Converting an image or shape into a stitch pattern

Considering I was born and raised in South Florida’s warm to super hot weather, it may seem a little odd that I am fascinated with knits. Maybe it’s because I couldn’t often wear them growing up, except during vacations or fluke cold spells, or when a group of us hung out at our friend Peter’s house as kids and cranked the a/c down as low as possible so we could light a fire in the the gorgeous fireplace centered in the gigantic but somehow still cozy living room. Whatever the case may be, I am a little obsessed with knits – the cozy look, the work that goes into each stitch, the different ways they can be put together by hand or artisanal machine, and of course the final product.

In designing my pieces, I have done a lot of research, looked at hundreds of stitch samples, and I have found myself taking a new approach in selecting stitch patterns/designs to use in each piece.

I am inspired by a countless number of things on a daily basis: the shapes of leaves and clouds, the colors in our amazing backyard sunsets, the gorgeus hues that turn up on our orchids, the colors that result when I mix paint or the way it splatters into a shape, a reflection in water, the soft and smooth feel of a piece of fabric or just the way it moves when I wear it, the list goes on and on. I post images on a cork board in my office or slip them into an inspiration book I keep. If I don’t physically have an image to post on my board or tuck in my book, I try to take pictures and catalog them in folders on my computer to go back to for reference.

I go back to the inspirational images and I look for a shape that I want to be mimicked in a stitch pattern and the brilliant artisans that are working on my samples take it from there. So far, they haven’t rejected a single challenge – in fact, they say I am pushing the boundaries of how they typically work and they are enjoying the process!

Here are some tiny sneak peeks – I can’t wait to show you more!