Our final interview for Issue 27 is with Ainur and we're talking with her about her hat design, Syncopate. Read on to find out how Ainur came up with the design as a way to show syncopation in a visual medium.
amirisu: What was your inspiration for this design?
Ainur: I have recently started learning guitar, and syncopation is one of the hardest concepts for me to incorporate into my playing. As a visual learner, I need to draw things or visualize them in other ways to understand them. When I saw the theme and mood board for this issue, I immediately thought of syncopation. Then came the idea of using stranded ribbing to illustrate it.
amirisu: What, if any, challenges did you encounter during the design process?
Ainur: I didn't have any challenges, but the fun part was trying to figure out how to get the stitch pattern to look like I had envisioned. First, I simply played with color dominance, but then I realized I needed to switch the stitches from knit to purl to emphasize syncopation a bit more.
amirisu: If you were to knit this design in another color, what would it be?
Ainur: That's a great question! I'd probably try some neon pink and acid/neon yellow combination - I think that can be fun!
amirisu: How did you start your knitting journey?
Ainur: I learned to knit as a kid (around 7-8) from my mom. She was a prolific knitter and crocheter; she has arthritis now and can't knit anymore, unfortunately.
amirisu: Is there any particular music you like to listen to while knitting? If not, what kind of music do you enjoy in general?
Ainur: I like to Knitflix when knitting, but I listen to music mostly while driving. I like all kinds of genres: blues, alt-rock, jazz, funk, etc - anything but pop! I also go through phases where I really like certain musicians and listen to them a lot. Currently, I'm obsessed with Carlos Santana, Tracy Chapman, and Allison Russel.
Thank you, Ainur!