1, 2, 3. Check! Check! Ch-ch-ch-check!
To tour managers, all tours feel pretty much the same. Be it Coldplay, be it your grandma’s choir, the experience of touring is, inevitably, always alike. Namely, you arrive somewhere. It is either too hot or too cold. You set up. Someone plugs in. Someone plugs out. Someone yawns. Someone forgot/lost a cable yesterday. The roadie is wearing knee-length shorts. Random, deafening beeps are heard throughout the day. Someone's feet smell. The bass player is a cornball. The drummer is missing in action, had to go meet someone, never returned. The drummer is lost. An amp dies. The hotel is 30 km too far. You handwrite twenty copies of the setlist but then setlist is CHANGED. Going on tour feels like this all the time (plus, the shows, thank God for the shows). Mostly touring feels like a monstrous month-long soundcheck.
Well, you know what they say: irony is just another way of saying "I love you." Judging by my words above you might be inclined to think I’m complaining. I am. Nevertheless, give me a call and I’ll jump back into the van anytime.
Long gone the days
My tours and soundcheck today are somewhat different, but they have a lot in common with the music days of yore. My ‘shows’ are now ‘new designs’, met with the same anticipation and joy. Instead of furry musicians I am now in charge of a group of terrific testers. It is my job to keep an eye on their work but luckily for me there are no deafening beeps here and, although we might be missing a cable every now and then, we usually find it right on time at the nearest yarn store. Mostly, our tests sometimes feel like a party, we drive around full speed and we have a great time most of the time.
I believe that is partly due because my testers are simply the best. It’s true. They are. I’ve long been wanting to write a post about their work. Hopefully, this one is the first of a few blog entries on my tester’s projects. I’d love to display some of their previous work in the blog, but for today let’s have a look at their AWESOME renditions of The Stanley Slipover. Get on stage, ladies
¡Christina at Rauwerk nailed it! Her fluor version of the Stanley is simply stunning.
Check out her project notes here and find more info on her colorway below in my post-script.
Outfit ideas anyone? Arancha chose Ulysse by De Rerum Natura to great effect!
Dorothea used Di Gilpin Lalland in a dark perfect colorway. The pattern shows perfectly and I love how it is perfectly suited to the Edwardian look of the shirt.
Eva looks so happy with her vest on! I love how smart it looks on top of her crisp white button up shirt!
Why my testers are your best friends?
Surely, the ‘project gallery’ of a design is one of the most useful tools on Ravelry (or, alternatively, those blessed instagram hashtags!)
Unless you are determined to use the original yarn and color, one of the greatest challenges of knitting is 'visualising' the finished garment. It sure is terribly difficult for me. When shopping for a project or clothes, I find it nearly impossible to make a decision on color, style, length, you name it. When I finally make a decision, much like when dining out, I’m always left with the nagging feeling that I might have chosen the ‘wrong dish’.
It is hard to imagine how a garment will fit you, when your size is not the same than the model in the picture and that is true for when you pick a different color or even a very different yarn. In my case, when designing I try to choose rather neutral colors so as not to excessively interfere with the design. On sizing however, I am somewhat limited, since I only have one friend willing to model for me and one must make do with what one has.
And so, here’s the beauty of testing! Thanks to the work of the testers, you can bypass all these limitations and expand your horizons somewhat - you can get a better picture of that garment will fit, how well it will match your style. It seems to me that most of us knit to feel independent, free from fashion dictate. We knit to be agents of our own style. We knit so we can CHOOSE. Testers provide us with a wonderful catalogue of options, all laid-out for you. I am ever grateful at the thorough research project carried out by testers for us, knitters.
You should thank them for it. They totally deserve it.
PS.- Rauwerk has prepared some yarn kits in case you want to knit your Stanley using the original yarn: Perhaps you’ll be inspired by Christina’s fluor slipover! You can find the kits at a special price here.
