One inspiration came in the form of a tiny tin box that I picked up in a Texas yarn store several years ago. Contained inside was a delicate hand-made glass bead bracelet, designed for counting off rows of knitting.
Small, functional and handy for travelling - it's lived in a small bag with my current sock project ever since, and although it's a bit fiddly to put on it's become one of my most useful knitting tools.
Another inspiration was a burgeoning stash of buttons, beads, yarn and threads that I'd slowly been acquiring over the years but never actually got round to using for anything other than the odd project. Now and again they'd be rifled through, toyed with and even have tentative plans made about them, but usually they'd be returned to storage for another time.
Of course occasionally there'd be something that I was particularly drawn to - a labradorite bead with flecks of intense blue flashing in the grey stone, tiny circular pieces of shell washed up on a beach, or a particularly juicy colour in a Czech glass bead that just made you want to pop it into your mouth. They would end up being turned into something - a matching necklace and bracelet accented with tiny silver beads, or a simple pendant on a black cord.
A major source of inspiration of a different kind has fuelled my design choices of late. As someone who suffers from an allergy to base metals of the kind normally found in buttons, belt buckles and most costume jewellery found in high street shops, it's lead me to experiment with alternative methods of creating wearable pieces that don't irritate the skin. Leftover sock yarn and a handful of small bright beads can create a glistening choker when crocheted into a long lace and simply wrapped around the neck and tied in a bow. Cotton embroidery thread can be hand knotted and beaded to make a bracelet. Coloured fleece and yarn can be knitted, stabbed and moulded into brooches and other things.
Lastly the motivation to do something has to be there for inspiration to really take hold, and the opening of The Knit Studio in Newcastle upon Tyne last year was the catalyst for me. An oasis from the noise of the city centre a stone's throw away, and a welcome retreat in the grounds of the old Blackfriars monestary which creates it's own sense of peace. I love sitting in the quadrangle watching the birds, and on match days you can hear the roar of the crowd from St James' Park when Newcastle scores a goal. The shop features hard to find yarns, fibre, fabric, books, notions and locally produced handicrafts. I like it for the friendly atmosphere, the ability to pull up a chair, get the knitting out and have a cuppa and pleasant conversation.
This blog is in fact the end result of this. After carefully scanning The Knit Studio for several months I discovered a tiny niche yet to be filled... there were no row counters. My thoughts flew back to the contents of the tiny tin I'd acquired back in Texas all those years ago and set to work on designing my own version - something simple and functional yet something that could also be worn for the joy of it, as a piece of jewellery in it's own right. Something customisable, that could be made personal, unique to the wearer if they so wished.
