Yarn Theory!

I haven't posted in a while, partly because I've been travelling, but mostly because I've been in the throes of curating a show about knitted and crocheted sculpture!
Yarn Theory opens WAY too soon- April 25th- and features some really exciting work being done by artists, mathematicians and scientists. In addition to the exhibit, there are also a number of workshops, a performance and a guerrilla knitting project taking place on the buildings exterior!
we are blogging about the whole kit-and-caboodle here:

http://ps122gallery.wordpress.com/

So what am I making for this show?
I am trying to make a knitted version of Johannes Kepler's model of the solar system. He was very interested in platonic solids( hey, me too!), and attributed quasi-mystical characteristics to them. He also thought they showed the structure of the universe in some way. His model has them nesting inside each other to show the organizational perfection of our solar system's makeup.

His ORDER for nesting the shapes is eccentric- instead of starting with the shapes with the fewest faces and working outwards, or some other equally intuitive logic, they are arranged in a manner hard to suss indeed. This makes my job more complex than I initially thought.

Even more weird was his idea that the finished, bronze model would also double as a nice punchbowl- intriguing and strange. Was he really into parties?
Perhaps it was the expense to some patron to cast the model that sent him fishing for possible other (festive!) "uses" for the thing?

Anyway, after some amusing false starts I have developed a system for making my forms which "works". It invoves elastic and drinking straws as well as the glittering quick-silver yarn I bought in Venice. I knit around the straw- a bit like a knitting Jenny or, as they call it in the Uk, "French" knitting, where you use a spool with nails in it to make mostly useless knit tubes. In my case I NEED knit tubes, which has sent me on a variety of scavenger hunts throughout New Haven and NYC looking for straws of the correct circumferences.

peruvian vampire cats in action!

Here is little H in her sweater!



Given as a baby shower gift, and posted here as a finished item on 2/17/08, she is finally big enough, and it is finally chilly enough for her to wear it!

I think she looks stunning, and am delighted with the fit, color etc. Little H has lovely large blue eyes that go very well indeed with the body color of the sweater.

The vampire cat design is one I made using an ancient peruvain textile as inspiration. Anyone wanting a copy of the design, graphed out, just contatc me and I will be happy to pass it along.

I am well pleased.

Here's hoping it washes well!

Yarn mobiles!

These pictures show my bathroom a week ago, festooned with "mobiles" of washed and drying alpaca yarn!
Note the technique here:
A hank of yarn is tied into a large loop, gently hand-washed in warm water and a dollop of baby shampoo, and carefully rinsed. Then loop the yarn over a coat hanger and hang in the shower to drip dry. Subsequent hanks are treated the same way, but with their coat hangers hanging on the yarn PULLING IT TAUT!
A bag with a weight is hung on the bottom hank, to pull it too.

Why all of this palaver?

well, true to my last posting on the dreaded "mulesing" issue, I have been prepping wool I already have to be used. Stash depleting excercise in action here.

This yarn, a lovely chunky blue alpaca had been mostly knit by a friend into a very dense bulky sweater that I was not inclined to finish, let alone wear.

She had generously given me lots of lovely yarn but some had already been started into projects.

When you re-use yarn, you must wash and straighten it first, to release the "memory"- the kinks from the already knitted loops. This is a bit of work, but not at all difficult.

First:

frog your UFO, unraveling it, then winding it into a wide hank of yarn. Tie in three places with bits of string.

Second: hand wash the hanks in warm water with a bit of baby shampoo, and gently rinse.

Third:

hang to dry, with weights to pull the yarn straight, as shown!

viola- your yarn, is clean, straight and fluffy.

Ready for that fabulous new project!

This works for vintage sweaters you want to re-use the yarn from, projects half completed, ready to be frogged(unravelled), or any other yarn you wish to prep for knitting.

you know the mantra: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

on that note,

check out this terrific website/store: http://www.earthfriendlyyarns.com/

Earth Friendly Yarns has a wonderful range of yarns and accessories all guilt-free!

what I am thinking about making...

Okay, so here's the problem with using MODELS on these pictures....

I KNOW that I do not resemble them, and that they have nothing to do with the garment they wear, but I suspect I am still swayed by them and that their attitude and good looks have a stake in my selection process...

This one below, is the sweater I THINK I am going to make next, after I finish the dauntingly long and big cardigan coat I am currently plowing through...

It is pretty but tom-boy wearable enough for me, a good summer knit, and a chance to play with cables. Plus, I want it.







These pictures are all from from Taki/Stacy Charles

(SEE: http://www.tahkistacycharles.com/dyn_category.php?k=74276)

which has some really stunning patterns and wool that comes in colors I'm not really fond of. Lots of bright mixes. However, their patterns rock...Here was my second choice, which is from the most-excellent genius Teva Durham. Loop-d-loop has yarns and patterns on the Taki/Stacy Charles site. This one, which really looks SOOO Joan of Arc to me, is only marred by the model and what she is wearing with her gorgeous jacket.

(see- it DID affect my thinking...)

this in some tweedy/mossy/muddy color or maybe a garnet red...

mmmmm.....



I swear half of the charm of knitting is THINKING about knitting (and playing with one's stash- oh- and hoarding...)

Ok, this last example, above, also from the Taki/Stacy Charles site, knitted in something called "cosmos", is really fetching, but not me.

Really- when and where would I wear this????

I love this slit sleeves and shell buttons, but think this is WAY too feminine a look for me.

Also, I am SURE in this instance, that it is just because I would like to look like this model: look at her coloring, that mouth! she is really, really pretty, and it's getting in the way of my sweater judgement. If I make that sweater, I do not automatically gain her coloring or looks, I just get me in that sweater.

Conclusion:

despite how really alluring gorgeous photography of beautiful models in lovely settings is- I would really prefer to see the garment plunked onto a bust form with a plain background.

Except that- bust form don't have arms, have idealized bodies too, and no skin tone at all.

so-

what's the answer?

Dunno.

I have been enjoying Interweave Knits "Knitting Daily" messages, which often post "galleries" of different women with different body types wearing the same sweater. They discuss how to make various adjustments for better fit to each type, and it is illuminating to see how different everyone looks in the same garment. The way the color works or does not work with the wearer is also fascinating...

WHAT I AM MAKING now!:

This beautiful cardigan Flicca, is from designer Anna of "My Fashionable Life" (see: http://needleandhook.co.uk/journal/fashionable_life_knits_patterns_to_buy/)

I pinched this photo from her site and hope that she doesn't mind as I am no end of complementary about her work!

Her company , Needle & Hook Offers stunning and subtle patterns to buy, or you can commission her to make one for you. She has excellent, restrained but stylish taste. I am really looking forward to wearing this coat, which I am making in charcoal grey wool. It is not, however, so exciting to knit. I like more variety. Having said that- I am not at the challenging bits yet: the short rows, which I've never tried, doing the collar on huge circular needles... many challenges await with this one. Her directions are clear and easy-to-follow and it's nice to be buying an original pattern form a talented and real person not a huge company. I thought I was ok with a bigger project, but am getting daunted...

peruvian vampire cats!

Well, I've finished it-
though I did not get a picture of the back, which features a mama and baby cat...
it is super-soft, and should fit for quite a while, given that the ties can easily expand the circumfrance of the wee one.
The shower was today, so I can safely post this.
I am really pleased with how it came out and hope that it keeps baby H cozy and snug.
That "Baby Yoda" pattern is a wonder-
look it up on "Dogs Steal Yarn".
I love the web for the way people are so willing to share, and how one can see how many really talented, creative and generous folks really are out there. Quite heart-warming, really.

shell pix redux

Okay, so I've already posted photos of this project, but I was unhappy with their quality

pepermint twist

Note: If your name is Niece Francie, you should not read or look at this posting as it will totally spoil your christmas surprise....

This little goodie is the stocking cap I am currently attempting to make. It is taking A LOT of wool and is very thick, and possibly too heavy to really be feasible(or pleasant) as a stocking cap.

Right now it looks more like a very snarled, potentially poisonous jelly fish, and I am gamely trying to get it done on time, but am less and less optimistic. Live and learn.Perhaps I will send it out to somewhere very cold as a charity hand-knit gift- say Afghanistan- where it's qualities and aesthetic might be better appreciated.

next time I make a stocking cap I will:

• Cast on the suggested number of stitches
• use lighterweight yarn
• use equal weight yarns
• use few colors

My devil-may-care, invent and add as you go approach has NOT worked well with this project, which was intended to be portable. Instead, I have been lugging around big bulky bags of assorted tangled candy-colored wool all week. I will post a picture of the finished item, when it finally happens....