All photography for Interweave Knits Fall 2017 by Harper Point Photography
Our photo shoot for Interweave Knits Fall 2017 starts in a musty motel on a bright, cloudless morning. I park my car and walk past a coin-operated carousel. Worn down from a combination of exposure and wear, it’s old and odd. It sits on a patch of grass under a bush growing so wild it’s attempting to become a tree.
The motel hasn’t been updated much since its retro (late 1960s to early 1970s) beginnings. Each room hosts one more bed than necessary; the motel was obviously more spacious and expensive way back when. I can almost imagine its promising beginning while scanning the room, even with the sun streaming unforgivingly through the dirty window, outlining the dust particles floating in the air.
The swimming area, despite its welcoming “Open” sign and the summer heat, collects leaves in a waterless pool surrounded by a locked chain-link fence. It boasts a laundry room, a camper (sans towing vehicle) in the corner of the lot (presumably the second living space of someone dwelling in the motel), and an ice machine with almost comically large signage, as if someone would miss it in the small, L-shaped building.
The rest of the crew and I unload our cars and shuffle around the one-room staging area. Paperwork and model measurements for garment ease are my first priority, and once those are complete, I get to relax before the photos start.
A Sense of Place
My mind wanders to the beginnings of the hotel. Who were its first guests, and how long ago did they stay here? Why did they come out here, to a place between 2 large cities and farther than I would like to be from the mountains? I think about an earlier Colorado, hosting a much smaller population, with tourists and entrepreneurs looking for adventure, exploration, and new lives.
I want to experience a time like that, to hear about a place through books, dream about it, travel, and then finally experience the splendor I only dreamt of thanks to the prompting of words. How amazing would the mountains be, if I hadn’t experienced a lifetime of pictures and collections of the most beautiful mountains in the world?
Stale and crowded, the motel room is too small for 9 people. I venture over to the diner for their advertised delicacy, cinnamon buns the size of salad plates. I travel across the long, warped parking lot and past a massage business operating out of a mobile home. The diner jolts my brain straight into scenes from Pulp Fiction. I return with my souvenirs for the crew: 2 thin plastic bags full of desserts encased in a layer of rigid plastic and then wrapped in cellophane.
The rest of the day is spent driving down dirt roads, admiring sprawling farmlands, standing still for gentle breezes, and hanging around a gold Oldsmobile. It’s an unusually quiet day on set. The land, the sun, the gorgeous knitted garments—we all just soak it in.
The Whitman Factor
This issue is special because it reminds us all of an earlier version of America, full of wonder, beauty, and majesty. Where we view our sprawling country with an artist’s appraisal and the tenderness of a beloved and respected elder. This issue is for the dreamers then and now who see America’s potential and understand its past.
The editor, Meghan Babin, drew inspiration from one of her favorite authors for this issue: Walt Whitman and his book Leaves of Grass.
“Whitman’s poetry and prose have had a profound effect on my worldview, my ethics, and my perception of humanity. His love for America and his soaring prose on her beauty and promise instilled in me the desire to discover America for myself. That desire sparked the inspiration for this issue of Interweave Knits: The Americana Issue,” Meghan said in her editor’s letter.
The “Wanderlust” story features beautiful Midwestern scenery and on-the-road–inspired ramblin’ knits. The second story of the issue, “Homestead,” pays homage to years of knitwear design by showcasing stunning examples of colorwork, cables, textures, and striking silhouettes.
We learn about Cascade’s new luxury yarn, Llamerino; top-down sleeve cap construction; and rigid-heddle weaving. And we get to drool over earth-friendly products in the Maker’s Tools section titled “For and From the Earth.”
Each issue we work on is treated with the same reverence as a gift to a cherished friend. We toil, agonize, dream, hope, and then release it to you. I hope you are able to feel the care each issue receives and share in the thrill of flipping past the cover for the first time with us. And ultimately, I hope you enjoy reading this issue as much as we enjoyed making it.
Yours truly,
Assistant Editor
Interweave Knitting Titles