Monday, January 11, 2016

Goin' to Philly! (with Knitting)

No, not me...but this little piece I finished earlier this afternoon:

January Surprise
6" x 8" (before mat)
Mono-print on organza, spatter-painted,
fused to commercial cotton, machine quilted.

It's not being sent on that mat -- I just placed it there because it's grey-white and it needed some sort of background for the photo!  I expect it will be put on a black mat by the good folks at SAQA, as it's going to be one of the pieces up for bid at the ICE (Inspire - Connect - Engage) Spotlight Auction fundraiser at the 2016 SAQA Conference in Philadelphia.

I called it "January Surprise" for a variety of reasons -- I made it in January (groan -- that's SO obvious!); it was half of a larger sample I made when I was playing with mono-printing over the New Year's weekend; I was surprised how much I enjoyed the process...and am thinking of doing more of it; and...well the impression of a wee red bird is supposed to be a cardinal...and if one sees a cardinal on the Canadian prairie -- farther west than Manitoba, that is -- it's a surprise indeed!

I have another piece of this mono-printed organza that will be made and matted (actually using that mat) and offered for sale at the Lacombe Art Show and Sale in April (God willing and my DD and I are accepted for a booth!)

Meanwhile, speaking of my DD...her birthday (as I know I've mentioned before) is this week...and while she won't get it on time, I have been diligently knitting on her gift.  She requested a skirt...in a tweed, please...and she found a pattern.  We had the Perfect Yarn in The Shop -- in the Perfect Colour -- so late last week I cast on, and here's where it is so far...

Pattern: "Carnaby"  by Nikol Lohr,
found in Knitty - Deep Fall Issue 2010
Yarn: Harrap Tweed from Sirdar 
in Colour #105 - "Horbury"
NOTE: This is the skirt on the needles.  The waist is on the left; the hem, on the right.  It will sit on the hips, and be buttoned down one side.  The panels are a simple "box stitch" (think: miniature checker-board); the gores are done with short rows which require some concentration but aren't difficult.  I'm lovin' it!

And though it might seem crazy, in the fine tradition of always having socks on the go, I've cast on again this month for a new challenge from the Ravelry group, "Socks from Stash".  It's an easy challenge: make a pair of socks using at least two colours of yarn from your stash.  I'm making a pair of "Ribbed Bigfoot Socks" from Robbin Koenig on Ravelry, which were originally designed for men, but which I've sized down.  The sock pattern is a simple "knit 3, purl 2" rib pretty much the entire time.  I'm using one colour (actually, a multi-colour) for the cuff (2"), heel and toe, and black for the rest.  Uses up yarn, fairly mindless process...may or may not be done by month-end.  No matter.  I'm enjoying myself!

All the news that's fit to print for today...off to do more quilt binding...and to watch a video about artist David Hockney via hoopla digital (free with my library card.  Aren't libraries wonderful?)...

4 comments:

Unknown said...

What a wonderful post! Very inspiring! And a great source of relief to me. So many people were unhappy about being compelled to try monoprint, if even one person (that would be you!) is enjoying it I'm a happy person.

As for me, I will have to work fast; my jungle quilt, which I like far more than I thought would be possible, is finally finished - label, picture, and all. Now I can immerse myself in monoprint. Stay tuned!

Susan

Linda A. Miller said...

Beautiful simplicity in "January Surprise"!

elle said...

nice, but nope, no cardinals in Manitoba. :(

Maggi said...

Love the Spotlight piece. I hope I can get mine done in time.

The skirt looks so lovely.