KNITSONIK – what you saw in 2016

Continuing the reflective theme of yesterday, today I want to share some of the amazing inspiration sources and swatches that KNITSONIK comrades everywhere shared on instagram in 2016.

I love when people share an inspiration source; I love reading the comments others leave and seeing what treasures have been discovered in the everyday. Above all, I feel that posts like these express a collective sense of celebrating the creative possibilities lying around us all the time… and that they are richly suggestive of joyous future knitting. Most importantly of all, they are FUN!

Here are some awesome inspiration sources (and some knitting) shared by instagram buddies in 2016. Here’s hoping we find more palettes, patterns and shading schemes together next year…

…beautiful lines and patterns in the door of an art studio in Arequipa documented by @sunnelite…

Things, they are a'brewin'. #knitsonik #knitstagram #knittersofinstagram

A photo posted by Bonnie (@bonniebethc) on

…a jewel-toned flower border provides @bonniebethc with the necessary inspiration for state fair winning mittens…

All I want to do is knit. Alas, work. #knitstagram #knittersofinstagram #knitsonik

A photo posted by Bonnie (@bonniebethc) on

Second place! #knitsonik #knittingbadassery #indianastatefair

A photo posted by Bonnie (@bonniebethc) on

…a swatch inspired by Arthur’s Seat returns to its origins in a @littlelollytravels adventure…

…@dieuwkevm shares graphic #TarmacTuesdays imagery…

…the gentle influence of #TarmacTuesdays can be glimpsed in this wonderful swatch by @makermagpie…

…a more traditional inspiration source for Spring appears in these glorious blooms shared by @wendyknitsdigsbakes…

…combining the KNIT with the SONIK @labistrake translates the humble Marshall amplifier into stranded colourwork…

…while @socherryknits finds patterns and shapes in Glasgow’s Birds Eye Map project…

…at a totally different scale, @tomofholland imagines the possibilities for transposing the humble borlotti bean into stranded colourwork…

…while @knittingtastic finds ready made stranded colourwork charts on her travels in London…

…a different sort of journey provides @rovingricey with a palette, glimpsed at speed from a car window…

…while @hannapatchaesthetic finds palettes for stranded colourwork in bricks, baskets and landscapes…

{long post} How many colours in a brick wall? A Christmas project in the works meant I got to order the last 5 colours of @virtual_yarns Alice Starmore Hebridean 2-ply: now I have all 36 colours in my stash. I do knit with AS yarn, but I also regard playing with it as a legitimate leisure activity. I thought I might give my playing some direction by trying to match yarn palettes to photographs, although it is *really* hard to capture those subtle, glorious colours accurately (all knitters know this pain, right?!) and the short daylight hours don't make it any easier. But if you like them, I'll try to do some more of these, in the spirit of both the @knitsonik system and @silverpebble2's #makingwinter project – a simple way to have fun with craft and nature during the dark cold months, and to enjoy my stash even when I'm short of time for knitting. If anyone else wants to play, how about we call it #yarnimitateslife?

A photo posted by Hanna (@hannapatchaesthetic) on

I have been doing very little knitting recently, despite thinking about it multiple times a day. I think it's down to a kind of unsettled feeling when I'm in the house – the second bedroom/craft room is still such a mess, and there are lots of tasks I should be chipping away at. Even when I'm relaxing, somehow the knitting doesn't get picked up. That's why I'm enjoying playing with yarn and images when I get the chance – it scratches the creative urge and lets me pat and appreciate my stash, but it can be quickly put away again without leaving that guilty unfinished project feeling behind it. A knitterly pleasure even when I can't quite commit to knitting itself: that's how I #knitcomfort at the moment, @frenchpressknits. (picture: yesterday's post given the #yarnimitateslife treatment with @virtual_yarns Hebridean 2-ply. Top to bottom: Solan Goose, Whin, Pebble Beach, Lapwing.)

A photo posted by Hanna (@hannapatchaesthetic) on

…and @flutterbyknits finds palettes in lichen-clad cliffs…

…a bush full of berries that the birds have pecked wide open, and a wonderfully seasonal crate load of brussel sprouts suggest endless creative potential to @erickaeckles…

The lovely @vinca56 asked me earlier what I was doing…well at the time I was standing in the pub waiting to be served at the post office counter (perhaps it's a Norfolk thing having a post office in the pub)….But on the way home I couldn't help but notice this combination of brown and red…Not something I'd have thought of but thinking how beautifully it works and perfect for some seasonal inspired colourwork without making you look like a Christmas tree….but look a little closer at those berries.. tiny beak pecks all nibbled out of the berries, wee buttery gold flecks like mixed peel in a fruit cake….Can you tell I'm re-reading the awesome stranded colourwork source book by @knitsonik …. how about you @slitknits @nicolaforemanquilts @susanna.rose are you all home in the warm? #apintofbeerandapacketofstampsplease #oddplacesforapostoffice #nibbledberries #inspirationonmydoorstep #colourworkinspiration

A photo posted by erickaeckles (@erickaeckles) on

…finally, some grasses reflected in the water find their way into a swatch by @nessiesnews…

Small beginnings. This is a picture for @knitsonik Felicity Ford, to show her my gratitude. Nothing fancy, not a great picture….That was not my intention….I am far to shy to post designs of my own here on IG, but just once I want to show you, dear Felicity, how you inspired one woman in the Netherlands to knit this swatch of stranded colour work. I took this photograph on a cold winter's day last year because I was completely blown away by the contrast in colours nature magically provided. With your beautiful book "KNITSONIK stranded colourwork sourcebook" as my guide, and a lót of drawing and erasing and drawing again…I could knit my first swatch….. Thank you Felicity! 😄🌈 . . #knitsonik #knitsonikstrandedcolourworksourcebook #felicityford #grateful #smallbeginnings #bcgarn #shetlandwool #inspiration #knittersofinstagram

A photo posted by Annette Van Essen (@nessiesnews) on

…I love the diverse range of inspirations here!!! Thanks to everyone whose gorgeous images and knitting went into this post… thanks for sharing the joy and showing us your work.

And if you’re reading this, KNITSONIK wants to know: what did you see this year that you wanted to translate into stranded colourwork, and what will you celebrate in your knitting in 2017?

Check the hashtags #knitsonikinspiration, #knitsonik or #knitsoniksystem to find more images like these and to share the things that give you joy in daily life with other knitsonik buddies!

HURRAH FOR EVERYDAY LIFE INSPIRATIONS!!!
xF

Read this next

A year of KNITSONIK

2 thoughts on “KNITSONIK – what you saw in 2016”

  1. Thanks so much for mentioning my mittens! One of my resolutions for 2016 was to slow down and really enjoy playing with my knitting, and the Knitsonik book and process were exactly what I needed to do that. I found it hilarious that my mitten “swatch” won a ribbon at the fair even though I could clearly see where my color choices didn’t work. (I’m looking at you, weird stripy section with the green vine and flower.)

    Reply

  2. Wow, to be included with the above amazing colourwork source photos has totally made my day…..I don’t have a special word for 2017 but the one thing I want to do is learn and knit some stranded colourwork…thank you for being such an inspiration and wishing you much happiness for the new year.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.