Monday, May 28, 2012

Ondos Legwarmers

Another sample design for my "Surfista Collection" is done! The "Ondos Legwarmers". Now time to finish writing and editing the pattern and get it ready for sale. Here are the some photos from the shoot I did on the beach this week.


Ondos is Spanish for those soft wave impressions that you find in sand from the water or wind flowing over it. With these legwarmers I tried to bring the feeling of that natural motive with a lacy fabric so as to not be too hot to wear in mild weather. Perfect to wear on the beach when those sea breezes begin to pick up. A draw string worked into the band order to keep them from slipping down while you’re walking. 


The lace detailing allows it to stretch for most sizes, and warm but not be too warm. Just right for a cool breezy day on the Ecuadorian coast.


The ribbed band at the top is doubled and then knit together. This allows an i-cord to be passed through and tighten to prevent them from slipping down.


The pattern will be for sale on Ravely once this testing knitting is done. 

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Club de Tejido

So it turns out that I'm not the only knitter in town. I'm the only knitter that knows more than a long-tail cast-on, knit, and bind-off. Most days, as the cool season approches us here in Ecuador, I have had a project in my bag, which I pull out during my lunch hour, or when the power is out in the village. The teachers at the school where I work have noticed, and the handful that could do some basic technequies began showing up with their knitting needles and knitting near me non-chalantly. After a little while they started asking me questions about what I was doing, how I acheived the effects I was getting. These questions evolved into after work get togethers, and now we have a knitting group that I'm teaching of about 5 women depending on the day.

While teaching for free isn't usually an exciting prospect, the ladies are tons of fun, and teaching is something I enjoy. Right now I'm teaching one girl how to purl by giving her a ribbed hat to work on, two others have moved up to color stranding. And another woman is practicing different cast-on techniques.

Another interesting thing about teaching a knitting class in Ecuador is learning the knitting termonology in Spanish. Maybe for my next pattern, I'll offer a Spanish version as well!