Wheely Colourful was the result of more experimentation with swirly things. The experiments did not yield anything of any great mathematical interest but did result in an interesting technique. There are some similarities to Revolution but this one relies much more on the distortion of knitting. It will never look exactly like a circle. However much it is blocked it will always have seven noticeably curved sides.
When the first section is knitted it is definitely a triangle with straight sides. The addition of the other sections force it to change shape. The elegant curves are reminiscent of the way soap bubbles pull themselves into spheres, to give the smallest possible surface area.
It is unusual because it has seven sections. Many circular designs consist of six or eight sections, allowing for symmetrical repetition of colours. As 7 is a prime number it is not possible to have any rotation patterns.
The afghan shown was made entirely from scraps of yarn. They were sorted into colour groups and pieces were knotted together to make a large ball in each colour (much like The Woolsack). The knots were left showing, as a design feature.
