Byzantine

"Once out of nature I shall never take
My bodily form from any natural thing,
But such a form as Grecian goldsmiths make
Of hammered gold and gold enameling
To keep a drowsy Emperor awake;
Or set upon a golden bough to sing
To lords and ladies of Byzantium
Of what is past, or passing, or to come."

-Sailing to Byzantium by Yeats

Saint Mark's Basilica (Italian: Basilica di San Marco a Venezia), the cathedral church of Venice, is the most famous of the city's churches and one of the best known examples of Byzantine architecture. It lies on St Mark's Square (in the San Marco sestiere or district) adjacent and connected to the Doge's Palace. Originally it was the "chapel" of the Venetian rulers, and not the city's cathedral. Since 1807 it has been the seat of the Patriarch of Venice, archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Venice. For its opulent design, gilded Byzantine mosaics, and its status as a symbol of Venetian wealth and power, from the 11th century on the building was known by the nickname Chiesa d'Oro (Church of gold).

Mosaics were more central to Byzantine culture than to that of Western Europe. Byzantine church interiors were generally covered with golden mosaics. Mosaic art flourished in the Byzantine Empire from the 6th to the 15th century. The majority of Byzantine mosaics were destroyed without trace during wars and conquests, but the surviving remains still form a fine collection.

-courtesy of Wikipedia

When searching for a name for this stole design, I was forcibly struck by the memory of St. Mark's basilica in Venice. The church glows with the reflection of light struck golden from the glorious mosaics which cover every surface. It is stunning.

All too often, when we see images like the following:


We forget that these mosaics are much diminished by age and wear. The originals were vibrant jewel boxes of color.

It is in that spirit, that I named my newest design:

BYZANTINE
$6

MATERIALS:
6 balls Noro Silk Garden Light, color 2014
size 9 (US) needles

SIZE:
20 inches wide by 72-82 inches long
length will vary, due to necessity of matching up the color placement of different balls

GAUGE:
4 stitches and 7 rows = one inch (blocked)

ADVANCED BEGINNER
SKILLS NEEDED - CHART READING

I LOVE this design. So easy to do and such beautiful colors. You would think it was the result of painstaking multi-stranded, two-handed, hard-to-juggle fair isle.

But it's not!

This is mosaic knitting, where you knit two rows in each "color", slipping the other stitches from the row below to form the design.


This is a six-stitch, sixteen-row repeat. And since your wrong side rows are repeats of the previous row, the pattern is easily memorized.

Done on size nine needles, it practically pours off the needles. And it is so much fun to watch the colors develop.

I used only one color of the Silk Garden Lite. I simply started the two strands at a different point in the color run.

I also adjusted the colors as I went. If I didn't like the way it was shaping up, it was easy to break one of the strands, take some of the yarn out, rejoin and continue on.

This one was so easy and so much fun, I took it on vacation with me and completed it while my grandson played at my feet...

Or on the dock...

In stolen moments...

And it still got done! (A minor miracle for someone who has 50 plus WIPs and barely a handful of FOs)

I know this isn't a polished shot, but I just had to show you the length...


I can't wait to wear it - maybe to see Julie and Julia at the movies this weekend? Air-conditioning be damned!

You will definitely be seeing more mosaics coming your way in the future - just too much fun.

Ah, fair Byzantium! Your colors sing...

Comme Ci, Comme Ça

I always say, "Comme ci, comme ca,"
And go my way - Comme ci, comme ca.
Since you are gone, nothing excites me.
Since you are gone, no one delights me.
And I go on - Comme ci, comme ca,
Midnight till dawn - Comme ci, comme ca.

But should we meet, that would excite me.
And should you smile, that would delight me.
I'd live again to love again,
But until then...
"Comme ci, comme ca."

-Tito Puente

We got back from the great state of Michigan on Monday night, but I have had little time to gather my thoughts or my knitting since my return.

The past week was definitely a family vacation. We spent most of our time with Baby Boy/Family Man and his family, before their departure from the cabin on Friday, then we hung out for a couple more hard earned days of rest and recovery, before heading south again.

We ate whitefish and burgers while the baby chowed down on grilled cheese, grapes, and Cheerios. We wondered when it was going to get warm enough to swim in the c-o-l-d lake, while we took walks with the Cadillac of strollers, and threw the Frisbee around the yard. We stacked cups with Conner, and drank from wine glasses with the grown ups. We played cards with the parents and peek-a-boo with the baby.

And I discovered I can make a killer turkey call that always gets a chortle out of the wee one.

On Monday, my grandson Conner celebrated his first birthday and last night, Eldest Son completed the final requirement for his degree in music from Indiana University - his senior recital. A good time was had by all involved in both events and we are so proud of Eldest Son. The control and proficiency, to say nothing of the artistry, on display last night was absolutely thrilling.

We had a rather helter skelter evening - we actually missed the first piece in the program because we got zapped by record breaking rainfall (4 inches in two hours) which flooded streets, knocked out traffic lights, and snarled rush hour travel for hours on the south side of Indianapolis.

Once we cleared the city, DH drove to Bloomington as if being chased down by the fiends of hell, while my dad, who made the trip down from Michigan to attend, kept a lookout for roving bands of polizei. I would like to say it was an exciting ride, but I was too busy alternately cowering in the back seat and wringing my hands over the fact that we were late, late, late for a VERY important date...sigh...

We had a great week, even when some not so great things happened.

Comme ci, comme ca - like this, like that...

Today my father has returned home, my grandson and son have been suitably feted, and I can finally catch my breath, savor the silence of my empty house, and get a little work done! Family is a wonderful thing - actually the MOST wonderful thing - but it can be hard to get a row in edgewise...

Since I was, technically, OFF last week, I spent what little knitting time I squeezed in, playing.

Some things worked...


This is Nashua Geologie in the color Shale. The yarn is a lovely worsted weight brushed mohair wool blend, with superior color saturation.


I really like the pattern (which will be easier to see when blocked) with the color changes in the yarn. I struggled with the urge to use Noro Yuzen, Silk Garden, or Kureyon, but decided the color of this one is just too hard to resist.

And some things didn't work so well.


This is an attempt at graduated colors, but the colors just aren't working for me.

The yarn is Blue Heron Silk Noil. You will probably see this yarn in Saturday's Stash Sale.


Some things got finished - YES! I can actually WEAR this one...Look for the Byzantine pattern later this week. Need to block her out before her beauty shots. That's Noro Silk Garden Light #2014, btw...

And some things got frogged after multiple fits & starts:

Dream in Color Baby in Cloud Jungle. Too regimented - needs to be softer, more free form. Larger needles. Less edge. More float...like the clouds she is named for.

A little of this...a little of that...comme ci...comme ca...

Hey! Two out of four ain't bad... How's your batting average this summer?