the purl bee

went down to the purl bee last weekend figuring i'd pick out some fabric for pillows. my apartment needs some color, and it'll take too long to knit a pillow cover... they have so many wonderful choices that i had a really hard time actually picking something out. it's the same type of space as the purl, and only two doors down. i made rudy a new dog bed in a gray fabric that has a bright orange california poppy print - speaking with the shop girl as she rang me up i learned that she's from berkley, ca and so is most of the staff. i'm also from the bay area. we both agreed on loving new york.

what we can do today

knitting for charity - if you're interested, click the links below to find ways you can start knitting for the public good

Knitting 4 Charity
Wool Works
Knitting For A Better World

what we did yesterday

looking back at some of the reason's people used to knit...Why We Knit is an intersting take on why we used to knit "During the Civil War needles were picked up to heed the call of soldiers requesting socks. Later, the armies of World War II requested mass amounts of knitted mittens and cap-mufflers to be sent to them from overseas. In the sixties knitted wear was a leading fashion trend (202). And after a large decline in the eighties, knitting slowly popularized and has now, in the new century, become all the rage."

knit events in new york

these all take place at New York's Museum of Art & Design
40 west 53rd street

Air is fulid
4/19: 6:00 - 7:30 pm
Janet Echelman, exhibiting artist at radical lace & subversive knitting, will discuss her transformation from a painter to a sculptor who makes the choreography of wind visible to the human eye, in works such as 'she changes', a 500-foot diameter, 150-foot tall knotted lace sculpture in Portugal. she'll show her newest works, including a 400-foot-long shadow drawing commission in Florida, and her winning design for the Hoboken 9-11 Memorial competition, a new free-standing island in the Hudson River. reception following.

Knit Night
5/17: 6:00 - 10:00 pm
In an event of knitting and crocheting projects for all levels of skill, the activities will include the Unraveling Gathering (old sweaters become new yarn), a Knitting Circle and personal projects. During the event, the museum will also be an official site for speed trials for The World's Fastest Knitter, and international competition sponsored by the Craft Yarn Council of America.

Performance by KNITTING NATION, Phase 4: "Pride"
6/16: 12:00 - 5:00 pm
KNITTING NATION, exhibition artist Liz Collins' ongoing and collaborative performance and site-specific installation, consisting of an army of uniformed machine knitters, stitchers, and manually operated knitting machines, will set up at MAD for an afternoon during which they will create a giant banner. KNITTING NATION explores aspects of textile and apparel manufacturing, laying bare the process of making knitted fabric and offering commentary on how humans interact with machines, global trade, fashion, and iconography. this phase of the project will examine the rainbow flag as a symbol of gay pride.

staying cool & keeping warm

these are rad: skull & cross-bone wrist warmers. i joined a knitting group ('snb-nyc', found via the link in my posting 'stitch-n-bitchers unite') & have been getting emails from the group - it's great fun. anyway, this just came through this morning from a member - she's donating all of the proceeds from the sale of this pattern to KittyKind

lego knits

someone created a knitting machine out of LEGOs...wow. they must have a lot of time on their hands. the video's pretty boring, but i suspect the contraption was pretty fun to make.

the knitting revolution

the knitting revolution, by sue green, suggests that the resurgence of crafts is a direct result of the fast-paced techno-culture we live in, which makes sense to me. in a world where we are further and further removed from other people because technology can automate a lot of what people previously had to do, plus the fact that there's no need (or time) to hand-make anything anymore it makes sense that a craft-revolution would bubble up in response.

i've posted excerpts from sue's article below - of course, if you'd like to read the article in it's entirety click here.
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Says leading trend forecaster Faith Popcorn: ‘Smooth, shiny and uniform is now equated with crude and cheap, especially when compared with the individuality of hand crafted products.

'We are hungry for things that have touched human hands...any craft as applicable and pragmatic as knitting has a great future.'

Knitting's popularity has been growing for several years-a response to the pace of life and mass market consumerism. But with September 11 came not only reduced demand for air travel, but more time and enthusiasm for home-based activities. It heralded a renewed concern for home and family, translating into greater interest in crafts and unlocking creativity.

With a 400 per cent increase in the number of American knitters aged under 35 between 1998 and 2000, knitting groups with names like Yarn Divas and Stitchin’ Bitches are springing up on US university campuses. The popularity of handknitting has been boosted by celebrities who knit and extol the joys. Madonna and Julia Rogers are doing it, Harry Potter is wearing it and exponents range from former US secretary of state Madeleine Albright to model Kate Moss and singer Eartha Kitt. Actor knitters include Sandra Bullock, Cameron Diaz, Hilary Swank, Brooke Shields, Daryl Hannah, Goldie Hawn, Uma Thurman and Mary-Louise Parker (now knitting hats for boyfriend Billy Crudup). Even ‘our’ Russell Crowe has been pictured with needles and yarn.