My Mini-Shawl

I have been traveling the past week (what else is new!) but I used the time to complete the shawl that I mentioned in my last post.

The pattern, Terraced Shawl, was on display at the Fiber Gallery and I also found info and samples of it on this website. I loved the pattern as once you got started, it was really simple to follow. The shawl took two skeins of Mini Mochi by Crystal Palace Yarns: one solid and one self-striping.

The yarn, 80% Merino and 20% nylon, is luscious to knit with. The stitching is delicate and the project was easily toted along on plane flights. That elongated purse that I wrote about in January was the perfect carrying case for the project.

The Fiber Gallery, Seattle, WA

I want to give a shout out to The Fiber Gallery in Seattle, WA. I visited the store with my cousin back in January and it is a wonderful resource for knitters - new and advanced.

The store is in a new location - 8212 Greenwood Avenue North. The space really allows for an extensive display of yarn and knitting accessories, while creating a comfort space for knitters to gather and, of course, knit. 

The Fiber Gallery offers an impressive selection of classes. Their website is helpful as it includes a blog where finished projects are often posted.

I am just getting back into knitting after many years. I have probably followed the same path as many 'returnees' to the art, as well as beginners. I have been making a lot of scarves. But the displays at The Fiber Gallery were simply too tempting. I simply had to purchase the yarn for a cute hat and a small shawl as well. The owner, Mary, was wonderful in helping me go over the instructions for both pieces so I could comfortably walk out of the shop with the confidence to work on my projects as I continued my trip. My only regret is that I don't live closer to Seattle so I could take more advantage of the classes that are offered.

I hope if you are in the Seattle area, or passing through, that you will take the time to check out The Fiber Gallery.

Connecting the Dots

I am fascinated with how ideas and projects come together. I often wonder if there are really coincidences, or events are simply stages in a process that we have yet to recognize. This is definitely the case with the sketch I shared with you two weeks ago.

Transitioning from that sketch to art quilt has been anything but easy for me! I had a fleeting vision of my finished piece in my mind but every time I looked through my stash and begin to select fabrics, I faltered. I actually made it through cutting and stitching about 20% of the piece once. Hmmm. I found myself dreaming about the colors at night, stopping mid-stream in daily tasks to consider an idea. Clearly this piece was demanding to be completed.

Slowly the pieces have been coming together. Back in September, I picked up a table runner at an open market in India. I loved the colors - a bit like a sampler in embroidery. I had no real need for it but some impulse made me purchase it. It has been sitting on our dining room table since September and I walk by it maybe 20 times Adam. Yesterday, as I was preparing for a weekend trip, I once again walked by that table runner again. But this time I paused and saw it in a totally different light. The colors and values that had been flashing in my mind for my art piece were staring me in the face.

Later in the day, I looked out of New York hotel room at our view and there were some more hints for my piece.

 Since then I have gotten a few new fabrics that I saw on the web that build off the turquoise in my table runner but lack the subtlety of the effect in the table runner. So, who knows what exactly I shall finally decide. We are off to Hawaii for a few days and I plan to take the project with me to start fusing.  I can't help wondering what the trip will contribute to the completion of my quilt.

A Fun Challenge

In the past week I learned about a fun challenge group that started up in January and plunged in. The challenge is called, Quilt 2012, and is sponsored by Jeanne Simpson.

The challenge particularly agrees with me as Jeanne refers to it as a 'trolley' challenge. You can drop in and out as your schedule demands - for me that is ideal! The way the challenge works, Jeanne posts a theme every Sunday evening and you have until the following Sunday morning to email a jpg of your finished art quilt to Jeanne. She then posts the contributions on the blog.

The quilts must be 12" x 20".  According to Jeanne, "these "sketches" should be experimental in nature, approached intuitively and completed quickly." There are participants from around the world participating and it is quite fun to see the different ways that the theme is interpreted each week. 


Here was my contribution from the past week, which had a theme of "A Bonus of Time."

I hope that you will visit Jeanne's blog and check out the other contributions! And, of course, you are welcome to join in too!

Off the Wall!

A group that I belong to, RAFA (Rochester Area Fiber Artists), will be having a show at the Arts and Cultural Council for Greater Rochester from March 2-29, 2012. The exhibit opening will be on March 2nd from 6-9:00 pm.

I am delighted that my art quilt, Dragonfly, will be in the show. 

While it will rest on the wall, a good number of the pieces are sculpture and clothing and are literally off the wall. A wonderful example is this vest by Anne Fischer, Gilet le printemps.

The Arts and Cultural Council for Greater Rochester is located at 277 North Goodman St., Rochester, NY 14607. The exhibit will be open daily, Monday - Friday, from 10am - 4 pm.

Hope if you are in the area that you can stop in!

A Fun Follow-up

I wrote a few weeks ago in a post that we had bought our daughter a sewing machine for Christmas. I am happy to report that after the quick lesson from me that I reported on, Jaye has created a continual stream of pillows, etc for their home. She has visited her local Bernina store a number of times and it sounds as though her stash is slowly growing.

My delight in all this blossomed this past weekend when I called and was told that she and her husband, Steve, were in a fabric store picking out fabric for him! Happily I received a photo later in the evening of the two pillows that Steve made for his Dad's birthday. It reported to me a few days later that Dad was delighted with his gift.

A Lone Resident

In the midst of all my other projects, I simply had to work on a piece that recalls our trip to Antarctica. And so, my latest art quilts, Antarctic Resident, was born.

This was a good deal of fun for me. The most challenging part, no doubt, was finding a way to portray the Antarctic waters. I wound up bleaching a piece of hand-dyed fabric that I had gotten a few years ago from Lisa Walton at Dyed and Gone to Heaven and then searching and searching for a blue for the one large iceberg.

The most satisfying part of this piece's creation was undoubtedly my Adelie penguin. I had been collecting different sorts of black fabric prints for a year, knowing that I was likely to want to make a penguin after our trip. I wound up using some plain black for this version and using thread to create texture. I suspect I will use some of those other fabrics in future pieces.