Oceana

Oceana (so named for the colorway, and also because this thing is bigger and wider than the deep blue sea) was SO much fun to make... and quick!

Being a very improvizatory knitter, I came up with this basic formula for making big ol’ blankets quickly and easily, without a whole lot of guess work. Further more, it easily allows you to use up bits and odd pieces of yarn sitting around that don’t have homes.

I knit this on the bias, increasing (kfb) at the beginning and end of each RS row, while maintaining a 5 st garter border on the WS, and otherwise St st. Quite simple, really.

Begin by CO 1 st. (One is the loneliest number…) Do this weird little triple increase by knitting into the front, back, AND THE FRONT AGAIN before finishing the st (kfbf). That was your RS. Now, knit across. 3 st. That was your WS. Like I mentioned above, kfb at first and last st (RS), then knit across back of WS until you have enough sts to create a 5 st garter border on either side. Heck, the border can be as big or little as you want, and you may not even want to have a damn border at all. It’s all up to you!

When you get the piece as wide as you want (or as wide as will fit on the needles), you can do one of two things:

1) For a square blanket, begin decreasing (k2tog) instead of increasing (kfb). Work the WS the same. Easy-peasy.

2) For a rectangular blanket, increase (kfb) at beginning of the RS row, but instead of increasing at the END of the row, decreas (k2tog). This will cause the work to slant. As Martha Stewart would say, “it’s a good thing.” When you’ve gotten it as long as you want, start decreasing (k2tog) both times, not just at the end of the RS row. Work the WS the same. Also easy-peasy.

• Remember, since you’re working this on the bias, what you have on your needles isn’t the width of the blanket, it’s actually the across…hypotenuse…whatever the hell you want to call it. The actual width of the blanket is the part stretching from your first stitch up to your needle. :)

For this particular blanket, I used between 2 and 5 strands of yarn at a time, depending on the thickness!  Just throw caution to the wind an go -- it's very liberating.  You can create subtle gradiations by changing only one strand at a time, rather than change all of them like you would need to if you were making stripes.  Then again, it's up to you!

Christmas in Greensboro

I went to see my friends Aaron and Meghan in Greensboro tonight for their little Christmas dinner... very nice!  Ham, mashed potatoes, brownies, green beans.... yum!  Being that I haven't seen their apartment "proper" since they mover in, I brought over combination House-warming/Christmas gifts!  

I gave them one of the big dishcloth stars, as well as a kitchen towel.  I was very pleased with the towel -- kntted with Sugar n' Cream, as well as some recycled cotton sweater yarn, it made for a cute little towel!  I designed it with the "dimples" stitch from Vogues first stitchionary... kind of like an odd variation of "eye of partridge" and "linen" put together.  Made a very flat, dense fabric.  I'll have to make another, being that I failed to take a photo.

I had an epiphany today (don't worry, it didn't hurt) -- I'm making ALL the guys in my family hats.  The end.  No discussion, no fuss... that's what they're getting.  My oldest brother actually REQUESTED one.  He's like a living G.I. Joe.  I know, right?  Granted, he wants it in black or grey, but I'm more than willing to oblige.  My step-dad also wanted one that would keep him warm while he's doing his outside stuff.... whatever that may be.  (As a side note, did you know that a man on a motorcycle can carry a 15 foot ladder down the Interstate?  THAT's a funny story, and THAT's my step-dad.  But I digress...)  My older brother, while I'm sure he would rather receive a handle of whiskey, is getting a hat.  Tough.

I htink I'm gonna pull out the dusty Inovations knitting machine -- I simply have too many projects to finish.  If I take the train home, I'll be able to finish my handknit stuff before we celebrate post-Christmas Christmas, but I'm not about to handknit three or four 7-foot long stockinette stitch scarves if I can whip one out during an episode of Jeopardy.  

"Hand-Knitting four 7-foot long scarves as a last-minute Christmas gift is known as this... Coty?" "What is 'A waste of time?'"

"Correct!"

"Thanks, Alex.  I'll go with 'Ways to make the Holidays Hell' for $800..."

If I start soon enough, I can whip out some little wrist warmers to match.  I think I can.... I still need to finish my mom's poncho, and make stuff for little neices....

crap.

Oh well, 'tis the season, eh?

Christmas Knits (cont.)

So, I realized that, after naming my last entry as "Christmas Knits", I didn't mention anything I've knitted at all, much less for Christmas.  To rectify that situation, here we go!

First, let me say that it's funny how Christmas always sneaks up on me, even when I'm looking for it.  I kept thinking, "Coty, you need to cast-on for that hat," or "Why haven't you started that poncho already, for crying out loud???"  It's a little embarrassing when you get "called out" by yourself, especially when you were right all along.  So now I have an ungodly amount of projects to finish.  He he... such is the life...

Anyhow, I did find time to get some stuff done already.  As an appetizer, here are some little pretties for the Christmas tree!  

I found the pattern on knitsgifts.com, and absolutely love it!  I thought of embellishing with beads, which turned out MUCH better than I could have hoped!  They took me about an hour and a half start to finish, with frequent breaks.  VERY cute, VERY quick, and a VERY good stash-buster! 

I also made little stars from a pattern called "Knitted Stars" (very inventive).  These little guys only took about fifteen minutes a piece!  Knit on straight needles, they only have five rows.  Pretty cool!

Here they are:

There are plenty of other photos that I;ll post later, including an exclusive scarf of my own designing!  (That's called a teaser, kids)  Until next time, I'll be knitting.... and knitting.... and knitting....

Christmas Knits

So, it was brought to my immediate attention (thanks, knottykat and Rachel!) that I have been a slacker.  It's bad when one can't even take the time to update a blog once in what, three months?  Five?  No matter -- I'm back now (at least, for now) and I'm typing up some garbage.  Hope you like it.

First off, I'm getting a jump-start on one of my New Year's Resoluitions by starting this blog again.  It's good for peple to have routines, regimens, and rituals.  What's the difference between blogging everyday and running a mile everyday?  

Well, obviously a lot, but you get the point.

Furthermore, I am going to slant this blog to be more knitting related, rather than a potpouri of personal tripe.  You can't rave about something "off topic" if you don't have one to begin with, right?

Having said all of that, this will hopefully be the site for publishing my knitting designs, which will hopefully make me wildly rich and famous.  I'll be holding my breath, so if you don't want me to die just send me a check.  Or money order.  I take cash, too.

Here is my PhD Proposal

Yeah, so this is my proposed plan of study for the PhD in "Technology in Media and Society" track in the ATLAS program at UC Boulder.  Whoah.  That was a lot.  

Anyway, have fun!  he he.... how boring....

It is my purpose upon acceptance into the ATLAS PhD program to research the juxtaposition of aural and visual expression, and develop practical ways to connect the two using technology.  It is my goal to use this gained knowledge and experience to create a forum in which many different kinds of people can better understand analytical thought, global aesthetics, and themselves.

 

   For as long as I could remember, I have related music with color.  I have been around music and art for my entire life, so I just thought that this kind of connection was a normal part of thinking.  Whether I listened to a Mozart sonata or a Dave Brubeck tune, I always had the sensation of vivid, ever-changing streaming colors.  As I grew older, I recognized that there were several consistencies with my multi-sensory experience, and as I studied music in college, I discovered early on that I was an exception among my sphere of influence.  While this proved very helpful in aural skills classes (being that I could relate musical keys to specific colors), I wanted to know more!  Were there other people like me, and if so, did they have the same association ns as I did?  The more I researched on my own, the more I uncovered. 

   I know that it is common place for artists to be inspired by each other, despite the difference in medium.  It is my belief, however, that an artist is an artist, and that his medium is no more than an outward expression of the thought process that lies within.  For instance, some acrylic artists approach painting the same way that some composers and arrangers approach writing music.  This tells me that there is an underlying artistic language, and that if you can find the places where these genres of expression overlap, one can discover the essence of global aesthetics – a sort of Rosetta Stone for the arts, I suppose. 

   I also believe that these skills, while more pronounced in some individuals than in others, are present in everyone.  Everyone has a voice.  More specifically, then, it is my goal to use technology to research and develop a way to incorporate aural and visual expression together, in one interlinked platform.  Finding new ways to convey ideas and make connections is absolutely critical to the development of several types of people, and could aid in the research of autism, attention-deficit disorder, and countless other learning disabilities.  How do you teach something you can’t see?  I have been around vocal studios long enough to know that being able to convey a visual of the concept you are trying to teach is key.

   While I was researching synesthesia, I stumbled across one of my favorite composers for piano – Alexander Scriabin.  He designed the “clavier à lumières”, or color organ.  The concept for the instrument was that it was to be played like an organ, but rather than sound it would display different colors according to the appropriate key that was being struck.  Although he included the instrument in a few of his scores, it was never realized.

   I realize that simply associating a color with a note and constructing an instrument that displays fancy lights is little more than a scene from “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”  I propose to venture much deeper into this project, and actually formulate a set-up that analyzes the musical material being input, and display a visual that conveys that.  For instance, if a C major chord is struck, rather than displaying a C color, an E color, and a G color, a C Major color would be displayed.  If the chord is struck loudly, perhaps the color would be very saturated and vibrant, while if it was struck less loudly, it would be a more muted tone. 

   Several other synesthetic composers and musicians have described their list of color-note associations, and I noticed that there were many similarities between their lists and my own.  Furthermore, the incorporation of texture was present in nearly every famous synesthesiate.  My plan for implementing this program would be as follows:

·         Research sound/color frequencies in the electro-magnetic spectrum and determine if there exists a link

·         Conduct aural/visual association tests on several control groups to uncover similarities in associations, thus discovering an underlying universal aesthetic consciousness

·         Develop musical tonalities and give them a visual/”chromatic” identity, both with color and texture

·         Work with computer technicians to create a program that displays an intricately developed visual product based on the musical input

·         Use MIDI technology to interpret chordal or tonal musical inputs to be relayed through the program, thus “translating” the aural input into a related visual product

   It is said that humans depend on sight more than any other sense.  I strongly feel, then, that thoroughly understanding the correlations between the senses is especially important to those who experience some kind of sensory loss.  I worked closely with an individual who had a hearing-impaired daughter.  She received a cochlear implant when she was five years old (which is unusually late), and it was absolutely fascinating to watch her development!  She was such a bright child – and it was remarkable to watch her journey from total silence and hand signals to hearing sounds and responding vocally!  Studying music helps with the development of pattern recognition, creative thought, and analytical thinking, just to name a few things.  By using this technology, one could get the intellectual benefits of heard sound “visually”, or vice versa. 

   Whether for the research of the existence of global aesthetics, for skills development in blind, deaf, autistic, or autistic individuals, or for a more realized expression of an artistic “vision”, I feel that this is definitely a field of study that needs to be looked into further.  I also feel that there is no other program existing in one single educational department that satisfies my research and development needs, and that the ATLAS program at the University of Colorado at Boulder is particularly adept at fulfilling all of my aspirations in having this project actualized. 

 

I propose that my course of study include (but not be limited to) the following “approved arts, media, and entrepreneurship” courses:

ATLS 7000       (1)        ATLAS PhD Seminar

ARTS 5540      (3)        Generative Art.

ARTS 5126      (3)        Digital Art 2

ARTS 5176      (3)        New Directions in Digital Art

COMM 6010  (3)        Communication Research and Theory

COMM 6030  (3)        Qualitative Research Methods

CSCI 5229      (3)        Computer Graphics

CSCI 6838      (3)        User Interface Design

JOUR 6051     (3)        Visual Communication

MUSC 5081    (3)        Applications in Music Technology

MUSC 5121    (3)        Advanced Topics in Music Technology

 

I also wish to work with the following faculty members:

·         Michael Theodore, Music

·         Mark Amerika, Art and Art History

·         Leysia Palen, Computer Science

·         Bud Coleman, Theater and Dance

 

   Upon completion of this program, it is my plan to become an established professor and an active member of the research world.  I hope to teach interdisciplinary studies specialized in the arts, aided by technology.  I also strive to further my knowledge of how humans interact, interpret, and express with regards to the senses.  I feel that there exists a global language of aesthetics, and that by learning how to translate this, one can better understand and communicate with others and better understand himself.

 

 

   Like I briefly described above, I have always approached my life in an interdisciplinary way.  I was constantly immersing myself in new cultures, arts, experiences, people, and ideas.  From art, music, and theater, to French, German, and Russian language study, to synthetic division and trigonometry, I have always believed in a multi-faceted view of life.  I believe that I am a perfect fit for your department of study, being that I am very self-motivated, passionate, detail-oriented, multi-tasking, and have always had a thirst to dig deeper and understand better.  In most of my classes up to this point, I have always felt cheated and slighted.  Just when I wanted to dive in deeper, we had to get out of the pool, so to speak.  I long to be in a place where I can explore topics with little or no limitation!  I want to place myself among like-minded people who strive for something greater than the small-town, Alabama mentality I grew up with. 

   I have worked with MIDI technology, and as Music Director with several professional theater companies have incorporated fully sequenced productions with live on-stage musicals.  It was so invigorating to me to be able to teach music to so many different people, relating it in so many different ways, incorporating musical nuances according to staging and choreography, and eventually constructing a full-length musical production using MIDI technology with all the pizzazz of a professional Broadway orchestra!  The whole multi-faceted experience helped me to realize that my passion cannot be contained to just one disciple, to just one area.  My strength is not in my art, music, theater experience, or computer knowledge – it is in the combination of all these areas.  It is my hope that, upon completion of this PhD program, I can be an effective educator, researcher, and communicator that spans the genres of music, art, theater, psychology, computer-aided production, and education.  This is why the ATLAS program is right for me, and this is why I am right for the ATLAS program.

My Day Off

This one goes out to all my Catholic friends -- Rachel -- so, have fun!

Actually, the Music Director job that I got is a show based on the music of Tom Lehrer.  It should be hilarious!  It's called "Tomfollery", and will be at the Kennedy Theater located in the Progress Energy Center in downtown Raleigh during the month of October.  I haven't seen the score yet, but I'm sure it's going to be easy enough.

Having mentioned that, I'm kind of behind on a few other projects -- I need to FINISH that kid's cabled sweater I was commissioned to knit.  Of course it wasn't a big deal a month ago, and it's still not late, but it definitely needs to be done SOON!  I just haven't felt like knitting in so long.  It's really tragic, I know.  Hey, it's Thursday!  Maybe I'll finally get up to my knitting group tonight... Hmm.... we'll see!

I also need to finish my socks I've been working on.  Damn, the more I think about it, the more unfinished knit projects I have!  That's ridiculous.  I have a scarf in MALABRIGO that I started for me, was going to give to someone special, then that someone special dumped me, so now it's for me again.  But hell, it's malabrigo!  I'm just glad that I didn't gift it yet!  That would have made me SOOOOOO mad!  Mmm.... my own malabrigo scarf!  Now I can't wait!  AND, it's a brand new design!  Simple, contemporary, and all mine!  It's knit on the bias, but there's a stripe going up the middle.  So, think of a charcoal grey scarf with a chartreuse/lemon grass green stripe running up the middle -- but the stitches go diagonally!  Pretty cool, I must say.  I'll post the pattern if anyone is interested.  (btw, how does one sell patterns?  I would like to get into knit design, and maybe make a little $ on the side.  I know it's not much, but that would be cool!)

Oh yeah, and I also need to email a bunch of teachers at UC Boulder to see about this Ph. D. program... I really need their input in selecting courses and applying!  I simply must get into that program!  The deadline is December, but I plan on having my stuff in sometime in August.  Ugh.... transcripts, resume, letters of recommendation.... it's so much!  But it'll all be worth it if I can get in and get a teaching/research assistant job!  

Until then, though, it's just work work work work work.  If anyone has any excess money lying around, that would be GREAT!

Crazy Hair!

I have crazy hair now!  Long story short, I wanted/needed something new and dramatic in my life, that wasn't too new and dramatic!  I went to Salon Blu after a particularly abysmal day at work -- Chauna can work wonders!  She totally made my hair do freaking awesome things...

Here are some pictures!

  

As you can imagine, the photos simply don't do it justice -- imagine shades of mango, gold, and lemon blending into each other... on top of my head.  That's pretty much what it is.  Oh, and FREAKING AWESOME.

Other than getting amazing haircuts, I've just been working.  I got a Music Director job with a professional theater in downtown Raleigh -- short-term, but paying none-the-less.  ::yawn::

I love wine.  Especially after a long day of work.  Have I mentioned lately that I really couldn't live without my wine?