Held Together by Knitting

Last week was horrific: bombings, explosions, the death and maiming of innocent bystanders and volunteer firefighters. On top of it, the weather was dismal—grey for days on end, nearly 5 inches of rain in 24 hours resulting in flooded homes, and north of us there as a snow storm. Nature didn't offer the respite we needed after days of manmade horror.

I was supposed to go to my aunt's house for her 87th birthday, but decided to put it off until the weather was more favorable. It's not as though I didn't have plenty of work to fill those delayed days, and not as if I didn't know that it was unhealthy to watch the endless news coverage on television and online, but I found myself drawn in. I heard the media's reports on the dance instructor, the recently married couple, and the two brothers who'd lost their legs. I saw the images of the Boston bombing repeated in a continual loop. I listened to stories about the volunteer firefighters who rushed into the fertilizer plant in Texas and perished. I even thought of the sorrow of the mother of the Tsarnaev brothers. So many lives damaged. So many lives ended.

And through it all, I knit. I knit back and forth on an Elfin Baby Bonnet in pale pink. I repeatedly knit rows of the 208-stitch-long Dovetail Cowl. When I finished it, I started another. It seemed to be one of the only things that made sense. Creating something in the face of so much destruction brought a modicum of comfort. When so much of life seems so far beyond control, I knit. It's not all I do. But it's what I did last week.

A Trifle for Saturday Morning: My Knitted Boyfriend

Yes, I am currently knitting-obsessesed. Blocking my Dovetail Cowl and knitting another Elfin baby bonnet. Stumbled across this this morning. If you need about five-and-a-half minutes of distraction from the events of this crazy week, settle back with your cup of coffee to view one woman's solution to finding a man who will never leave you:

MY KNITTED BOYFRIEND from Noortje de Keijzer on Vimeo.

On the Road, Again

Phew! I'm a bit discombobulated right now and I haven't finished half this month's comings and goings. But suffice it to say that I'm a little bit here and a lot there—there being Virginia, Minnesota, and Chicago. I love to travel, but I'm also a real homebody and so there's always a little conflict in my soul when it's time to head out. There's never a trip I'm sorry I made, once I've made it, but I always resist going away...always!

My most recent venture was to Virginia, for my niece Anna's vocal performance senior recital. For an hour my sisters and I and our husbands and my nephew, Anna's brother Karl, sat dumbfounded as we listened to Anna sing. I don't see her often and was in awe at the growth in her vocal abilities and at her stage presence. Even her parents and brother were left with their mouths hanging open. I loved the way her friends pitched in and performed parts, both from operas and musicals, to add fullness to the evening.  (That's her to the left, wearing a honey cowl. She's so gratifying to knit and sew for: I've made her two Birdie slings  —here and here—and she's used them until they fall apart. This time she opened the honey cowl and immediately put it on and wore it all afternoon.)

Photo courtesy of VA Quilt Museum

While the event was lovely and it was fun to be with family, Virginia itself was a real highlight. Daffodils, forsythia, and budding trees gave me hope that spring might eventually come. We wandered through the farmer's market, sampling doughnuts from Mennonite bakers and locally roasted cups of coffee. We took a little hike along a rushing stream, where bloodroot and May apples pushed up, through the forest floor. And we even stepped inside the Virginia Quilt Museum for a look at Material Witnesses, an exhibition by the Manhattan Quilter's Guild of New York City. There were also a few Civil War quilts—so graphic and so amazingly preserved.

VA Quilt Museum civil war display—hexagons have a long history!

Heading out to MN tomorrow for a weekend with my aunt, in honor of her 87th birthday. I delayed my trip by two days, as we've been having torrential rains and flooding and she's getting snow. But she says it's for the best, because there's a quilt show there this weekend. I'll try and take a few photos!

Color and Texture: Spain

Walkway in Ronda

I had the great good fortune of accompanying my husband to a meeting in Southern Spain last week. We spent nine days visiting Malaga, Seville, Granada, and Ronda (part of that was meeting-time, of course, but I didn't have to go to the meeting). The opportunity to go on these trips reminds me of what's good about freelancing and a flexible schedule...

Dresses in the Paul Nunez shop in Seville

The Moorish influence in this region (Andalusia) meant lots of beautiful tile work that I knew would remind me of quilts. What I didn't know was that the streets and sidewalks would all be beautifully patterned with rocks. Seriously, I don't think I walked on a solid surface the entire time.

Sidewalk in Nerja

 The other thing we didn't know was that it was Holy Week, or Semana Santa. The frightening-looking costumes belong not to a race-based organization, but are Nazarenes. The other stunning thing were the floats featuring life-sized, wood-carved Biblical scenes decorated with incredible silver and embroidered textiles, that were carried through the streets, sometimes for hours. The young man below is one of those carrying a float.

Hope you enjoy these!

Float carrier takes a break during a procession in Malaga

Nazarenes in Malaga procession

Nazarenes in Malaga procession

Float of the Virgin Mary being carried through the streets in Malaga

Malaga float detail

Will it rain? Float carrier in Malaga wonders

Nazarenes in Granada

Detail from the Alhambra in Granada

Arches in the Alhambra in Granada

View through the Ronda city walls

Granada windows

Shawl shop in Seville

Traditional Spanish dresses in Seville shop

Shawl detail: hand embroidered

Sevilla detail 

Sidewalk in Seville

Floor in Seville

Seville garden

Seville tile

Crafty Classes Update

Elfin Bonnet from the front

So, my week of lots of work-related deadlines has most fortunately been punctuated by opportunities to get my hands on fabric and yarn. First up was a knitting class with Master Knitter Lisa Wilcox Case. When I saw the hat in Home Ec (and felt it—knit from the springiest, softest merino Millamia), I had to make one.

Such a cute side detail!

Lisa calls it the Elfin Baby Bonnet and she recreated the pattern from one that an elderly neighbor gave her when she was in college. She described a woman who lived alone, across the hall, and knit hats for babies. Lisa still had the pattern the woman shared with her, typed up on an index card like a recipe. The construction of the hat is so cool—you knit it flat, then fold it in half and use a three-needle bind off to "stitch" the two sides together. Lisa hopes to have the pattern available on Ravelry soon. I knit a red one, and bought a different yarn yesterday to make a pink one. With spring coming, these may not be appropriate gifts for babies for awhile, but I'll have a nice gift stash for next fall and winter.

Then yesterday I taught my first quilting class. I was a little nervous—Would people like it, would it be enough to fill the time? It turned out that I knew all four of my students, some long-time friends and some new friends, so that helped with the nerves.

The group discusses layout possibilities for HSTs

It was so much fun to catch up with them, find out about the connections between them, and watch their very different fabric choices become half-square triangles. I can't wait to see what they ultimately do with their squares. And I hope they enjoyed the class.

Nora and her HST blocks-a pillow for her bed?

It's always surprising to learn that you know something other people don't...it's easy to just assume what you know is common knowledge. But in hindsight I am grateful to my half-square triangle sweat shop for making me adept enough at half-square triangle-making to share it with others.

Maureen and her Heather Ross-polka dot HSTs

And everyone agreed that Laundry Basket Quilts Triangle Papers are a pretty nifty tool.

Half Square Triangles: Please Sir, Can I Make Some More?

After all my whining about my half-square triangle sweat shop, I realized that I'd gotten really good at making them. And that I was getting a little excited thinking about how I'd arrange mine when they arrive. So when Codi was talking about adding some quilting classes at Home Ec, I volunteered to teach one on half-square triangles.

These fabrics are from Jessica Swift's Blomma by Anna Griffin Blend 

While they're pretty simple to make, I have learned a few tricks along the way. If you're in the area and interested in joining the half-square triangle mania, here's a link to the class. It's perfect for those who are just getting interested in quilting but have basic sewing skills. We'll make enough half-square triangles to make a pillow top or get a good start on a baby quilt.

P.S. In case you're not a lover of musicals, the title of this post is a riff on a line from Oliver! Not a great riff but hey, it's the best I could do with what I've got. Which is not enough caffeine. 

Master Knitters on Etsy

Lisa Wilcox Case

It's a little after the fact, but I thought I'd share some of the photos I shot for the master knitting certification post that went live on Etsy. Etsy's discovered that a large number of their visitors are accessing the site through mobile media, and that's changed the kinds of photos they need--big, bold and graphic reads much better than detailed. So a number of these just didn't cut it.

Lisa's intarsia sample

But I wanted to share them with you because I think the master knitting process is impressive, and Lisa Wilcox Case's notebooks are amazing. Filled with reports and samples, they really demonstrated her abilities, as well as the requirements for being a master knitter through The Knitting Guild Association.

Lisa's final project for master knitter certification

The other part of the master knitting story that was fun for me was that I was having a heck of a time finding a second source to talk with. I went to lunch at a local restaurant and was chatting with the owner, who I've known for years, about what her daughter was up to. Her daughter, Taylor, had been in my class when I taught at a Montessori school many years ago. She described how Taylor was getting ready to graduate from college, thinking about various careers and then said, "Oh, and she's getting master knitting certification." So funny! So I contacted Taylor (who shared a couple of photos that I've included, as well).

Lisa demonstrates a cable technique

One thing that struck me was how different the personalities of these two women seem, yet how they both want to be (or in Lisa's case, are) Master Knitters. Lisa's been a librarian and an endodontist--methodical, detail-oriented, exacting. Taylor seems to be much more of a free spirit, but she's enjoying the challenge as well.

Hope you enjoy these!

Samples in Lisa's certification notebooks

Lisa at work (she knit the sweater she's wearing)

Lisa's entrelac sample

Taylor wearing a hat she knit

Cowl knit by Taylor

Taylor's yarn bombing on the Cornell College campus

Textiles Influence Painter Chuck Close

Phil (2011-12) by Chuck Close: work and detail

If you've spent any time at art museums, you've undoubtedly seen the work of Chuck Close. I'm always taken aback when I round a corner and see one of his early, photo-realistic faces staring down at me—they're huge (his 1968 Big Self Portrait (below), which I first saw at the Walker Art Museum when I was in college, is nearly 9'x7').

So yesterday I was reading Spark: How Creativity Works by Julie Burstein, when I came upon a chapter about Chuck Close and his creative process (I am loving this book, by the way—based on the Studio 360 radio show, which despite being an avid NPR listener I've never heard). Close talks about the way that, because he is learning disabled, he has always created his paintings with a grid. Early on, it served to break the huge portraits into manageable chunks and for many years he would erase the grid (like he did in Big Self Portrait). But eventually he incorporated it into his work. Over time, the photorealism of his images—which had been created with tiny, tiny dots and brushstrokes—gave way to a more expressive way of painting, in which the faces in his paintings are evident if you stand way back, but up close they're hard to see. And lo and behold, he credits the textile arts as an influence.

Chuck Close, Self-Portrait II, 2001

"I know that one of the important primal experiences for me as a child was watching my grandmother knit and crochet and make quilts and afghans and things like that, which look a lot like my work today. She would crochet pieces and put them together to make even bigger pieces. A lot of what I do has a lot to do with what was called women's work—a process that you sign on to and you keep working at it until you get something. I think it has a lot to do with construction, and I try to build a painting rather than paint it."

Agnes, 1998

Of course, if you look at Close's work it's easy to see this, but it somehow hadn't crossed my mind. I got mighty excited knowing that Close's commanding works have their roots in his grandmother's tiny stitches, proof that however simple or mundane your work might seem, you never know the influence it can have.

Fabric Smack-down!

So those half-square triangles hit the mailbox on Tuesday, and it was something of a relief to have them out of the house. Soon another 1400 will take their place and I'll be contemplating ways to sew them together. But for now I've got another many-pieced project on the brain.

In January I took a workshop through my local guild with Bill Kerr of Modern Quilt Studio.  I've interviewed Bill's wife and business partner Weeks Ringle for American Patchwork and Quilting, and wrote a story about them both for Magic Patch. I love their work and how thoughtful they are about the design and coloration of their quilts. Plus they're friendly, funny, down-to-earth folks.

Fabric Fusion

For the workshop, Bill had us bring an assortment of fabrics and we teamed up with someone we didn't know well and had a "fabric smack-down." Bill said he and Weeks do this when deciding on fabrics for a quilt, alternating fabric choices and describing why each might work with the others. It was a real challenge: my partner Jean is a batik-lover and my stack consisted mostly of bright and bold pieces. So when she laid down a leafy batik, I laid the Brandon Mabley piece (above) on top of it. We both laughed in surprise—not a combo that either one of us would have thought of on our own, but one that seemed to work.

My Fabric Fusion palette

I took that same piece of fabric and decided to develop a palette around it and make their Fabric Fusion quilt from the February 2012 American Patchwork and Quilting. One of Bill's and Week's strengths is combining unexpected fabrics—Jo Morton calicos with contemporary David Butler lines. So while I found 26 of the fabrics to use in my stash they were mostly brights and I had to buy just a few more to round out the look. Here's what I've come up with...are there any that you'd remove from this fabric smack down? There are one or two I'm not quite sure of, but maybe they provide the foil that makes the others work...let me know what you think!