Do you remember how, before we moved house, I was busy working on Yarnadelic Remixes 0.1, a collaborative project with my good friend Muriel Pensivy?
Until now, this project has only been available on Teachable as a multimedia online course (you can preview one of the videos here). However, throughout November, the chapters of the eBook will be released through Ravelry (one every six days), with the final eBook arriving there and in my online shop as a standalone product at the end of the month, on the 30th.
If you just want to knit music without any of the other bells and whistles that go with the Teachable version of this project, this is the moment you’ve been waiting for! You can knit the bass lines of Wondrous Place and Waltz around a double-knit hat and mismatched pair of mitts…
…or the delicate picked guitar-riff of Woman Blue as Big Holes on a cosy, oversized scarf…
…embellish your phone or tablet cosy with beads placed to precisely represent the melody and bass line of Music For A Found Harmonium…
…or knit mis-matched stranded colourwork mitts based on the same tune, in which contrast has been used to emphasise the drone line (left hand) and the melody (right hand) of a harmonium player…
…if you fancy a bigger challenge, learn to make Magic Yarn Balls so that the colours of your Shuffle Play Shawl will be randomised in the order in which they appear in your knitting – just like the songs that inspired them might be played if listening on Shuffle Play Mode.
The collection includes a lot of different techniques – double-knit; Big Holes (lace); beaded knitting; varying contrast in stranded colourwork designs; making your own Magic Yarn Balls; and steeking. As well as these practical techniques, short essays in the eBook describe how every design is rooted in the patterns and rhythms of music, giving you plenty of imaginative avenues to explore if you want to listen to songs or think about sounds while knitting these designs.
To celebrate the completion and conclusion of this project, we are launching a KAL and a PAL to celebrate all the connections between knitting and music that underpin this wonderful project. There will be prizes for finished knit-along projects and beautifully played play-alongs – further details on that to be announced later in November.
KAL – knit-a-long
A KAL – a knit-a-long – is a fairly straightforward thing; we knit the projects together, cheerlead each others’ progress, and share our progress. You can join the KAL on Ravelry and/or on Teachable (if you’re enrolled there). It’s a great way to motivate each other to finish these SONIK KNITS in time for the festive season.
PAL – play-along
What’s a PAL, you ask? Well, fundamental to this project is a sense of PLAY.
We play music, we play with ideas, we play with stitch patterns and techniques. A PAL is a play-along, in which you can participate as much or as little as you like, free of charge, on your platform of choice, whether or not you are knitting any of the designs.
When working on this project, Muriel and I spent a lot of time riffing on ideas and exploring the rich connections between knitting and sound: the PAL is an invitation for you to do the same. Check out the list of prompts and use them on your blog, within Yarnadelic Remixes 0.1 on Teachable, on Ravelry in the KNITSONIK forum, on your preferred social media platform, or in your journal. The idea is for these playful, joyous prompts to inspire you to celebrate connections between knitting and sound. If you’re knitting projects from the book as well, playing along with the ideas will invest your projects with rich, sonic associations, making their completion an especially imaginative and sonorous journey.
To follow along, you’ll find Muriel on Instagram as @labistrake, while I’ll be posting my responses to the prompts here in a weekly digest; in the course on Teachable; and on the Ravelry thread for Yarnadelic Remixes 0.1.
We hope you’ll join us a lot or a little – in the KAL and or the PAL – as we celebrate the joys of KNITTING, PLAYING and MUSIC –
Don’t miss the launch of the eBook with the release of the first chapter tomorrow: November 1st! This first chapter is Wondrous Waltz – it is wondrous; it does feature a waltz; and there’s even a remix of the design by Muriel.
See you there?
LOOKING FORWARD TO KAL-ING & PLAYING WITH YOU!
EVER YOURS IN KNIT & SONIK,
Fx