Knot Knecessarily Known Knitting

Over the weekend I visited Museum of Design Atlanta. MODA is in midtown, across Peachtree Street from the High Museum of Art. Because I don't like driving or parking in the city, I took MARTA to N5 Arts Center. If you don't have mobility issues, it is easy to walk up a couple flights of stairs, cross the Sifly Piazza, and cross Peachtree Street. MODA is one of those places that always seems to have enthusiastic, young, artsy energy. The gift shop is full of tempting books and products. Because it focuses on design rather than art, MODA has the freedom to showcase riskier or uncommon works. The current exhibit, Threads of Change: Design & Data , is full of textile-based objects. The exhibit runs through Sunday 25 May 2025; that gives you until Memorial Day to get over to see it. The central object is the Black Gold Tapestry by Sandra Sawatzky. The inspiration is obviously the Bayeux Tapestry , depicting William the Conqueror in 1066. It ...

For me, 2022 has been the "return to normal" year. Mensa gatherings — yes! Science fictions conventions — sign me up! Wool festivals — I am there! This year I was especially fortunate. I was able to attend the three major east coast wool festivals — Maryland Sheep and Wool (MD), New York State Sheep and Wool (Rhinebeck), and Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair (SAFF). If you live close to one of these festivals, then attending is a short drive, the price of admission, and whatever you spend on shopping and possibly food. (If you need to keep costs down, you can bring your own brown bag lunch, trail rations, or the like,) If you do not live close, then attending can involve long drives or flying, possibly a car rental, and likely overnight accommodations. This can eat into your stash budget, converting precious dollars into things other than fleeces, yarn, dye stock, textile equipment, spectacular handmade clothing, workshop fees, and the like. Since a single trip to one of these i...

Having learned from the shibori experience (take pictures, document your work), I was better prepared for Jessica Kaufman's "Incredible Ice Dye" class at Southeast Fiber Arts Alliance last weekend. Jess is the owner of Waxon Studio in Asheville, North Carolina. Jess teaches dye techniques, sells materials, and sells finished dyed goods. This time, I took pictures in progress and afterwards. For our class Jess had five-gallon buckets of "mordant" ready — recipe is one cup of soda ash/washing soda to one gallon water. Jess said this mixture can be used repeatedly. As for any dyeing project, start with clean laundered fabric. We dunked our fabric in the soda ash water for at least 10 minutes. This makes the fabric ready to activate the dye by shifting the pH to alkaline. Jess mentioned soda ash is sometimes used in pool maintenance and comes in 50 pound bags. If you have a friend with a swimming pool, you might be able to ...

It seems 2022 is the Year of Learning. At least, that's been the start. In addition to some knitting classes, I've taken two dye classes already this year. The first was shibori and the second was ice dyeing. Both techniques are easy and fun. Both used cotton fabric. Both used fiber-reactive dyes . In January, Textile Appreciation Society of Atlanta held a shibori dye workshop at Southeast Fiber Arts Alliance . Our teacher was Sophie Monsibais. She was excellent — I definitely recommend her! She showed us three different techniques. The first is an accordion pleating technique which is the basis of many shibori patterns. The second was a twisting and binding technique that produces rings. The third — which I watched but didn't do — was binding rocks or pebbles. Sophie had the dye vats already prepared. Although we were using fiber-reactive dyes, Sophie heated them, because she said she gets better results if they "cook" for about 2...

Like so many knitters, I am curious about the latest gadgets. My stash is large. I feel guilty acquiring new yarn. (In spite of this, whatever yarn I want for my next project never seems to be a yarn already in the stash.) But, I do want to support friendly local yarn shops. When I was in Ligonier, Pennsylvania last year, Kathy Zimmerman had Prym double-pointed needles in her shop. I had seen these at TNNA in the summer of 2018 . Actually, I had seen the straights, but had not seen the double-points. When Kathy had some, I bought a set. It turns out the Prym double-points are rather nice. I'm not typically a fan of plastic, but these are okay. They are not as slick as metal, but they are smooth. They have the correct amount of friction. They are also lighter and warmer than metal. They have a little give, which can prevent hand fatigue. And they have a triangular cross-section. As a fan of the sadly discontinued Kollage square needles, the unusu...

Alpaca slippers from Lanart                         One of the things I have missed in this year of no in-person fiber festivals is the marketplace. I haven't yet seen anyone reproduce online the random joy of strolling a fiber festival. For me, that joy is more than discovering new products, beautiful yarns, and clever businesses. I see many of the vendors over and over again at different venues. I may not know them all, but they are part of my community. They are like the identifiable cars you see on your morning commute. Maybe you've never met that person, but you know that red car with the zoo bumper sticker and the vanity license plate. You see it in traffic at least twice a week, driving some of the same roads you do. It is a kindred spirit. Sales figures show our shopping habits have changed. For example, p...

And what else did I see at TNNA? Wholesale yarns: Aalta Yarn . A vendor out of Pennsylvania. Several good, solid bases for sweaters. And she has nice gradient cakes for shawls. Alexandra's Crafts . A hand-dyer from Oregon. She also carries spinning fiber and a nice travel lazy kate. Ancient Arts . I knew this hand-dyer from advertising and patterns in Interweave Knits. They have a wonderful range of beautiful colors upstaged by colorways based on cats and dogs. Anzula . Hand-dyed yarns in luxury bases. Proof that cashmere goes with everything. Baa Ram Ewe. Anglophile knitters, rejoice! This vendor proudly "celebrates Yorkshire and its rich woolly heritage." They carry locally-sourced and spun yarn, as well as patterns that will make you look like you belong on BBC America. Baah Yarn . Hand-dyer from southern California with a nice range — self-striping, speckled, variegated, solids, and kettle-dyed effects. They also have special monthly colors. Bellatr...

I'm having a couple of days where my tools and I are just not getting along. I've been working on a fine-gauge reversible lace scarf. It is a lovely thing, indeed; all 75,000 stitches, 60 hours, and 97 repeats of 5 multiples of pattern. I finished it and blocked it, using the beautiful bronze Lacis blocking wires I wrote about previously . I used my typical method for blocking: thread blocking wires through the edges, pin onto mat, spray with water, ignore overnight. In less than 24 hours, the bronze oxidized and left blue-green stains on the edges of the ivory-colored scarf. Sigh. Fortunately, I was able to dig up some stain-removal information (thank you, Internet). The key was lemon juice and salt. I purchased half a dozen lemons at the grocery store. Once I squeezed them, I was armed with a cup of fresh juice. I laid the scarf in a glass baking dish, spooned lemon juice along the stained edge, and then salted. It worked! It took multiple iterations, as the whole sc...

Although many of us think about blocking our knits as an afterthought process, it can be surprisingly important to the success of our work. I have to admit that I'm not very good at blocking. Oh, yes, I go through the motions carefully -- I use wires and pins and water and the guest bed and wait patiently for my work to dry. But my results rarely seem to be pleasing. Part of the menace, I think, has been the blocking wires I've been using. They were budget-priced, and they've performed that way, too. At this point, they are noticeably bent. I am someone who prefers to purchase a tool once and be done with it. Having crappy blocking wires did not bring sunshine to my world. I have been on a fixing binge this year, so I have done something about it! A big thank you to Jenna the Yarn Pimp at The Whole Nine Yarns who was able to order some items for me from Lacis. I didn't realize when I asked Jenna if she could please get these things that she would have to order more ...

I mentioned I needed to clean up the house for book club. One of the things that needed to be cleaned up was the loom. I'd had my Ashford 24-inch/60cm 4-shaft loom sitting on a card table in the living room since January. I purchased the Plus 4 upgrade kit in February, and that big box had also been loitering in the living room. In January at Chattahoochee Handweavers Guild, I took the Extreme Warp Makeover class with weaving superstar Robyn Spady. Suzi Gough, who is a past-president of CHG and the current president of SEFAA, had encouraged me to take the class. Truth is, I was in a little over my head, but in a good way. Over three days, Robyn had us weave at least fifteen different structures all on the same threading. For someone who was still learning weavish, this was a big shove up the learning curve. Lots and lots of new terms to understand. And I admit, I understand double-faced and double-weave fabrics, but I sure don't yet understand overshot. The class was also a...