The first word I drew from the words suggested on Patreon this month is Lichen, suggested by Andria and Bookwyrm, two Patreon supporters. I’m very pleased with the lyre motifs I see in this one, even though they have nothing to do with lichen.

Each month, my Patreon backers have the chance to suggest words for me to encode as knitting stitches. I make three of these into knitting stitches each month: the second and third (posted on the first day of the next month) are drawn from the collection of new words; the first is drawn from the collection of unused words. A random number generator helps me choose these, and then I get to work, first turning the letters into numbers, then charting the numbers onto grids in various ways. Finally, when I make the chart into lace, I turn the marked squares into yarnovers and work out where to place the corresponding decreases. (I usually make lace; occasionally I make cables instead.) I also made a Lichen needlework chart for any craft that uses a square grid for designing.

The stitch patterns are not meant in any way to look like the original words; the words are the seeds of my creativity.

The word I drew from my word hoard for this stitch pattern is Yearn, suggested by Bonnie C, a Patreon supporter.

Much as I like my stitch work, I’ve been feeling as if I’d like to stretch my abilities, and this pushed me in a couple of ways. Six years ago, I tried working with vertical symmetry, and found it difficult. When I looked at the possible charts for yearn, this yarnover layout caught my eye; I also realized I didn’t necessarily need to aim for perfect vertical symmetry, though this isn’t too far off. I also felt that since this was turning into a stitch pattern with a lot of cables that it might be good to add a little reverse stockinette as a contrast background. I’m really pleased with the result. (The reverse stockinette is optional; anywhere there’s a purl dot on the chart can be replaced with a knit square, except for the [k1, p1] symbols above the double yarnovers.)

I did have to invent three different cable/decrease combinations to cope with the layout, however, so this is definitely for those of you who like a bit of a challenge! This does mean I didn’t get a chance to check my work in Stitch Maps, so there’s an increased chance of mistakes, though I double-checked everything a couple extra times.

Each month, my Patreon backers have the chance to suggest words for me to encode as knitting stitches. I make three of these into knitting stitches each month: the second and third (posted on the first day of the next month) are drawn from the collection of new words; the first is drawn from the collection of unused words. A random number generator helps me choose these, and then I get to work, first turning the letters into numbers, then charting the numbers onto grids in various ways. Finally, when I make the chart into lace, I turn the marked squares into yarnovers and work out where to place the corresponding decreases. (I usually make lace; occasionally I make cables instead.) I also made a Yearn needlework chart for any craft that uses a square grid for designing.

The stitch patterns are not meant in any way to look like the original words; the words are the seeds of my creativity.