You may recall that towards the end of February I wrote about the beautiful swatch-mittens produced by comrades participating in the KNITSONIK Mittsalong (MITTSONIK).

In a #knitsonikmittsalong, comrades all work from the same inspiration source to produce pairs of fingerless mitts that are swatches or records of thought. By seeing each others’ designs, methods and interpretations, we learn more about the ways in which colours interact. It is a good, practical way to explore the joys of The KNITSONIK System while also producing something wearable and useful. The first MITTSONIK was themed around translating the old Roman Wall at Silchester into stranded colourwork designs, and the current MITTSONIK is themed around translating the glorious blooms of Magnolia trees into stranded colourwork. I think Magnolias are beautiful, and felt sure other knitters would also be attracted to their fresh pink blooms, brightening the early months of spring.

The arbitrary deadline of 31st May is there as an incentive to finish. I don’t know about you, but I like deadlines for getting things done. With one week to go, I thought I’d share some of the beautiful things people have knitted so far for the Spring 2016 #knitsonikmittsalong. You can also see some of these projects on instagram by searching the hashtags #knitsonikmittsalong or #magnoliamittsonik, and clicking on the photos will take you directly to the Ravelry project page of each maker 🙂

Palettes

Some knitters used the specially produced KNITSONIK kit, but several folks have put together palettes from stash. I love the variance in whites, pinks, greens, browns and greys shown across the different projects.

Patterns

It’s always interesting to see how differently people develop patterns for working stranded colourwork. Some folks like computer programmes, others prefer pencils, and Yumi (whom I interviewed here a while back) even takes the step of swatching in just two colours to clearly understand how patterns will appear as knitted stitch shapes.

Shading

It’s amazing to see what happens when palettes and patterns come together, and to see how the lovely delicate shifts of pinks and whites on Magnolia blooms have informed different knitted interpretations. I also think it’s quite fascinating how something like shifting from blues to pinks can transform the whole feeling of a design.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this glimpse into the collective knitterly creativity in the Spring 2016 #knitsonikmittsalong, I will be knitting like the wind this week to make my own deadline!

Yours in lovely springtime colours, comrades and collective imaginative play,
Fx