Grids

Phoenix is a flat city with an equally uninteresting street layout. So why, then, is its grid classified as ‘iconic’? Well, it’s the closest thing you will find to absolute perfection. Streets run north, south, east and west, with every eight numbered streets equaling exactly one mile. As a result, the distance between 16th and 32nd streets is exactly two miles. Not impressed? Consider that “adjustments” at various points in the grid account for the curvature of the earth. One of the only major roads that doesn’t adhere to the grid runs— get this—at a 45-degree angle to the rest of the streets. Yeah, this is a city to admire.

There are other cities about 8 of them, Copenhagen is stunning with its grid and Toronto and Barcelona follow closely.

These cities always fascinated me in my travels and this next shawl aims to copy a grid navigation city even when starting at the centre of a circle.

I never got lost in these places and found them orderly and calm. This shawl follows this Grid system and is a square within a square.

Fingering wool is called for and it’s been lovely to create my design in hand dyed Gotland Fingering from The Grey Sheep Co the colour Changing Courses which is aptly named for this design