Nice to See You Again, Itasca!

Over a year ago I was lucky enough to be asked by fellow Tanis, Tanis Lavallee from Tanis Fiber Arts up in Canada to design the first project for her Year in Colour Club for 2011. Not only am I a GIGANTIC fan of her hand dyed colors, but a fellow Tanis is hard to come by so we have to stick together!

I love projects like this. Tanis sent me a special color reserved only for the club (I had no idea what was coming, only that it was sock yarn and blue) and asked me to design something with her sock yarn that wasn't socks and took only 1 hank of yarn. Always chomping at the bit to throw another lace pattern out into the ether, I had a few ideas rolling around but wanted to wait and see what the exact color was. Color has a HUGE influence over me and it really can change an idea when you see it in person.

This is what I wrote about my design...

"When I get sent yarn to knit a garment and am given free reign over my design, I try not to look at the color name.  I find this can have a huge influence over me and I like to keep an open mind, leave the yarn on my desk for a few days and see what kind of inspiration hits without any prejudice. Growing up on the ocean near Boston I know how quickly the ocean can go from calm waters to raging storms in a very short while. The blue color looks just like the ocean in winter-calm on top with a raging storm underneath. That’s the beauty of Tanis Fiber Arts - it’s multidimensional. I wanted to use a lace pattern that looked like churning water with an edging that mimicked waves, showing off the gorgeous colorway. The name “itasca” comes from the coast guard base that Amelia Earhart radioed into while trying to complete her fateful last mission around the world. She left the last leg of her final voyage with clear skies and a favorable weather forecast, only to have the weather change to an intense storm making celestial navigation impossible, therefore sealing her unknown fate."

Now one year later, Itasca is available to all. You can download the pattern on Ravely here. Hope you enjoy it!