Stephen West appears to be a madman as of late – in June he published Westknits Book 4: Made for Movement, he did a followup to his wildly successful Mystery KAL in July, the Rockefeller shawl, there is a much anticipated Westknits book 5: Midgard coming out (we’re a fan of anything featuring Cirilia Rose, so this book is sure to be a winner).
If that wasn’t enough, Stephen recently released his Choreo Knitalong, a month long pattern subscription that is comprised of four patterns, all inspired by movement and the relationship between stretch and tension within a knitted garment. The first pattern in the KAL is the Geyser Stretch, a three-color shawl that showcases a simple yet elegant color striping sequence and the perfect opportunity for color mixing and tonal variations within different yarn.
Geysir Stretch by Stephen West. Image © Stephen West
Unwilling to miss out on the fun, we decided to hold a KAL here at Kelbourne Woolens headquarters!
Color is everything when it comes to a new project, choosing that perfect colorway to compliment the design you’ve come to love. The pattern calls for two colors of Terra and one color of Savannah, so the Kelbourne Woolens team decided to join in on the Westknis knitalong, and here are the color stories we came up with.
Courtney chose a dark, more muted color palette based off of a picture she took in her backyard (Yes, that is truly her backyard!) The fog settling on the river allows the picture to showcase a more muted color story and inspired Courtney for more tonal neuturals with subtle pops of color.
L to R: Terra in black walnut, Savannah in cabernet, Terra in coal wood.
Picking from the nature theme, Leah was inspired by figs and the contrast between the fig skin and the delectable center. The contrast between the fig, cutting board and light neutral background is a play on contrasting colors.
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L to R: Terra in wild clary, Savannah in hickory, Terra in chestnut.
For Meghan, spice is not only used in cooking, but for color inspiration as well. In this gorgeous picture depicting the tonal variations in different spices, Meghan truly wanted to showcase a warm range of color within her palette. The brown balances the yellow and red and grounds this vivid colorway.
L to R: Terra in chestnut, Savannah in marigold, Terra in madder.
Kate took her color inspiration from this Icelandic volcanic river photographed by Andre Ermolaev. She absolutely loved the way the bright turquoise, deep purple and chartreuse green played off one another and chose her colors accordingly.
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L to R: Terra in olive leaf , Savannah in seafoam, Terra in belladonna.
Keeping with the nature theme, Maura chose a picture she took of a gorgeous sunset in the city of Philadelphia. This picture showcases the subtly of color mixing within the clouds and the variation of pinks contrasting the blue sky. Maura chose a more analogous and warm colorway for her Choreo, which will add a nice pop of color for the winter months.
L to R: Terra in woad light, Savannah in persimmon, Terra in hyacinth.
We can’t wait for the pattern to be released on Friday!
For a list of the full like of Terra and Savannah, you can check out the full line of Fibre Company yarns here. For a list of stockists who may carry Terra and Savannah, check out our stockist page here.
We can’t wait to see what colors you come up with to knit your very own Choreo!
