Christmas Knitting

Posted on December 9, 2021 by Jen

Dear Nora and Fin-ster,

I want to tell you a little story about the Christmas hats I made for you. I wrote the pattern for this chullo in Spring of 2017 when your PopPop, Papa & Aunt Zan were in the Andes Mountains of Peru, walking the Camino Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. I started when PopPop left, knitted a pile of them, wrote and submitted the pattern, and by the time he got back home a week later, I had finished everything! I named the design Camino Inca Chullo and there are many ways you can make them, but I knitted the improvisational variations for yours, making it up as I knitted along, from bits of yarn I had in a drawer, some that I overdyed with colors I thought you’d like. Nora, your Papa thought I ought to put kitty ears on yours, so I did, and positioned the ears where they worked best, as the top of the hat tends to slouch back. A soft slouchy chullo with cat ears sounds like a great hat I think , but the ears can be easily taken off if they’re not behaving. Fin-ster, I just want you to know that in the traditional dress of the Peruvians who live in the Andes Mountains, especially near Machu Picchu, only the men and boys wear these style hats, and usually have many very big fluffy tassels and pompoms, yours only has one rather small one by comparison, so wear it with pride Little Man! PopPop wanted me to make them for you, so I did, they are made of superwash wool, so they won’t shrink if you throw ’em in the washing machine, and also, the wool was grown from sheep in the Peruvian Mountains! I better get them in the mail now, I hope you like them, and Happy Christmas! Love, Nanna.

All posts Camino Inca.

Un Chullo

Posted on April 3, 2018 by Jen

jenjoycedesign© D's chullo 1

Another birthday chullo for my brother. He just loves them so much, he wears them like hair. For this birthday I chose to make an anniversary of last April’s Camino Inca Chullo pattern release, knitting from the pattern. This one samples the Incan wave motif, and I knit it up in some lovely soft Juniper Moon “Herriot” yarn, which is 100% undyed baby alpaca, and this baby is soft! My brother likes the folk look of the ‘gnome’ crown, so I worked the option for slower decrease and it is just a bit gnome like…
jenjoycedesign© D's chullo 2

Its the tassels that my brother really loves, and with a brow/mustache comb that has needle-sharp brass teeth, I am able to comb through the pompom fringe and fluff up the fine hairs to a really fine furry puff …

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Voila! I even tied on an extra bit of yarn to comb into a tassle at the tip of the earflap.

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This being the last of the deadline knitting, I am now able to spend some time experimenting with the traditional “mens” chullo ~~ the varied regional methods of picot edges, and knit with needles traditionally made from bicycle wheel spokes! When time, opportunity & energy come together in the near future, I will continue where I left off, and embark on a new chullo knitting adventure ! But for now I will leave you with an artful & inspiring short travel ad film which gives glimpses of the wild landscape and colorful textiles of Peruvian Highlands that I have been so very drawn to …

Camino Inca Live!

Posted on June 6, 2017 by Jen

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First day of summer vacation for my nieces & a photo shoot of the most recent “Camino Inca” designs at the castle, and here they are, Miss Seventeen & Miss Fourteen….

Shown here is the small-size Ponchito, which is more of a large cowl draping around collar area & sits on top of shoulders for a kiss of warmth.

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And the largest size, A-line silhouette with three tiers of colorful shaped sections with bobbled bands edging each section.

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It envelopes shoulders & neck for a sensual & cuddly bliss!

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I love the way the Camino Inca Ponchito sits snug across & over shoulders while loose and draping around the neck.

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The ponchito is not unlike Peruvians’ traditional wool shoulder wraps pinned at the neck, and I think the Incans would approve, as it is a practical neck & shoulder garment that both women and men would look & feel brilliant wearing.

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It really pulls together an outfit!

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Oh, and almost forgot… in addition to three sizes of ponchito, there is the straight cowl option that comes with the pattern too…

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Camino Inca Chullo is a classic Peruvian style hat (these with very modest pompoms) and is just fun & full of whimsy !

For any age, male or female, this hat can be made simplified, or exotic & costume-like, with motif charts & embellishment suggestions galore.

You can see all posts relating to Camino Inca design and the inspiration behind it, (including this one) HERE.

Details for Camino Inca Ponchito on Ravelry HERE,

and Camino Inca Chullo HERE.

Colors of Cusco

Posted on May 18, 2017 by Jen

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These handwovens are among some of the beautiful things brought back from Jeff’s trip to Machu Picchu, cloth woven at the Center For Traditional Textiles of Cusco (click and read more about the mission of the Center!)

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I find it intriguing and so endearing that these woven items have tags which include pictures, names & birth dates of the weavers!

jenjoycedesign© weaver Gregoria

jenjoycedesign© weaver Luciana

But I find it even more intriguing that these two weavers share the same birth year, and that this year is the very same as my own, and believe me, I seem to be the only one who finds this to be an uncommon coincidence. Oh, but just look at the weave, detail….

003 By the way, Jeff has come back fit as a fiddle, and the three of them had a wonderful time. I can’t believe it is now already two weeks since he was in the middle of the epic trek along the Camino Inca, and I was in a frenzy knitting, pattern writing, and submitting the designs ~~ so perfectly timed was the Camino Inca Chullo submitted when he arrived in Cusco, and the Camino Inca Ponchito when he was actually at Machu Picchu~~ like the ancient Incas, maybe, and the suns rays, I put so much significance in these events to be coinciding simultaneously.

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I have a photo shoot on the calendar for beginning of June with my nieces, where these latest Camino Inca ponchitos will be modeled and I can’t wait to come back and show them off!

Camino Inca & Pattern #2

Posted on May 7, 2017 by Jen

624x468 Read about how the textiles tradition is still alive & kicking in Peru.

Jeff boarded the plane in Cusco to Lima this morning and right about now is leaving Lima on his way back home. He has had an amazing time walking the Camino Inca to Machu Picchu and was with a great group of trekkers. He texted me, and sent me this photo from his phone before having to leave. It is at a weavers shop, where they are making traditional Peruvian cloths…

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See the women in the lower right of the photo? I can see the simple way the pieces of cloth are sewn together to make a poncho sort of thing, worn as an outer garment. 11167787204_112e122c85

Curious about the names of the Peruvian Dress, I found a great & interesting source which gives names to all the pieces of traditional clothing. As an alternate, or in addition to the “Lliclla” , I do think my new design would look terrific with the Peruvian ensemble….

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Introducing Camino Inca Ponchito & Cowl!

(photo shoot of all Camino Inca ~ modeled HERE)

This design collection begins in previous post with Camino Inca Chullo and now this is the second in the collection. One can make a simple straight cowl, or go for the more shapely ponchito….

jenjoycedesign© Camino Inca Ponchito flat.JPG

What is a “ponchito” you may be asking ? I like to think of it as a “little poncho” , just big enough to fit over shoulders, draping in warm folds to cuddle up to neck, but maybe one should think of it technically as a hybrid between a shawlette and cowl, all depending on which size is made. Here it is shown in smallest size; 35″ circumference at bottom, and 22″ circumference at top, and 11″ in length from bottom to top. In my own colorwork with lovely bobbled bands it is rather sizzling I think…

jenjoycedesign© Ponchito detail

Edit In: The straight cowl for this design, is as basic as can be, with garter stitch edging… and here with colorway and no stripes between makes a clean playful edition!

The design collection is still underway, with a photo shoot sceduled for kick off for my nieces’ summer vacation, when I will be hopefully be finished with the whole Camino Inca collection.

Please come see the pattern HERE,

And please join in my promotional pattern release give-away ~~ in the spirit of Autumn in the Andes, heading toward winter! Details on my Ravelry group HERE.

All posts related to ” Camino Inca ” designs HERE

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Camino Inca & Pattern #1

Posted on May 2, 2017 by Jen

The Camino Inca, also known as the “Inca Trail” or “trail to Machu Picchu”, is a road built by the Incan Empire long long ago, and much of it is still of original Incan construction and still traveled today! Many of you already know that is what Jeff is gearing up to do as I post this….

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Jeff, his son, and his daughter are about to embark together on an epic trek along miles of these very poetic ancient stone roads….

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They are in and around Cusco these last couple of days while acclimating before their big trek to Machu Picchu, and here is a photo just sent from Jeff’s phone, from a dyer’s booth of natural dyes! These are the signature color palette of the Peruvian traditional textiles; crimsons, pinks, purple, gold & orange….

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And earlier, he sends a photo of a bright ensemble of some hats & bags from the market. Peruvians have made a solid industry around making & selling authentic handmade items for the tourists & trekkers who come from all corners of the world …

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I have been making a series of posts up to this one, starting from a few weeks ago leading up to this week, where I have timed it to submit my Camino Inca Designs ~ one by one~ while they are walking the actual Camino Inca. And I have the first in the short series ready !

jenjoycedesign© Camino-Inca-Chulo stack.JPG

It all began from my wanting to replicate an authentic Peruvian chullo my brother has had for decades (I talk about that in this post a few weeks ago) , but it grew and became an opportunity to design my own colorwork …

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as well as a Mix-Your-Own with many Andean style motifs I have charted and included in the pattern ….

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And with many options, including Peruvian chullo embroidery & bling… jenjoycedesign© Camino-Inca-Chulo4

and with a size to fit every head possible head …

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I also included a gauge substitution chart to adapt to fingering weight to bulky weight yarns. I felt the hat needed an option without earflaps and came up with a nice bobbled band (which incidentally Jeff called ‘the crown’) . Here is the Camino Inca ‘corona’ in a tiny size barely big enough for a couple of bands of colorwork , with a bobble top …

jenjoycedesign© Camino-Inca-Corona2.JPG

I think I finally managed to round it all up and get ‘er running. Please come see the pattern HERE, and join in on the excitement & promotional pattern release give-away ~~ in the spirit of Autumn in the Andes, which it is, and heading toward winter! Details on my Ravelry group HERE.

All posts related to ” Camino Inca ” designs HERE

embellishments

Posted on April 30, 2017 by Jen

jenjoycedesign© pompom-with-icord
I have made many hats & many embellishments. I’ve experimented for a while and learned some new techniques… and now just putting it all together. One of the signature ornaments for upcoming design is a well-groomed pompom attached to a nice plump i-cord.
jenjoycedesign© pompoms

With all of these pompoms on i-cord,

I am reminding myself a little of Horton Hears A Who…

Anyway, I have decided the best way to make pompoms involves some felting, and a lot of trimming, and last a good brushing with a rigid brow or mustache comb, as I am doing for these braid tassels…

Jeff is now in Cusco, and I have the whole thing planned to run with legs when he, his son & daughter begin their trek to Machu Picchu, and all the while I am working at this frantically most all of everyday.

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Hermit-ing out in the mountains with Emma, the cool has receded and the sun has finally arrived. Everything in its place, and life is good.

Peru’s Dama de Bohemia

Posted on April 26, 2017 by Jen

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Peruvian fashion designer Naty Muñoz is a modern ” Andean Bohemian”. She is a brilliant designer, for Vogue and beyond, and also an ethical designer working with organic fibers, much of which is alpaca, wool, and cotton. I love her work in this ensemble of colorful, embroidery & splashes of knitted bobbles, set against a breathy feathery downy white, quite frankly tickles a spot for me.

(image source)

As I observe the traditional colors and textiles of Peru , I am deeply moved by the mountainous landscape of the Andes being an intrinsic part of it all. Though admittedly, my first observation I felt an awkward reaction to the bright colors, particularly of pinks & yellow-green, the explosions of fluffy pompoms, and seeming oddness of white laced through all of that color. Fuzzy and ultra feminine, but really I think this is just characteristic of Peruvian textiles … the ‘white thing’ … in relation to brazen color for me is so captivating.

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But now I think I am ‘getting’ it! To me the white is altitude, snowy, ethereal, woolly & alpaca-ish, pure, cloud-like, and spiritual, the white is beneath, above, and supporting the colors of the folk textiles & clothing.

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So I am smitten, as Naty Muñoz’s designs show so well, by the magnificent Peruvian landscape, its traditional clothing of bright colors, the presence of cuddly alpacas, and find that all of it dazzles because of striking elemental snowy white!

Quechua woman weaving a traditional textile, Cuzco, Peru, South America

Quite involved in lessons of color & texture for forthcoming knitwear pattern, as you can easily guess, and in metamorphosis spurred by discovery of Peruvian colors, textures and even discovery of modern designers like Naty… muchas gracias por su inspiración!

Inca Thing

Posted on April 24, 2017 by Jen

This is a quick knit I’m letting fly on the needles before Jeff leaves to Cusco to romp the Inca Trail with his son & daughter in only a matter of days. It is something he actually asked me to make, which is in itself a first! It is a cover for his Kindle. Awww. So, in the middle of frantic manic knitting of chullos, and trying to reach a personal deadline, I am just thinking of it as a one-eared version of just another chullo hat.

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The days continue to be gloriously cool, and today fog is rolling over the ridge and cascading down the mountain misting over everything & evoking creativity with sometimes an internal unsettled agitation. I think I will take this Inca thing, my knitting bag, and go for a good knit-walk up the ridge with Emma. We’ll be back in no time and maybe I’ll have a finished Kindle cover to post!

Edit in: I walked & finished knitting,

then felted the kindle cover and here it is…

Cusco bound!

Pattern: (adapted from forthcoming chulo pattern)

Yarn: Lambs Pride worsted weight in dark & light grey (excellent for felting!

Manic!

Posted on April 21, 2017 by Jen

Since writing about ‘ an old beloved brown thing ‘ I’ve been pulled into a vortex of unlikely colors; of cochineal pinks & crimsons, madder reds, purples, citron yellow, and oranges too… all sorts of high altitude Andean colors I am not accustomed to.

I find myself falling back into the safety of greys, of earthy tones and of muted undyed comfort. I gotta bust out! I didn’t realize how sensitive to color I really am, so I am struggling with my habitual knitting au natural , while trying to be influenced by the brazen & magnificent color palettes of Peruvian textiles. I am knitting through piles of these South American motifs while experiencing a sensory challenge with color.

… soon to explode through the surface with a splash!

(and of course, a pattern)

My favorite manic music of South America (although down in the temperate eastern coast from the Andes)… have a listen & maybe you can pick up some of my manic vibe…

An old beloved brown thing…

Posted on April 12, 2017 by Jen

jenjoycedesign© 'the original' from Peru My brother has for decades worn this authentic Peruvian hat, the Incan motifs have become signature shapes on his head, almost like fiberous tattoos…

I am not sure where he got this beloved brown thing, but it is a cherished possession of his, and he lent it to me over a year ago asking if I might repair the moth holes (again) and… “maybe ‘add some color’ to it?” he asked , “or maybe just knit it over?”.

Made of alpaca, and badly moth-eaten since being repaired long ago, it has become a part of his life, and all of our lives, for as we know him, we know this hat.

This favor asked of me to ‘fix it’ has apparently grown feet and evolved into a project of my trying not to entirely replicate the original, nay, but to design the Quintessential Brother Article, as he does actually wear these Peruvian style hats ( known in trend as a ‘chullo’) pretty much every day, tucking the ear flaps behind his ears. They are as he puts it, his ‘hair’.

Well folks, if you wonder where I am going with all of this back story, the thing is, I have been working on trying to emulate the original, and made a chullo for his birthday, with indeed more color, and a little bit accessorized with little tassels too.

Actually, I have made him so many of these, but still he is over the moon whenever I make him a new one.

So, my scheming to create an authentic replica had changed to become something I should really call a design inspiration, more of an impression of the original.

The design is in process, and a forthcoming pattern soon available!

The pattern release will be aimed symbolically around a big trip Jeff is taking in May with his son & daughter to Machu Picchu in Peru, and so I have a lot of work to do until then!