35 years in the making... 08/30/2009
 I could not have had a better birthday weekend. Kenny came in from Houston, Chuck from St. Louis, John from San Francisco, and we spent the weekend together! on Saturday, we went to the fiber frolic hosted by Griffin Dyeworks - did natural dyeing, solar dyeing, ate and spent the day chatting and keeping an eye on the fires burning nearby - Charles came to the event as well - and my friend (family) I have known for 20 years, Debra as well!  The fires are horrible - for a while we weren't sure if we were going to get to dye yarn or not- but the winds changed and we go to do so... all day long we watched the smoke billow. the power of nature can be terrifying...  Here's Chuck and Charles preparing yarn for the dyepots - my fav dye was the indigo - when you pull the yarn out of the pot, it's light green, sort of like the color of antifreeze... then, suddenly it changes to beautiful dark blue! amazing. We learned a lot and can't wait to do more!  John did some quick dyeing - see? Indigo! (most of us were smart enough to wear globes) haha - We also knitted away... talked, laughed, cut up, and just enjoyed the best time ever - I can't wait to see more of each of my knitting pals! Of course, they are all going to the Men's Knitting Retreat - in Seattle... I stay home this time - sadly - I must work, and school starts tomorrow...  I won't go into all the gifts I got - probably more than I deserved... yarn, running shorts, gift certificates, not to mention the gift of my pals flying across the country to see me... but one of my FAVORITE gifts was this little bag bought for me at the frolic - it's a knitting bag that's reversible - the inside (as shown) is little skull and crossbones, but the crossbones are knitting needles... and the outside of it is a fabric called "Knitmare" - it shows a person dying trying to knit... a dog eating knitting... a cat tangling up the yarn - and a little boy wearing a sweater that just doesn't fit.... I LOVE it! go buy yours here: www.readyorknit.etsy.com -  I *almost* finished my top down raglan - I still have to do the collar... weave in the ends... but it'll be done really soon. I am pretending it's done...and cast on for another one - it'll probably be the last one for a while - I'm really proud of this raglan - the random striping worked the way I wanted it to - and lots of people like this - once it's REALLY done, I'll do some photos and try to go in depth on how I did the striping. School starts tomorrow - beginning the classes for a drug and alcohol certificate and the continuance of my fun times in ceramics! Sadly, that means no more knitting at the farmer's market on Thursdays... Thank you again to everyone who helped to make this birthday so amazing - I appreciate every kind word, thoughtful gift and big hug I got... here's to making 35 a year to remember! Pinwheel Blanket Finished! 08/07/2009
 A friend showed me a baby blanket she made for her new daughter - I instantly fell in love with this pattern and after her convincing me how easy it was (it IS easy!) I decided to take a collection of yarns I had and make an adult sized blanket. I grouped the yarns in order of how I wanted to stripe them, bagged them (together if I intend to strand more than one at a time) and numbered the bags in this case, 1-36. I just followed the pattern, and changed the color of yarn every 2 or 4 rounds. This piece started and ended with some amazing yarn from Manos del Uruguay - in one of my favorite colors. I am happy to have found a use for all these novelty yarns, single balls, etc. I’m using some beautiful handspun, vintage yarn, and even the yarn I had made through VIP Fibers of my cat Winky's fur! The final blanket is just over 4' across. I'm really happy that this is finished - it lingered in my "works in progress" for a LONG time! - I started it a year ago last March! Forest Canopy Freeform Wrap COMPLETED! 07/12/2009
 What a wonderful day! I am pleased to share a lesson I learned. When working on freeform pieces, it's important (as in painting, ceramics and probably most other arts) to pay careful attention to the piece and when it's time to stop that you stop... the piece will usually hint to you when it's time... the wrap told me today that it was done... and it is!  I haven't sewn in my label (yet) but it's complete - here's a recap - a year ago this month I started this wrap after a class with Janice Rosema, a freeform knit/crochet artist living here in southern California. Her class was inspirational and empowering - there are no mistakes in freeform work - but some things work together better than others... I bought a felted fleece from Ozark Handspun and began knitting and crocheting pieces to be joined to the fleece. Most of the year that it took to finish the piece sat on my dress form - waiting for me to revisit the project. It has become the latest obsession, and now that it's complete, I have mixed emotions. I'm glad, but wish that a second (different) piece had already been started so that I could continue the process with another piece... but it's not started... and I can't decide if I want to do one in browns/neutrals OR greens/blues/yellows... thoughts/opinions?  One of my favorite parts of this piece is the button - it's a cabinet knob from Edgar Berebi - a spider cabinet knob with swarovski crystals in it - I had the back part of the knob cut off so that it's flat, then we tapped the back and put a eyelet screw in the hole... wrapped that bit with yarn and attached it. It's a bit heavy, but heck; the entire piece is heavy... it's colorful, warm, and will take a person with a lot of presence, personality, fashion sense (and courage) to pull it off! I'm not sure what's next, but today's a great day - because this project is complete!  Most of you know about the blanket - I wrote about it HERE when I first started to talk about the idea of making a blanket for him - the response was overwhelming - people posted on their blogs, printed flyers, shared the news by word of mouth to their local knitting family. It's difficult to accept the challenges Cancer has brought to our lives - I lost my father to Cancer - a coworker's mother is currently facing the battle... friends from all over spoke of their triumphs and tragedies relating to the disease - and all the while, we all wanted to do something for our friend, Jason, who is in his early thirties and has been told by his Doctors chances are he has less than the summer to complete his short life. We all are frustrated into action by this news - not knowing what to do, I made the decision to ask everyone to do what we do best... knit!  We carefully laid out each square - attempting to place them in an order that offered no defined pattern - paying close attention to the colors - trying not to put the same color next to itself - and not to put a similarly textured or patterned item near another... it took an hour or two of arranging but once it was finalized, the rows were stacked (1-9) and the squares in each row were joined - one by one - to each other - I did this with the help of Doug Laughlin (of West Hollywood, CA) and Ivar Asplund (visiting from Sweeden) - over the weekend we got most of the pieces assembled, then they took the blanket home to finish assembly, and create the crocheted border. I washed, blocked, and photographed the blanket and it will be mailed, Federal Express to Holland tomorrow morning - to hopefully arrive at Jason's door on Wednesday, June 10, 2009. According to Jonathan, Jason's family is scheduled to arrive at the same time, and while I know there is a lot to think about, with any luck, there will be some time for everyone to read our cards and admire the hard work and love that has been poured into this project. maybe they'll all take turns reading the cards and letters aloud to Jason - letting him just hear the love that's coming at him and his family from all over the world... Again - the idea that everyone just banded together to help is what makes me the most proud - not that we were able to do it, but that we all dove in, head first - selflessly creating beautiful pieces - trying out new techniques, ripping out and re-doing - making the best squares we could to contribute to this offering of love. It's there too - the love... the blanket just glows with the care and compassion we all have for not only Jason, but for everyone fighting their battles... I think we helped open avenues of communication for some knitters as well... and I know a few who are either fighting their own fights or supporting others who are... felt this was a good way to focus the love... Keep tuned for more blankets - remember, you gave more than we could use for one blanket - so the next one(s) will be made smaller, and I'm looking for organizations to donate to or sell to benefit for... If you know of somewhere - a Cancer charity... or center that needs the money - an organization that has an annual auction or benefit... get in touch with me. And if you have a loved one who you have lost to Cancer and wish to add their name to the comments, it'd be an honor to think of them as well while creating the next series of throws... I'm starting the list off with the memory of my father, William Franklin Kunnecke - who I lost to cancer just a few years ago - I know he would be proud of this blanket and to know that his son was able to organize what I believe is the first blanket knitted almost entirely by male knitters from around the world (with a few amazing women tossed in for good measure!) I'll close this post with images from the creation/assembly of this blanket - I hope that the idea catches on and we all can use our craft to help comfort others - I will continue to make blankets like these - if you'd like to help by contributing more squares, please email me- and again, thank you for being an example to the world - showing that love and compassion still exist. -Kyle Finished Object! 04/08/2009
 Yes, it's true... I really DO still knit. Although this has been done for a while, I didn't show it to you..Yarn - Mondial Oggi Paragraph. Welcome: Elvis the Lamb! 08/11/2008
 I took a class on Saturday at Unraveled with Janice Rosema (Fiber Goddess) and had a great time making my own lambie pie! the process is not difficult at all - it's a little fiddly but quite simple - and since it's a stuffed animal, gauge isn't REALLY important either! We had a blast knitting and hanging out - and one wonderful knitter bought pastries to share with us from the bakery across the street!  By the end of the class, many lambs were almost completed... most lacked faces and feet, but we all knew what we were doing... The next morning I woke up and spent some time adding ears and legs to my critter - and Sunday night, I added his face, complete with button eyes - he's adorable and I really enjoyed myself. I recommend you go to Ravelry or Janice's ETSY shop and buy the pattern - it's a quick knit, allows you to play with the beautiful Ozark yarn and when you're done, you have created a creature with personality all its own! I was impressed with the shop we were knitting in- it's in a beautiful old brick building with high ceilings and ancient beams - it's comfy, cheery, and the staff is very helpful - I'll definately go there again... I wish it was a little closer to my house... but I will say this: it's worth the drive! I understan now why some people swear by this place!  I also did some organizing - this is how far I am on my mitered square blanket - after stalking finished projects, I think I like this style of layout for my blanket - it'll give a neat edge and when it's all sewn up, the seams make fun vertical lines... but I am a ways off from completing the piece - I have about 50 squares left to make....  I started a new sweater last night (8/10/08) and decided it's sleeves first this time - I think if I get sleeves out of the way, I can use them to double/triple check gauge and it makes it easier to complete a project because all it leaves for me is the front and back to knit which is, let's face it, the FUN part.... |     ArchivesFebruary 2010  CategoriesAll  |
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