The second word I drew from the words suggested on Patreon last month is Junco, suggested by Enting, a Patreon supporter. Juncos are cute little birds that I associate with wintertime. (Not so much where I live, but where I grew up.)

I really liked the way version 1 was coming out, but then I was pleasantly surprised when I turned it into version 2 by how much it looks like a non-secret code stitch pattern. I like my stitch patterns that look like arrangements of plant cells, but I think it’s fun when they turn out looking nothing like that.

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 make a chart for any craft that uses a square grid for designing; this goes in a separate post. (I’ll be publishing this next week.)

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

The first word I drew from the words suggested on Patreon this month is Zaftig, suggested by Kate, a Patreon supporter. It’s a rather tall and skinny stitch pattern for the word, but at least the motifs within it are beautifully round and voluptuous.

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 make a chart for any craft that uses a square grid for designing; this goes in a separate post.

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