Happy New Year Everybody !!!

The opportunity has at last arrived to tackle new projects with enthusiasm and energy. One of the most powerful symbols for energy is the wave. It has been a source of inspiration for many artists – including the Japanese painter Katsushika.

Katsushika Hokusai’s “Under the Wave of Kanagawa”, also called “The Great Wave” has become one of the most famous works of art in the world. Initially, thousands of copies of this print were quickly produced and sold cheaply. Despite the fact that it was created at a time when Japanese trade was heavily restricted, Hokusai’s print displays the influence of Dutch art, and proved to be inspirational for many artists working in Europe later in the nineteenth century. Even today this fabulous piece never fails to impress and trigger new ideas like the Hokusai wrap.

To create your own Hokusai you will need two contrasting yarns of the same weight. Hokusai can be knitted with almost any yarn: solids, semi solids, dip dyed yarns, and color gradients. The two versions presented here were knitted with fingering yarn, but the Hokusai wrap comes in two different sizes – medium and large - which makes it suitable for any yarn weight from lace to dk.

You can either emphasize the wave or knit an inverted variation. I knitted the medium version which underlines the wave with only two skeins. I combined the lovely Tosh Merino Light “Baltic” with a skein of Fadenbunt Merino Singles “Halios”. Fadenbunt is an indie dyer from Austria who has a wonderful sense of color and very stunning yarn bases. You can find her creations on Etsy:
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https://www.etsy.com/de/shop/Fadenbunt

A two-skein-wonder might be just the right project for you if you were lucky enough to find yarns under your Christmas tree.If you want to go for the larger version I highly recommend Merino 4ply from Wollbonbon. This German yarn designer creates gorgeous yarns with long color gradients. Her shop can be found here: wollbonbon.de.link text Don’t hesitate to send her an email if you have questions regarding orders. The English version of the shop is about to be completed. I paired Hexentanz (820y/750m) with Shabby (600y/550m), but there are tons of other great combinations. Since I used the lighter yarn for the wave module the effect is quite different from the medium version.

The Hokusai is fully reversible. Although it is a modular knit there is no seaming involved as you will join all the modules as you go along. All instructions are written, charted and enriched with ample photo tutorials on the techniques of shaping and joining the modules. This makes Hokusai a doable project for most knitters.

If you would like to knit the Hokusai at some point in the future, don’t hesitate to get your pattern now as this weekend (5th and 6th of January) it is on sale for 25% off the original price of $5.99 – no coupon code required. So grab it while you can!!!

Happy knitting!