It's been super exciting these last two days up in 416 - the studio classroom where Textiles happens.  There was a movement afoot a few years ago to start calling 416 "Cellblock No. 9" because me and a few of the advanced students all went crazy over rockabilly royalty, Wanda Jackson, and a song of hers about a riot in a women's prison that goes, "There's a party goin' on... up in cellblock #9."  Well, the Textiles studio does sometimes feel a little like the laundry at a women's prison, or so I imagine.  (My poor assistant Allison has been washing "free" theatre drapes up there every spare moment.  We got them from surplus through a big comedy of errors - we'll use them to do discharge projects, and hey, it's free fabric. I did have a drapes-shop flashback when she opened the giant box they came in.  One's past never leaves!) 

Anyway, we had a visit yesterday afternoon from Faythe Levine, who directed the documentary film, Handmade Nation, and who is on our campus because she curated a show for our gallery called "Craftivism."  She has sharp eyes, she noticed a St. Vinnie's treasure that hangs over our chalkboard right off the bat.  It's a tiny embroidery that says "Plan Ahead" but of course, the funny part is, that the stitcher had to put the last a and the d on their sides to fit it on the cloth (or so it seems.) I had to fight Jaana for it in the store when we came across it.  Anyway, I was impressed that Faythe noticed it because it's one of those things I've been looking at for so long I can't see it.  Faythe seemed very cool, and we're all looking forward to seeing the show when it opens on Wednesday.

This morning my advanced students were super rowdy and came up with a ton of interesting ideas.  Then because I was impressed with Drew's handmade message shirt, I got the idea that I'd post their handwork here.  Stay tuned for Drew's rebus shirt.  The other plan we've put into action is that the Stitch Gallery (in locker 527) would issue a challenge every month. October's is the "First Annual Puff Paint Challenge" and they're all out there buying that awful stuff right now, I would bet, for their 6"x6" works of puff paintery.  I'll post the winner here.  

The Stitch is getting a remodel over the next couple weeks, so it'll have lights and a floor. It was closed all last year due to well, basically, management's involvement in Women's Studies. With the big conference last year there was no time for the Stitch, even though as a gallery it's only the size of a locker and has no regular hours.  I will be sure to post a picture of the place here - we do have a velvet rope, and have been working on marble flooring, but that's not going too well so far.  We may have to switch to wall to wall carpet, or handwoven rugs.  Now that they've loosened up the locker policy, there may be a chance to take over locker 525, below the Stitch and put in a coffee house, so it'll be sort of like the old O.K. Hotel in Seattle.  

The other big exciting thing is that Spring brings Mindy Sue Meyers back to us!  Mindy just had a super great show for her MFA and got reviewed in the legitimate press, and also on All Things Cupcake.  Take a look, unless you're hungry. Then, you want to wait until you get back from your favorite bakery. 

Patterns, Cheap and dirty

I was thinking after my last post about where I go for patterns, and how we decide what to knit when.  Aside from the vintage books I've already talked about, available at your local thrift and or charity stores, I also have a few great places I go for free or really inexpensive patters when I get the itch to knit, and don't exactly know what I'm in the mood for.  Most knitters by now are pretty familiar with knitty.com, which does a great job keeping the knitting world up to date and in-fashion.  I have noticed lately that they're getting more sophisticated, and it's not as good a site as it used to be for sheer nuttiness and quick weekend gift projects, but still worthwhile if you're ready to dive into a big sweater project or are one of these sockaholic types.  Another place I frequent for free patterns is Berrocco.  They send me a newsletter via email called the Berrocco KnitBits newsletter and it's pretty interesting what they offer in the way of free patterns. If you go to their website you can search an extensive database of cataloged patterns, and their gift patterns are usually super cute and not tacky - for tacky free I go to Lion Brand. No, just kidding, sort of. Lion is a real conundrum for me, as I hate about 50% of the furry, synthetic and trashy-sold-as-sexy crap but on the other hand, they know their knitters. So they also have nice organic cotton, cashmere, and wools that you won't find at Michael's or the other big-box craft stores, and the free patterns for those yarns are pretty decent.  Baby sweaters for the upcoming shower are one thing you can find here that are cute, and done in fibers that will neither embarrass you in front of the mother nor damage the child's emotional well-being for life.  I guess what I'm saying is, Lion's website is worth a look for free patterns as well.  The last place I visit regularly for inexpensive knitting patterns is Webs.  The patterns that they work up for their own line of Valley Yarns are downloadable for about two bucks, and they have one designer, Kristin Hipsky, who's work is really to my taste.  The patterns are well written too.  

With winter coming on, I will probably be hitting the internet for knitting patterns, and indulging in a little bit of free-style knitting as well. The stash, after all, is still lurking in my basement. I will never be a person who catalogues her stash, this I know about myself. But I had an important lesson in stash management last week. The long and the short of it is, remember that one day you too will die, and it's true you can't take it with you.  I don't want to torture any fabric collectors out there, but I saw a basement full of luxury fabrics valued at about $100K on Friday, and the lucky parties who inherited this gold mine can't use it up in their lifetime (some of it they've already worn as children and teenagers!) nor are their children interested.  It's a bad day when you have to call your local college art department and ask to have a professor sent over to offer solutions to how to unload your mother's fabric stash.  I can't at this point say what's going to happen to all that material. But I think I would be remiss if I didn't just say, "Stashers, consider the children."  

Having no children, I plan to just keep knitting for another 4 decades. 

Fashion: Where you find it.

I had a student named Kay, who, because she's just a great person and knows how to multi-task, got herself a volunteer position at our local St. Vincent DePaul thrift store, to be closer to the "art supplies."

Our Vinnie's is literally a tourist destination - like a last outpost of civilized thrifting before you hit the edge of nowhere.  We schedule a trip to this store whenever visiting artists we like come to town. Everyone believes it's the most amazing St. Vinnie's ever, even long time thrifters like me. The best part of the store is the fabric and notions area.  It's run by some tough ladies of a certain age, and Kay was really lucky the day she was told she'd been assigned to help them out.  One of the things she does is sort the donated craft and knitting magazines. 

Old knitting and craft mags are pretty amusing reading; my mom has given me many I remember from my childhood, and the weird thing is, some of those patterns are back in style. With knowledge of yarn substitutions you can actually save a ton by buying these old magazines and adapting the patterns (which are NOT of course ALL worth adapting!) to a more modern color and yarn. I get the feeling this is exactly what some contemporary knitting patterns are, in fact: a new yarn, a new skinnier model to wear it, and bingo, who can tell this was originally seen in a Paton's brochure from 1976?  (I also swear I have a pattern book from 1985 with Lisa Kudrow on the cover - if I could prove it maybe I could sell it?)  Anyway, back to Kay.  

One day she's sorting the pattern books and magazines and the woman in charge tells her to toss everything from the 1980's.  Kay at first thinks it's because the 80's are so over, no one will buy them and it's some sort of retail marketing strategy, but no, she learns: it's because the ones from the 80's are "too risque."  Knitting books, banned for being sexy.  

Now, think about this - who was knitting in the 1980's?  My mom, my best friend's mom, and well, that's about it.  Knitting got really basic, maybe because of knitting machines, which had been rethought as homemaker's appliances (like the sewing machine) that could knit the image of a sheep or a balloon into your oversized Cosby sweater. Knitting was the opposite of sexy, which had to be hard on the Europeans who were producing a lot of sexy yarns, like Phildar, a French company.  Phildar's solution was evidently to take all undergarments off the models, put them on the beach sans tanlines, and sell oversized cotton sweaters as potentially the sexiest little toppers imaginable.  Hence, St. Vincent DePaul, a Catholic charity, has a volunteer (in this case, Kay) weed out the entire decade and toss it in the trash.

But Kay is not reliable. She smuggles the magazines out to show someone who will appreciate this, namely ME.  After we have a laugh over what the Notions and Fabrics Superintendent has censored from the shelves, I notice something.  I'm strangely attracted to pattern number 30, from the Phildar catalogue 106, published for summer 1984.  They call it a short camisole.  I think, a vest, to keep the bust modest and the tummy free from sweat at the same time.  Perfect for the changing climate of the building where I teach.

So down to the stash I head one afternoon and I find 2 balls of Avalon alpaca/mohair blend in black.  This yarn cost me next to nothing - part of a life-changing event that I'll write about another time, it's practically Free Clothes once I put in the time to do the math, swatching, and of course, knitting.  It actually took much longer than it should have, since the thing is so small and took less than 100 grams of yarn, but it was knit on 3's and 4's, and I redid my ribbing about 3 times before I liked it. I also see I have 4 buttons on mine, whereas the original had 3. Whatever! The original was also varigated, metallic, and

worn with nothing underneath! Mine (shown here blocking) is fuzzy, black, and will never be worn without a shirt - I just don't have the tan for it.  

My point here is, learn the difference between 'style' and 'fashion,' put in some man-hours, and you'll never be left with "nothing to wear." 

Not so good at blogging

Well, I'm formulating my first posting, which will focus on a knitting issue I'm dealing with currently.  First of all, I got an email today from a person who wanted to see something I made, which was apparently referenced in someone else's blog.  Sure wish I knew who the first blogger was, but anyway.  I had to send her to a museum's website and tell her to download a PDF catalogue.  This got me thinking about the original piece she'd asked about. Why do I just make stuff and send it off and act like it never happened?  I liked that work, I was proud enough of it to submit it to a show, but still and all, I think I was worried about recreating it, or using it professionally, because it's jewelry, and I'm no jeweler, I have no academic background in that, and I have infinite respect for my friends who are trained as metalsmiths (oodles of friends who are metalsmiths and/or make a living off creating unique and wonderful pieces of jewelry.)  Anyway, here are some images of the work I'm talking about, called Return to Tiffany's, and including the one piece the museum did not want which I call Charm.  (I guess my 'heart' does look like a big tongue. Not that that's necessarily a BAD thing. )