by small items on the sand blocking the movement of air. This interesting textural phenomenon was all around that day.
Fascinating: an object masquerading as something quite different in nature from its own nature.
And finally, when I was heading back on that Newport hike, I came upon this impromptu sand and driftwood sculpture. Well worth the price of admission!
I finally explored the Salishan Spit in August 2014, after having been curious about it for years. It can be seen across the Siletz Bay from the highway, but I had never been there – I couldn’t even figure out how to get there! Finally I did my research, took the eight mile hike, and was mesmerized the entire time. There was something new to discover every bit of the way, from the dark sand (called “tar sand” by some locals) to a desolate “tree graveyard” filled with sunbleached, craggy remnants of an ancient forest.
When I returned to Gleneden Beach the following February to photograph the Salishan Cowl for the completed pattern, I was reminded again why this place had inspired this design. The organic, curved shapes were everywhere, from the clouds in the sky to the patterns in the sand.
Salishan Cowl
As my eye finds textured nuances like these, they are filed away in my brain under “inspiration.” And some day, hopefully, bits and pieces of them will reconnect and reemerge – as a new and pleasing design.
And so it is time to take the plunge and finally start writing…about the creative process, which I find fascinating and in which I also participate. And about knitting, that wonderful expression of color, texture, fiber, love. How little I knew when my sister Kathy taught me to knit some 8 or 9 years ago that I would fall in love with making pretty things with string and sticks!
Did I mention fiber? The yarns now available are AMAZING!!! There is just no other way to phrase it! My personal favorites are animal fibers because of the fabulous characteristics of the resulting fabric, including varying degrees of memory (springiness), warmth and breathability. I love the current availability of breed-specific yarns and will share about those yarns as I encounter them. We will discuss other yarns as well, including other animal fibers, plant fibers, and even blends.
Then there’s color. I LOVE color! I don’t just dream in color, I feel in color. The perfect combination of colors will lead me to a perfect sense of well-being and peace, whereas the wrong combination…well, the wrong combination can make me feel slightly nauseous!! I am constantly amazed by the beautiful and amazing colorways now produced by independent dyers…even by larger yarn companies.
Let’s just say that the yarns now available, taking into consideration the fiber content and the colorways, are a major reason why I started knitting, why I stayed knitting, and why I started designing.
In addition to posts about designs and designing, fibers and colors, you can expect to see a smattering of posts regarding whatever I happen to be thinking about. Generally those will be related to family or friends, travel and exploring the Oregon Coast.
Thank you for spending some time here with me. I hope you will enjoy the thoughts I share and that you will feel welcome to share thoughts as well.
