Juggling 80 Balls!

As most of you know, several million years ago, while on location for a film being shot in France, I began hand knitting. Being a novice knitter, one is never informed of the inherent difficulties, or traumas, which lurk just beyond the exit of the yarn shop. For my initial project, I decided to turn Renoir’s “Water Lilies” painting into a rather dramatic, knitted, wall hanging in wool. In my ignorance, I assumed this intarsia project may require an entire month to finish. After all, isn’t intarsia merely stockinet? Isn’t a wall hanging simply a rectangle? Aren’t all beginning knitters supposed to choose as their first project a single color, garter stitch, muffler?

Phase 1: Throwing Learning Curves

Laden with every book on knitting, plus every skein of wool they had in the multitudinous color palette I had chosen, I trudged out of the yarn shop. Somehow a complete set of every sized circular needle, found it’s way into my parcels. All this made me several thousand Francs lighter. Remember, on a film set, there is no provision made allowing a costume designer to leave the set for anything as mundane as taking knitting lessons. Therefore, all learning must be accomplished through books. I am also in France, where the native language is anything but English…including printed material.

After a week’s trial and mostly error, I had taught myself to decently cast on and knit a stockinet swatch with only one color of yarn.

Perusing the only pattern book that contained a 3-color Argyle, I rationalized the process by which more than 2 colors of yarn are introduced into a pattern. Naturally, I didn’t wish to waste any more time, or yarn, so I never practiced this skill. Why bother? It reads simple enough. Fortified with this wealth of knowledge and experience, I rushed off, with my sketch pad, to spend a couple of hours at the Louvre intently staring at the Renoir.

Phase 2: Design Nightmares

Transferring all of my sketches into one cohesive pattern became the most exhilarating and frustrating moments I spent while in France. I vaguely remember exhausting several pads of graph paper, though. Knowing as little as I did then, I eagerly kept plunging further into the awaiting abyss. Most intarsia designs, no matter how complex, usually fit nicely on a single sheet of graph paper. This “jewel” completely covered 14 sheets of ¼ inch graph paper. This designer learned quickly the meaning of moderation in design.

Phase 3: Ready, Set, Begin

Originally the entire wall hanging was to be knitted in one piece. However, after attempting to cast on the thousands of stitches needed, and running out of space on the needles, this plan was quietly abandoned. The next attempt divided the wall hanging into 7 panels. As I would later realize, this was the best decision. Many of us who love our knitting machines still miss the portability of hand knitting. Can you imagine little me hefting this king sized spread everywhere I traveled? Thank goodness I made the crucial decision to knit panels.

It’s now been about two months since entering that hateful yarn shop to begin this hideous task. There are still 6¾ panels yet to knit; although, I have finally mastered the technique of changing yarn color every other stitch or so. As with machine knitting, intarsia by hand requires a small ball of yarn each time a color is introduced. After several hundred rows, you may be spending more time untangling all these balls than literally knitting.

Machine intarsia at least keeps all the yarn confined to the space directly under the machine. Escaping to answer the phone, or any other of life’s little annoyances, is a relatively simple matter of pushing back your chair. However, intarsia by hand usually requires the “jaws of life” to extricate yourself from the 80 balls of yarn, which are miraculously beginning to macramé themselves to everything in sight. It is readily apparent that Houdini never knitted an intarsia pattern.

Phase 4: Months Later–Still Treading Water

This poor wall hanging has been seen in over 13 countries, by hundreds of grips, electricians, make-up artists, actors, directors, and a host of dubious spectators. The pristine graph sheets are now tatters being held together with every kind of tape imaginable. There have been several offers to “make me one, too.” The most hilarious attempt to while away the hours came when I decided to drag out the project aboard an airplane. We all know how limited is the space per passenger. Imagine 80 balls of yarn rolling everywhere on the turbulent flight from Hades. Flight attendants absolutely adore knitters. I do recommend knitting on a plane. Just make certain that it is not an intarsia project, if you value your life.

Oh, yes, the wall hanging is a spectacular hit. It’s adorning a wall in a private art collection in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. I get to visit it once a year!