Colour and Feminism

Yves Klein, Monochrome Painting IKB47 1956

I generally don't like to trot out personal politics, but here's a wonderful quote from Philip Ball's fantastic "Bright Earth: Art and the Invention of Color" (which I'm re-reading this month):

On engaging with the beauty of raw colour, he writes,

"This goes against our training. What is brightly colored? Children's toys, the Land of Oz. And so color threatens us with regression, with infantilism...

What else is brightly colored? Vulgar things, vulgar people. Color speaks of heightened emotions, even linguistically, and of eroticism...

The nineteenth-century art theorist Charles Blanc (what's in a name?) insisted that 'design must maintain its preponderance over color. Otherwise painting speeds to its ruin: it will fall through color just like mankind fell through Eve.'¹ Here, then, is another reason to distrust color: it is feminine."²

That's one of the prevalent ploys of women's oppression - that we're equated with/reduced to children. Helpless, silly children. Misogynistic (colourist?)³ infantilism.

Colour perception is so fascinatingly culturally dependant.
I've read interesting diatribes on the choice of pink for breast cancer awareness. Apparently, Newton chose seven colours for his rainbow based on the prevalent ideas that seven was a proper number for scientific classifications.

So, glory in the wonderful retina-l dance that is a beautifully coloured hank of yarn! You don't have to explain your colour attraction to anyone, dammit!

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¹C. Blanc, quoted in C.A. Riley II, Color Codes. Hanover, N.H.: University Press of New England, 1995, p. 6.

²Philip Ball, p. 13-14.

³Hmm, to coin a term (and steal a word), Colourist; a person who is prejudiced against particular colours based upon culturally dependant definitions of and symbolism with said colours.

Indie Designer Day

Designer: Leslie Gordon
Blog: More With Les
Etsy Shop: LGordon555
Rav ID: LGordon555
Some Great Designs: LGordon555's Rav Designer Page

Want an idea of how to keep the heads of the little ones in your life warm?
With beautiful snow falling this morning, my mind hearkens back to the good ol' 80s, and the various handknit toques I sported oh-so-fashionably.

This week's designer gives you a number of updated versions of the childhood toque. Check out the adorable idea pictured right, in the OMG Hat. How clever, no?

Make sure you check out her other pieces. All very cute!
This will be the last Indie Designer post for 2010. The holidays are upon us, and I must away to cookie baking (and eating), present making (and wrapping!) and warm drink drinking!

Testing Ops, the Second!

As promised in this earlier post, I have me some more testing ops for ya'll.

Frühling Wing, The Matching Mitts

Yarn: Knit Picks Stroll Sock Yarn 1 ball
Needles: 2 mm and 2.75 mm dpns
Gauge: 7 sts = 1" and 8 rows = 1" on 2.75 mm needles in stockinette
Sizes: one size

This is a very quick little knit (I whipped them off in two evenings, but I'm sure you could even do it in one).

What will happen is I'll send you a pdf of the pattern. Unfortunately, I can't offer yarn support, but the KnitPicks yarn is a very reasonable price.
The timeline for this knit is fairly reasonable, too! It's not due back until January 15.

Just email me at canarysanctuary at yahoo dot com. Let me know:
1) an email address where I can send the pdf to you
2) your Rav ID (if applicable!)

What do you get in return?
Well, you get first crack at this pattern, which will be offered for sale upon publication. You'll get the finished, cleaned up and pre-tested pattern sent to you upon publication, as well.

Thanks in advance to all you knitters! I couldn't do this without you and your knit-time generosity.

Indie Designer Day

Designer: Nina Machlin Dayton
Blog: Ninaknits's Blog: adventures in Knitting and Design
Rav ID: ninaknits
Some Great Designs: ninaknits' Rav Designer Page

I walked outside without a hat today.
And I call myself a knitter!

Now that the snow has finally decided to start falling, a featured designer with fabulous hats is called for!

I'll start out by showing you her Tuscan Leaves Hat. You can hold on to a bit of foliage while still romping around in the winter with the pretty, sinuous vines and lacey leaf detail on the crown.

There's also the Vita Cloche, a colour work hat with stylish lines and shapes. The flipped brim is so chic and lovely!

Ninaknits' Medici Hat features some fascinating shaping, with undulant lines dancing out from the brim. Srsly, check it out. I really want this hat!

I've just whet your appetite for her work; she has many more pieces, and not just hats! Check out the links above to see cowls, neckwarmers, mitts and more.

Spotted in the Wilds of Chapters Bookstore....

I was waiting for the day when I'd waltz¹ into a bookstore and find Brave New Knits on the shelf.

And last week, my friends, I finally did :)

Here, you see it sitting amongst all kinds and sorts of other wonderful knitting books.

And here you see me, in my "Wheeeee!!!!" glee.

That is all.

*grin!*



__________
¹...because that's what I do, I waltz. Sometimes I strut, and groove, and usually bust a move. But for bookstores, it's waltz.

Hear Ye, Hear Ye; Testing Ops Ahead!

So here's one of the number of fun items I've been cooking up as of late.
I'm calling it Frühling Wing.
Interested in testing? Here's the deets:

Yarn: Knit Picks Stroll Sock Yarn 4 (4, 4, 5) balls
Needles: 2 mm and 2.75 mm
Gauge: 7 sts = 1" and 8 rows = 1" on 2.75 mm needles in stockinette
Sizes: XS/S (M/L, XL/XXL, 3XL/4XL)
Special Skills: provisional cast on, grafting stitches, cables, turning hems


What will happen is I'll send you a pdf of the pattern. Unfortunately, I can't offer yarn support, but the KnitPicks yarn is a very reasonable price.
The timeline for this knit is fairly reasonable, too! It's not due back until January 15.

Just email me at canarysanctuary at yahoo dot com. Let me know:
1) what size you're interested in knitting
2) an email address where I can send the pdf to you
3) your Rav ID (if applicable!)

What do you get in return?
Well, you get first crack at this pattern, which will be offered for sale upon publication. You'll get the finished, cleaned up and pre-tested pattern sent to you upon publication, as well.

Thanks all!

Indie Designer Day

Designer: Dom Klary
Blog: Dom Klary
Rav ID: dom-klary
Some Great Designs: dom-klary's Rav Designer Page

Part of many traditions this season are celebrations of light. Lighting candles, bringing reminders of the spring-to-come into your home.

A great knitty version of this is the work of this week's designer Dom Klary, who hails from Poland. You see pictured right, Princess Donia Gloves, a pretty play with colour and floral embroidery.

Clearly a master of keeping your hands warm, dom-klary has a wonderful array of creative takes on this cold-weather staple.

Snow flakes from Warsaw by DomKlary utilizes pretty cabeling and bobbles.

Aurora Gloves demonstrate her ability with a pretty lace pattern, and A little bit of barocco (which is a free pattern!), like Princess Donia Gloves, make use of some beautiful embroidery and colour combinations!