Author Archives: vera
Are you knitting ironically?
I have written before about the news media’s (and the general public’s) fascination with knitting being *gasp!* popular, and *gasp squared!* popular among the non-grandkids-having group. Then I ran into this article from a Canadian weekly, which proposes that knitting isn’t just a fun hobby made even more fun by new contemporary yarns and specialized […]
Winter is here
The cold weather has arrived, fireplaces are radiating warmth, and warm hats and scarves and mittens need to be made before the holidays. This is why we brought you our especially-made-for-cold-weather yarn, Woolly Comfort. This is s warm and fluffy single-ply bulky yarn, with 85% wool and 15 % alpaca fibers. But that’s not all […]
Works in Progress: The Chill, the Challenging, and the Almost-Finished
Every time I’m sitting down after a long day, mind empty but not yet ready to sleep, I take the knitting in my hand and I get reminded that there’s more to yarn than dyeing it! I’ve been working on several projects at once: something easy-peasy that can just keep my hands busy while I […]
This Rocking Chair Knits a Wool Cap While You Kick Back and Relax
So, today seems to be the Day For Furniture and Housewares That Knit. After I posted yesterday about Siren Elise Wilhelmsen’s “365” knitting clock, Gizmodo published a post about another imaginative use of knitting in a design thesis project: Damien Ludi and Colin Peillex’s “Rocking Knit,” a hat-knitting machine powered by human muscle, that is, […]
Knitting Clock Update: Artist explains her work in video
Knitting Clock Designer Siren Elise Wilhelmsen talks about her thesis project, “365” a.k.a. the Knitting Clock. She explains that the clock, which knits in the round, is actually a functional clock that tells the time: it has a 24-hour face, knits one stitch each half hour and one row each day. It shows not only […]
Knitting Time: A clock that knits
I’ve always known that knitting passes the time, but never thought it measures it. Norwegian designer Siren Elise Wilhelmsen designed “365”, a clock that knits a 2-meter long scarf in one year. Each stitch marks the passage of time, and the yarn still unknitted is the future, full of possibilities. Wilhelmsen says of her project: […]
On storms, playgrounds, and designs
So Hurricane Sandy came and went. We got lucky: no flooded basement, no trees falling on our car, didn’t even lose power. We invited some friends who live closer to the sea and were evacuated, but in the end biggest problems the storm meant to us was a closed daycare, a restless toddler, and some […]
Originally posted on Exchanging Fire:
I love this image (it’s a perennial favorite on social media sites) and since scarf weather is starting, I thought that I would share it with all of you. I’d add to the list below, of course, and say that a knitter like me always needs something linen stitched on…
(Bam-) Boo!
Okay, this will be a rant-y post. Because after years of knitting and even more years of working with textiles, I still screw up. And badly at that. So, a few months ago, I started this sweater for my husband. He loves the British racing green color, and I love doing cables, so it seemed […]
BBC wonders why knitting is popular
“Knitting is no longer the pastime of an older generation, it is increasingly appealing to a younger demographic who are engaging with the idea of expressing themselves through knitting as a creative art. The advance of the internet and social media has also been key to the emergence of new close-knit communities.” via BBC News […]
Fresh from the dyepot: Scarves!
We have added gorgeous silk and cotton scarves to our shop on Etsy. Each scarf is individually dyed, so there are no two exactly alike. Enjoy them!
New colorway: There and Back Again
We’ve added a new colorway for our Alpaca Silk Yarns: There and Back Again. The color goes in a smooth gradient from creamy white all the way to dark blue over a 63-inch loop, and then back. Hand-dyed with natural indigo. Lofty AND drapey – the best of both worlds in this […]
Crochet statistics: data visualization by RUSSIAN SPHINX
This Russian blogger came up with a warming way of visualizing population growth data: RUSSIAN SPHINX: Population of Russia from 1500 to 2000. She wrote that the advantages of this method of visualization are : – it’s environment friendly, you don’t need electricity – it’s cat-entertaining – cold-protective – easy to create. I would add […]
Sweet Dreams
When Lala was little, meaning even smaller than now, I fretted a lot about SIDS and all the precautions doctors tell you to take to make sure little babies sleep safe. Once he was out of swaddling by about 4 months old, I searched high and low all the baby stores for sleepsacks, sleeping bags, […]
Young and creative?
Amanda Hess at XXFactor asks an interesting question about youth and creativity:. Why is it that youth seems to be a fueling factor to inspire the creativity of screenwriters and directors, but we rarely take the creations of those who are actually young seriously? Hess takes issue with the criticism Lena Dunham has received for […]
New Yarn: Alpaca Silk
Lofty AND drapey – the best of both worlds in this lovely alpaca and silk blend yarn. You won’t be able to stop petting your yarn. For lacey shawls, lightweight scarves, or anything that’s worn close to the skin and has to be soft and snuggly. Hand-dyed with natural indigo into a self-striping yarn of […]
New Yarn: Raw Silk
Meet the rustic side of silk! This yarn is spun of silk noil into a nubbly, matte, textured yarn. From afar it appears coarser than spun silk but it knits up with a soft, creamy hand into airy, breathable garments and shawls. Like it? Available on Etsy in two colorways: Just before Dawn and Summer […]
New Yarn: Tussah Silk
Pure silk with a twist! 100% tussah silk knitting and crochet yarn, with a pearly shine and shimmering color. It has all the grace of silk, but with a fuzzier texture and a natural tan base tone. These hanks are hand-dyed with natural indigo into a self-striping yarn with natural tan and deep blue […]
New Yarn: Spun Silk
Silk at its most famous: soft, drapey, with luminous color and stunning shine. These hanks of spun silk are dyed with natural indigo to a deep shade of blue. The slight variations of darkness add movement and depth to the color. Like it? Buy it on Etsy. Fiber: 100% spun silk Weight: 25 gr / […]
The fruits of summer
This has been a long and productive summer! Our family traveled to Europe to visit the grandparents, my son learned to walk and say half a dozen words, and I have developed a family of pure indigo colorways for a variety of silk yarns. I have to […]
Artisanal Overload
Doctor Grumpy in the House: Artisanal Overload. This almost made squirt coffee over my laptop. I hereby solemnly swear not to call anything I make “artisanal.” Especially a website.
For the love of garter stitch
Quick little project for Lala: It’s so quick, partly because it is knit in one piece, and requires hardly any attention to construction, and partly because it’s all garter stitch: easy to do while watching TV, or chatting with someone, or watching over a toddler splashing in the kiddie pool. One thing I learned […]
Reduce, Reuse, sure, sure….
But recycle! There’s a challenge I love! To me, reusing and recycling has always had a fun side to it: it is a creative challenge to find a new use, or a different useful form for something that is poor enough stuff to be labelled “trash.” My love affair with recycling probably has many roots. […]
Our neighbors
Recently my husband noticed a pair of cardinals hanging out in our backyard. Every day. All. The. Time. Papa Cardinal kept running back and forth between the shrub and the fence. Until yesterday we heard an unusual peep-peep-peep. Hubby went to look, and what he saw: I’ve always been saying that this neighborhood is good […]
Have to play…. have to eat! Edible Play-Doh
So I realized that at 11 months old, my son, Lala is ready to play with Play-Doh. Or, rather, his hands would be ready to knead something soft, mash and smash and admire his handprints in the dough, if – IF – he didn’t still have the urge to put everything in his mouth. So […]
Blue Earth Dyeworks 