The 2018 Indie Designer Gift-a-long - Some Opening Thoughts

Yes, everyone, it is that time of year again – the 2018 Indie Designer Gift-a-long rang the opening bell on Friday, November 23^rd, at 8:00 pm EST. This year’s version features a whopping 349 designers, including yours truly.

As usual, we are in the midst of this year’s GAL kick-off sale – each of those 349 designers has designated up to 20 items eligible for a nifty 25% off at checkout (with the giftalong2018 code entered) – and I am not immune to a good sale. No, no siree Bob. Each year I purchase patterns from my fellow designers, and I have (so far, I may or may not be done) picked up three designs that I just may work up during the next six weeks: the Cacophony Shawl from upstart designer Margo Bauman, Annie Modesitt’s awesome Pembroke Jacket, and the Urban Frieze cowl from one of my favorite Italy-based indie designers, Paola Albergamo. These designs figure (to a greater or lesser degree) into my own gift-making plans this season, and I’ll be posting project progress and photos to my Instagram feed (with all appropriate hashtags), so I’d suggest following there for all the good and (goofing!) details.

A sampling from my design sale bundle

As is also my yearly wont, I once again have put together a 2018 GAL Pinterest board of a sampling of totally rockin’ designs from virtually all 349 of my fellow designers. Yup, I spent two days and more mugs of coffee than I can count digging through each designer’s respective sale bundle (which we each designate beforehand), as well as looking through some non-sale items in certain instances, and taking a peek at a seemingly never-ending stream of photos to put together one of the most colorful, eye-catching displays of indie crochet and knit designs, like, ever. And, yes, my entire sale bundle of designs is interspersed in the board (containing almost 800 pins!!!), but that is not why I have, and continue to, engage in this design-pinning marathon.

Designing exclusively in a fiber medium (specifically crochet and knit garments and accessories for both self and home) is, at its most basic, a reflection of self and what animates each of us. My fellow indie designers and I put our hearts and souls and sweat and tears and talent into each and every design we publish.  We put ourselves out there every day in ways big and small. It is all guts and a very teeny, tiny, eensy, weensy amount of glory. This yearly gift-making celebration was conceived as a way to celebrate indie designers and their designs. Curating a Pinterest board every year is my way of contributing to that celebration. It is geared to showing off my fellow designers’ respective designs, and there is an additional happy and long-lasting by-product.

As I think most devotees of Pinterest know, pinners receive various Pinterest emails each week pushing pins and boards. I also receive (along with most other pinners with businesses) a weekly recap of one’s top three pins. For every week during the last oh, at least, two months, one of my most popular pins is one I pinned to my 2015 curated Gift-a-along board. Yes, a pin from 2015 is still getting all kinds of exposure for its designer.  That is one helluva designy half-life, and one I am more than pleased and happy to report and help create.

So, please, I hope everyone will join me in celebrating our yearly tribute to indie design, indie designers who give so much all the time, and makers who embrace the best of the season and make gifts like there’s no tomorrow. ‘Tis the season for it all, people. I raise my coffee mug to that.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year ... Almost

Ok, my fellow makers - November is here!!!!! My absolute favorite month of the year, because we now can focus on all things U.S. Thanksgiving ... and Indie Gift-a-long making. 

Oh yes, my maker friends, we are just weeks away from that gifty-making-marathon known as the Indie Gift-a-long. While I will not be a forum moderator this year, I do intend on being a participating designer, and I am getting all of my design-y administrative ducks in a row in time for the designer sign-up period, which starts November 14. 

Of course, I am still completing projects in my hosted make-a-long for Slow Fashion October, featuring the designs from Five(ish) Easy Pieces, as well as finishing up the test for The Lost Tee. Nevertheless, I am still super excited that soon we'll all be a-GALing: celebrating another great year of indie design, making gifts, and eating turkey sandwiches. 

To help get things kicked off, I am now making available to the general public the thank you holiday design I gave to my newsletter subscribers and Ravelry group members last November - the Rustic and Jeweled Winter Snowflake. This one-skein project (compliments of Malabrigo Rasta) works up in an afternoon. If you decide, like me, to hand-bead it after blocking ... well ... then it will take just a leeeeetle bit longer to complete. 

Nevertheless, it looked rather dramatic last year decorating my front door, and I am looking forward to dressing up my space again this year in its holiday finery very soon.

But only after my other projects are completed. Head down, and bloggy update on those very soon.

Celebrating Slow Fashion October With My Autumn Capsule Collection

Slow Fashion October has become my clothing and wardrobe touchstone: it is the one month of the year that I take a really hard look at what I wear and the how concerning where I want to go from a clothing perspective.  The fact Fringe Association has gotten me into this mindset every year for the last four years is a testament in and of itself.

Of course, designing knit and crochet clothing and home fashions also has aided me in this total wardrobe transformation. There is nothing liking consistently creating fabric to not only hone one's skill in terms of fabric, but also what personally works ... and doesn't. What type of sleeve do I like best? V-neck or scoop? Dropped shoulder or set-in? How much, if any, ease? How many inches above the knee do I feel comfortable working this skirt hem? Back walking vent - yes or no? Do I keep a traditional line, or go for something more trendy? And, finally, how much effort do I actually want (or can afford to) expend on this one item? In a designing and making life, time is a much-fleeting yet ever important commodity (and I really do love sleep). I have, consistently over the last few years, continued to ask myself where and on what do I really want to spend my time? Of course, those last questions are, ultimately, questions of freedom, but on that digression I will remain silent.

So for this year's Slow Fashion October, I have finally timed it right to release a capsule collection - Five(ish) Easy Pieces. Two garments and four accessories all designed and created with elements I love in yarns that I can feel good about using. I wish to emphasize that not all of the yarn is from small, indie dyers. In fact, the bulk of them are from larger yarn manufacturers, because if my time and resources are limited, then I expect so too are they for many of the makers out there. Sometimes ease in sourcing materials and on one's budget are valid considerations - again, spending quality time and all that. I have never been a yarn snob and am not about to go that direction now. I do want to use the best fiber I can at all price points, so virtually all of the yarns (save one I believe) are all natural fibers. 

These designs will be introduced over my social media throughout the remainder of this week, as well as get put into the Ravelry database and listed in my various online sales platforms - Ravelry, LoveKnitting/Crochet, and (hopefully) Swatch Warriors, but that last one will take some time. I already have a few of these designs in the creation stage for my own wardrobe, which brings me all kinds of joy. It is exactly how I want to spend my time. So, without further ado, here is the look book for Five(ish) Easy Pieces:

It’s Slow Fashion October!

So close to being done ... for
such a long time!

Hurrah – something to feel good about – it is once again Slow Fashion October.  While I will be writing more about slow fashion in my upcoming newsletter (which will go out a little later this week, so feel free to subscribe to it if you want to read my thoughts, which won’t be published elsewhere), as well as for the weekly Slotober prompts, I wanted to kick off the month with a wee announcement as well as an article.

Initially, the announcement: one of my goals during this year’s slow fashion month is to finish up a few WIPs I have lying around, begging to be completed, and since I so very much want to wear these projects, it fits in nicely with this year’s Slotober overarching theme. They are two sweaters (a pullover and a cardigan), and I am committed to seeing them completed. I am going to be hosting a MAL between October 8th and mid-November in my Ravelry group, and anyone with a WIP of one of my designs is highly encouraged to join me, so we can commiserate together and get the darn projects completed.

Additionally, since one of the WIPs I want to complete is my version of the Aviatrix Pullover, I thought I would start the month off by publishing – in two parts – a reworked and slightly expanded version of my article published in last year’s Knitting Traditions magazine that accompanied the Aviatrix Pullover design. Baroness Raymonde de La Roche, the first woman to receive a pilot’s license at the turn of the 20^th century, is an amazing shero who has inspired a few of my designs. Equal parts moxie and determination, she is included in Leather, Lace, Grit & Grace and has an included crochet design dedicated to her glass ceiling-shattering life.  Without further ado, I hope you enjoy her story (and maybe she'll inspire you and your wardrobe choices):

Raymonde de LaRoche, the Baroness of Flight

Original portrait of Elise Deroche,
mixed media, created for Leather, Lace,
Grit & Grace.

By the turn of the 20^th century, in the wake of the height of the Industrial Revolution, European and American inventors began focusing on air travel, while at the same time certain women found themselves able to escape traditional Victorian roles for females. Baroness Raymonde de Laroche, born Elise Deroche in Paris in 1886, embodied these two social phenomena in her dramatic aviation career.

A plumber’s daughter, Elise initially trained as a sculptor and artist and made a name for herself in French theater. She also gave birth to a son in 1903; the father is unknown. The theater, however, was not what captured Elise’s imagination and sense of adventure. She embraced the velocipede (the forerunner of modern bicycles, popular in France and elsewhere since the late 1860s) and then turned to hot-air balloons. Loving the feeling of flying above the ground, she became an accomplished balloonist at a time when female balloonists were a rarity.

Elise’s first exposure to winged flight came in 1908 when Wilbur Wright gave some flight demonstrations in Paris. These presentations clearly planted a seed: a year later, famed aviator and airplane designer Charles Voisin suggested during a dinner date that she take flight lessons. Harry Harper, one of the earliest aviation journalists, overheard that portion of the dinner conversation, which went something like this:

Baroness Laroche: “I’ve painted portraits, done sculptures, been on stage, driven racing cars, and made flights in balloons. What more can a girl do?”

Charles Voisin: “How would you like to do something no woman has done before?”

Baroness Laroche:” Nothing would appeal more, my dear Charles. What is it?”

Charles Voisin: “Why not be the first woman in the world to learn to fly an aeroplane?”

A few days later, after toasting to her new ambition during the dinner date, de Laroche drove her own car to the Voisin brothers’ airfield at Chalons and instructed Charles to “Get out one of those Voisins of yours.” She talked down his objection (“It’s no use you’re having second thoughts. You promised.”)

Elise’s license from the 

Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, 

March 1910. Note the heavy knit pullover,

 devoid of lace, which was her signature

flying sweater. It was the jumping off point

for my Aviatrix Pullover design. 

Voisin's plane, like others of that era, was a fragile single-seat affair made with little more than wooden slats, wire, and canvas. Voisin, as flight instructor, stood outside of the plane when Elise took the driver's seat. At one point in their lessons, Charles told Elise to taxi down the airfield, which she did perfectly; a waiting mechanic turned the plane around and she taxied back. Voisin then instructed her to do it again, but not to leave the ground. Elise paid no attention. She opened the throttle and rose about 15 feet in the air, flying a distance of 300 meters. She was airborne - Elise said yes to the lessons, to flying, and to the love affair that developed between her and Charles. On March 8, 1910, less than two years after getting her first taste of flight during that Wilbur Wright demonstration, the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) awarded Droche license number 36, calling her "Mme. de Laroche" - the first aviator's license earned by a woman.

The Baroness in the cockpit. Photo: National Air &
Space Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution.

While France seemed relatively friendly to women pilots when compared to attitudes and conditions in other countries, Elise also had two advantages in her quest to fly—her lover Voisin offered flying lessons, and some French flight schools permitted female students. European society generally (as well as other societies) frowned upon female pilots and few male instructors were willing to teach women, making Elise’s advantages all the more important. Additionally, those women who were accepted as students still faced obstacles in France: notably that some schools would only accept women after the female student signed a document waiving all instructor liability in case of accident or death. Once accepted, some women then traveled long distances (in certain instances, many miles on foot) to and from out-of-the-way venues for their lessons. Although Flight’s October 1909 news story complimented Elise’s ability, it opened with a complaint that perfectly captured these attitudes: “Yet another sphere which some had thought man would, for some time, at any rate, retain for his own has been invaded by the gentler sex.”

Despite the prevailing cultural attitudes of the time, many women traveled to France at the turn of the century, taking flying lessons and earning the all-important FAI license (the FAI still issues licenses today). Their American numbers included Bessie Coleman, the first African American of either sex to earn a pilot's license.

Cracked Glass Cowl from Leather,
Lace, Grit & Grace.

France also took the lead in promoting aviation generally. In 1909 (just as Elise was learning to fly), aviators gathered for the first-ever international public flying event, the Grande Semaine d’Aviation de la Champagne in Reims. For a week in the sweltering French August heat, nearly all the prominent male pilots of the time competed in various distance and time events before crowds totaling half a million people. Corporate sponsors included several local champagne makers; they offered prize money totally more than 175,000 francs (more than $750,000) for the winners of these events. The excellent attendance numbers and enthusiastic sponsorship made it clear that aviation was becoming a popular spectator sport. Additionally, since these meets also became the venue in which male pilots, mechanics, designers, and builders tested their aircraft in a spirit of camaraderie, it also became an excellent testing ground and established the viability of flight as future potential transport.

Just four months after Elise received her FAI license (and competed pre-licensure in the Heliopolis meet in Cairo in February, 1910, in which she was one of three pilots - and the only woman in the entire field of participants - to win prize money flying a Voisin Antoinette 50 ch.), the second Grande Semaine d’Aviation took place in July, 1910, again in Reims, France. Of course the Baroness flew a Voisin biplane in several events. Prize monies had increased to 250,000 francs, and the number of participating pilots had doubled.

My modern take on Elise's flying
pullover, worked up in bulky weight
superwash wool. Nothing she wore
would have spared her injury during
the second Grand Semaine meet in
Reims in 1910.

At this meet, pilots made gains in distances and heights flown, yet it was marred by tragedy. On opening day, a male pilot was killed when the wings of his plane collapsed during a steep nosedive. On day six, de Laroche’s plane crashed after hitting the turbulence of the plane in front of her, and she was seriously injured. She was knocked unconscious, with eighteen fractures in hands, wrists, legs, and pelvis, plus wounds to her face. Her injuries were so severe, the Los Angeles Herald ran an erroneous story of her death on July 9, 1910, noting it was the “second fatal accident at [the Reims] meet.” Fortunately journalist Harry Harper attended the event to set the record straight.  He reported that de Laroche regained consciousness for a few brief minutes at the aerodrome’s hospital, enough time for her to relate to medical officials that she believed one of her fellow male competitors flew too close to her and caused the accident. Despite the extent of her injuries, the Baroness still managed to win 5,000 francs.

Critics of the event, as you may expect, publicly argued that flying was no place for women who could not handle the emergencies they could potentially face in the cockpit. Only men were capable of handling airplanes; it was unladylike for women to fly, and so on (despite the fact that the only fatality during the second Grande Semaine d’Aviation involved a male pilot). While her comments immediately after the crash led to one of her competitors being investigated and eventually cleared of any wrongdoing, not for a minute did de Laroche question her own competence as a pilot.

Stay tuned for the second part of the article to see just how it all worked out for the Baroness.

A New Article

I am so thrilled to finally be able to announce another of the projects I worked on earlier this year - my article on Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli for the latest edition of Knitting Traditions Magazine (the link will take you to the Interweave order page for both the digital and print editions).

This piece, while spanning most of their careers, focuses mainly on their early, formative years. It is a fascinating study - these two were far more alike than, I expect, each was ever willing to admit. Chanel always sniffed at hearing Schiaparelli's name (pronounced Skaparelli with a k sound) because, in my estimation based on comments attributed to Chanel, she thought Elsa an inferior seamstress/dressmaker. Of course, Chanel's sewing skills were incomparable, given where and how she received her own training, so Coco could indeed have accurately assessed Schiaparelli's technical skills. 

However, what Chanel never really gave Schiap (a shortened version that was always used) credit for was her incredible artistic talent. Both women had a radically different view of fashion during their time - diametrically opposed to each other as well as to the styles of the day. This article delves into the genesis of exactly where and how the seeds of each of their respective styles were planted. 

You will need to pick up a copy of the magazine in order to read my take on these two prodigious fashion talents. You will, additionally, be rewarded with other great articles as well as some seriously gorgeous designs. Knitting Traditions is always a feast for the eyes as well as the creative soul, so I would urge you to check out this year's edition. (And, for the record, I have an article in last year's edition as well on the first female to receive a pilot's license, so if you're into reading about kick-ass women ... )

It's Been a Frenetic February

Hello everyone - I am sorry I have not posted in a while, but design life has been busy here at chez Voie de Vie.

Initially, I hope everyone has had a fantastic start to 2018. The Chinese Year of the Dog is shaping up to be another eventful year, yes?

So, in keeping with all the momentum, I present the bevvy of designs that have been released in February. First up, the Trefoils Pour Toi Shawl, published as part of the awesome Malabrigo Yarns' Quickies Program, designs published each month that celebrate indie designers using one or two skeins of Malabrigo to concoct something beautiful, yet quick for makers to work up. 

Malabrigo has written a very nice entry on its' blog today providing their take on the design, as well as inspiration background from me and some additional color combinations. I do love how the variegated arco iris colorway on their Lace base works with the frosted pink colorway on Silkpaca, but so many color combinations exist. Malabrigo, those color artists, provide a rich palette for makers to have a veritable color field day when deciding!

I want to thank them for providing the yarn support for this shawl design. I absolutely loved working this up, and I hope all of the crochet shawl makers out there do too.

However, that's not all I've published in February. No siree Bob, not by a long shot. As many of you know, it is all things Winter Olympics around here, and that includes a new mini-collection! S(e)oul for the Gold is my ode to all the athletes' feats during the almost three weeks the world gathers in one spot. Of course, you know I have a look book for the collection, which you'll find at the end of this entry. Some of the makers on my Ravelry Ravellenics team have or will be making a few of the designs from it, and there's still almost a week left of amazing competitive coverage, so if you're game, don't hesitate to come on over to Ravelry and join team Voie de Vie.

Woot - February frenetics continue!

Another Winter Games, Another Ravellenic Team

My team's badge for the upcoming South Korean Winter
Games. In order for my lame pun to work, I had to
invoke Seoul instead of Pyeongchang. What can I say?

Yes, it is that time again. Time for improbable Jamaican bobsledding, death-defying skeleton, glitter and drama on the ice, and of course … curling – yup, the Winter Games are almost here, all the way from South Korea.

Once again, I will be fielding a wee Ravellenic team, within which I will be focusing on completing projects still in progress that so need to just be done. I have captured three of them in the quickly snapped photo below, but believe me, if I have time, there are a few more I will attempt to whip through. My handmade wardrobe (as well as my spirit) needs a serious infusion of completed items! Of course, I also will be releasing, at the end of the month, a mini-collection to celebrate the games, of which I am also rather proud and excited.

Three of my works-in-progress that I am determined
to complete during the upcoming three weeks of
South Korean fun (from l-r): a beginning
Bomber-inspired Hoodie Vest, a
Tunisian Meets Tartan Bag, and a Cozy Chic Cardigan.

Since this is my second time fielding a team, I thought some deeper background and context might be in order. (For a round-up of my previous blog posts on all things Olympic Games and Ravelry, feel free to go here, here, and/or here. It is clear I need to come up with a more consistent manner of keyword use.) Ravelry is a social networking site that has been involved in indirectly supporting, through craft participation, the worldwide modern Olympiad movement pretty much since the site’s inception over a decade ago. Every two years individual teams form under a general Ravellenic umbrella to challenge participants to rise to their own respective, self-described crafting challenges (which, for me, is completing those pesky WIPs). Teams can form around virtually any theme or common interest – designer (in my case), yarn dyer, favorite program or movie, geographic location – you name it. We compete mostly for the glory of working on our own respective challenge in a supportive atmosphere … and a digital medal and perhaps a few yarny prizes (but they are not mandatory).  Participants also watch a lot of Games competition and coverage. While there is no way to measure the viewership with any amount of accuracy, I will flat out tell you that, at least for opening and closing ceremonies (which equates to our mass cast-on/project beginning, as well as crafting right up to the extinguishing of the flame), I firmly believe that our mass, worldwide viewership makes a small, yet significant, increase in the overall numbers.

I confidently state the above, correlating finished projects with viewership hours as proof. While the finished project tally for all participants (teams as well as individuals – one need not be affiliated with a team to participate in the Ravelry event) is still unknown for this year, the event’s track record is pretty impressive: combining the finished object numbers for the five previous games, Ravelry members have completed approximately 65,000 individual projects. Yes, you read that correctly – approximately 65,000! The 2012 Games participation set the high water mark, with just under 17,000 completed projects, with 2014 coming in a close second with over 15,000 maker finished pieces. And, in case you were interested, as of this writing there are over 115 teams officially registered with more to come before the close of official Ravelry team registry on January 26.

As you may (or may not) expect, Ravelry’s support of the Games has not been without controversy. Most notably, in 2012 Ravelry received a cease and desist letter from the USOC (United States Olympic Committee) with regard to the event’s former name. While Ravelry did ultimately change the event name, it wasn’t before not one, but two, USOC apologies were issued. Perhaps that might account for the highest number of completed projects in 2012 – there’s nothing like a little controversy to stir up the maker pot.

In the end, I am a Winter Games junkie. I have been watching them since I was a little kid and my Ravelry activities just makes an enjoyable event even more enjoyable. If you’d like to join my team and make a Voie de Vie design, do feel free to head on over to my Ravelry group and tell us what you’d like to make.

Of course, you might do well to wait until the end of the month to see what new designs I reveal in the upcoming mini-collection. Just saying.

 

 

Martin Luther King, Jr.: On Self-Importance and Fools

We are, in the United States, once again celebrating the anniversary of the birth of Martin Luther King, Jr.

I have commemorated the civil rights leader twice previously on the blog. However, since this year - 2018 - marks the 50th anniversary of the civil rights leader's assassination, I wanted to dig a little deeper, so I went to my personal library to see just how many publications reference, in one way or another, MLK, Jr. Of course one would expect to find him in history books dealing with the relevant time period (I did); my literature readers were the most heavily dotted with King references (which makes this liberal arts major and literature junkie very happy). However, I also took a fair amount of religion courses as an undergrad (mostly plot, plot, plot; history, history, history), and I found one of my old religion texts (appropriately entitled Living Religions) contained a King reference relating to liberation theology. 

That led me to one of King's lesser read pieces on self-importance with which, as a man of the cloth rising in popularity and fame, he internally struggled. On this day, at this particular moment in time, when some pay lip service (and much worse) to civil rights and then hit the golf course, this extremely personal essay from King hits all the right bells and whistles. I leave you with the last two sentences which, when I re-read them, was a goose-bump moment for this very lapsed and definitely non-practicing Catholic:

"This is the prayer I pray to God every day, "Lord help me to see M. L. King as M. L. King in his true perspective." Because if I don't see that, I will become the biggest fool in America."

New Year + A Look Back

Happy New Year, everyone! We are already through the first week of 2018 - I cannot believe it! Although, I must admit, I am glad to see last year in the rear view mirror. Man, what a year.

As you will see from the photo recap at left, it was a busy year of making for me, and that's not even all of it. Between original design samples, wardrobe items for myself, and gifts at the end of the year for others as well as my living space, I averaged just shy of 2 projects a month. While certainly not an insane amount, it is nevertheless significant, given the fact that I do have a day job and I curated a summer collection + event. Since my making is a source of much joy to me, given the stats just mentioned, 2017 was absolutely one happy year.

A Voie de Vie original painting, worked up last year as part of  a
larger display, with digital filter applied.

And now, I look to 2018. Never to let grass grow in any amount underneath my feet, I have already announced the dyer submission call for this year's summer dyer and designer event. Year 2: Women and Water will focus on and amplify those two trends from 2017. For all of the submission call details, feel free to check out the deets sheet right here. Dyers will have until Sunday, January 28th, to get their brand new colorways all worked out and submitted to me. There is good initial interest expressed both within the Ravelry planning group for the event as well as via other social media, so I am looking forward to seeing what the indie dye pots produce. 

Finally, and lest we forget, this is an Olympic year. I have been watching the skaters at U.S. Nationals and getting excited about how I will celebrate one of my favorite sporting events. Yes, new designs will be involved (so that excitement is currently tempered by pattern writing nuts and bolts), and hopefully some new-to-me food dishes.

All will be shared within the next few weeks, so stay tuned. Also, if you aren't yet a Voie de Vie Quarterly-ish Newsletter subscriber, now might be a good time to sign up, since the next edition is slated for publication later this month.