YARNPLAY BLOG TOUR:
TONIGHT WE ROCK D.C.!
Of Muses
Rock Chick: First off, congrats on the book. It's beautifully done. Seriously, it made me want to get back to knitting for the first time in a long time.
Shobhana: Wow! Thanks, you know, whatever it takes to get you knitting again.
RC: I thought, since we both could be called fans of popular culture, that I would start by asking about your iconic influences. You mentioned Bowie and Edie Sedgewick in Yarnplay . Just how important are muses to your work?
Shobhana: Pretty important. You can't always see their influence directly, but I'm always thinking about them and trying, at least, to reflect their spirit in some way. Let's see, in addition to Bowie and Edie, there's Vivienne Westwood. I know that you love her, too. I think she is just the cat's meow! I'm also heavily influenced by Rei Kawakubo and Yoji Yamamoto, Alexander McQueen. Steve McQueen, too. Iman. Kate Moss.
RC: Good ol' Steve.
Shobhana: Gotta love him! Ali McGraw, too.
RC: It's interesting that you bring up Vivienne. I was just looking through a book of her work and her 70's stuff really hit me. That's probably the first time I became aware of her - you know the Malcolm McLaren period. Her sweaters, at that point, actually remind me of your work. Whereas - at least now - one would think she'd be overly complicated in her approach, those sweaters were in reality very simple, color saturated, pieced together mohair. Very similar to your color over texture vision.
Shobhana: Really? Wow! Hmm... I was channeling Westwood and I didn't even know about. Now I have to go back and research some of her older designs. I just really enjoy the freedom and irreverence of her work. That's what I really aim for; since this was my first book I felt like I needed to play it safe. I felt a little constrained. Constrained by my own desire to have the book do well and I thought it stood a better chance if the designs weren't as far out as I would have liked them to be.
RC: Even though you may have felt constrained, the designs you present in Yarnplay have good justification and good execution. I didn't feel like "Oh, here's another beanie pattern." Yes, we've all seen them before, but you back up your execution of a simple style with substance, be it color or yarn choice or infusing the work with passion for the person it's being made for. Of course, that's all theoretical to me, as I refuse to knit for other people.
Shobhana: Why, thank you!
Annotated Guide to Rocker Boys in Sweaters
RC: Now, you mention that your designs weren't as far out as you would've liked them to be. Let's play a game, shall we? Safe to say, we're both rockers at heart, so let's rummage through our brains and see if we can come up with musicians known to have worn sweaters. You first.
Shobhana: Kurt Cobain.
RC: Brilliant! Johnny Rotten. Eddie Vedder.
Shobhana: Paul Weller.
RC: Sweet. John Mayer. Who just last night wore the most bad ass sweater I've ever seen on a man. Thumb holes, baby.
Shobhana: Really?! I'm pretty sure that I've seen Mr. Kravitz rocking a turtleneck.
RC: Oh, Lenny in a t-neck. Damn. Lenny, Paul, John, Johnny. Hmm, has Bowie ever worn a sweater that you're aware of?
Shobhana: I think so. Cd before last, I believe he was sporting a v-neck around that time
RC: Was it to your liking? What would you design for him?
Shobhana: I would design some really outrageous 'Joseph and the Technicolor Dream Coat freak flag cardigan for him.
RC: But be careful that it wouldn't stray into Bill Cosby territory. Not that you would ever design a Cosby sweater...
Shobhana: No way!
RC: See, not all guys can carry off a sweater. Is that what you're addressing in the book with the KISS sweater? Pare it down and don't go bugnuts on the detail and color?
Shobhana: Exactly. I had all sorts of ideas: side-to-side construction, crazy stripes and then I had an epiphany of sorts and I thought to myself “now what guy do I know who would actually wear this?!”
RC: Don't you think, when it comes to sweaters, guys are all about the fit and feel? It better not itch and it better not be baggy.
Shobhana: They're definitely all about how it feels. They don't want anything that's too complicated either in look or fit or care.
RC: Have you ever knit a sweater for a guy? What was the response?
Shobhana: What? Are you nuts? No %#$!@ way! Oh, wait! I take that back. I did knit a sweater for a friend. The neck opening was a bit tight, but other than that I think he loved it. It was not my design, mind you! But no, I've never knit a sweater for a boyfriend. I would have to be certifiable to do that.
RC: I just can't. Just can't. Knitting a sweater for a guy is a one way ticket to the therapist's couch. For both of us.
Shobhana: Yeah, it would require a rock big enough to put your eye out before I'd even consider casting on for a sweater for a guy that I was involved with!
RC: Absolutely. I've never been that in love and if I were that in love I couldn't do it because that day will inevitably come when you find the sweater in a heap at the bottom of his closet and then it's all "If you really loved me you wouldn't treat something I spent weeks making you like that..." Not that I have any familiarity with conversations of that sort...
And Then the Vino Kicked In
RC: In a battle royale, who wins: an unending supply of Noro in a colorway that makes you gag a little or the perfect shade of Rowan that is forever backordered?
Shobhana: Ooh, wow. You're killing me. I think I’d have to go with the backordered Rowan.
RC: Discuss, please.
Shobhana: Well, for the most part, I think Rowan can do no wrong. I love, love Noro, but it can be such a riot of color that if it irks me in even the slightest way, I just can't do it.
RC: If I were to pay you in yarn, what would it take to get you to knit a sweater entirely from bobble stitch?
Shobhana: Hah! You would have to pay me enough to pay somebody else to do the job and for me to make a 10% cut!
RC: Okay, bobble hater. Moving on... What's scarier: putting your soul out there in a book or waking up to find that your entire stash has been replaced with Red Heart?
Shobhana: Putting my soul out there in a book. Big time &^#$% scary! I'm an intensely private person and I'm completely freaked out at having become a slightly public persona. As you've probably noticed, I rarely discuss my personal life on my blog.
RC: Why yes, we're two peas in a pod on that front, doll. Blogs are like a new boyfriend - you only know what I want you to know, when I want you to know it.
Shobhana: DING! DING! DING! EXACTLY!!!
RC: But c'mon. Red Heart, man. Red. Heart. Ooooh, scary, boys and girls.
Shobhana: Ack!crylic is pretty scary, but I think I'd just purge and move on. It's not like there's a lack of yarn waiting for me to hand over my plastic.
RC: Something you didn't cover in Yarnplay, but you could clear up now for new knitters: what's the proper technique for hurling your WIP across the room after the third mistake in 10 minutes?
Shobhana: I think booze is required.
RC: Well, that goes without saying. It’s usually a contributing factor in my mistakes.
Shobhana: Knitting and drinking are two things that I'm very good at. The problem is that I just can't seem to do them together!
RC: There must be a knitting equivalent to drunk dialing. You know you're drunk knitting when _____________________ .
Shobhana: You use your knitting needle as a cocktail stirrer.
RC: But Addis couldn't stab an olive to save their souls.
Shobhana: That's too bad. Clearly, you have tried!
RC: Desperate times call for desperate measures. Tell me which design from Yarnplay you think is perfect for me. Tell me and I'll knit it and I'll post to the blog about the process.
Shobhana: Oh! Ooh! Hmm... Manta Ray is really lovely and easy to knit. I could see you in Poppy, too! “I could see you” ... funny how I've started visualizing people I've never actually seen before. Haha! “I see people in sweaters.”
RC: You’re an intuitive, so that probably serves me better than Clinton and Stacey on their best day. Okay, Manta Ray it is. I shall begin today.
Shobhana: Yay!
You Don’t Have to Go Home, But You Can’t Stay Here
RC: Thanks for the nod in the book; that was very sweet of you, doll. You should be very proud of the book. When I say it's something I would buy at the store and not from Amazon, I mean it. And I rarely pay retail for anything. Beautiful job, Shobhana.
Shobhana: Thank you, sweetie! Time for my cocktail. It may not be 5 o'clock here, but it's 5 o'clock somewhere, right?
RC: Absolutely. Bottoms up and goodnight!
The Yarnplay Blog Tour rolls into it's home port tomorrow to revise its riders before continuing on. Sorry, Shobhana, RC will remember to remove all of the blue M&Ms next time.
