A Knit & Crochet Museum?

Your humble former blogger has returned from the museum symposium in Madison, Wisconsin. There is much to report.

Karen Kendrick-Hands has done a wonderful job of shepherding the idea of starting a museum of knit and crochet. The gathering last weekend in Madison was a big step forward, as it was an opportunity for interested parties to meet. About fifty people attended, including one from Canada and one from the United Kingdom. We were able to share our hopes and concerns. We were able to hammer out a name and tag line: "The Center for Knit and Crochet: Preserving and promoting art, craft and scholarship." We were able to form a seven-member board whose immediate job is to write articles of incorporation and file for 501(c)(3) status. There will be much more discussion about the goals and scope of the museum. We will want to start small and grow sustainably. This means we will need to be patient. This also means the museum will probably start with activities other than outright collecting. We aren't yet sure when we will meet again, nor where nor how often. There is an enormous amount of planning work to be done behind the scenes. Yet we also have an incredible range of talent within our group -- museum people, academics, authors, teachers, and enthusiastic practitioners. I left the weekend with confidence that this is going to happen.

A huge thank you goes out to the Wisconsin Historical Society and the Yarn Group of TNNA. Together they provided logistical and financial support that went a long way towards not just making the symposium possible, but making it successful.

The Wisconsin Historical Society also staged a small exhibit of knit and crochet objects. It was exciting to see such work under glass in cases with museum labels. Some of the work was quite fine on tiny needles at a gauge most of us would consider masochistic. My apologies for the image quality -- no flash in low light under glass. Here are some of the items on display:

International Treasures

A very fine knit and beaded hat.

Crochet? Mittens in an unusual pattern.

A fancy bib(?) with unusual shaping.

There were other object including a pair of knitting needles that looked as if they had been whittled from tree branches. They were gently curved, perhaps due to the bend in the initial wood? And there was a long, narrow, fine sampler of lace. I'm not sure which was more impressive, the number of lace patterns or the border that had been worked separately and sewn on. I can't imagine finding the fortitude to slog away on perhaps 10 or 12 feet of fine gauge lace edging.

Oh, the Tangled Webs We Wear . . . in our hair.

There is a new beauty trend this year that does not involve sweaters, cowls, scarves, mittens, socks or shawls.  Apparently, the fashion designers knit too, and they found a new creative way to use up their excess stash.

Girls in the Beauty Department Beauty: glamour.com

The blog-mistress is actually speechless.  As we attorneys like to say, the pictures speak for themselves.  I have nothing to add.  

What are your thoughts on the new yarn designs?  Do you find this a fashion worth following, or does your head hurt thinking about the tangles you will need to brush out to remove the strands of yarn?  

Kathy Zimmerman Rocked!

Folks, if you weren’t there, you missed it.  Kathy Zimmerman rocked. 

I’m not much of a “theorist.”  I love practical discussions about how you can accomplish a task by following steps A, B, and C.  Kathy did not disappoint.  Her discussion on Thursday described the design process from the point she received the request for submissions through the life of the garment once it has been   She even discussed her start as developing a reputation as a samples knitter for several years before being invited to submit her own designs. 

I appreciate Kathy’s frankness about how she designs her garments to meet the needs of the editors.  For example, she knows which editors prefer or dislike certain finishes and design features, and she designs her submissions with those preferences in mind.  On a personal note, I appreciate Kathy’s love of worsted and bulky weight yarn.  The project moves so much faster with bigger yarn and gives slow knitters (like me) a needed sense of accomplishment much sooner.  And I suspect that she chooses the larger yarns exactly for that reason.  Well done!

While I was only able to attend two of Kathy’s classes, I found both of them inspiring.  The first class I attended was the slip-stitch sampler.  

I love the different combinations that you can create with the simple slip-stitch – who knew?  I don’t want to say I was inspired by the class, but I immediately went home and created this little beauty from Mason-Dixon Knitting:

 

The ballband dishcloth is a little distorted because my youngest got a hold of it, and we had a great game of “keep away.”  On a side note, the Peaches and Cream yarn holds up extremely well to extreme abuse.   

For my next class, I studied fringes, ruffles and scallops.  Again, her class did not disappoint.  What I found especially interesting is how knitting into the back loop is an integral part of these patterns to twist and tighten the stitches and to help the edgings keep their shapes. 

By the end of the day (not the end of the class – remember the slow knitter thing), I had the following edgings:

Someone noted that the fringe looked like the beginning to a pattern for a trauma bear.  I agreed, and a new pattern is in progress. 

 I’ll post the final product when I have it.

A big thank you to Kathy Zimmerman for all of her wisdom and inspiration!  We thoroughly enjoyed having you as our guest and teacher, and we hope you will come see us again. 

And, of course, thank you to everyone who made this event possible, including Kathleen, Eve, Marian, Betty, Ellen R., Joan, SEFAA and its members, and the entire AKG board.  It was an amazing weekend.

Catching Up - Live and Let Dye

Okay, I’m way behind in the blog posts. I missed the last AKG meeting and have absolutely had no idea what to write.   In fairness, I didn’t miss the meeting because of a conflict or an overwhelming desire to eat bon bons and watch Oprah reruns.  My sick husband had volunteered to watch our kids, but he wasn’t in any condition to do anything that required more effort than lifting the remote control.  Thus, given the choice between attending the meeting and sparing my husband the antics of our three boys, I opted to spare my husband.  After all, he knows where I live.

Apparently, this was not the meeting to miss.  The meeting topic – Live and Let Dye - and speaker, Judy Forster of Mama Jude’s Plant Dyed Stuff (www.mamajudes.com), were phenomenal.  You could hear a pin drop during her presentation, which covered everything from different dying techniques, what natural materials to use for dying, where you can purchase these materials, and guidelines for safe dying (my favorite is to not drink while dying because you could pick up the wrong container).  Be sure to go to the link and check out the yarn and other products at her Etsy.com store.

Judy also was kind enough to relay her favorite dying resources:

Colors from Nature by Bobbi A. McRae

Nature’s Colors by Ida Grae

The Art and Craft of Natural Dyeing by Jim Liles

Ancient Dyes for Modern Weavers by Palmy Weigle

Wild Color by Jenny Dean

A Passion for Color by Sarah Burnett (also available at the AKG Library)

A Weaver’s Garden by Rita Buchanan. 

At the end of the impressive lecture, the AKG was able to shine with its own impressive display of our member’s work:

I can’t wait to see what we have to share with our upcoming superstar speaker, Kathy Zimmerman, this Thursday.  

The Controversy that is Yarn Bombing

I have to admit that I have mixed feelings about yarn bombing.  On one hand, I appreciate the need for artistic expression.  Seeing a hotel decorated in yarn, as recently described by the Yarn Harlot, has to be quite a sight.  On the other hand, I’m not sure I find a lot of value in using scraps of yarn to cover random objects simply because it can be done.

http://bit.ly/t9MldO 

http://bit.ly/OM1aaH

There have been some great examples of yarn bombing used to decorate utilitarian objects.  For example, the AKG has a member who “yarn bombed” an old chair, giving it new character and life:

In another instance of decorative yarn bombing, a group of senior citizens from the West Flamingo Active Adult Center in Las Vegas and the local Boy Scout Troup 238 decided to “yarn bomb” a utilitarian pedestrian bridge over a local parkway. http://bit.ly/OGfLWi  The group created a sun motif designed to complement the work of nearby Sunrise Hospital. 

http://bit.ly/PDwlWf

http://bit.ly/OGfLWi 

Anyone who knows me also knows that I can’t resist good social or political commentary.  So imagine my delight when I found this juicy piece of yarn bombing:

http://bit.ly/OEkxUM

You guessed it!  That would be a naked Prince Harry (or nekked, for those true Southerners) guarding the family jewels that were otherwise publically displayed recently in Las Vegas.  What makes this yarn bombing especially delicious is that this irreverent display sits near the very proper the Royal crown and other decorations that were crafted for the recent Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. 

So let the controversy begin:  Yarn Bombing – creative expression or a poor use for perfectly good yarn.  Please be sure to leave your comments below.  And all posters are encouraged to use the term “family jewels” in their posts.  I look forward to reading your thoughts on this pressing topic.