Zenith and Nadir were designed together, to be a reflection of opposites. I purposefully made them both with the same yarn base and similar colourways to show that one starting point can be turned into two very different things under different circumstances.
I find that I have two modes when it comes to knitting – and, if I’m honest, life. There are the times when it feels effortless, like gliding through a beautiful, tidy house, going about my day as if it’s the easiest thing in the world, nothing being too difficult or challenging. And then there are the far more common days when life feels like one thing after another being thrown in my path, messing up my most trivial plans, making even the simplest needs suddenly impossible to meet.
These two patterns reflect each of these feelings. Both start with the same 200g of yarn, albeit in different colours, and both turn into something beautiful and wearable. That’s where the similarities end, though.
Zenith
The time at which something is at its most powerful or successful.
The soft curve of a perfect, half-pi shawl. A delicate, dainty duck egg colour. Carefully pre-strung beads. Tiny, intricate stitches, creating a sea of stockinette. A brand new stitch that combines slipping, cables, and beads for a twinkling, quilted effect.
Zenith is the result of attention to detail, familiarity, and the challenge of something new coming together to create something deceptively simple; soft, light, and airy.
Zenith is a challenge in that it asks that you learn a brand new stitch in order to knit it, but is also made up of familiar stockinette stitch, making it an accessible challenge which, once met, will showcase your handiwork as perfectly on a summer’s day as a colder winter one.
It’s about that clean, bright, carefree feeling, where everything’s going so well, but it’s also about being in a space where you can do things without a struggle. Kiss Stitch isn’t particularly difficult, but it is new and a little unusual. A half-pi shawl isn’t particularly difficult, but it is precise. Stockinette isn’t difficult, but it will show any mistakes. Blocking isn’t difficult, but again, this one needs some precision. For me, trying something new or doing something precise means a little extra effort, and that means choosing my times wisely and being aware of any latent stressors lurking in the background.
Nadir
The lowest or most unsuccessful point in a situation.
An asymmetrical triangle. A deep, saturated teal. Simple, familiar, repetitive stitches, sitting at odds with each other. Yarn held double for a faster, plumper knit. No fancy techniques, no additional notions, no complicated instructions.
Nadir is a pattern you can reach for at your lowest point – when your knitting mojo has left the building, when your life insists that your focus is elsewhere, when the only way is up.
Once completed you’ll have acknowledged life’s sharp edges and dark recesses, and channeled them into a thing of comfort that draws you close and holds you warmly as you take steps up and out to clearer, sunnier times.
It’s about that UGH feeling, when nothing’s going right, everything’s hard, and you feel like you can’t make a decision because right now, everything’s so wrong that you don’t even trust your own judgement any more and if one more thing goes wrong you don’t know how you’ll cope. That’s okay. You don’t have to worry about dye lots, preparing, or even casting on. You can just grab some yarn, pretty much any yarn will work, and bury yourself in familiar garter and rib, trust someone else’s working out, and just keep knitting.
