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WWW: animals in knit & crochet and emerging artists exhibit

When I need a visual pick-me-up, I often turn to the miniature crochet animals of the Su Ami family of knitters and crocheters (Vietnam). This fox is adorable! Moving toward full-sized animals, the work of artist Michele Beevors (New Zealand) recently caught my eye. She is knitting a 4m-high subadult African giraffe skeleton from a specimen at the Otago Museum. Her work reminded me of Ruth Marshal’s (Australia-America) big cats and Australian animals from ...

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WWW: animals in knit & crochet and emerging artists exhibit

When I need a visual pick-me-up, I often turn to the miniature crochet animals of the Su Ami family of knitters and crocheters (Vietnam). This fox is adorable! Moving toward full-sized animals, the work of artist Michele Beevors (New Zealand) recently caught my eye. She is knitting a 4m-high subadult African giraffe skeleton from a specimen at the Otago Museum. Her work reminded me of Ruth Marshal’s (Australia-America) big cats and Australian animals from a few years ago. (Marshall’s Ocelot #1 is pictured.) The Burke Prize 2018, the future of craft (part 2) is on view through March 17, 2019 at the Museum ...

Back to the Basics

My husband recently unearthed my old iPod and replaced the battery. It’s packed with old songs that I still like and all of the memories that go along with them. What I really like about this iPod is that it’s connected to nothing, no phone, no internet, no notifications of any kind. It’s just me and the music.       I’ve been in a little bit of spinning slump. I don’t have many deadlines right now and I’m not doing much spinning. I’m still excited about spinning and I’m certainly still buying fiber. I want to spin all of my beautiful fiber. I decided to ...

WWW: A Solar System Quilt from 1876; reviving the skill of engraving felt; loinloom festival

baker's solar system quilt
Completed in 1876, Ellen Harding Baker’s Solar System Quilt is stunning. (It’s left me speechless.) I apologize for missing sharing this before the event. The 5th International Loinloom Festival concluded on on December 7 in Diezephe, India. Plan now for next year! Ancestral art of engraving felt revived thanks to a project by Iğdır University (Turkey). Remember, if you have a link of interest for What’s What Wednesday, please share it!

Holiday Gifts for Spinners

Still looking for gifts for your spinning family? Or do you still need to drop some big hints for gifts for yourself? Here are a few ideas: 51 Yarns to Spin Before You Cast Off by Jacey Faulkner. Work your way through the spinning of 51 different yarns. It’s a fun ride and you won’t be the same spinner after you finish. Raw Material: Working Wool in the West by Stephany Wilkes. A fascinating book that tells the story of the education of a sheep shearer, and the story of what it takes to make a sheep to needles, or sheep to factory yarn.   Electric Eel Wheel Mini 2. If this Thumbelina wheel appeals to ...

WWW: Yarn for Good Cause; residue of creativity; shapes and order

It’s the season of giving. Do you use yarn for your charitable work? Yarncanada.ca partnered with Bernat Yarn and Patons Yarn to give away a total of $2000 worth of yarn to 12 individuals and groups. The deadline to apply is December 31, 2018 and is is open to Canadians and Americans (sorry rest of the world!). Learn more and place your request at www.yarncanada.ca/for-good. Both of these articles make me think of free-form crochet. From The New York Times, “This Is the Way the Paper Crumples” and this video by Steve Mould shows Intricate Patterns Created With Sound. Do you track the residue of your ...

Quick Gift Knitting from Stephen West

Back when Stephen West was still a new designer he did several wonderful designs for Knitty. I’ve knit two of his shawl designs out of handspun for gifts, they are both a weekend (or less ) knit. I’ve made three Colonnade shawls from handspun. It’s 3.5 stitches to the inch, a design from one of the earlier days when bulky yarn was popular. I never put the button on it because the shaping allows it to just sit and stay on your shoulders.       I’ve made two Groove shawls. The pattern calls for a DK yarn, but I used a yarn closer to a worsted for a bigger shawl. I love the ...

WWW: Weaving and Crocheting Shopping Bags, Unique Fundraiser, and a Museum Roundup

I love this report of plastic shopping bags being reused and crocheted or woven into mats for the homeless by residents in an independent and assisted-living facility in Gainesville, GA. Some may with they had access to this fundraiser for ‘underappreciated’ knitted items (this particular endeavor is local to Waterloo, Canada). Museum roundup: On the morning of Sunday December 9th, museum members can enjoy Knitting at the MFA (Boston, Massachusetts). Please note that tickets are required. ST Presents Museum Confidential: The World-Famous Crochet Museum an audio podcast about the World Famous Crochet Museum in Joshua ...

Electric Eel Mini Spinner 2 Kickstarter

Here’s a Kickstarter I backed as soon as I saw it, the Electric Eel Mini Spinner 2!I was a little late to the party, so I’ll be waiting for mine a bit. This Kickstarter closes December 20th, so if you want to be in the first round click over and sign up. The Kickstarter packages start at $60. The first Electric Eel Mini Spinner, was really popular. I know a lot of people who bought one, some liked it some weren’t so happy with it, but that’s the way all wheels are. A student brought the first version to a class I taught in Florida, so I got to put my hands on it, and I liked it more than I ...

WWW: Spider Silk; Espionage and/or Multitasking; New Fiber Art Exhibit

The Tangled History of Weaving with Spider Silk explores some of spider silk weaving’s history. While this article is a few years old, I think The Wartime Spies Who Used Knitting as an Espionage Tool pairs nicely with this new one, Unique multi-tasking combinations. Knitty has featured coded designs, see Morse code mittens (First Fall 2011) and the QR-key scarf (First Fall 2013). Twisted, Twined, and Woven: Contemporary Fiber Art is a new exhibit at the Cahoon Museum of American Art (Cotuit, MA USA) that looks how textile art is evolving. It is on view through December 22.

Thanksgiving is for Zen Spinning

In the U.S. it will soon be Thanksgiving. It’s a day for family, friends and food, and frankly trying to do too much. I see so many of my friends put too much pressure on themselves to have perfect houses, perfect tables, perfect food, and end up exhausted and stressed. When they take time to spin on Thanksgiving, the pressure is on to spin for holiday gifts. I am here to ask all of you spinners to take some time for Zen spinning on Thanksgiving. Spin with no project or outcome in mind. Take some time for yourself. Spin your favorite fiber with your favorite draft, and bask in the beauty of spinning with those ...
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