Make it Work

You know how every season of Project Runway they've had some sort of inspiration challenge wherein all the contestants are given cameras (which is obviously shameless product placement as the brand of said camera is usually in full view through the whole episode and each contestant is sure to mention the brand name every time they talk) then are told to run around New York City taking pictures, one of which must become the inspiration for a garment they are to produce? (If not, you do now.) Well, after I received an iPhone for my birthday last September, I thought I would try a PR inspiration challenge of my own. Most of my design and knitting decisions have been based simply on what happens to strike my fancy that week (at Anthropologie), what I feel like wearing, what hole in my closet I need to fill, or what fun things I can do with a certain yarn I've had sitting around for awhile. I've rarely thought too deeply about what to knit and why; I've just let it come naturally. That said, I was curious to see what sorts of things in the world were actually aesthetically speaking to me and if they had any correlation to what I had been knitting or designing. So for several months now, I've been taking random iPhone snapshots of views and buildings and things -- I haven't been putting any thought into these snapshots, I just point and shoot anything that I like, for whatever reason. Below is a selection of these snapshots that represent a few themes I found when going through the photos recently. What I noticed is that I focused on colors rather than shapes and some surprised me a little...

























Red and blue? Orange and green?! Never in my life have I knit or worn these color combinations (save for a few 4th of July outfits), but I am apparently obsessed with them. The color against grey and the black, white, color, and grey were expected, but I'm not sure where the orange and green thing came from. Secret passion for Irish politics?

This was a fun exercise, and I'm going to keep doing it, not least because I have a whole record of places I've been (including my own neighborhood) on my telephone. And maybe this is telling me that I should start being a little more adventurous with colors (other than bright green) when I'm knitting. Even if I don't wear it, at least I know I'll enjoy the process!