Blogging + Shoes + Memories

More than a decade ago, I had a blog. It was a fun way to share thoughts with friends, a fun way to connect with those near and far. Several of my friends had blogs also, and we all subscribed to each other’s feeds. I remember the anticipation of seeing a new post from a friend, and truly enjoyed reading each post, however long or short. I found my old blog (and even shared it with a few others!) and smiled while reading through it, remembering where I was while writing the posts. It’s amazing to me to be able to read through something I previously wrote, or see a photo I took, and immediately transport to a different place and time. Memory is powerful. It is sometimes painful, sometimes joyous, but the power of memory means a lot to me (more on that in another post, at another time).

shoes + discarded waffle pretzels, 2009.

If you followed my old blog, or my old flickr account, you would see I took a lot of pictures of my feet. A LOT. I have a relatively vivid memory of taking this photo, having just walked out a store on a busy downtown street, and seeing this array of pretzels. I remember crafting the story of the pretzels: did the bag pop open and they all fell out? Was someone startled and knocked them over? Did 2 people get in an argument and 1 person threw pretzels at the other? So many possibilities, and the answer isn’t really necessary. What was necessary, though, was to take a photo of my feet, standing in that place, wondering about the pretzel story.

Shana’s shoes at construction sites, 2006 or 2007-2008.

My obsession with taking photos of my shoes in different places started quite by accident. I followed a project through construction and attended weekly job site meetings. (NOTE: I am pretty sure none of these footwear options are or were OSHA compliant. Hush.) I took the first photo here when fiddling with something on the camera, and then later in the day when I uploaded the photos to the project file, decided to leave it in rather than delete it. Maybe that’s like an ‘easter egg’ in a video game? (or maybe I’m trying too hard. HA!) Anyway, the following week at the same site, the floor had been tiled, and I thought it would be funny to take the same photo (second pic in the grid) BUT THIS TIME ON PURPOSE. A colleague of mine told me he could always tell which site photos were mine due to the gratuitous shoe photos. I decided to keep going. And going. And going. And you know what? Looking back at this series, or any of the other *cough* HUNDREDS of photos of my shoes, I can remember being there. Maybe not all the details, but something about the experience. And to me, that means a lot.

I like categories, lists, memories, and sorting. I like finding new relationships between things. Revisiting my old blog– “Vintage Shana”, if you will– is bringing a new energy to my creative space. Let’s see where this goes next.

Mixing Media

In addition to my knitting and design swatches, sketches, and written notes, I have an architectural drafting table with paper, pencils, and some extra fiber. I am slowly developing mixed media techniques to express myself.

Drafting table with gray and white opaque paper, various pencils, trace paper, a utility knife, and gray wool fiber.
Shana S. Cohen, 2019-2020. All rights reserved.

Eponymous

A ‘knit drawing’, if you will. I created this ‘architectural drawing’ out of yarn / knitting rather than graphite or in. I knit the ‘paper’ and built on top of it. The ‘paper’ size is similar to a sheet of Arches, my favorite for actual drawings. It’s a basic section of a house, filled with architectural lines, including a ‘highlighter’ line, all covered with a ‘veil’ of something else… something both trying to suppress and allowing some to escape. The lineweights are thick and thicker– the essence of true shanalines– with 2 sneaky thin ones.

Eponymous, 2019. Shana S. Cohen, all rights reserved.

So it’s me, sort of, as the architect slash knitter. The technical slash free form creative expressionist.

Enjoy, or just scratch your head. It’s all good.

Create with Me

I love asking for input on my knitwear designs. I recently gathered information on sizing for an upcoming design. I will update this page as the design continues to develop! If you are interested in a sneak peak, take a look at the video I created to explain sizing:

This is my first version of the design. It is an open ruana created with marled yarns. The title of this design is “Semantics”. Shana S. Cohen, 2020. All rights reserved.

Shanalines Designs on IGTV

I have been starting to share videos on my IGTV channel so you can see how to style some of my knitwear designs! Here is Moduloncho, a fingering weight modular poncho (get it?). I have loved knitting and wearing big shawls for a long time, and came up with this adaptable design to fit a range of bodies with the same amount of yarn. For me, it bridges the gap between shawl or accessory knitting and sweater knitting, which has a lot more places to fit. I share 3 different versions in this video.

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CCouVPKJWEF/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

And here is Wrapezoid! This trapezoid shaped wrap (I’m telling you, I thoroughly enjoy making up words) is knit with fingering weight yarns held double OR with DK weight yarn. I came up with this idea after looking at elementary school geometry lessons. It fits the bill for my design strategy as it can be styled in multiple ways. I share 2 different versions in this video.

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CC58Zw1p6QN/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

While we can read the suggested pattern gauge and yarn for a design, I do think it is helpful to see how the knit fabric moves in a design. I plan to continue sharing these videos of my other designs. And yes, I’m aware that I pointed to the wrong corner to indicate the Linktree link. Hush.

Make sure you follow me on Instagram to see when I share designs!

Welcome!

Welcome to my website, where I will be sharing my knitwear designs and a bit about my design process in blog entries and sketches. There are also links to purchase my knitting patterns on Ravelry and Payhip, and a link to sign up for my new newsletter. Thanks for stopping by!

Hi! I’m Shana.