Aran Stitches

When visiting my mother in the fall, she gave me the Aran sweater that her mother knitted her many years ago. I love and am inspired by the various techniques that make such a beautiful collection of stitches. Some say that each pattern has a traditional interpretation, the patterns are symbols representing and protecting the hardworking fisherman; others argue that it's all fiction. I'm interested in the idea nonetheless, the notion that one repetitively knits these patterns/makes these specific marks into garments, in hopes to protect another while hugging and warming their bodies with wool.

I want to experiment with this kind of mark-making. I am doing a sketchbook for The Sketchbook Project, with the theme "It's Winter Where You Are..." and it's due by the end of this month. This is one spread of many to come, inspired by my grandmother's sweater:

The Original:


And messing around in Photoshop for fun: