some people we've met have commented that we knit stuff fast. honest, we don't. we're just spending way too much time knitting in lieu of other more important activities. incredible people like wendy - well, if you knitted at least 3 hours each day over a long period of time, you'd probably be pretty good at it too. we're amazed at the technical prowess (not to mention speed) that she must have. we should be more like her - do it outside of a day job (although we're not so sure about werking for the govt.), and go hard.
naughty us - we left out the other knit blogs that we've been reading lately...some of our faves include the dachshund sprinkled blogdogblog, owner of a gorgeous puddytat - another knitting blog, bonus points winner for blog color and knit store ownership digital yarn, knitting as antidote to medicine at at the stillpoint of the turning world and nyc based-rowan lovin'-lawyer curls and purls NYC
we're going great guns with unexpected knitting - just completed our first scribble lace stole/scarf thing (given the big stitches, it's very stretchy, and there's a myriad of things to do with it - a sort of skirt/sarong option for summer would be fun too).
we started on something freeform for fun, and it bought up an interesting thing that we hadn't really thought about before...on the trams and at school yesterday, people wanted to know what we were making. just one issue there - we really don't know. we'd love to have a skirt, but if it isn't a skirt, well, life goes on.
the great thing about freeform knitting that we didn't know until we started - this stuff is knitting valium. there are no rows to count, no patterns to follow, no mistakes, just discoveries. the fun bit will be just getting some sort of shape that's kinda, sorta what we're looking for.
there's a skein of try out yarn in our newly purchased craft only big pot from big w ($20.00 for 19 litre stainless steel, thankyouverymuch). we've learnt from experience - soak the yarn first, so we're patienty waiting an hour or so, then testing out some red landscape dye from kraftkolour before going the whole hog and doing the full 800 grams for the dress. good thing the yarn is cheap wool - if it all doesn't work it, it's ok. it'll make a great bag.
this autumn period is a primer for the colder months - in less than a week, three informal knitting get togethers through stitch'n'bitch melbs.
...what a day...felicity from s'n'b melbs kindly organised to have coffee with debbie new when she ordered her new book from schoolhouse press, checking to see if debbie might also be coming to oz to promote it. lucky, lucky souls who are going to her workshops while she's here - what's in her weighty tome is a total inspiration. we grilled the woman with questions until she was well browned on both sides - with 8 kids, summers spent on a boat, a knitting career with all these cool projects - there's a lot to cover! we glanced the pages during a quick trip to DEA and decided then and there that we'd make the dress:
it's a beautiful thing. if you want to find out more about debbie, there's a profile and her cards.
one of the interesting things she mentioned was submitting designs to interweave knits for publication - you submit an idea, and if it's approved, they decide the yarn supplier and colour, and get it for you. (debbie knit the dress above for them, only to have them decide that they preferred a top - how would you feel?). submitting to magazines isn't a huge money earner, but it's a useful publicity machine and it's possible to go on from there and use that experience for other things such as teaching, publishing a book, designing for fashion houses etc such as what lily chin has done.
amazing woman, totally chuffed to have met her, and the book is fab - highly recommended you check it out (melbs locals, it's a library book, thanks to her relative that works there, and artisan books will have more (signed?) copies coming in - we sucked 'em dry - they have lots of other hard to find treasures too).
we're werking on a bunch of scarves at the moment. we haven't knitted one for our own use yet, but they make handy presents to people going to colder climes and they're nice beginner projects. it's one of those things - approximately 80% of people who walk into a yarn store do so to make a scarf (and in oz, 80% of them make it in f**thers, but that's another story...). we've been plundering ms walker's a second treasury of knitting patterns, which works hard to earn its rave reviews.
one can never have too many woollen mills offering great yarns at awesome prices. offering 8ply dk wool (which looks like it'll be just dandy for felting projects) in 32 shades - waverley woollen mills.
update on below - we have checked it out, and it's an amazing place for fiber fiends. a fine example:
800 grams of pure wool - still greasy (we weren't too sure about the fibre content, but one whiff of eau de shearing shed put us straight) in skeins for $12. we found it in garbage bags at the front of the warehouse - it had just come in, and adam hadn't had the time to price and cone it - needless to say, there's a lot of it. still, after a little washing, dyeing and tlc, that's the cheapest garment we've ever made.
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we haven't had the chance to check it out yet, but reports have been good - adam at DEA yarns usually wholesales, but has also opened to the public.
he stocks a wide variety of yarns (wool, mohair, slubby linen/rayon, and other wierd, wild, and wonderful things...), and sells by the cone - so it's one of those places where it's great if you have a knowledge about what you want and what you're prepared to pay.
details:
DEA YARNS 10 Dawson St Coburg Victoria Ph/fax 03 9350 3343 (Adam)
OPEN THURSDAY & FRIDAY 9AM -3PM
SATURDAY 9.30AM - 1PM
a few people from swings and slides were curious as to where to get their info, so nundle woollen mills offers yarn (wool, mohair, linen/wool blends amongst other things...), patterns, needles and more at their site (feel free to contact them for a free shadecard.
heck. there is just too many new knitting books...
- ms falick's knit, a personal handbook,
- hot knits,
- 1000 sweaters,
- denim people,
- hand knits for the home,
- shadow knitting (handy for those who might like to go a little further after completing the alien scarf from stitch'n'bitch,
- the green mountain spinnery knitting book (interesting to see how this will differ from handpaint country).
there's quite a few patterns and yarns that are doing the rounds of mailing lists and websites that we'd love to be part of - so much knitting and yarn, so little time and money...
patterns of the past are doing angelina, a pattern that we've been eyeing off for quite some time - we're big (ha!) fans of whiteliesdesigns.
there's an everyday cardie knitalong - we love the colours from peacefleece, and their concept of bringing nations together (not to mention what looks like a very cute boy knitting in his labourer's time off - can we take him home too?).
alice starmore's henry 8 jumper is a very beautiful, complex thing - we borrowed tudor roses and checked out the pattern - needless to say, perhaps if/when we marry some tall dark guy suited to such a jumper, we'll knit it. currently knitting the steeky multicoloured goodness of hank - alisonknits and another knitting blog.
we're finding it super hard to get werk done today. the thought of doing a business plan isn't awe inspiring at the best of times, let alone a friday afternoon. we've been bad, and been skiving, checking out these cute lil' animal ecards (bummer they're in german - update - now in english!) at ggh garn ecards.
just planting seeds here...it would be amazing if there could be an australian project not unlike what's happening with manos del uruguay who produce some of the most luscious looking yarn in we'd-use-it colourways. another project along slightly different lines south african craft.
after all, there's meant to be a resurgence in knitting, there's plenty of people who would probably embrace the idea of working as a craftsperson if their other options are no work, or a mcjob. australia is the world's leading producer of wool so we can't see a reason for not creating an amazing artisan product to benefit farmers, craftspeople and the end consumer. the joy of dreaming.
one of those "who the hell would do that"? moments, kindly brought to you by donna hay, food porn photography queen. this seasons trend? egg cosies (not to be confused with the tea cosy, latte cosy, hot water bottle cosy etc). ok, ok, maybe we'd whip up a pink one, but only if the egg underneath had a smiley face on it...
we thought that would be the end of the cosy action for today, but no...there's a awesome site that we've just come across - knitknit (which we found on naturally curly, also damn fine), which features conceptual cosies however it was the flurfy bunny that totally stole our heart. if we had grass, we'd definitely be getting one.
speaking of cosies, there's this freaky get yr knit on community get together thing in warwick (queensland - one of australia's hotter states, which makes you wonder...) (as reported in the textile fibre forum newsletter) - which will feature the tree cosy or as the publicity puts it - Jumpers in July (winter woollies for Warwick’s deciduous trees). nothin' quite as sad as a shivering cold tree, eh?
wow - were we blown away by attendance to the first swings and slides...we thought it would be this little cosy coffee and chat thing for about six people. more like the group took the place over, gave the venue their highest capacity since they opened and the introductions (due to so many new faces) that started took a while to finish because people just kept on turning up. so, it looks like we're onto a good thing - it was great to introduce so many people to a new local cafe and give them our business.
claire's done a beautiful illustration - as for knitting in public, it's possible to turn up to one of these meets and due to drinking, talking, eating, checking out other people's books and various knitted goods, it's all too easy to make the night pass without a single stitch. yes, you too can fake being an accomplished knitter by turning up to one of these things with your grandmother's hand me down sweater on show, a couple of pattern books that you thrifted, and showing lots of interest in what everyone else is doing...
the new dates for swings and slides are: the 2nd tuesday of each month, which is 13th april, 11th may, 8th june.
if you'd like to keep up to date with most melbs knitterly happenings, subscribing to stitch'n'bitch melbourne is your best bet.
our virgin entry into ebay selling - vintage imitation silk, which is uber fine, slippery stuff, well suited to smancy crochet work, and possibly knitting fine lace and even undergarments (we're suspecting that was the original idea, anyway). check it out on ebay
a chunk of things that we've finished.
firstly, the (almost complete) ruana, one of the biggest things we've ever knit:
and in the almost done stage, before the claytons steek (the green line in the middle is usually cut - we chickened out and simply undid it row by row, putting each side onto scrap yarn). a stitch'n'bitcher pointed us in the direction of another fine ruana.
the finished kidsilk haze and 4ply tweed wool from rowan, the most expensive thing we've ever knit (jacket pattern from the urban knitter):
a top in kidsilk haze - we're not so sure how smart a sleeveless top in uber warm and light mohair is, but it feels great. definitely adding more length to it though...and when we're wearing it, as my niece would proclaim when we held her on our hip "kylie, you've got boobies!". yeah. thanks.
proving that the best wool in the world is at your doorstep - "Two Australian sheep farmers have produced the world's finest wool, a mere 11.9 microns thick or about one-fifth the diameter of human hair, with a bale of the super fine wool now under armed guard inside a bank vault. " read the cnn article.
we've been quiet about the stitches and craft show, because we're a wee bit suss about these kind of operations - you're charged entry for the opportunity to spend more money at stalls who have paid a fortune to be there, and the bulk of knitting places should show elsewhere, or you can simply mailorder. that said, if you haven't been to one before, apparently the march show caters better for knitters than one later in the year. otherwise, simply save your pennies for sheepshow.
there was an article in the new magknits about working at an lys which to us was pretty much on the mark. you can't help but start putting together different colours and yarns while stocking the shelves. customers get creative (or better still, you do it together or for them) with yarn choices for their projects - total sweeties even bring them in to show you what they're like when they're done. which led us to one of the most expensive things that we'd ever knit - a jacket and top out of rowan yarns. (photos soon...).
something smart that a few stores that sell online are doing is having their own blog as part of the site. in the case of threadbearfibrearts, having blackdog and crowingram giving their own personal spin and behind the scenes look at owning a yarn store makes it feel so much more personable and friendly, and it's obvious that these guys really truly love what they do. another new site that's got it goin' on is knithappens which scores bonus points for the interior decoration.
we can't find images of the knitting online (let us know if you can), but if you manage to see harvey krumpet there's quite a few references and examples of knitting (the finger puppets in the seniors home were really sweet), thoughtfully done by the director's mum.
now, the chances of us actually knitting the thing are quite low, but when erin kidnapped us to go thifting and found this beauty, we had a hard time turning it down for around a dollar:
there's no date on the pattern, but the type and colours of the book are lookin' pretty seventies. it would've been a nice design feature to have the cables of the coat meld into the ribbing at the base. we're kinda tempted to use the scarf pattern as a template for a larger wrap with the cables a different colour to the edging and background. not that we've ever knitted cables, but we've seen it done, and how hard can it be?
another score - pink wool. make our day. some thoughtful very experienced knitter (we're sadly guessing someone passed away whilst knitting a young girl's cardie) had part done the back of a garment and really well too - some sort of rib cast on that's impossible to undo, twisted rib, and really even knitting. so we frogged the whole thing and washed the skein. while it still smells kinda old school, we figure a project such as the felted bag could be the way to go.
felted bags are an ace project, because they're strong, cute, and it's possible to use old skanky thrift store wool (or other 100% animal fibre), dye it the colour that you want, and remove any old school scent thanks to the washing machine felting process. a while back we were thinking of designing a laptop bag, because we hadn't seen one - until now ("mercury"). janet scanlon is one talented lady.
“The thing that really struck me was how there were all these stands where people were selling the scarves and hats they had knitted, but then were also selling the banana bread that their friend had baked or a CD of their friend’s band,” . oh, if only we could go to the renegade craft fair in chicago - check out the punk planet article.
while we heartily endorse stitch'n'bitch melbourne a few knitters/crafty types have been yearning for something closer to home for us northerners at an opposing fortnight for yarn holics where once a month get togethers just isn't enough.
so, you now have a fine excuse to get your knitting needles out and grab the latest gossip at a ruvly new northern venue. dear reader, you're welcome. just like s'n'b, there are no charges - just pay the cafe for whatever goodness you consume. Rathdowne Street Swings & Slides Cafe, 164 Rathdowne Street Carlton, tuesday march 16, 7-9pm map. need more info? contact kylie.
there's a small textiles exhibition at ngv australia featuring the work of textile artists and knitters such as ilka white and lorinda grant, on until july 4 - pins and needles. also happening soon is the melbourne fashion festival.
"Sales of books on knitting are soaring at Barnes & Noble, up 60 percent over last year," said Steve Riggio, chief executive officer of Barnes & Noble, Inc. "In response to this trend, we have teamed up with Suss Cousins to offer our customers her line of kits for both the beginner and intermediate knitter. They are great examples of quality contemporary crafts made for entertainment and learning." view the article. view the kits.
judge tells protestor to take up knitting:
"My son's been telling me for years to take up knitting. But I can't knit. As long as there are nuclear weapons in the world, and particularly in Plymouth, I will carry on protesting." view article.