Stitches in Time....

Let me briefly describe a project that we'll be announcing soon at Artisan Knitworks:  My little company began, some of you will remember, as a celebration of the lives and stories of small producers of yarn, fasteners, and other supplies for fiber artists.  The idea, before the recession made very many things quite difficult, was to do up a series of story boards with photographs to deliver up the makers' stories alongside their wares.  Well, that part of things awaits my retirement.

In the meantime, though, I'm going to publish a booklet -- the size will depend on all of YOU -- each year, in advance of the Third Coast Fiber Arts Festival in late October, that will contain stories and photographic illustrations submitted by our customers and vendors.   It will be divided into sections (the names are not fixed right now, but will be things like Laughter, Bumps in the Night, etc.) and edited by me.  (Don't worry -- I used to earn my living as an editor!).  Some part of the proceeds will go to a shelter for survivors of domestic and sexual violence.  Be thinking whether you want to share a story (500-1000 words).  More soon.

svb

Tunisian Crochet......!

I've been thinking again about Tunisian, and especially the incredibly easy and versatile Simple Stitch, which is what we used to call Afghan Stitch when I was much younger......What an incredibly fall-off-a-log easy way to create warm accessories in a flash!  Here's a shawl I did awhile back literally over a weekend, mostly on a Saturday, on a big wooden hook made by BagSmith, size S, I think...using a strand of ancient (30-year-old) LaGran by Classic Elite mohair in Green Apple (WHY do I remember these things after three decades?) and a strand of Noro Silk Garden, supplemented at the two ends by a strand of glittery Dune by Trendsetter to vary the landscape.   The fringe is just a bunch of chain stitch, nothing fancy -- nothing a beginner couldn't learn to do in five minutes' time.

.....or if you prefer, you could cook up a really simple Tunisian hat in about 30 minutes flat.  This one will be featured in an upcoming class -- done on a huge Boye hook, beginning with fat yarn and only 8 stitches. 

So now I'm thinking about a huge huge huge Tunisian simple stitch coat worked from one cuff to the other cuff on a cabled Tunisian hook -- maybe with three strands, color-shifting as I move along -- I need to think about the array of yarns.  It might be most fun of all to work a kind of Biblical Coat of Many Colors, holding one strand (the mohair) constant, and throwing in everything but the kitchen sink, within a certain range of colors, of course, then using mismatched vintage buttons to close it.  I can even see a long, attached scarf.  I will keep you posted.  Need first to gather a pile of yarn -- and to do that, I need to unpack all of the stash in the basement (we moved!!!).  

For those who want to play, I'm offering a Tunisian class at the studio in a couple of weeks -- see the website!!!  www.artisanknitworks.com       svb