Sep 24, 2014
Just had to share some of the content compiled by Fiber Art Now after their Twitter chat on September 17, 2014.
Ask a Curator Day, September 17
As I can’t seem to embed this directly into my blog, let me link you to the Storify page, which has some great contemporary and historic textile photos from museums.
Thanks, Fiber Art Now for organizing this chat. Their quarterly magazine does more than make up for the disappearance of FiberArts Magazine in 2011 (why Interweave dropped it? So a dynamite global woman could make it better, I guess!).
Sep 16, 2014
I won’t have time. I may have time. Wow! I have a morning free.
Those of you who travel with non yarn loving family members know the dilemma: you head blissfully into a yarn store, content to browse for at least an hour. Even supportive and appreciative gift recipients can only handle so much yarn handling and pattern browsing. To truly enjoy a yarn shop sejour, send the friends and family away and soak it up yourself.
While planning a stopover in London with my hub earlier this month, I believed I might do my usual pilgrimage to Liberty (which was a bit disappointing this time… the fabric shopping is better in their online store!). With the London Fashion Week just days away, perhaps I missed the good stuff. I hoped to stop by Loop Knitting in Islington to pick up the newest issue of Pom Pom Quarterly. That seemed unlikely.
But serendipitous schedule scrambles allowed me to jump on the Tube on morning, knitting happily as the stations sped by. Once in Islington, I escaped the quickly moving escalator to find a cute little espresso truck. Good sign!
Loop’s little map did not have a scale identifying the actual distance from the station to the yarn shop, so I was surprised to find it not more than 200 yards away. The cozy little shop is spread on two floors, filled with foreign accented chatter, lovely shop samples and WHAT? – large selection of Quince and Co yarns. Fun offerings from Habu dotted the downstairs as well. Grrr.
Did I travel all of the way here to find yarns I already enjoy at home? Being Boston based, I know we have a fabulous LYS scene. I expected Debbie Bliss and Rowan yarns, UK standards available across the continents. But all of the way here for these quality materials I already knew? Has globalization hit the yarn scene, diluting the local characteristics of all yarn shops?
I found my Pom Pom Quarterly right away, but I felt like the spoiled little girl. Where were the UK indie yarns?
Whew! Upstairs, I found the cozy sofa, Jamieson spindrift (like smelling salts, I tell you) and a variety of hand dyed and small UK yarn providers.
Of course, I couldn’t resist the Old Maiden Aunt sport weight alpaca, silk and wool combo… and I needed a pattern to use that precious shank. So I purchased the Juju’s Loops book, which had a lovely fingerless mitt and sweater pattern that I couldn’t resist.
Excellent souvenirs, I decided.
Back on the Camden Passage, I continued up the pedestrian street to admire shop windows.
Cafes, antique shops (all closed on a Tuesday morning), chocolate shops mingled to create an interesting little walk. I was glad to for time to wander into Loop.
Aug 27, 2014
Driving home last night, TED Radio Hour focused on Brené Brown’s research on courage, vulnerability and living life to its fullness. As I rip back mistakes in knitting, lead classes where people are stretching their skills in new projects, support businesses who are moving up to the next level, her results and realizations were heartening. Definitely take 12 minutes to listen to the TED Radio Hour mix of Dr Brown’s work. If you’ve got 20 minutes to watch her original TED talk, I’ve embedded it here.
Aug 24, 2014
Summer travels deserve a portable knitting project… one that fits tidily into a bag, isn’t too demanding and keeps you busy for the long haul. Thanks to the Common Cod Fiber Guild Knit a Long (KAL), my traveling project for summer 2014 is Bristol Ivy’s Thorn.
Thorn, an asymmetrical wrap designed by Bristol Ivy
Let me be honest: When the Cod announced the KAL, I surveyed my stash and found no good fingering weight yarn in 1000 yard quantities that fit the bill. Either they were earmarked for other projects or too variegated for a delightful result. So I thought I’d pass. Then one day in early July, a most appealing shank of lace weight silk from Claudia Hand Painted Yarns began calling my name at In Stitches.
With 1100 yards in one skein, I could complete Thorn
Thorn sails into Rhode Island Sound
By the time I wound that shank, it was nearly time for our sail down to Block Island. I rigged a color mesh yarn bag from Walker with a lanyard and a foam base, downloaded the pattern and cast on.
Sea worthy knitting!
Technically, Thorn is not a difficult pattern. It does, however, require one to count. I have learned that I do not always count correctly. Counting incorrectly means a lot of ripping or reverse knitting. Did you catch that I chose a finer yarn than the pattern uses? Oh, yes, knitting on size US 1 needles means those stitches are just that tinier when you reverse knit.
Learning from others in the KAL, I did place a nice bright green thread as a traveling marker. I often watch it shrink… the last big mistakes discovered a good 54 rows later. Sigh.
On weekend sails, car trips, any time I thought the light would be good enough, Thorn travels along. Sailing friends have watched it grow.
Thorn sailing out of Boston
Having finished section B2 this morning near Montreal, perhaps I’m in a Thorn -y groove?
Thorn, Section B2 finished near Montreal
At this point, I cannot recommend Thorn in lace weight yarn as a great traveling project. Off to check the hash tag #CCFGThornKAL to see what other yarns people are using.
What makes a good traveling project for you?
Jul 1, 2014
My grandfather believed that you should never begin a letter with an apology for not writing.
“Why waste the paper? If you get a letter from someone, you want news, not excuses.”
Blogging is the same sort of thing, I imagine.
If you’ve been following the Master Knitter Level 3 journey and other posts marking the voyage, you may be relieved/surprised that I finally sent the portfolio in about a month ago. I’ve had all kinds of fun during my free time, glorious long days and warm nights that beckon me to spend every possible minute outdoors.
Work wise, I’ve started spending a chunk of my week at Laurena’s Longarm Quilting.
Laurena’s ready for the next wave of growth and has realized that she can’t do everything (although she certainly tries!). I’ll help her with marketing, social media and assisting renters at her studio in Burlington. I’ve known Laurena for (gasp) seven years now, as a small group of Rising Star Quilters headed up to the Vermont Quilt Festival for a fantastic fiber escape as part of my Tactile Travel tour business.
At the time, Laurena had one longarm quilting machine, providing custom quilting for Boston area patchwork lovers. When she added another machine and started teaching others how to use the machine in 2008, I was quick to sign up. I love hand quilting, but I have machine quilted several queen and king size quilts on my Bernina . One of my art quilts made of 5 layers of wool just wasn’t gliding easily with my home machine. So I started the path and eventually felt confident enough to quilt Plantano II in 2010 (somewhere I know I have photos…).
I still love hand quilting, but when it comes to bed quilts, I’m all about the longarm. For those quilters who still firmly believe that hand quilting is the only way, I respect your belief. But it’s not the true and only path. If I’m feeling flippant, I could remark that only sail boats are an acceptable form of cross Atlantic transportation as well (But I’m not, so I won’t!). We all love different things. I, of course, love many things.
Have you tried a longarm quilting machine? Once you’re loaded, it’s quite fun… anyone who loves to doodle will adore it. Anyone who doesn’t like doodling can definitely get their zen moment by following a pantograph. Laurena offers Learn about Longarm classes twice a month, so definitely contact her if the idea interests you.
I’m looking forward to sharing some of the projects that tempt and try my hands and mind lately. So, expect more frequent blogging this summer. For all things about longarm quilting, I’ll post content on Laurena’s blog. I enjoy posting Tactile Travel discoveries and living projects vicariously through some of my favorite blogs. If you really want to hear the daily scoops, definitely let’s connect on Twitter or Instagram.
Then if there is a delay in posting, we can at least keep in touch.
Best Wishes!
Alanna
