A New Year, a New Progress, Hope & Happiness Collection!!!

Deadline for dyer submission materials to be received:

 

Tuesday, January 31, 2023

Call Inspiration:

In 2023, we are still living with this pandemic, although you’d never know it. A new normal indeed!

Last year continued my time of radical transformation. In late autumn 2022 I moved yet again across several states and two times zones to continue my commitment to public service . The new position continues to teach me things daily; the move … well, let’s just say it’s been a bumpy ride.

Nevertheless, 2022 was a year of amazing growth and transformation. But expansion has its limits – one cannot always exhale. So this year, I hope each of us will explore the tension between living in community and the need for authentic self-expression. How do we define and show up for ourselves in a real way while still tending to our community responsibilities (however you define them)? Around the globe, women have had long established rights taken from them; additionally, they have shown and continue to show amazing courage in the face of war and restriction. How does one express an authentic, autonomous self in the face of restriction and consistent emotional bludgeoning?

What colors from the above (if any) convey a sense of balance between self and community responsibility? Can we show up in an authentic way and not lose our voice in the face of constriction? What colors feel less about reaction and more about flowing from an authentic place of self-expression? What feels playfully audacious? Since this year’s collection will transition between late summer and early autumn, feel free to tailor your dye pots to the lighter or darker ends of the color spectrum above, depending on how you and the dyes show up for each other. 

Respond with colorway submissions anytime prior to the deadline at the Voie de Vie email address (yes, it's a gmail account). Additionally, for those of you who can still access Ravelry, I have this dedicated thread if you want to check it out there. 

I am looking forward to seeing what everyone creates!!!

Gradient, Ombre or Variegated?

We still have two weeks left in my hosted Gradient Flower Cowl CAL. I am astounded at all the lurkers watching Jackie and I create our cowls. I hope you're all getting good ideas for your own scrappy cowls. Of course, we'd welcome anyone who wants to join us. You can also vote in a wee poll to let Jackie know what version of this pattern she should make with all of her wonderful Koigu scraps - cowl, stole, scarf or (intake of breath!) throw. 

When Jackie posted one of her process photos, she mentioned her process for color placement:

"My loosely formulated plan is to begin each new motif in a color range that echoes a color from the previous motif. So, sort of a gradient color sweep in a way, but a lot more riotous color scheme. After all this is Koigu!"

I liked Jackie's thinking, but thought it might be nice to go a little more in-depth and discuss the differences between the terms gradient, ombre and variegated. They are tossed around a lot in the fiber business, and the painter in me loves to discuss color and palette.

A small example of
Noro variegated yarn
mid-photo.

Initially, let's start with the easiest (or at least most easily recognized) of these terms: variegated. In terms of fiber, variegated yarns are skeins which have been dyed with various amounts of different colors. There are techniques used in the dying process, such as "short color runs" and "long color runs" to produce various effects in the final fabric. The most renowned of variegated yarns is, of course, Noro. However, Koigu and the LB Amazing also fall into this category (and on the more high-contrast Amazing colorways, you can easily see this). If you want to see variegation in action in the natural world, check out my Pinterest Flowers board

A side view of LB Amazing in the Olympic
colorway. This is a radial gradient, meaning the
color goes light to dark radiating out from the
center of a circle.

Next, there's gradient. Gradient, in terms of color, is a progression of different colors that are position-dependent and usually go from light to dark, or vice versa, within a defined surface or area. If you designate a square or circle in your word processing program be filled with color, usually one of many options is to make the color a gradient. It is very pleasing to the eye to see a progression of color. Even if you look closely at any variegated yarn, you'll see small pockets of gradient color in the transition from one color to another. In my original Gradient Flower Cowl sample (which inspiration came directly from my Pinterest flower board), I attempted to herd the colorways, using both ends of the skein, into lighter shades at the top and deeper shades at the bottom. Even though there might be some lighter colored motifs in the final rows of the original sample, taken together, it produces a gradient that generally goes from light at the top of the trapezoid to dark at the bottom of the trapezoid using several different colors. 

My sample Gradient Flower Cowl
for Crochet! Magazine. This photo
captures the lighter (and perhaps
more vibrant) color at the top, and the
darker, more muted colors at the bottom.

Finally, there's ombre. This term generally refers to mixing and blending hues of the same color in a progression of light to dark and (sometimes) back again. The best example, at least for my and this CAL's purposes, is the LB Scarfie. If you look at my photo of the sides of each skein of the prize colorways in the CAL, you'll easily see how, generally speaking (artists and, in this instance, Lion Brand, can certainly take liberties with the notion of one color), using a progression of shades of the same color allows the color to go from light to dark.

Lion Brand Scarfie as seen from the side, with the
denim/navy colorway farthest on the left.

When I'm painting, I can create a vibrant palette, with not one shade out of place or jarring to the eye, by using only one or two different primary colors (red, blue, yellow) and mixing various amounts of either white or black. The best Scarfie example would be the denim/navy colorway - white added to the original blue will yield the denim side of the spectrum, and adding black will yield the navy side of the colorway.

While my first finished cowl in this CAL uses mostly greens and blues, the gradient is subtle. However, on my second cowl (in fingering weight) you can easily see how I'm going from light to dark, even in this early process photo below.

It's quite all right that I have some darker colors right next to light ones, because it's the overall effect across the entire area (the trapezoid shape) of the cowl that my eye will scan. It will see light to dark, and be pleased.

Think about these terms the next time you're viewing the scraps in your stash and come up with combinations to achieve the effect that is most pleasing to your eye. 

Happy coloring!

An Overview This Fee-Fi(ber)-F.O. Friday

Happy Friday, everyone. Another week is ready for the history books. 

At the beginning of the year I said I'd do a 2014 recap, and then completing Leather, Lace, Grit & Grace pretty much took over all my spare moments. Now that it's done, I can do a little reflecting.

The first thing I did was go through all of my blog posts from last year and collected the lion's share of images into this collage to the left. Boy it was another busy designing and painting and book reviewing and just generally creating year. The photos were a great prompt to remind me of all the creativity in my world. I am one truly lucky person. I also work hard to earn that luck!

One thing I noticed was the drop in blog posts from my 2012 high of 108 entries down to 66. That's not necessarily a bad thing (since I've consistently increased my design output), but it is a shift. I've also been writing for publication slightly more, which I really enjoy. I do hope I can continue that trend this year.

I also spent a lot of time and energy last year expanding my social footprint - I now have Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest accounts. I also started separate Twitter and Facebook accounts, as well as a blog for the book. Between the blog and all of those other accounts, I felt was drowning in social media at the end of the year. Way.Too.Much. I shall be consolidating a few of these accounts (and in fact, I've already started with the blog). While I continue to have ambivalent feelings about Facebook (nothing against all the Facebook "people" out there, just a personal preference), I do enjoy my Twitter and Pinterest accounts, and my Pinterest boards are, along with my blog, far and away my most popular social media sites. For my interests and how I best like to represent those interests, that makes sense to me. I'm going to keep concentrating on what I like and works best and focus the extra energy I've been squandering on social media boondoggles into those creative areas that bring me so much joy - designing, painting, writing and cooking.

Lovely green yarn for an
upcoming design I've been
working on. Isn't it just spring
and summer in a photo?

Last year will also forever be marked by the process of publishing my first book. Someone once wrote that publishing a book is a transformative thing. I will absolutely agree with that! I am still too close to it all to accurately assess the transformation but, at minimum, I now know I can actually do it. Leather, Lace, Grit & Grace is 202 pages of pure awesomeness, and every little bit of it is all my creation. I still can't quite believe it, despite the evidence. I expect that my previous collections were leading me to this, although that's never been my intent with them. I'm usually fairly focused on each collection as I'm working on it. Nevertheless designing, writing, and doing artwork and photography for a book of this size on my own seemed a herculean task before I actually accomplished it. 

I will be announcing a new social media campaign next week, and so with spring and new beginnings came the perfect opportunity for me to look back. Last year was, overall, incredibly expansive and rewarding. It was also the best year for my design business - in all aspects. I now have a clearer picture of what I want to do this year. I hope you'll stick around for the ride.

Fiber-watching During Fashion Week

Hello my fellow fiberistas - it's Fee-Fi(ber)-F.O. Friday. I'm doing something a little different this week. As you may or may not know, fall is one of the high seasons in the fashion industry. Throughout September, major cities hold "fashion weeks" when all of the major fashion designers show their designs for the next season. In September, several of these were held, and if you want to get a bird's eye view of street fashion, there's no better time to carry your camera and take photos. 

I have a Pinterest board dedicated to street fashion around the world, mostly curated through the lens of Women's Wear Daily. While the board has only a handful of followers, it's been getting some play, especially in the last two weeks. I thought I'd show you what (at least a handful) of people repinned from my curated street fashions. Take it with a grain of salt (or a stray piece of fiber, as the case may be). It nevertheless is interesting to see what outfits some people around the world are hanging out in. All photos from Women's Wear Daily, photographer for all shots (except New York Fashion Week) Kuba Dabrowski, New York Fashion Week photos snapped by Ryan Kibler.

The first from London's Fashion Week.
I loved the jacket as well as the
photo backdrop.

Again from London Fashion week. A
lovely, soft longer jacket and a great
overall palette.

I love this black and white pattern
against the leather (again, in London).

Doesn't this seem slightly out of season
during London's fashion week? Never-
theless, it was snapped and then repinned. 

The one outfit from Milan Fashion
Week that's been repinned. I like
this well enough, but others on my
board are far more interesting.

New York Fashion Week, of course.

Also from New York. Love the
glasses.

Do you think she had fun shopping
in Manhattan?

The last two looks are from Paris
Fashion Week. So classy in a muted
palette - and isn't that scarf felted?

What's a little military-inspired wear
along the Champs Elysee?

I hope you definitely head on over to Andrea's at Wisdom Begins in Wonder to see what everyone else is wearing on the street ... and maybe they even made the outfit by hand?!!!

It is Hard to Believe ...

See the Cascade 220 Aran, all lined up in a row ...

... that it is already the Labor Day weekend here in the U.S.! The unofficial (but somehow very official) end of summer. School starts next week (if it hasn't already started); the evening light doesn't last nearly as long, and soon the leaves will be turning.

Did you get everything you wanted to accomplish done this summer? Did you even think about things you wanted to accomplish before summer started? I did get things done this summer, although most of them I can't discuss just yet. 

For me, a confirmed autumn-loving gal, September is somehow the true beginning of my year. The next two months (September and October) are truly my favorites in terms of weather. And don't get me started on those great fall leaves we'll start to see very soon. The bounty in the fields and on our tables is something to which we'll definitely give thanks - in October in Canada; November in the U.S.

Yet, I want to take this moment to thank all those unseen persons who have made my summer of making (and making, and making and making) truly memorable: all the yarn dyers (both indie and corporate, assuming they're actual people and not machines), fiber farmers, yarn spinners, yarn shippers, yarn marketing and social media people, and all those yarny solopreneurs who get up every day and give it their very best so we can craft with such wonderfully beautiful yarn. What a treat you've all given me this summer. I hope every other yarnista feels the same way.

Now don't forget to head on over to Wisdom Begins in Wonder and check out just how Andrea is marking the end of her summer on the farm. And for those of you who want a sneak peek at some brand-spanking new crochet designs, iLikeCrochet.com's October issue will go live on Monday. I've got a few things in this edition, which I'll be able to speak more about next week.

Do have a great holiday weekend if you're here in the U.S. - don't labor too much, alright? 

Unless it involves the barbeque - then labor away.

Exactly What I Needed This Fiber Arts Friday

Remnants of the ongoing creative design production

Hello everyone - it's Fee-Fi(ber)-F.O. Friday - boy, where oh where is the summer disappearing to? It's the second Friday in August for crying out loud.

This Friday's post comes to you courtesy of toil (not a big fan of that word, but) and trouble and great guest blog posts. (Note: there's a wonderful indie yarn dyer/producer that blogs at Toil and Trouble Yarn, and the yarn is nice fiber eye candy too, if you're interested ...).

As most of you know who regularly read this blog, I've been designing crochet and knit items for a little while now. It is an ever-increasing portion of how I make my livelihood, and for that I couldn't be happier. Of course, as all of you who regularly read this blog also know, there have been hiccups along the way. C'est la vie, eh? Well, last week I had another of those minor hiccups with a yarn company gatekeeper-type (all names/identities kept secret to protect the guilty). Now, this yarn company and I have had a multi-year, rather rocky relationship. It culminated in an email exchange last week that I still find baffling. Yarn company gatekeeper asks specifics about yarn support request for upcoming publication design, I respond with information after receiving feedback from publication on what can be successfully revealed which I tell to yarn company gatekeeper; yarn company gatekeeper (almost instantly) then informs me that I need to provide more information and only then will said yarn support request be honored (although, of course, yarn company gatekeeper-type has unilaterally moved the gatepost over the course of the email exchange): I let yarn company gatekeeper know general information about the project, but that clearly wasn't enough. 

Between a rock and a hard place, I did the best thing I could - I declined the yarn support. As someone with several decades of work history under my belt, I'm pretty much done with corporate gatekeepers and double speak. I will not apologize for that stance because I have come by it the hard way.

Ok. That was the toil and trouble part.

Then, just today, I open an email from Cloth, Paper, Scissors (one of the many email newletter/blog updates I receive from a suite of Interweave Press publications), and read some of the most inspiring words from a mixed media artist turned guest blogger Ken T. Youngstrom. Here's a snippet:

"You know it now and you can feel it—so do it. Do what you love—now. Do it at night. Wake up two hours early. Make it your second job. Replace your television schedule with a making stuff schedule. Whatever you have to do. Do it. Now.

Don’t figure it out—because you won’t. I still haven’t; no one has. Don’t wait for clients, don't wait to be debt free, don’t wait for the right situation, for things to settle down; ... Don’t wait for fewer hours at work, don’t wait for summer, don’t wait for winter ...—don’t wait." (linky here to entire blog post)

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. This man is clearly living in my head. How does he know I've been getting up and working on designs for a couple of hours each morning? How does he know that my television schedule is, in fact, my making stuff schedule. How does he know that I don't have it all figured out, but I'm forging ahead anyway? 

How, how, how?

One of the few things I do know is that I love my creative output (in all its forms), and no yarn company gatekeeper is going to hold me back. I respect that yarn company gatekeeper has a job to do. So do I. 

And I'll do it the best way I know how. The way that works for me, and that I firmly believe will ultimately benefit the crafty public. If that doesn't fit in with this particular yarn gatekeeper's plans for genuflection and complete yarny revelation well ... then ... alright. 

Now definitely make certain you get on over to Andrea's blog at Wisdom Begins in Wonder to see what's firing up everybody else this week. And thank you, Ken T. Youngstrom. You are so speaking my language.

Juxtaposition Makes for Beautiful Art

The Fine Art of Crochet: Innovative
Works from 20 Contemporary
Artists, Gwen Blakley Kinsler,
 published by Authorhouse, 2013
 and available here on Amazon

Female artists are still vastly underrepresented in the fine arts world (by approximately 3:1) and still represent bargain shopping at auction.* It is a rather amazing fact, although not surprising considering all the time and artistic ground women need to make up in the male-dominated fine arts legacy.

So it is with a wide, satisfied smile on my face that I provide a review of Gwen Blakley Kinsler’s The Fine Art of Crochet: Innovative Works from 20 Contemporary Artists. Kinsler, the founder of The Crochet Guild of America and an accomplished artist and designer in her own right, has curated a simply fantastic group of artists in this book that celebrates, through each artists’ selected works, the crochet art movement from 1915 to the present. (Full disclosure: Kinsler interviewed me in spring 2013 for Crochet World Magazine’s Talking Crochet newsletter. However, as will be demonstrated below, my interest in and appreciation of fiber art was well established prior to her interview, so this review is conflict-of-interest free).

Kinsler immediately grabs the reader with her pick of cover art - Bonnie Meltzer’s Global Warming is not only visually arresting but also timely. Kinsler then opens the book with a brief introduction and background of the crochet art movement. In the opening quote, she lays the juxtaposition groundwork by quoting Bruce Hoffman, Director of the Snyderman Gallery, on the emergence of crochet in contemporary art, and then writes that “Crochet is a craft whose time has come.”  Some aspect of “craft” in female voice/“art” in male voice is a running theme (either stated or unstated) in almost every artists' work in this collection, which includes four men and 16 women. Some artists, such as Georgina Valverde, Leslie Pontz, Carol Hummel, Pate Conaway, Nathan Roberts and Kathleen Holmes, openly explore the link between gender, craft and art. Other artists may be silent on the explicit link, yet conveyed to Kinsler the connection they feel with the women who handed down the crochet legacy that informs their work. Yet others, like Arline Fisch and Bonnie Meltzer, were among many female pioneers in the artistic crochet movement in the 60s and 70s.  One minor point: I do wish Kinsler would have included the year the works were created in the individual artworks’ captions; it would not only have been informative, but also provide a link to the fact that some of these artists have been working with crochet techniques and the fiber medium for several decades.

Paper Lanterns, Arline Fisch, from
 Arline Fisch: Creatures from the Deep

I am fortunate to live in a part of the country that recognizes, explores and celebrates the fiber arts, for I’ve seen two of the included artists’ work in separate local major museum exhibitions in the last four years. I can state unequivocally that Arline Fisch created a whole new world with her crochet and knit pieces in the Creatures from the Deep exhibit, and one of the pieces from the collection is included in Kinsler’s book. Fisch’s talk connected with the exhibit was a watershed moment for me, as she discussed her use of non-traditional materials. Additionally, one cannot think of fiber artists and not also think of Jo Hamilton, whose incredible “crochet painted” portraits were included in the BAM Biennial 2012: High Fiber Diet exhibit, which I also had the pleasure of viewing.  

I am thrilled to have added The Fine Art of Crochet to my personal library. The artists’ respective inspiration and art will no doubt inform and inspire me. Kinsler has added a much needed female voice to the male-heavy fine arts conversation. I know which works included in the book are my personal favorites, and I urge everyone to seek out this book and find your own unique inspiration within its pages.

_________

* For more on these topics, see Redressing the Balance: Women in the Art World, and In the Art World, Women on the Verge, two of many, many online articles.

I'll be participating again this year, blogging up a storm for an entire week.