Hey friends,
Tulip Garden, the first full pattern from the Pattern Lab is finished! I am very excited about this. I am so happy with how it turned out.
In my sample version I have used just two stitches, chain stitch and satin stitch. I think they go very well together. And I love how the variegated threads make it look like there are lots more thread colours used than there actually is. It just makes me happy to look at, spring is on the way and this pattern feels very spring like. :-)
Buy the Tulip Garden pattern here, or join the Pattern Lab where this pattern is included along with weekly embroidery motifs for just £4.00 per month.
Can you see things/places/people in your “mind’s eye”? A couple of weeks ago, someone I follow on Twitter (@EverydayKnitter) linked to this other Twitter post about aphantasia (not being able to see things in your mind’s eye) and it is really fascinating. It also reminded me of a conversation I had with my sister before Christmas.
My sister was taking part in a craft fair and in preparation for it, she did a trial set up of her booth in their living room. Including the gazebo! Doing a trial makes sense, you want to make sure that things will fit within the space you have. It was the fact that she also set up the gazebo that baffled me. Because she couldn’t imagine what it would look like in her head. Previously, it wouldn’t even have occurred to me that someone wouldn’t be able to imagine what a booth with gazebo would look like.
I sent my sister a link to a podcast about aphantasia and she was like “oh it must be so nice to be able to see in pictures in your head”. Which it is! Especially for working on patterns or when I am sewing a quilt or something. Not that I don’t test things or make sketches but I can usually get a rough idea of what I’m making before I even start making it. It doesn’t always work out exactly as I pictured it in my head but that’s life. :-)
I kept thinking about aphantasia. There is a test you can take and my result was ‘hyperphantasic’ “or an extremely vivid visual imagination”. Which sounds about right! I can easily see objects or places in my head. To the point where I feel like I am in that place. It can be pretty trippy sometimes! I’m wondering if this is why I sometimes feel very, very homesick for my hometown in Denmark. Because in my head I basically ‘feel like’ I am there and then when I snap out of my reverie I am sad that I am not there…
Does this sound familiar? Are you hyperphantansic too? Or maybe aphantasic like my sister? Somewhere in between?
Our brains really are marvellous, mysterious places! :-)
Have a lovely weekend!
x Carina
Something I Am Enjoying
On the Sunday/Monday before the start of Lent, Danes eat fastelavnsboller, Lenten or carnival buns. You can buy them in every bakery, café, supermarket etc. Of course, I don’t live in Denmark so I have to bake them myself. :-)
They are baked with a filling inside, usually it is a mix of sugar and butter, sometimes with marzipan too (my favourite). And they are usually cut in half and then whipped cream is added, delicious! I thought maybe you’d like to try to make some? You can download my recipe here. :-)
Join the Pattern Lab and get this week’s motif:
That's a really beautiful pattern! Love the textures created by the chain stich and satin stitch together. It looks like the perfect sewing project for spring.