Knot Knecessarily Known Knitting

Part of my mother's stash came back to me. It was no small project in 2023 to clean out the room with embroidery stash. There was a lot of give away. There were some things I kept and finished. But there were many things I abandoned. A few months ago, I got an e-mail from the person in Pennsylvania who helped me donate my mother's stash to the Thimble and Thread chapter of Embroiderers' Guild of America . She had some boxes. Could I please take them? It turned out it was only three boxes, a lamp, a frame stand, and a kitchen garbage-sized bag of metallic threads. In other words, it only took up half my car not my whole car. Not too bad. I went through that stash, organized it, and donated most of it to Southeast Fiber Arts Alliance . Their thrift shop is a fantastic place to acquire materials. You never know what you are going to find, so it is a good idea to make a habit of visiting. In fact, I did not leave empty-handed. I decided to work a ...

When I was first learning fiber crafts, I would get an embroidery kit. I followed the directions meticulously. I achieved the result on the package. For many of us, this is a solid way to learn a new skill. The project can have a skill level matched to our level of comfort. Everything can be planned so a beginner is successful. Nothing is too difficult nor uncertain. At some point, crafting is about more than following instructions. There's a difference in art class between "let's copy this famous painting" and "pick your own subject and express it." Yes, copying and following directions can help you acquire skills. Crafting at its highest artistic level is about using those skills to create items reflecting the personal expression of the maker. It is about transmuting tradition into innovation, old into new. For knitters, the transition to innovation is often subtle. It may start with, "Oh, I like this pattern, but I can't find...

Here's another post in my running series of finished items from my mother's stash. Mill Hill Buttons & Beads Autumn Series MH14-1623 "Haunted Laboratory" Image shown is 6×6 inches. This first one was completed by her. My mother was a microbiologist. She worked in a laboratory at the local hospital. For those of you who don't know, here's how stuff works. When your doctor takes a sample such as a throat culture or spinal fluid, it is sent to a laboratory. The laboratory technicians run the tests and then tell the doctors what they found. For infectious bacteria, the laboratory can run a test across a panel of wells with different antibiotics at different strengths. The results reveal where the organism is resistant (Ack! That drug won't kill it,) or sensitive (Hurray! This drug at this strength will help the patient get well.) The super-bugs that are antibiotic resistant are resistant across the entire panel — i.e. they grow ...

Here's another of my mother's unfinished projects, now complete. This one is called "A Whisper of Roses." It is a scissor case designed by Cheryl Schaeffer. The black and white pamphlet says the design was distributed by Susan Portra through her shop My Friend & Eye in Huntington Beach, California. When I attended a meeting of the Thimble and Thread Chapter of Embroiderers' Guild of America, there was someone else who had this project in almost exactly the same state of not-quite-finished. I am thinking this was a guild class? When I searched online, I could not find a picture of this design. Searching "Cheryl Schaeffer needlepoint" returns lots of lovely needlepoint designs, but not this one, not even when I added "roses" or "scissor case" to the search. There were a bunch of gnome scissor cases, but not this one with flowers. I never found a color image of the finished project. Black &...

I finished another of my mother's unfinished embroidery projects. This one is a Just Nan pamphlet titled "Gloriana." My mother had a folder with a series of these. "Gabriella," "Serena," "Celeste," and "Angelique" are already framed and hanging in the house in Pennsylvania. Pamphlets for "Evangeline," "Grace," "Joy," "Hope," and "Liberty" are in the folder, along with the pamphlets for the completed angels. There's even a packet of beads and embellishments for "Liberty" stapled to the pamphlet. The size of this image is 3 inches wide by 5½ inches high (7.5 by 14cm). I thought "Gloriana" fit the series, but when I see her next to "Serena," I can tell they aren't quite the same scale. And how can I check her against the other angels, if they are framed on the wall 750 miles from here? Because there is a second finished copy...

The autumn show season is behind me. I plan to be home until mid-January. The sentiment, "There's no place like home," feels very strong right now! There is, of course, plenty to do. I have handouts to write. I have proposals to submit. A houseful of tasks have been delayed. I find myself trying to make up the last 10½ months in only 6 weeks. Probably not possible. Likely not a good idea. I have done very little knitting this year. On the other hand, I've rediscovered my love of embroidery. My mother had a surprisingly large number of nearly-completed projects. While I gave away a bunch of things in the half-done state, there were others so close to completion I figured it was almost faster just to finish them. Here's the first one. This is a project from Cross Stitch & Country Crafts magazine May-June 1991 , pages 4-5 & 10-11. It is titled "Iris with Blackwork." The completed piece is about 8¼ inches square, mak...