High Contrast, the inspiration

The inspiration for the High Contrast doubleknit blanket came from two different places.

The first: Vienna.

Vienna!

A city full of museums, museums and more museums, I spent 5 pleasant days last summer staring at stuff. And what stuck with me was the Modern Art Museum and Peter Kogler's designs.

From the gift shop; too self-conscious to take pics of real art.

I like Kogler's striking black and white motifs. Upon returning home, I attempted to simplify and chart some of his designs, but they were too intricate and detailed. With this idea buzzing around in my head, we took off on another trip, to Minnesota and the MN State Fair.

I regret not taking any photos of it, but the fiber arts competition was intense. Rooms and rooms of knit, crochet, weaving, spinning... It seemed like there was a trend, however, of doubleknit items winning ribbons. I learned to doubleknit earlier that year and was surprised by how easy it is and how impressive the reversible FOs were.

So there you have it: black and white coupled with doubleknit. Everything else evolved as I started working on my first design. I tripped up and learned a lot along the way, but hopefully the next one will be easier for it.

If you are ever in Vienna, everything is cool, but my particular recommendation is to check out the Historical Musical Instruments Collection- not AT, but PART OF the Art History Museum (Kunsthistoriches Museum Wien). I'm a nerd for stringed instruments, especially historical ones.

Basically drooled on the glass of this one.

Also: after days on the very crowded, touristy streets of Vienna, the quiet, empty hallways were a very welcome treat.

Ah, peace.