There are buses at last! Thank you, Mr Mondrian. And apologies for breaking your ‘no diagonals’ rule.
The Dulwich Road buses have been in my plans since the earliest days. They’re such a constant passing presence that I had to give them space in the blanket, with colours and shapes just as bold and geometric in the knitted versions as they are in life. No wheels-on-the-bus-cute-kid’s-jumper style for me.
But how to do it? How to make these vehicles come to life?
First, I thought of big white numbers inside a black central square inside a red frame. But nah!
Next, an all-over houndstooth or plaid in red, grey and black. Nice, but no bold shapes, so also nah.
Then came the disastrous, untidy moquette, with red-grey-black shapes that do a wonderful job of looking like road signs. But buses? Not so much.
Thank goodness, then, for cubism. And for hero of the moment, Piet Mondrian. Once the idea took hold, the chart came quickly, although the intarsia was not as easy to knit as I expected. The asymmetry and black lines required care and the block colours revealed any and all deficiencies in tension. Hope to do better on that score when I knit the second of these.
I not only love this square but also how it works alongside the others and, looking ahead, I’m satisfied the red will add life to the blanket without overpowering the rest. It’s something I’d wondered about.
Gosh! Only six squares since February. I’ll be posting about that soon.
PATTERN
The pdf has all the information needed to knit this square.
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