I don't know what makes me do these things.

You Are The Moon

You represent the unconscious side of life, what happens in dreams. You are capable of great genius - but also of great madness. Emotions tend to be primal for you, both your fears and your fantasies. Your intuition is always right, listening to it is the difficult part. Your fortune: You are about to embark on a very important journey - and a very difficult one. Some of your deepest dreams will be realized, as well as some of your deepest nightmares. Follow your creativity and visions; stay away from your weaknesses. You are taking a voyage to the center of yourself, and you may be pleasantly surprised by what you discover.

What Tarot Card Are You?

Thanks to Femiknit Mafia

There really are things to write about.

I don't want it all to sound as whiny as yesterday.
Work on the collaboration is moving along. I'm in a little bit of a waiting mode, M is away and the project, as far as our exchange goes, is on hold.

I haven't gotten to the gallery for photos yet. My schedule and their schedule are in a bit of a conflict. I should be able to get in there next week on Tuesday or Wednesday. (fingers crossed)

TheAmpuT is right when she says that when it's busy there are more things to write about but not as much time.

I should be knitting right now.

While I was typing the earlier post I heard rumblings outside hmmm..... Then I went out bought a newspaper and was sitting reading it and I heard growling noises and then a big crash in the trees across the street. Yep, it's a bear. I got the camera and tried to get a shot but I didn't want to get too close. Then I came back inside, thought a little more about it and picked up the camera again, went out, but I turned around pretty quickly when I saw the bear had 2 cubs with her. Not a good idea to get close enough for a photo.

Thanks to everyone who had good words about the show. If you didn't make it to the opening try to see it. Worth the trip. I will get to the gallery sometime this week to take photos of the installation. Keep watching.

It hasn't all been knitting around here. Fran aided my addiction yesterday and added 3 new cookbooks to the collection. I am especially intrigued by Salads Sandwiches and Chafing Dish Dainties by Janet M. Hill, 1928. Egg Timbales, Halibut Sandwiches with Aspic, Spinach and Tongue Salad, English Monkey, and Golden Buck. Wow. I can see some knit coming out of this.





Scotch Woodcock anyone?
Make a cup of white sauce; add one tablespoonful of essence of anchovies and five hard-boiled eggs cut into quarters lengthwise.

I think this is suppose to be served on toast.

The weeks in the summer seem to go by so fast.

The heat, rain, and humidity left me feeling wiped out. I spent most of my time knitting swatches. A sort of mindless activity with no pressure to complete something.

The work got to the gallery. The show opens tomorrow.

Kleinert/James Art Center
34 Tinker Street
Woodstock, NY 12498
845.679.2079
www.woodstockguild.org

THREAD BARE
Tradition Unraveled

Sally Agee Elana Herzog Beth Humphrey
Paula Lalala Robyn Love Lee Musselman
Mark Newport Donna Sharrett Devorah Sperber
with Paul Leone of The Woodstock Wool Company

Curated by Stella Chasteen, Heather Hutchison and Portia Munson

Opening Reception: July 1, 5:00 - 8:00 pm
Gallery Hours: Fri-Sun 12-5 pm and by appointment
July 1 - August 6, 2006

My favorite part of the invite is that My name is missing. I'm thinking of myself as a stealth textilist. I like it that way.
Once again you all are invited. I'll be there after work... 6:30ish.

I've been getting the pieces ready for the show coming up next weekend.

I have also been trying to get a good image of the newspaper piece one week. It's one week of the New York Times knitted.. This is the best image I've been able to come up with.
sorry
somehow all of the detail has been lost


Otherwise I had a very blank weekend. Summers in the shop don't give me as much time as I would like to do studio things. I sometimes knit in public, but at the shop I get too many questions to keep concentrating on the work or sales.

This week on the agenda is making lemoncello with Cynthia, and getting a new group of Hand, Face, Body pieces together to send to Toronto.

Off to work.

I hope everyone had fun at Janice's party. Where are the pictures?

This week has been busy and surprising.

The leaks aren't as bad as they have been, the bathroom leak seems to be fixed, I haven't had puddles in the shop. The bar has a busy schedule up so we'll see what happens over the weekend. I'm nervous about it.

Other stuff has been good.
Someone was in the shop on Monday and we were talking about my work and she is interested in showing it at her shop in NYC. That is pending and I'll update as I know more.

Yesterday a woman who is curating a show at the Kleinart / James Arts Center in Woodstock came for a studio visit. She picked out seven pieces for the show. All of the newspaper ones including this. One Day. Which is one day of the New York Times knitted.

She also pick all of the text pieces. So I was happy and sad about it. She didn't want any of the machine knitted things because their scale was too large for what she wants in the show. So it's all of the small things (and the older work).

Anyway the show is up July 1 through August 6 and the opening is July 1, 5-8 if any of you are around Woodstock NY that weekend. I'll be there.

I also have five of the pieces ready to send to Melissa in Toronto for that project. The blog about it isn't where I want it yet but that's being worked on too.

I'm wishing I lived close to Vancouver BC. I think the party there this weekend will be great.

Today while I was lying on the sofa napping working on ideas for the Toronto project I heard Fran giggling in the office.

He was being all Jackson Pollack at this site I just had to share it with you all.

Yes, it is another wonderful time waster.

I really am working. Photos soon.

I am calmed down after yesterday's post and the store flood. The way the shop stands now.... The bar is closed until the plumbing problems are fixed. I can hear the plumber working upstairs right now.

My diversion from yesterday. The Peruvian or Bolivian hat from the 50's

knitted of a fine wool.


And the other hat and Lucia's haiku. For some reason I have the urge to knit one of these. I ask again, Is that wrong?

Post deleted

deleted, too negative

I have had a busy week.

1
I don't think that I have fully recovered from the flood from upstairs. I think that the problem with the bar isn't being addressed by the landlord (not to mention the leaks!). Today there is suppose to be someone in to work on the back room leak. It's all driving me nuts.

2
I have been involved in getting the project for Toronto started. We are going to have a little blog about the project and we are ironing things out with that. Hey ! Does anyone know how I can get some chat into the blog? Melissa and I are thinking that more than posting to each other we want some type of discussion going on that is transparent to everyone watching us work. I thought maybe chat in the sidebar or something.

3
I have been knitting the socks (they're done but I don't love them yet) ripping and redoing the toe.

4
I've been reading Everyday Genius : Self-Taught Art and the Culture of Authenticity, by Gary Alan Fine. Tina -who remains blogless- recommended this to me and.... Where can I start.

It has got me thinking about both my business and my art.
- if you don't know- we deal in decorative objects and accessories and art. Most of our interest is in Folk art and other forms that aren't a part of the everyday dialogue in art. So this book is about what we do. On top of that it is about the other types of art communities that are marginalized by the "Art Elite".
That includes textiles. I don't know where I'm going with this, but can you see the connection and why this is relevant to me?

I think it also applies to anyone who is knitting as a hobby. Why is knitting undervalued as art? Why is some work art and some work a hobby?

I here-by declare you all are doing art. I should curate a show, I should curate a show about socks.
hmmm.... more to come. My brain is about to explode.

There are some strange patterns for garments in some of the old knit books.
But, who ever knit this?

Summer tourist season

People are out and about even today, a Monday.

I haven't been able to get into the studio to do any work.

Melissa and I have been having discussions about the collaboration project. We're thinking of documenting the whole thing on a blog. When we get that set up I'll let you know.

Hopefully you all will give comments on the piece as it develops. The idea is to look at it as an on-line bee. Or maybe it's more of a performance and everyone can drop in and see what we're thinking about, what we're making, how it evolves.

We are both really excited about this.

For now, that is where things are.

oh and btw..... no water streaming into the shop. That (as Martha would say) is a good thing.

It seems that I spoke too early when I said that Melissa + my proposal for the show at the Gladstone Hotel wasn't accepted.

It has been. Yep a good thing. Looks like I'll be in Toronto in October for installation and the opening. This should be exciting.

... and I was feeling very happy and lucky this morning... then I got to the shop.

A major amount of water was in the front 1/3 of the store. The bar is leaking on me! The good part is that I had just rearranged everything and the upholstery was all move to the rear of the shop. None of that was ruined. Everything else that got wet seems to be ok. Glass tables and stuff.

So what was to be a happy singing type of a post is now terse and I've got to go and mop some more.

The fug and the fuglier

Since I'm documenting a process here I'm posting these photos of a dyeing experiment.
This knitted then painted.....

becomes....This when unraveled and reknitted.


Sorry examples I know, But I learned some stuff from it.
1. to make an ikat type of pattern for knitting in the round you've got to start off with knitted in the round.
2. Painting dye on the already knitted base leaves way to much un-dyed area.
3. I like the bamboo needles

I may still try some stuff on a flat fabric, but I've got to think a lot more about how the stitches will move in the round.

My 100th post

Just making a note of that.

The rude people have started coming into the shop as soon as the sign is turned. I think that there is an auction preview in town today. That may drive me over the edge.

I've been busy knitting the sock yarn experiment. I don't think that it is quite working. But I'm continuing.

I woke up last night thinking about George W. Bush and what an asshole he is. This attempt at an amendment to ban gay marriage has left me feeling bashed. How hateful can people be? very it seems. I 'm not going into that..............

Another entry in the small world category. Cynthia had a friend, Tomas, visiting from Mexico. He's originally from Tuscany and now lives in Mexico City. His sister also is in Mexico and has a restaurant in.... yep, San Miguel de Allende, and I've been there and I met her. So the world is a tiny tiny place.

So off to knitting and acting aloof, this is a snooty shop after all , isn't it?

Oh one other thing. Josh's film a/k/a Tommy Chong is going to be at the Film Forum June 14th - June 27th. EVERYBODY go and support this!

We now continue with our regularly scheduled knitting day.

The experiment has been painted, set, and wound into balls. The test swatches will begin tonight. The painting went so so. I think that vat dyeing will work out better. I'm a bit afraid of a tie dye affect.

Other wise I've been doing things around the house. Like mowing the lawn and doing laundry. Yawn, boring I know, After putting stuff off for so long I thought that I should get my life into a little bit of order.

More knitting today on the machine. Experiments and tests in various yarn, weights and tensions. No photos, just imagine a big pile of mess.

The truth is,,,, I have just been wanting to sleep. Yesterday afternoon I laid down at 2 and the next thing I knew it was 3:30. hmm.... I'm blaming it all on the tension of the store getting to me.

O.K. I'll stop now I feel that I might be getting too close to wallowing.

Machine maintenance

After days distracting myself from doing any work and playing with DFILM, (I'm not linking to this if you want to go and make films see my previous post), I worked on cleaning up the machine today.

Then I began doing some plain knit things that I think I'll dye in some sock yarn experiments. If they work out there will be photos.

The other socks are progressing I think this week I should have them finished.

Weekends at the shop are wiping me out. I have to be so social and talk to tons of people. Most of them aren't interested, but I try to keep myself up.

I am also back to embroidering the knitted faces. That always seems to be troublesome but I'm pushing through with it.

So I'm busy and doing stuff and, wow, the grass in the yard is so high I'm surprised the neighbors haven't said something.

I've been doing the usual knitting. I've decided that I don't like the toe of the sock so I'm ripping it out and trying again.

I've also been playing and thinking about the ravel knit rugs.

For play I've been going here.
If you make a film send it to me. iknit at hotmail dot com.
I'd love to see ya'lls distractions.

I doesn't look like Melissa and I will be doing the project for the textile symposium in October. We haven't heard from the jury yet, but I would guess at this point that we aren't picked. The idea will continue though.

If I haven't told you we are planning a project based on the idea of the exquisite corpse. We are each beginning a piece and sending it to the other for a response and then back again. For lack of a better word we are calling the finished object/objects a quilt. It really will be a collage of textile ideas.

Some of my imagery will be the stuff you all have seen, the portraits. This one of M and me and who knows what else. I'm playing with the idea of putting the things up on the blog as I work on them. Showing the process.

So that is my thinking this friday morning.

I have also been looking at pet finder dot com . I found a little affie but when I mentioned it to Fran he poo pooed the idea, I guess we aren't ready to have any pets at the moment. I'm not positive about it either. I was just looking.

I did finish a sock. I will finish the pair.

Other than that I took the day off yesterday. Fran and I went to CT to see Andrew and Michele. I missed seeing them at rhinebeck and , well, we just needed a little time off.

Today I'm just sweating it out, literally, at the shop. I am telling myself that I'll be motivated and get to the knitting machine.
But,
but,
but I am feeling too hot.

And sticky.

To distract me and anyone who thought that I might be posting some real content today here is fourfour's top ten moments from the past season of ANTM. funny but you have to be a fan.

Sock porn

I promised a while back to share some of the images of the socks I've collected. FYI I try to find interesting 19th or early 20th century ones.

These are two of my favorites. I only have five, they aren't easy to find.
The entrelac ones are done out of a cotton thread with what looks like a crochet lace finish. The stripes look like a mercerized cotton, the leg was knitted on 2 needles and the heel and foot were done in the round. They have a knit lace trim.

So that is today's distraction. I haven't had time to get any work done. Between the mobs of people and the dripping from the upstairs bar this weekend has been driving me mad.

It should begin to calm down today. Everyone will be traveling home after the memorial day weekend.

My day started out with me breaking the coffee pot.

My own fault I am in a crazy mood. Anxiety or something.

While reading blogs this morning at Sistahcraft, a place where I lurk, I came across this link. It made me laugh. I don't know who the artist is.

Now I am at the shop/studio. It's a town wide yard sale so I thought that I should be here early to claim the space in front of the store. I will try to get some knitting in before the shopping day begins. I expect loads of people wandering through and maybe someone will buy something.

Ugh... holiday weekends.

Not all bad.
I picked up the second installment of the farm share. Tons of stuff for so early in the season. I guess the weather has been cooperating. Spinach and kale and lots of lettuce and baby turnips with the greens that look spectacular. It'll be fun cooking tonight.

vanity sock

The kinks with the material are worked out. I can see some socks coming out of this. The wool has a great hand. I am really liking the material. A great break from the synthetics I've been using.

Now the time thing has got to work out. Holiday weekends aren't usually too good for the studio. If I get here early enough I should get some knitting done.

I really wanted to post some photos of the stuff I have on the machine. But today has been a day of breaks. I'm trying to knit the alpaca and some very fine Italian merino. They don't like being on the machine.. I'll get a bit knitted and then a break.

Hey, does anyone have any tips for casting on the fine wool. Most of the breaking is happening right at the start with the cast on.

The rest of my time today and this weekend will be tied up with the rhinebeck show. Load in is tomorrow am. The show opens Saturday. I will be at the shop. Fran will be at the show. We need to make some money.

So to work...

Navel gazing

Some days there isn't any knitting or any story just a lot of stuff to do around the house and yard.
We're getting ready for Rhinebeck, not this Rhinebeck, this Rhinebeck.

Boring I know but just how it is sometimes.

Rain makes me think too much

Documenting the process for me is hard sometimes. I've got all kinds of things going on and I'm trying to bring them all together into a coherent visual.

To put it another way. I am still working on the thinking part of the work. Today I'm looking at the embellishment of the surface again. A pretty obvious and direct way. Machine embroidered hand on the knitting.

Yesterday I was talking in my studio to a former gallery owner. I was showing the stuff on the wall and then the hand knitted socks and those ideas. He said that it must really help in freeing up the thought process working on the hand knitting. Uhm... yep, that's what I'm trying to do. and all of this post has been a long way of saying nothing is on the machine today.

This has been a busy week with tons of non knitting stuff going on.

I have been working on the sock. I did the heel and hate it so I am ripping it out and starting it again.

Meanwhile I have taken Corbett's suggestion and knitted the leg of a sock on the machine. I dug out some of the alpaca from my stash and revived the bug pattern from the scarves.

Now I'll pick up stitches and start the heel and foot.
And then faces on legs.

I'm using the socks right now as a rest from the machine work. The art. It's a good break and gives me some time to think about the machine knitting and the final form for the work. 2 people looking at the things have asked if they are going to be mounted and framed. I guess that's a good thing, they are looking at them as art and not asking if I'm making pillows or a sweater (not that I have anything against pillows or sweater or any other functional knitted objects It's just not what these are).
So I'll continue work on the socks. Fran laughs and can't imagine that I will actually make a pair. He has seen the boxes of single mitten, gloves, and partially knitted patterned hats that I thought were well hidden.

I am working in the studio. The things there though aren't all that exciting or interesting.

When I haven't been in the studio I have been working on the sock. I'm using the supersocke 100 self striping wool that I received from Jim and Corbett for my birthday. I'm just starting on the heel. Hopefully it will go ok.

I'm off now to try to figure out the printer problem. I'll show some of the new images for the machine knitting when I get them printed out.

I've also been straightening up the studio and thought of posting some photos of the vintage socks from my collection. I can't get to that now. Too many other things going on at the moment. Not the least of which, well, I do have a store to run.

I'm taking today off for my birthday, I'm going to lunch at Cafe with Love. I'm already thinking about what I'll order. Who knows what else I'll do today. I'm hoping for nice quiet uneventful.

Things are working

My plan today was to get to the studio early and re-organized things. I've let it fall into a pretty messy state. First I had to get something knitted. I've been wanting to try some of the images with a cotton.
The machine cooperated ( I oiled and cleaned it yesterday) and I managed to get this done.
The strange thing is the color. I think that the cotton is absorbing a lot of light so I apologize for the photo.

Soon to come.... images of the tube that may one day become a sock. Corbett and Jim are enabling me and I now have sock yarn and a pattern.

When good machines go Bad

The culprit.

My machine is angry at me, I think.
I promise that I will do regular cleanings of you from now on so that the wall doesn't have too much of
This ...

There it is. An attempt at knitting some cotton this morning.

It might not totally be the machine's fault, you see, last night...

Even though my birthday isn't until Tuesday, we had a little get together. Good food and wine and friends and wine. Let me take a moment to say thank-you to this man. With his help and plenty of water I am feeling just about human.

I don't want to say that I am freaking out about this birthday, 49. I should hold off until next year and the mid-century mark. Every birthday freaks me out though.
So those are the factors that have contributed to the mess on the studio wall this morning. Just thinking about that makes me feel like going back to bed.

Muddle

I am excited today. The farmer's market in town is open for the season. I had forgotten to send in my payment for the farm share and when I saw my friends setting up I ran over to the shop to grab my checkbook. Ha, it's in the other bag that I carry around. The one I left at home today. Anyway that will get taken care of next weekend.

I thought I'd do some knitting. Where are my glasses? I have a sneaking suspicion that they are in the same bag as the checkbook. There goes that idea, well, I can still do a little knitting, I just will miss small skips on the machine.

My printer is not working either. yikes, There goes trying to print out the new images I've been making on knitPro.

Time to take a deep breathe, relax and not be too worried that the firemen's inspection parade is today and the street is closed off.

I'm going to knit now, without glasses.

Sun burned, wind burned

and it was raining.

I was only at the market for 2 days but it sure felt like an eternity.

I can't begin to describe what fun it is to wake up at 4 am and go to the fields searching (with thousands of others) for antiques. By about 1 pm everyone is a bit punchy and I usually am ready to shoot someone. And that's just the start of it. Because we set up on a field that opens at one. Yes I am an especially good salesperson with an aching back and feet outside in the wind and rain watching my stuff get ruined. Well enough of that. It almost ( almost) made me look forward to being in the shop.
I do have to thank Fran though for taking over on Tuesday afternoon so that I could drive home a little bit earlier.

So how much knitted stuff got done during all of this? 0, That's a big fat zero.

This morning was spent putting things back into the shop, drying them off and wiping the dirt off of them. I'm getting too old for this.

Tomorrow, I promise, some knitting. Right now I've got to find my lip balm.

I did a little bit of machine knitting today. I decided to do some experiments with cotton for an upcoming project. I tried to find one of the more complicated 2 color images.

Now I've got to get myself organized for the Mass. trip.

I'll be back on Thursday.

A Look Back

I haven't done any knitting lately. Not since before I left for Chicago. This morning I spent my time in the studio rummaging around, looking for inspiration. I found this piece. And have been thinking about it.

I also dug out some double pointed needles. I'm going to take them and a sock pattern along with me this week when we go to Massachusetts. Maybe I'll figure out the sock thing.


I'm working on a few new images to upload into the machine. That is a slow process since I program them in bit by bit. I'll have them ready to go soon. Then there will be more knitting.

until then... Carry on.

Some weeks just suck.

We had a lot of sadness around the house this week. My cousin, Lisa, passed away on Saturday she had been struggling for years with breast cancer. I had planned on writing a little bit of a tribute or some words, then we got caught up in Butch's decline.

So now both Fran and I sit around, thinking we hear Butch getting up. We didn't realize how tuned in we were to every little movement of his... He was old for so long.

There was a funny moment.
Driving in Kingston, New York we saw a sign that said,
"Cinco de Mayo, Saturday May 6th"

You do have to laugh sometimes.

End of an Era

Butch 198? - 2006

A step in the process

Some times when I'm trying to push through an idea I think it's good to play with a few ideas.
What if the knitting comes off of the wall and takes on some form?

I thought I would put these images out there. Really for me. Just to see If this idea might even have a possibility. It needs work. More specific I would say. Images made to then take on a third dimension.

In case you couldn't tell from this post I am floundering, or I feel like I'm floundering.

Even trying to come up with the words to describe what I'm thinking is difficult right now. So there it is. A step.

[an aside] Corbett I am looking forward to a knit day when you get back from N.C. I will dig out the dp's. Thanks for the sock help.

I'm am still feeling blocked about where the knitted things are going. Today I decided to put them all on a wall and work on figuring out what the final form will be.

I'm thinking that they should somehow become objects. So that's where I am at with the thinking on these.
What type of objects????
I don't know.

I think I am turning toward a garment related shape.

Oh, related in a way to garment. Twice in the past couple of weeks I have had it suggested to me to knit socks. I just might. Anybody know a pattern for a novice?
The very first thing I ever attempted to knit was a sock. It was unwearable but it looked sort of like a sock. I guess I shouldn't have tried to just make up the pattern. Or add text. So send any ideas, comments and suggestions.

It is spring here. The bears are around. They've been in the bird feeder and knocked over the trash. We haven't seen one, but the local paper had a photo of a young male hanging out on our street. Yep, bears.... I guess you can tell that I'm not doing any work. But I don't think the bear distraction is really working.

How about some Condi sightings? That distracted me. I especially like the Condoleezza Hairdo Alert System. Oh, goddess, I bet I'm under surveillance now.

Dusting and Sweeping

Today I'm back in the shop after being away for a week. Yesterday we managed to get everything unpacked and this morning I've just been trying to get it all in some sort of order so that it all looks good.

I keep walking past the knitting machine and thinking I should get some work going on it.

There is still cleaning to do around the store though so I'm not sure if any of my work will get done today.

It's time to work on some new imagery.

I'm thinking of using a lot of the knitted pieces I have done to make one large thing. I don't know what to call what I'm doing. Wall Hanging? Blanket? I'll just use Thing for the moment.

I'm getting excited about doing a collaborative project with Melissa. The deadline for the proposal is May 15th so we had better get moving on it. (hint to Melissa).

Back to the life of a shop keep. Where's my feather duster?

I had all of the work ready to embroider with me. But I did nothing on it.
I discovered that embroidery really isn't that good of a thing to take along on a trip. If you drop a needle in the van it just might fall somewhere in the seat and you may not discover that until early one morning when you're rushing to the show and find it by sitting on it. That could have happened.

It looks like I may be going back to the needles for travel. Maybe I will even take Rabbitch up on her suggestion and knit (oh my god) socks. I could probably have one toe done or a heel or something and then I could put it into the little box, well not that little, on my shelf along with all of the single mittens, started mittens, bits of hats etc...

I am not like the woman in this painting.

I thought I could use this image that I saw at the show to distract everyone from the fact that I did none of my art work on this trip. I don't know the artists name or the title of the work. It was painted in the teens and a gallery had it exhibited at the show. After I snuck a photo I went back to get the information but it had sold and was gone.

For us it's another day of unpacking from the show. And tomorrow to the shop to get the van unloaded and the place organized. That must be why I feel like taking a nap.

12 hours or more

I just got back from Chicago a huge long drive.( it was ok, thank you) .
I thought it would be a low stress night watching the tivoed programs. But NOOOOOOO
instead everything that was suppose to be tivoed is missing half of the show or just enough minutes to drive me nuts.
Anyway . I'm Back. I'm Tired . i am going to bed . Good night.

This will be it for a little more than a week. We leave in the morning to start the trip to Chicago.

Everything is nearly packed.

I'll leave you with a few places that I like to visit.

Slow Food,
The Food Museum online,
beehive collective,
And one of my favorites The Thylacine Museum, watch the films.

Have a great week.

I was tired before the day even started.

We packed the stuff for the show out of the store early this morning. Town's crowded with lookers, hopefully some buyers will come out too.

My mind is on the Spring/Passover/Easter dinner that Cyn and I are planning for tonight. The theme is..... Mexico. It seems like all of the theme dinners of late have been Mexico. Tonight I get to try some of the recipes from the Mayan cookbook I've been reading. A turkey mole? maybe, if we have that we'll also have to think up something for the veggies. Fran suggested a Tempe or tofu mole. I think I could do that. I bet the tempe will work best.

The idea is a Seder sort of dinner. With tortillas instead of matzo, and we'll have readings but not a haggadah. I think it's about exodus, changes and renewal. Writing it down makes it sound fancier than it will be.

So, I've got to go now and think about what the readings will be.

I realized today that I probably won't be knitting anything for about 10 days.
The weekend should be busy here and then we go to Chicago.

I am already packing things so that I can do some work on the imagery while on the road. It's funny I first started knitting because it was easy to transport and I could take it on these road trips, but now I'm working on the machine so I need another portable thing to do. That's going to be the embroidery.

I will still have a couple of posts before leaving but I think this is the only studio wall photo you'll see for a while.

The weather is so great today that I'm having a hard time concentrating. The knitting machine knows this and as soon as I'm not paying attention to what I'm doing it misses a row or breaks the yarn.

The shop door is open and that seems to be an invitation to everyone to walk in. Mostly I think it's people waiting for a table at the restaurant next store, Today is one of those days when the studio in the shop does not seem to be a good idea.

Hint to people out browsing. at least keep your mouths closed. And try not to gasp at the price tags.

Back to knitting

Things are better now. I think that I was just a little itsy bit too tense to knit earlier today.
I have calmed down.

I managed to get this off of the machine. I think the bugs might work. I know that you can't read my mind, but I'm seeing these in combination with embroidered imagery.

The photos of those will have to wait though. The plan is to take the stuff with me to Chicago and work on embroidery while traveling.

Looked like a good day

I got to the studio a little late today. I wasn't sure I was coming in, the weather is so great and I thought that I should maybe do some garden work. Then I thought , hey I'm going to be away from the studio all next week so I had better get in and work on some things. Then I can take them along on the trip to Chicago.

I was getting ready to knit when I heard a drip. At first I couldn't figure out where it was coming from, but I knew it was from the bar upstairs. Then I figured it out. Right over the most expensive item in the shop the pipe was leaking. I jumped up pulled stuff off of the walls and away from the water. I called upstairs. They came down right away. and helped me move more things. Shit, it's the toilet upstairs and some how while they were cleaning this morning It came loose. ???

So they are suppose to get a plumber in this afternoon to fix it. The store's a wreck but there is, luckily no damage. O.K. I can deal with this. Just have to wait for the plumber.

I go to the knitting machine and It isn't cooperating. Yarns break. So there will be no studio wall photo today. I have to go and make nice to the knitting machine and get it back on my side.

I guess I'm glad I came in today. If I wasn't here during the leak it might have really been a disaster. Before going to knit though I think I will sit down, read the paper, have a cup of coffee and then with me all nice and calm I'll knit a few panels.

Some days are strange

There are times around here, it's unpredictable, when I just can't get into the studio to do any work.

It might have to do with the weather. These nice sunny days draw a lot of people so it seems busy.

Melissa found this and brought it as a gift.

I apologize to anyone who might have come here to look at the latest work. Take your time and peruse the archive. Later in the week I will have some photos of the latest things.

The finger is feeling better

Thanks everybody. I'm taking a break from knitting today to let the finger heal up a little bit more.

And I'm getting ready for Melissa and Nina's visit. Today crochet is in the air.



The never to be completed brain/blob is on the wall.

I thought that I would get to the studio early today and get some knitting done. I'm working out some ideas combining the portraits and insects. So I go back to the machine and...

...I should back up a little....

....Last night I was throwing together a little dinner for us and friends. One in particular was having a bad day. I was going to make it simple. Fran had already made a spicy Mexican influenced cole slaw and had bought some fish. So I thought I'd make some beans and do a crispy sauted fish and I got started. I was cutting the onion when, yep, I did, I sliced the hell out of my finger. I felt it hit the bone. I thought I'd have to get stitches, but I wasn't in the mood for an emergency room visit. Fran went out and got bandages and we wrapped it up. I finished cooking and drank a little wine, well, a (quite a) few glasses. Everything went well. I went to sleep while everyone else was watching Brokeback Mountain.
This morning I got up, the finger was feeling o.k.

I thought that I would get to the studio early today and get some knitting done. I'm working out some ideas combining the portraits and insects. So I go back to the machine and I get it all set up and ready to go. Then I hit my finger on a needle, OUCH, and it's bleeding and it looks like I won't be knitting today.

So after resting a little I am now starting to add to the knitted imagery. This is the first one. And while the entire state of Texas might not gasp I have a feeling that Dallas might.

I hope she's laughing.

Country Mouse and I take a trip

The Country Mouse and I try to take a trip to the city for non-business related stuff once a month. Often we'll just spend the day wandering through the Met. This time we had an Agenda.

We both wanted to see Kara Walker at the Met : After the Deluge. I wanted to see The Indonesian Textile show and we both want to get over to the Whitney to take in the Biennial.

Ambitious visual day, but worth it.

First we saw the Ikats. It was a small show with an amazing group of textiles from the Met's collection. What can I say about them... I've always been drawn to the Indonesian clothes. Primarily because of the dense visual language in them. This time I was especially interested to see the use of surface embellishments on the already complex and integrated dyed cloth structures. I felt a little bit like I was giving myself permission to add the embroidery to my stuff. Yes, I twisted it around to me. There was a technique that I hadn't noticed before where the cloth is woven with slits and it's all planned out for future dyeing. Technically I'm in awe,

Wandering, wandering, wandering through the Met slowly working our way to the Kara Walker.

The installation of this show was what I first noticed. It made me want to walk in and start exploring. There was so much to think about here. Narrative, identity, art history, time, I'm still processing it. It carried you through and dropped you and picked you up again and challenged and lulled and did all kinds of things with a power that was very much like the power of water.
I think I need to go back and see this again.

After the experience of the Kara Walker exhibit we were both a bit reluctant to go to the Whitney.
That and it was raining/snowing/sleeting outside, But we decided we should.

I always feel a little bit queasy about large group shows like the Biennial. There's stuff I love and stuff I hate and then there is the whole show.

It was crowded with people and art and that felt like a good thing. So many people looking at art.
I wondered about the surface quality of a lot of the work. It all seemed to be so loud and wanting attention, without any idea of why. So much of the work seemed to speak to history. Looking at history because it was/is lost and the history was an anchor. There was a feeling of "Hollywood" and wanting to be a star, too.

There was the underground bunker of early 20th century art (Duchamp) ideas by Sturtevant. I laughed out loud. There were the pastoral videos referencing 19th c. landscape painting by Michael Snow. There were works that looked at the sixties and ones from the sixties. Many things had a"hand made" quality. I felt a lot of ideas were presented but I guess I was really questioning whether the execution allowed for the ideas to be more than one liners.

I think that I wanted to be more "affected" by the show. shown something, not yelled at. I was glad to leave the noise of it all and get some lunch.

We did a little bit more wandering and stumbled on a little show at the Met with coptic textiles.

I just enjoyed looking at them. Too much thinking in too few hours.

And then the drive home.

Adding to an existing fabric

We interrupt your regularly scheduled blog to bring you...

I was just reading Rabbitch , for the second time today. I think that she really is hitting on something. That's why I love reading her. The wedding story and rant and a boob shot.

And congratulations to Rachael and Lala hope you're enjoying the honeymoon.

... Now back to your regular blog reading...

When we were in Mexico I bought an amazing embroidered shirt. This shows just a little of the imagery. It also has goats and coyotes and more bugs. I love it!


I've kept it in the closet on a hanger until today, while I have been contemplating embroidery...

On ...

the..

knitting...


This is a little of the first attempt. I wish that I could get what I'm thinking into words. When I look back it sure seems all jumbled up.

That's why I'm always glad for comments. It seems that working in a vacuum isn't how things should be for anyone.

Oh, reminds me. Remember the knitPro show that Cat did? Well, I got an email from her today and ... click here.

I love seeing what the jurors had to say.

edges / finishes

Some days there seems to be too much going on to get any machine knitting done. Boring things like the dentist and doing laundry.

And then there is the little matter of sewing up the edges of a lot of the panels. I just don't like how the cast off edge looks for these. It's too containing or something. It doesn't allow for the possibility of the knitted fabric having a place beyond it's edge. O.K. Anyway I'm sewing them.

I've been cleaning up the guest room, too, because Miss - Melissa - Melissa and Nina are going to stop by the house at the end of the week, I think Friday as they go on to NYC.

I am already trying to come up with a fun and good late night supper.


Melissa is the person I have been friends with longer than anyone. We have been through much stuff together. Wow, and now that she's in Toronto I rarely get to see her. I'm excited.

She did a great interview with me for the final issue of surfacing journal. I can't link you to them since their site is now down. You'll have to contact a Canadian friend or maybe you can get a copy through the Ontario Craft Council or the Textile Museum of Canada.

It's back to cleaning for me.

Flashing stash

I've noticed some stash flashing around the knitter blogs. I don't think I'll flash mine.

But...

I'll let you know that in the fall I donated over 250 cones of yarn ,all of them 1 pound or more, to a local materials recycling program, and that wasn't even half of the stash. When I moved the studio there was a van load. Oh, and I bought more to make up for what I was missing.

It's not just the yarn stash that I've been thinking about this morning....

There are a lot of knitted panels. I try to make a new one every day. Converted stash.

And there is the little matter of the packing crate of needles. Doesn't everyone need every type of needle in every size with a few extras?

Looking around the studio, what else is here, a few knitting machines (counting the ones hidden at home under the bed, 6 and 2 ribbers) ..... I won't mention the looms.

Time to go to a diversion... Stardoll.

Same as yesterday different color

The first part of my day today was spent struggling with the machine. I still haven't figured out what's going wrong. I think I just had a button in the incorrect position.

So I managed to knit this.

Well. really the first part of my day was spent sweeping the sidewalk. It may seem like a good thing to some, you know who you are, to have a bar right above the store. I'm here to say. "it's not".

Today while there were no beer bottles on the doorstep there was broken glass, and the usual array of cigarette butts. I just swept it all into the street. The owner offered apologies and offered me a drink, this is at 10 in the morning. I asked that they keep the noise level low until I close at 5. Yea, same day different color.

Loss of Concentration

This morning the machine didn't seem to want to cooperate. I really think that it is my lack of concentration.

I mean.... It's 70 degrees here, the daffodils are just about to pop. I'm really feeling like playing not working. There is a long list of tasks though here at the shop. And I'm sure that people will be out wandering. Maybe there will finally be some business.

I was just humming along and didn't even realize that the knitting had fallen off of the machine. Too late to save that piece.
I had a bad color choice this morning, too. Time to get back and try again...

A little off topic today.

I just wanted to say hey and congratulations to Josh for the award at Aspen.

Not totally off topic since his image is one that I'm using in the knitting.

To answer anonymous who asked

"in fact, would be possible to see some of your other work on here? a retrospective of sorts. like the rug you knitted out of the sunday new york times or the piece of sushi tuna meat you knitted out of bow ribbon. or the famous barbie doll hat you knitted out of joint compound tape. bitchin!"

This link, Has a little bit of my history. It's stuff that I actually used knitting needles to make. A few years before I got the machine. Not the specific things you inquired about, Well, part of Sunset Blvd. is on there.

O.k that's enough for now. I've got to get into the studio....

Muddled, Out of Focus?

It is about time that I acknowledge some of the places that I go to read.

There seems to be a story in this. A boring one, but a story.

One of the first blogs I stumbled across and still return to is The Knitting Fiend. I think I first ran across her when trying to figure out how to cast off on the knitting machine.

Through Lucia is think I found among others Yarn Harlot.

And then I started to read a lot of the knitting blogs., including JenLa and Rabbitch. From Rabbitch came The Casting On Couch and Yarn-A-Go-Go and The Panopticon and , well you know how it goes there were a lot of bookmarked blogs. Some about knitting, some about food, some, as you know, were related to project runway.

And then BOOM, I thought I should just join in and here I am.
Trying to write a little about the knitting that I'm doing. Thinking about dinner. Just putting it out there into the community.

The End

What are you doing?

I've had a couple of questions about what I do... so here is the technical part. This is how the photographic images are knitted.

I have a Brother 970 machine with a ribber attachment. I bring my camera to parties and ask people to take pictures. I use the knitPro program at microRevolt's site to translate the sometimes photoshopped images into a grid pattern. I punch the pattern bit by bit into the low tech computer on the Brother and then I knit knit knit a double bed jacquard fabric. That's it.


The harder part is the, then what part... Since I taught myself how to work on the machine I have found that my casting off just really sucks. I can't seem to get it right., so I knit an extra little something at the end and sit down at an antique singer sewing machine and sew it. I do this with fingers crossed that a: the stitches are fairly even and b: that I don't forget to move my finger out of the way of the rampaging needle. I just found out yesterday from Corbett, that there are different types of needles for different fabrics. Makes sense. Who knew?

O.K. that's it for now. I'm at home not at the studio and that often means interruption. Next time I think I should begin adding links to the people I read. I have been a lurker on many blogs for a while. And have just returned to reading Franklin.

Good Day Bad Day

First, Hi to everyone who has gotten here from Rabbitch's blog.


I feel like I won a popularity contest or something.

Seeing that little mention this morning had me whistling all of the way into work. tra la la la la, so innocent so unexpecting. I go back to the studio, It looks dirty. Now I'm messy but I'm not dirty. I look at the knitting machine, I look at all of the yarns and pieces of knitting, then I look at the table where I have a pile of books and sketch pads. Everything has dirt on it. It dawns on me, the new speakers that the bar upstairs just put in, the ones that have been vibrating the chandeliers, they have vibrated dirt loose from the ceiling. It's not in the whole shop just the back studio portion where the ceiling is wainscoting. My whole work space has a layer of dirt on it. Everything. I'm freaking out, what if the knitting machine gets f****d up?

I spend the next part of the morning just vacuuming and, yippee, everything is alright.

I go to take a photo of the latest wall , today's work. Oops the camera battery is dead.

You all will just have to look at this older image. Or page down or check out the archives to see the current bits of knitting.


Oh and to all of the first time readers, Please come back.

One more of these

I have another of the basic "layouts" done.
I have so many pieces to play with now.
I have no idea what I'm doing.

Today's project

Today I try to add to the knitted images.
These are tests. I still haven't decided about the embroidery. It is a block that I have in Textiles. I think that I had it drummed into me that the structure of the cloth is somehow sacred, adding to it might diminish the cloth as object. I don't know how that happened but it is holding me back from doing anything to the surface of the knitting.

Oh, that and I got rid of all of my embroidery hoops.

I'm just going to do it.

Wow,
Finally the image post is working.
This is the basic layout for the new work.
I'm still not thrilled with the color.

Before I forget. In the airport in Leon, Mexico I saw this article in Discover magazine.
Looked interesting. I just wanted to mention it.
I am still waiting for the blogger photo upload to work again. No pictures of the latest wall, yet.

Small World, 2

Remember this post? Well, imagine how surprised I was while doing my morning Blog reading to see this on Cat's reBlog.
Yes, I was at the party and yes, eliel and I talked, a little.
We are all connected.
Eliel's blog just so the circle is complete.

It's been a few days since I have been able to find some time to update. I have gotten a format/layout for the new group of work. I am still trying to figure out a way of adding other imagery to the pieces. I think it will be some kind of embellishment. maybe embroidery.

Other than the little bit that I have gotten knitted I have been busy with work related stuff. The show in NY, which sucked. Then taxes. Yuk.

I am hoping to get a bit of sewing in this evening. I can picture how I want these things to look, but I'm having a harder time actually making it happen.

This afternoon I'm also fighting with blogger trying to get a image of the wall up.

Maybe the image will have to wait until tomorrow.

I'm going to be away again this weekend. Sorry for not posting everyday. I'm just playing catch up and getting ready for this weekend's show.

I'm also trying to get some knitting in. Here's yesterdays wall. These I'm happy with. I'm still thinking of embellishment of some kind on them. And, yes, I'm ready to get some new colors. Are you bored yet?
This is what the general format for the new work will be. I'll be working a little more with the scale changes.

So back to the knitting.

small world

It's a rainy sunday here in the Hudson valley.
I've just been thinking to myself about how small the world is and how connected we all are.

Last night I was at a birthday party for Corbett and Jim. This is a connection first since Corbett is a fellow Cranny who I met here in Hudson, second they are friends of our friend Linda. The party was at her house. It is always great to be in a group of interesting people. What weren't we talking about. At some point during conversations knitting came up. Corbett's a knitter, Linda's a knitter, and then, well I was there. Anyway, a friend of C+J's says, "I just met this interesting person on the train to NYC, she's from upstate and does a knitting blog.... Guess who it is,Cat. I laughed. I still haven't met her in person but I now know that I will. Oh did I tell you all about the show she's organized showcasing KnitPro? Check it out. There is more. 2 other Crannys with a house upstate.

Then there was the Mexico trip. In the 1st three days I ran into several people I knew. A lot were the known to be in San Miguel group from Woodstock. But I was surprised that Barbara and Honey were there.
Then on the plane ride from Houston to Newark I sat down and looked at the woman sitting next to me and said, "I know you from Somewhere" She said. "Yeah, I know you", we eventually figured out that she had been in the shop at some point. She remembered the store and what we have in it. Funny...

Now I am on to a little bit of thinking and working in the studio. Then, the sunday crossword.

What I walk into

It's the weekend here. I have a plan to get some work done but since the weather is so great people are around and it doesn't look like I will get the chance.
Here is the wall of the workspace today. Just the way that I left it before the Mexico trip.



I am thinking of Mexico. It will come out somehow in the work. I'm struggling with thoughts about the finished size of this group of work. One big blanket looking thing, or small individual "faces". Maybe both. Sitting here looking at these portraits that's a little of what's rumbling through my head. Should they be dolls? hmm....

Return

We are back from a great stay in Mexico.
A ton of stuff went on, like a trip to see the butterfly forest in Michoacan

The photos can't do justice to this. You just have to experience the millions of monarch butterflies in the trees, looking like menacing topiaries. Then the sun hits them and they start flying and you're surrounded by them and the sound.... it's like a soft rain with clicking. It was crazy

Other stuff that drove me wild.....
The Aztec Dancers in the Jardin, celebrating the 1st Friday of Lent and the acceptance of christianity. I'm getting dizzy thinking about it. Hundreds of dancers with loud drumming, shells and bells on their ankles, rattles, incense.....



All of the dancing (which lasted all day until about 10 or 11 that night) also included a "bull dance" led by transvestites. This group of dancers also led all of the others around the Jardin and to the church, the music would get quiet and psalms were sung....



I haven't processed it all, but I wanted to share a little bit on my first day back.

Hi from Mexico

Today will be another busy day. The aztec dancers are going to be performing on the Jardin. We caught a glimpse of them last night, but today there should be many many more and the dancing and drumming will go on for hours. I'm hoping to have some photos to post tonight.

Just to point out how small the world is. or maybe how popular San Miguel de Allende is, We've run into 6 people we know so far this week.

Anyway this is just a short post and a reminder that I am not at the studio at all so I haven't any posts of new work.