14/30: The Double Magic Highlighter Hoodie

[darkemeralds]

It's probably a coincidence, but following Friday's migraine-aura-neurotransmitter-cascade-hangover-hormonally-induced-brainstorm*, my brain shifted gears.





I recently bought some ridiculous yarn, merino wool in neon yellow, with ideas of making myself a hoodie.

Recent realizations about the limitations of my mind have led me to undertake relatively simple knitting projects from clear patterns designed by others. This has gone well. I've finished two successful projects and am nearly done with a third.

I wanted the Burn-Your-Retinas-Yellow Hoodie of Cycling Safety to incorporate some techniques I've barely begun to grasp, and for that, I needed a nice, clear pattern written by a pro. Unfortunately, hours of searching Ravelry turned up nothing remotely right.

So yesterday, in my slightly befogged neurochemical state, I started fiddling. I sketched. I examined commercial hoodies. I looked at sewing patterns. I cut shapes out of grocery bags. I was getting frustrated because my damn brain just would not grasp what I wanted it to grasp, to wit: how a hood could be worked seamlessly from the top down and then flow into the body of a seamless garment.

Then this weird thing happened. It was like I'd been accelerating and accelerating in second gear, tachometer edging worryingly into the red zone, when all at once, clutch, shift, and bam! I leaped ahead. Ten disparate things I already knew (some of them about knitting, some not) just coalesced into a method, and I understood what to do.

Fortunately I had a pen in my hand at the time. I'm 80% sure that I couldn't have retained the idea for more than a few seconds if I hadn't immediately scribbled some notes.

An unknown number of hours later (six, maybe? I know I looked up at one point astonished to see that it was dark out) I had a prototype of the shape that earlier in the day I'd been incapable of visualizing. And what's even stranger is that I think the technique I hit on might almost, maybe, be original.


You start in the center with Judy's Magic Cast On and knit in U-shaped rows with Magic Loop, so it's Double Magic, see?...


See how that works? No, I can barely grasp it myself. But it's cool!


I'm not saying that I want more migraines, but whatever's going on in my brain sure is productive right now.

I'm keeping project notes on Ravelrydarkemeralds if anyone's interested in details.

*which, by the way, is my wholly legitimate reason for being now two days behind in my commitment to Post Daily in June

Comments

[grrlpup]

That is so cool! My knitting is best described as "mostly rectangles...slowly," but I just friended you on Ravelry and look forward to following along. :)

[darkemeralds]

Mostly rectangles...slowly, is where I didn't spend nearly enough time originally, and hence my broken knitting-brain of recent years. This hood-shaping thing was the first sign that maybe connections are being rewired in there.

I've friended you back on Rav!