Context, texture, photo shoots

Now that part of my job is to design knitting patterns and take pictures of the pieces, I have found myself increasingly drawn to different all-over textures, both in the stitch patterns that I am settling on for the garments, or out in the world. I am attracted to richly textured stitches, dense, "nubbly" fabric in luxurious yarn, in mostly muted colors. I also am interested in the look of lumpy, bumpy, person-made surfaces, for instance in walkways, roads and walls.
Above is some melting snow on my stamped concrete walkway. It's pretty neat that concrete can be trucked to my yard, poured, and stamped with a rubber mold to resemble natural rock.

This is cobblestone in front of my house. Beautiful and functional, and put there by human workers. I think I like the orderliness of it. Brick next to brick, placed carefully (I imagine) like a consciously formed row upon row of knit stitches.
I'm glad I saved this basket, I love the look and the contrast with the washed, uncombed wool and the corner of a new knitted piece, done in The Fibre Company's Terra in one of my favorite colors, Butternut. The pattern will be debuted at an event March 6 at "...Have You Any Wool?" in Berkley, MI, then will be available at your LYS, along with the Jul Pedestal Buttons and closures, which give you the ability to transform your work for fit, look, and functionality.
Here is a little piece of a larger wrap that reminded me of cobblestone. There are so many options for how to wear it with the closures. This pattern is being test knit as we speak, by one of my new Pittsburgh area Ravelry friends.
This is a picture of the hand rivet press at Laura's Savage MD studio. I think this is from my first visit to the Jul studio, in March 2010. I thought it was a beautiful image and I surreptitiously took the picture with my phone. Did you know that each piece that comes from Jul, whether a shawl pin, a bag handle, or the new closures (jewelry for your knitting or crocheted work) passes through Laura's hands? EVERYTHING in her line is made by people, and she makes sure it leaves her studio as beautiful as it can be. I have been "apprenticing" with her a little to learn how to fill orders, so that she will be able to make a trip to Indonesia this summer. It is great, but challenging, to make something by hand and to send it out so that people can enjoy its beauty and usefulness.
Above is a picture of the lovely Jade, a friend of my friend Marilyn, who did a great photo shoot for us yesterday. My husband, Keith, took all of the pictures, and he got some exceptional shots. This is a new slouchy hat shown with two large, one medium, and one small Pedestal Button in patent leather. The pattern and buttons will also be available at a LYS near you! Such a simple pattern that knits up so quickly in The Alpaca Yarn Company's Snuggle, an alpaca/wool blend in a bulky weight. Jade said she liked wearing the pieces because they were both functional (warm) and beautiful, and the feel of the yarn and the creative styling ability of the closures made it more special, and unique. We took the photos within half a block of where Jade and Marilyn work, which makes me happy. I think it is cool that there is so much visual interest right in our own backyards, and all around us where we live, work, and hang out. Also, I had worked at the same place 20 years ago (that's where I met Marilyn,) which is getting me started thinking about context. More on that later...

There are two walls that I have had my eye on that I will photograph later today, and another model shoot is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon.