Category Archives: Knoontime Knitting – One Writer’s Journey Into 3-D

Q Is For… Quilling!

Knoontime Knitting

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One art I’d like to try someday is quilling.  This is an art that uses small strips of paper, wound to various tightness, to create a three-dimensional art.  When I was a child, I remember seeing ones that were usually monochromatic, usually white.  I don’t know if that’s because it was in vogue at the time or if that particular area of California just had artists that liked working in plain colors; but when I did some research for my post, I found some amazing, inspiring images.  Take a look.

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I love how simple this star is, and how it cycles through the colors of the rainbow.

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I love peacocks!  This one is incredible – look at the level of detail!  The height of the pieces differs depending on whether it’s the branch or the bird, too.  Such complexity!

I found a detailed YouTube channel that has classes in quilling for free, here.  You can see all the different kinds of designs possible and maybe get inspired to try it yourself!

What about you, Dear Reader?
What art calls to you, that you haven’t tried yet?

P Is For… Pysanky!

Knoontime Knitting
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Egg decorated by A. Catherine Noon from a design in the Ukrainian Design Book by Perchyshyn et al. Image Copyright 2014 Everett C. Wilson. Used with Permission

I adore pysanky.  I talked about the legend about them on my main blog a couple weeks ago, here.  Today, I wanted to talk more about the craft of making them, since Knoontime Knitting is about the crafts.  I was first introduced to the art of pysanky, or Ukrainian decorated eggs, when I moved to Chicago back in 1998.  The art, however, has a history stretching back 5,000 years.  The tools are reminiscent of Bronze Age technology:  the kistka, which is used to draw on the egg with melted wax, is a simple metal funnel attached to a stick with wire.  The wax is typically beeswax.   The egg…

Well, we all know where eggs come from.

But which came first, the chicken or…

Come on, I couldn’t help myself.  ANYway, pysanky is a slow process, because you draw the designs on the egg, then put it in a dye bath, then draw some more, then dye, until the design is finished.  You’re not done there, however.  You then melt the wax from the egg, using either a candle and paper towel or a melting board and an oven.  I’ve only used the candle method, though I’m curious to try the oven method one of these days.

The designs themselves have ancient history too.  The design above, for example, represents bear claws.  The colors represent the mother goddess.  The red is actually supposed to be solid, but I like how the wax didn’t quite cover it all the way and there are flecks of black in it.

That’s what pysanky teaches you:  no matter how painstakingly you work, the pysanka always has the last word.  Part of the art is about acceptance, and another is about patience.

What about you, Dear Reader?
What have your hobbies taught you?

O Is For… Ojos de Dios!

Knoontime Knitting

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Ojos de Dios is translated from the Spanish as, “Eyes of God.”  First worked by the coastal South American indigenous peoples the Huichol, they are a  combination between a prayer, hope, and protection.  They became popular in the States during the 1970’s during the resurgence of the Arts and Crafts revival.  As a Wiccan, I see them as a lovely way to intentionalize my craft and to make something tangible out of a wish.

This one was made from a continuous yarn and woven with differing weaves (which is why you can see the dowel in the center at different points on the diamond).  I bought the dowel at the hardware store, sanded it, and then painted a combination stain and varnish on it to darken it and preserve the wood.  Tip:  if you decide to do that, let the finished wood sit for at least a week so the fumes dissipate and any stickiness is gone.  It was pretty pungent to work on the next day.

What about you, Dear Reader?
For what would you make an ojo?  New job? Writing project? Love?

 

N Is For… Needlepoint!

Knoontime Knitting

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This is one of the earliest pieces I’ve worked in needlepoint.  It’s comparatively early in my stitching career, since I did it when I was sixteen to seventeen; it took me about eighteen months in total.  It was, at the time, my most ambitious piece.  Sadly, it was damaged by the recipient when it was removed from the frame and returned to me; however, the fine folks at North Shore Needleworks were able to help me start the repairs (which is why their tape is around the edges, stopping the canvas from unraveling).  It’s incredibly difficult to age-match colors, let me tell you; but North Shore helped me do so in a way that will look good in the final design.

This piece is characterized by long floats, where the yarn is brought several inches across the canvas.  This is to simulate the difference in texture between the water, the objects in the picture, and the sky.  Most of the stitching is just satin stitch, which made it a pretty easy piece and certainly something a beginner can work.  It was originally from a kit, though I no longer recall the company’s name that produced it.  I like it because it reminds me of Coyote Point near San Mateo (it’s actually in San Mateo County, though not the city itself).

What about you, Dear Reader?
What crafts did you do as a child that make you nostalgic?  Or, if you weren’t into crafting, what places did you visit?

M Is For… Macrame!

Knoontime Knitting
Project knotted by A. Catherine Noon; Image copyright 2015. All Rights Reserved.

Project knotted by A. Catherine Noon; Image copyright 2015. All Rights Reserved.

Remember macrame? No? I do. It was the go-to fiber art of the early 80’s. Man, folks made everything from plant hangers, like the one I made above, to wall art, rugs, belts, covers for jugs, jewelry, vests, and anything else they could think of.  You used to find the macrame cording at the craft store, but I haven’t seen any in a long time.  (If you have a source, please tell me in the comments as I’d love to make something again.)

I made two plant hangers and a few other things; the plant hangers are the only things I still own.  This one is the larger of the two and is made with a light green and white cord in a simple square knot.  I mastered square knots and half-square knots, (which I keep trying to spell as “nots,”), but didn’t advance beyond that because the drawings, at the time, didn’t make sense.  But knowing what I know now about my 2D to 3D translation difficulties, I’d like to give it another shot.

And if you, Dear Reader, are interested in trying your hand at the art, there’s even an online Macrame School on YouTube.  I swear, what did we do before the internet?  As much as I love my offline activities, I’m sure grateful for the capacity to make bridges, connections, and share knowledge that the internet has brought us.  Miraculous.

https://www.youtube.com/user/macrameschool

What about you, Dear Reader?
What daily activities do you have in your life that have been altered by the internet?

L Is For… Lace!

Knoontime Knitting

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I’m doing another dual post today, this time on lace.  I adore lace – doilies make me swoon.  When I was little, I would get those little doilies they give you under coffee cups and color them in.  I know, lace is traditionally white or a single color, (who doesn’t shiver at the idea of romantic black lace and stockings?).  But me?  I adore color.

I learned how to do what’s actually called “faggoting,” no lie, and despite the unfortunate name it’s a lovely technique.  It’s got the advantage of being super easy to work, too, which is great if you, like me, are a gerbil-brained knitter who doesn’t want to have to concentrate on long, drawn out lines of instruction and repeat this, yarn over that.  The lace above, for example, is Turkish stitch – it’s got one – count it, one! – row repeat!  It has a grand total of three – yup, I said three! – stitches:

Even number of stitches:
k1, * yo, k2 tog; rep from *, end k1.  Repeat this row.

C’est fini.  Just as easy as plain stockinette stitch.  I also like it because when you’re using an overdyed (or ombre) yarn, like the one in the picture, sometimes the colors all smushed together in plain knitting can look muddy.  Using a faggot stitch can help spread them out and allow the colors to “pop.”

What about you, Dear Reader?
What complicated-looking task do you find surprisingly easy to perform?

K Is For… Knitting! Again!

Knoontime Knitting

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I know I did knitting today on the main blog, too, but it bears repeating.  ~grin~  Besides, what if you don’t, yet, knit?  How do you go from string to art?  It’s like anything else.  Practice.

Okay, so how do you know what to practice?

Well, there are plenty of books and websites out there purporting to be able to teach you how to knit.  If you’re reading this and nodding along, chances are that you’ve glanced at them and they meant about as much to you as they did to me – which means, nothing.  Zilch, zip, nada.  I tried to learn to knit from books for almost ten years.  I just couldn’t make sense of the stuff on the page as it related to the stuff in my hands.

If this is you, then I have two solutions for you:

First, find a teacher.  Local yarn shops and big-box stores like Michaels and JoAnns offer classes, as do park districts, senior centers, and adult learning centers.  There are Meetup groups, and knitters even put themselves out on sites like Craig’s List.  Don’t overlook your local university – fashion design programs feature knitting, because the designers need to know how to work with knit fabric.  I met my first teacher through my local yarn shop, and she is an adjunct professor at not one but two local universities.

Second, look online.  YouTube has a wealth of videos on how to do anything from cast on (which is how you get the yarn onto the needle so you can start knitting with it) to complicated stitch patterns, decreases, increases, lace, cables, and all the other foreign-sounding words that are the stock-in-trade of the knitter’s craft.

If you haven’t discovered it yet, Craftsy is a ton of fun to poke around.  They’ve even got a bunch of free classes, so you can see how you like the learning platform.  Their basics series are good, solid grounding in whatever craft you select; they’ve got a ton of intermediate (skill building) and advanced classes for you more experienced knitters out there.  You can select classes and add them to your wish-list, and keep your eyes peeled for their sales.  Might be just as addictive as doing the craft itself!

What about you, Dear Reader?
What suggestions do you have for folks who want to begin a new craft?

J Is For… Jewelry

Knoontime Knitting

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Jewelry.  It works as adornment, identification, religion, art… It fulfills many different purposes, depending on its creator’s intent.  Me, I like playing with sparkly stuff.  This lovely bead is from a local bead shop and it took me hours to find just the right one.  I wanted something to match the scarf I’d made, which is a lace pattern.  I’m using the beads on the ends, like tassels.

That’s what intrigues me: making ordinary objects, like scarves and bags, beautiful.  I love the idea of knitted bracelets with beads incorporated into the design.  I’ve even got an idea for a lace shawl in forest-green mohair with multi-colored iridescent beads.

What about you, Dear Reader?
What are your favorite kinds of jewelry?

 

I Is For… Inkle Weaving

Knoontime Knitting

IEver wonder where things like reins for bridles, belts, pet collars, and trim come from?  If they’re not leather, they’re most likely woven (though there are many other ways, for example, spool knitting, but I digress).  The type of loom used can vary, but here’s what I find interesting.

My weaving instructor, Natalie Boyett of the Chicago Weaving School, (and if you’re here in the city, or visiting, and have ever thought about maybe learning to weave, go there.  She’s hands-down one of the best instructors I’ve ever had), showed me that weaving is one of the oldest textile arts.  Here’s a brain-bender –  all looms are fundamentally the same:  they are designed to put tension on the warp (the length-wise threads) so that the craftsperson can put the weft (the cross-wise threads) in between them.  In this way, fabric is created.

So what’s an inkle loom?  It’s a small, usually portable, loom that allows you to wind on a continuous warp, which means it can be really, really long.  The weaving surface isn’t very wide, usually only a few inches, because the idea is to weave narrow fabric.  There’s an example of one here.

What about you, Dear Reader?
What would you want to make if you could wave a magic wand and know how to use an inkle loom?

 

H Is For… Hardanger!

Knoontime Knitting
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Creative Commons Photo Used from The Butterfly Jungle Blog; click on photo to visit

I haven’t tried Hardanger embroidery myself, but it’s lovely stuff.  A textile art from Norway, it’s traditionally done on white fabric with pulled threads (that’s what makes the little holes) and raised, textural stitches.  Expert artists can work on fabric with tiny threads and high thread counts (meaning, very dense, tiny work).

In researching for this post, I found two resources.  One is from my favorite store that I’ve not yet visited, but hope to this summer:  The Nordic Needle, in Fargo, North Dakota.  I subscribe to their free email newsletter and if you like textile arts, I suggest you check them out.  They have articles on all sorts of artists, their textile arts, and work to keep some of the less well-known arts from dying out.  Here’s a link to their page on Hardanger resources.  The second is a new-to-me website that seems to be full of lots of good stuff – including a free class on beginner Hardanger.  The blog is called Needlework Tips & Techniques.  Check it out!

A new trend is to include color as part of the designs.  There’s a neat assortment of photos that came up when I searched Google for images, here.

What about you, Dear Reader?
Do you prefer traditional white, or modern color?