The Creative Process Continues - Back from NYC



Back at the workshop, returned from a great trip to Vogue Knitting Live in NYC.  There is a lot of snow out there and I'm happily back in the workshop brimming with ideas and inspiration.  I was able to take two very different workshops from two very different, but enormously talented people.

The wonderful and bubbly Judy Pascale http://www.judypascale.com/index.htm taught a day-long seminar in the art of Japanese water-felting, called Nuno Felting.  This painstaking process of imbuing wool and silk fibers into a silk (or other fine woven natural fabric) base yields an amazing new fabric, which is soft and strong and lovely.  I am not so sure about my first attempt, although kind people close to me say it is lovely.  Over the months to come I plan to work a lot more on Nuno felting, and hope to have some lovely offerings in the future.

  

My first Nuno project - 'Mountain Trees'



From Vogue Knitting Fall 2010





The second workshop I was lucky enough to get into, was with the talented Brooke Nico of Kirkwood Knittery in St. Louis http://www.kirkwoodknittery.com/ .  She is an avid lace knitter with many published designs in knitting magazines, who shared her knowledge on how to design and document lace shawls and scarves.   Although KnittenKaboodle will not ever create and sell these patterns, they are inspiration for future original ideas and projects and beautiful examples of what is possible in the world of couture knitting for the intrepid knitter!



From Knitters Magazine Fall 2010



  





Evolution of the Craft and Keeping Up

Often I spend time on 'behind the scenes' in the workshop, talking about and showing what goes into creating handmade items, but today I want talk a bit about 'behind the craft' and what goes into the knowledge and skill development of the craft.

Hand knitting is no longer about your Grandmother's afghans and the 'knobbly sweaters' knit by Mrs. Weasley for her children.  Knit designers have been getting more and more adventurous and gaining followings, as the Internet has made access available to all. Knitting magazines have been around for years (Vogue Knitting celebrated 25 years) and have evolved into wonderful fashion and technical guides. But now there are also Internet powerhouses, such as Ravelry http://www.ravelry.com/ (with over a million subscribers), that connect knitters all around the globe. Knitters can share experiences, sell patterns, swap excess yarn, and join forums to discuss their interests.

Furthermore, more and more yarns are becoming available and again Internet access to small farm and specialty dyers all across the globe fuels the growing passion and demand from hand knitters.  Fashion, design, technique and style are all parts of the process for the hand knitter!


From Vogue Knitting



From Vogue Knitting

Knitting was once a quiet pastime handed down from Mothers and Grandmothers to children if interested.  Now, Local Yarn Shops, have become havens for knitters and often an important social nucleus for many.   Ideas and help flow and sympathy is widely offered when mistakes have to be corrected.

I learned to knit in such an environment, at Forever Yarn  http://www.foreveryarn.com/ in Doylestown, PA.  Now, several years later, I live in Central Pennsylvania and continue to study my craft at our local yarn shop Stitch Your Art Out   http://www.stitchyourartout.com/.  For me, this year is dedicated to technical advancement and I am taking all sorts of classes on the the techniques and teaching of master knitter Elizabeth Zimmermann http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Zimmermann .  At the same time, I am teaching my first classes this year, which is truly challenging, but exciting. 

The biggest event so far this year is that I am taking some fabulous classes at the first ever conference sponsored by Vogue Knitting!  http://www.vogueknitting.com/ . I will report more on that event upon my return.

And what does this mean to you?  Over the course of the next year, expect to see new original designs from me and plenty of new ideas making fantastic knit items for you.

Happy New Year! Stay Warm Wrapped Up in a Great Scarf!

Everybody needs a nice warm scarf made from wonderfully soft and warm fibers!  There is a lot of winter left and finding some bright colors to add cheer, or extra softness from mohair or alpaca is the perfect tonic to help make it through to spring. 





Soft and Luxurious Scarf in Silk and Merino



Triangle Scarf in Silk, Cashmere, Merino, Cotton, and a touch of Sequins



Thick, warm, soft soft soft! Silk and Mohair in feet and feet of sumptuous wrap.

 Find these and many other wonderful items at our e-boutique: http://www.knittenkaboodle.com/

Happy New Year!  We look forward to bringing you many new and wonderful hand knit and sewn items over the course of the year.