Simple Knitting

I am not in the upper echelons of knitters when it comes to executing patterns and textures. However, I find the act of knitting a relatively relaxing pastime and I enjoy making what I consider utilitarian items for my family. I knit socks and have a rotation as to who receives the next pair. They all seem to like wearing what I produce, so I keep at it. Besides, I have a hard time sitting still for long and knitting the same pattern repeatedly keeps me from fidgeting. A recent trip resulted in 1.5 socks..a few hours here and there will finish those up. Then I will cast on the next pair for when I need to keep my hands busy.

This Christmas I wanted to knit a little joke for my daughter. She is a curler and is always telling me how cold she is in the rink. Since I do not have it in me to knit a lovely Mary Maxim seater (remember those? a bulky cardigan with curling motifs?), I knit her a wool hat. And I added some buttons for curling stones...just to be cute. She has my permission to remove the buttons..

She posed for me, we both ended up crying from laughing so hard, and we took a great series of photos of her wearing her hat. This however, if what you get to see...the top of the silly hat. She did wear it once and her curling mates laughed and suggested it could have been worse. There is a pattern circulating that looks just like a curling stone, handle and all. I am sure Simone is grateful that I don't do patterns well!

Since I had lots of wool, I also knit hats for my son and my Dad. I kept them simple and basic, like all my knitting is.

Kaffe Fassett, We Meet Again!

In 1975 my sister Joanne, of Madaboutcolour fame and I boarded a plane with backpacks and dreams and found ourselves in England. Being maybe a little bit hippie and a lot dedicated to handcrafts, we focused our adventure on design, museums, live theatre, buying up wonderful items like Birkenstocks for 25.00!!(me) and corduroy jumpers and skirts at Selfridges (Jo). We spent a full week going to the Victoria and Albert Museum where time stood still for us to sketch (Jo), wander and soak it all in (me). We stayed in hostels, cheap rooming houses, B&B’s, and gathered stories as we experienced life on the road. We saw sooo many theatrical performances! Chorus Line, Agatha Christie’s The Mouse Trap, Swan Lake (for perhaps the 10th time....growing up on PEI with the Confederation Centre and its focus on live entertainment meant we had the opportunity to see lots of ballets), and Jesus Christ Superstar to name the most memorable.

We also visited a small shop in downtown London to see an interesting display of knitted items. I remember there weren’t an overwhelming number of pieces, but each piece there demanded your attention. Machine knitting was something I was just vaguely aware of and fashion design in these days before the immediacy of the internet, was something you saw in magazines. Joanne, being very smitten with the work we saw, bought a beautiful hand knit vest, it being the one article she convinced herself she could afford. We chatted with the proprietors/artists, no doubt gushing over the amazing designs..

I am not really sure when the pieces all began to fall into place, but on July 18th, in a little church in Amherst, Nova Scotia, Joanne stood up and showed Kaffe Fassett one of his earliest knitted vests, designed by his then partner, Bill Gibb. And the circle grew even tighter; she also presented Kaffe with a photocopy of her Scottish born husband and Bill Gibb in a class photo taken when they were both youngsters, attending the same school, sharing a desk. Kaffe very graciously accepted the photo and seemed pleased and intrigued to see a piece of his early work. He listened as Joanne explained that Bill and her husband had been close school friends and had spent hours preforming plays Bill made costumes for.

After Kaffe’s talk, he patiently chatted and signed books for attendees. He signed several books of Jo’s extensive collection of Kaffe books and again thanked her so kindly for her thoughtful gift. I remarked that he didn’t look a day older than the first time we spoke, way back in 1975 in that little showroom  on Bond Street..

Messages

Some things that happened today were meant to happen. Or, perhaps they were simply a product of my own willingness to deviate from what I felt I should be doing and instead, doing what I wanted to do. Whatever the reason, the effect was overwhelmingly joyful and I found myself smiling and laughing to myself as I drove back home.

First off, I met up with the lovely Lorette of Spruce it Up Quilting at the Nova Scotia Fibre Arts Festival. The festival is in its 6th year and transforms the charming town of Amherst, Nova Scotia into a fibre mecca for five days. Sadly, this was the first year I had carved the time to make that 40 minute trek down the highway, but on the bright side, I will make sure to get there another year.

I spent some time wandering through the Zonta Fibre Arts Bazaar and managed to spend time promoting my newest favorite fibre group, SAQA Atlantic. I had chats with a number of vendors including Heidi Wulfraat who has a beautiful array of hand dyed yarns and Felicia Knock with her gorgeous selection of hand dyed wools. I had an interesting conversation with a couple who live on 28 acres; we talked about chickens (love!), bobcats and cougars, minks, pig farming, chopping wood, tatting, and kids! The other booths featured hand made glass buttons, felting, jewellery, hooked work, fabric and so much more!

After leaving the bazaar, I headed down the street to find the First Baptist Church where the Cumberland Quilters were hosting their quilt show. They had decorated the beautiful and historic church with their members’ quilts and rugs while Jackie of The Fabric Cupboard had set up shop within the vestibule. And this is when my day got even more interesting.....

Before I left this exhibit, I asked if there was another quilt show on as I had read in the brochure that there was, but I hadn’t been able to locate it. One of the women told me that no, there wasn’t. I was a bit surprised, but assumed that one had been cancelled, or the date changed. Off I went. 

As I headed down the sidewalk, I saw a woman struggling with a sign. She hesitated and looked back at me. She made a comment I didn’t really understand, something about moving the sign for Alan. I asked if the sign had blown over. No, it hadn’t, but it was too heavy for Alan, the church custodian. I smiled and started to move on. Then she asked me if I had been to their quilt show. Ah, noo, I haven't.....Come with me, she said, there is still time.

Slightly bewildered I followed her across the courtyard to Christ Church where a show by Quilt Expressions, an Amherst based quilt group was displayed. Once again the quilters had made use of a lovely, small historic church and had draped the pews with many beautiful quilts, many hand quilted, with extensive quilting, as was pointed out to me. 

The conversations I had during this next half hour were just such a re-inforcement that the world is indeed a small place and that there are connections everywhere. Walking through the doorway, I met up with an old quilting acquaintance and learned her two granddaughters are currently studying at two of the universities my children graduated from - STFX and McGill - so we chuckled over that coincidence. A woman standing beside her had just moved back to this area after living in a community near my parents home on PEI and her son was best friends with a cousin of mine. Then she mentioned a name I knew well; a friend of my family’s, but mainly of my Mom’s, who had just been there to pick up an item to take back to my parents home church. Then the woman from the sidewalk and I talked some more and discovered we shared the same married name, with different spellings.....Hmmm. 

Lately I have been struggling with finding, no, taking the time to create. There always seems to be something else that takes me away from working on my fibre projects and artistic pursuits. I keep saying, well, if I can just get through this week, there will be more time to focus on that. And then the next week seems fuller than the last. 

I am aware that today event’s might seem of no interest or value to some, but I know that these are messages meant for me. And I am going to take some time to interpret them and see where it takes me next in this journey of mine. And I know my Mom is with me every step of the way.

Babies are grand!

Our family has been very fortunate in many ways, thirteen of these being grand nieces and nephews. My husband's side of the family is a little more prolific than mine, but we love all of them equally. The oldest of this group just started his first year of university, and the youngest is just five weeks old! And we are expecting number 14 early in the new year! Recently we drove to Nova Scotia to help celebrate my niece’s little guy’s 4th birthday! His younger sister tends to lead my hubby around by the nose, as he just melts into a big old puddle when he gets to spend time with her. 

I finally have a little gift ready to send to the newest member of the family. As always when I need a baby gift, I wrangled a sweet little hat from my sister, Joanne and I made a soft little quiltlet that I tied with some soft pink thread to add to the parcel.

 

Stitches that bind

I am not the knitter in our family. My sister knits for her very successful etsy shop Mad About Colour and our Mom had been the manager of the local Wool and Yarn Shop. Mom continued to knit over the years and often helped Jo out. I can knit, but it is only lately that I have taken up my needles once again with vengeance. 

Along with working my way through numerous half or partially finished projects that I am dedicated to completing, I need to keep smaller projects close at hand for those empty moments. I had been working on a pair of socks for my son for a very, very long time and Mom had wondered if I would ever get that toe on the second sock finished. I have a terrible habit of writing notes that I am sure I will be able to transcribe months (maybe years?) later, and then, of course, I can’t. It takes me ages to try to figure out what my notes mean and why I can’t seem to replicate the first sock. 

Well, something finally clicked and the original pattern became reasonable. I had somehow convinced myself that the yarn company had made an error and I had to adjust the pattern.....I am shaking my head as I write this.....Anyway, I did finish that pair and went on to complete the blue striped pair pictures above for Gabe. I also knit two pairs of socks for my sister, a pair of mitts for my daughter, the hat pictured above, plus one for my sister, and that cute pair of mitts in the upper right corner are for my little grand niece! I have a matching pair for her Mom on the needles now (I thought since the yarn was so pretty and festive that a little mother/daughter matchy-matchy would be fun!). And as soon as my son sends me a scan of his hand, I will start a pair of mitts for him.

Mom and I cuddled up in her big bed, knitting and watching the Home and Garden Channel.

I still haven’t finished binding those two quilts. And I am only half way through the latest quilt on my longarm. But, like many of us who work with our hands and create with our hearts, I need to keep a lot of irons in the fire and I need to mix it up, working in a variety of medium. Inbetween the knitting and the quilting, I am working on designing pantographs, some fabric painting and some quilting on my domestic. As well, my sister and I are in the very early stages of collaboration on a project which threatens to be loads of fun and a whole new avenue to explore.

Power hungry

My husband has been sick with the current winter flu for the past 3 days and I have to admit, I am starting to bite at the bit. Why, oh why, are all my toys noisy? He is the best patient when he is sick - never complains, doesn’t “hear” my noise, and all he wants to do is sleep and be left alone....Still, I feel guilty if I start a motor and I know my sewing machine plus some music or a DVD playing would no doubt be annoying. And it is too damn cold to stay outdoors for more than a few minutes. 

I have multitudes of quiet occupations I could pursue. I don’t need to sew that binding on right now, or piece the back for the next quilt to go on my longarm, but I want to do them. Now. Honestly, I am like this when the power goes out, too. All of a sudden, when faced with no access to my “power” tools, I need want to use them all at that very moment, even if I had been dreaming for days of time to read, or knit, or sketch. Even my spin bike is magnetic (no plug in required!) and so quiet, I could bike and you wouldn’t hear me 10 feet away. Well, except for my laboured breathing. And my very loud techno music which is a requirement for spin. Of course, I would wear my earbuds. But, breathless or not, I sing along. Loudly and badly....”Starships are meant to flyyyyy....”  So that’s out. No matter. I am totally unreasonable and I know it.

As much as I love to use my hands and create within quiet occupations, I am completed addicted to power cords and electricity. And my longarm is just the latest in a long line of things Jennifer needs to plug in to use. For example, today I used the kettle, toaster, magic bullet, blender, iron, computer, sewing machine, TV, oven, microwave, second computer, landline, charger, photocopier and I should have used my flat iron ( trip the hair salon soon - yippee!). My heat is electric, I used the overhead lights, woke up to the alarm radio and the hot water wouldn’t have been hot without the power it takes. And this is when I am trying to be quiet. Sigh.

I can survive without a power bar and a place to plug it in. When we travel, we camp a lot and our tent isn’t rigged with electricity. I manage. Quite happily actually. Perhaps the main difference is that this is planned time away from my toys and tools. If I know and am prepared, I am content. And as long as I am in some connected to my family via technology, I am fine. Although I have learned that 48 hours is too long without contact when your holidays conflict with natural disasters. And we do seem to have a track record for attracting or travelling in areas where the earth is having issues....ask our kids.....

Anyway. I think he is awake and my sewing machine is calling my name. Time to sneak in a seam or two.....

The Crayola Kid is back!

It wasn’t until I had hung up the phone (how else do you say ended a phone conversation these days, even if you are on a cell phone?) that I realized the colors I had chosen to piece with today were reflected in the colors of the sock I had started knitting. I know I am feeling the need for brights especially yellow these days, and was aware I was choosing a variety including them, but otherwise the recurring scheme wasn’t obvious until I laid the sock down near the fabric. 

I am going to start paying more attention to my color choices, to see just what they are reflected in from my day, or from my experiences.

This week we have welcomed yet another healthy baby to our extended family! This makes our 10th grand nephew/niece and we are just as excited about this little guy as we were about the first little one many years ago!

These days my favourite baby gift comes from my incredibly creative sister and her knitting needles. Joanne has spent her entire life designing and creating and her knitting business is her latest success. Often times when we were kids, I ended up being her palette. Most memorable was the time she painted my legs with acrylics. I had lovely vines of colourful flowers from toes to hips and I was thrilled! In my mind, it meant NO MORE LEOTARDS! Mom, however, seemed less than impressed and I spent a number of hours in a bathtub of hot water and soap while I scraped and scrubbed away my personal garden.

The hats Jo creates exhibit the same whimsy that she once created on me. They are delightful and endearing and you can’t help but smile when you see adorable babies wearing her fun, colorful hats!

Treat yourself and check out her etsy shop. Be prepared to be wowed!!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/MadAboutColour