Monday, June 4, 2007

Boysenberry Tank is Blocking & Fiber Art

It was a busy weekend, but I was able to finish knitting the lacy tank last night and get it on the blocking board. You may notice that the shoulder straps on the front are an inch longer than the back shoulder straps. After I cast off the front I realized I got a little over zealous with the shoulders. Rather than rip back a half an inch, I decided to make the back shoulder straps an inch shorter. The end result should be that the shoulder seam sits back a 1/2 inch from the top of my shoulder. If this technique is good enough for Jean Frost, it's good enough for me.

I've been a little concerned about fit, so I basted the tank together and tried it on before blocking. It looked fine. The "crochet stitch" lacy bottom part seemed noticeably narrower than the "bodice stitch" top part, but I'm hoping blocking will take care of that. Blocking can work miracles.



On Friday afternoon, my friend Patti and I left work early and headed to Cincinnati for Summerfair. This is an annual juried art fair. Artists come from all over the US to exhibit. I look forward to Summerfair all year long, and I never miss it. Dave and I even attended the day before our wedding. (I told him it would get him into Husband Heaven.) As far as I'm concerned this was the best Summerfair ever. There were lots of new artists and lots of original work - much of it gorgeous.

This year, instead of looking for wall art, I concentrated on photographing fiber art for the blog. There were a number of artists who work in painted silk, painted rayon, painted apparel, sewed apparel, and quilted apparel. However, I focused on artists who work with yarn. I asked 5 artists if I could photograph their work for my blog. Three said yes. Four of the 5 artists were weavers. There was one woman who knit and crocheted exquisite, ethereal sweaters, vests, etc. However, she wouldn't allow me to photograph them.

Below is the work of Anne & Bill Howson of Bear Lake MI. Their company is called Freestone Valley Weavers.



Anne has an amazing talent for mixing colors. (I like bright colors, can you tell?)



Her jackets are made with chenille.




Patty van Gilse of Lebanon OH weaves fabulous rugs. She was a little puzzled when I asked her if I could post pics of her work on the blog, but she graciously agreed. I only wish my photography could do her rugs justice.



Barbara Rubright wove the following jackets. Her company is Barbara Rubright Wearables. I have her contact information if you want it, but her website is down for renovation.



Barbara jumped at the chance to have me post photos of her work on the web (even after I told her only 5 people read our blog). She asked me to photograph these 3 jackets because the designs at the hems are her signature.





I think Barbara also has a gift for mixing color. You can email me for Barbara's contact information.



Donna Mundschau, the artist at the "Natural Attractions" booth declined to allow me to post photos of her weaving. Her colors are more subtle than the others, but her garments are every bit as gorgeous. She explained that she and her husband had to commission special cotton yarn so it would have the color and interesting textures to make her garments. She said most cotton yarn is "pretty flat," but she uses cotton because her customers prefer it. She also commissioned an artist to make the fused glass stick pins she uses in lieu of buttons. Her garments are designed so the wearer can place the stick pin higher near the neck or lower with broader lapels - depending on one's mood or taste. She sold me this stick pin. (Again, I wish my photography could show its depth and colors to full advantage.) This winter I'll make a sweater to go with it. Donna said that if I send her swatches, she will send me other fused glass stick pins to match. Natural Attraction is in Manistee MI. They don't yet have a web presence, but you can email me for contact information.



Many of the artists who exhibited at Summerfair this past weekend plan to exhibit their work at the art fair in Columbus OH beginning this coming weekend. It's tempting to drive up there, but Patti and I spent 5 hours at Summerfair on Friday. It was in the 90s, humid, and sunny. Our feet and our wallets need a rest.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I own two of Donna Mundschau's custom-designed jackets and absolutely do not blame her for keeping her art sacred by not posting photos. I think her work is "out of the ordinary" compared to what I've seen - and I have been all over the world. You can hand wash her fabrics and they never show wear. She is an exceptionally kind and gifted artist.

Anonymous said...

natural viagra substitutes homemade viagra Buy Viagra Online No Prescription how does viagra work bought viagra fuerteventura buy viagra online uk viagra cheap suppliers of viagra women does viagra work buying viagra viagra cheap price iframe sublingual viagra viagra commercial canyon filmed free sample pack of viagra

Anonymous said...

Good day !.
might , perhaps very interested to know how one can manage to receive high yields .
There is no need to invest much at first. You may start to get income with as small sum of money as 20-100 dollars.

AimTrust is what you need
AimTrust incorporates an offshore structure with advanced asset management technologies in production and delivery of pipes for oil and gas.

It is based in Panama with affiliates around the world.
Do you want to become really rich in short time?
That`s your choice That`s what you desire!

I`m happy and lucky, I began to get income with the help of this company,
and I invite you to do the same. If it gets down to select a correct partner utilizes your savings in a right way - that`s AimTrust!.
I make 2G daily, and my first deposit was 1 grand only!
It`s easy to join , just click this link http://podudoqa.1accesshost.com/ihaloga.html
and go! Let`s take our chance together to get rid of nastiness of the life

Anonymous said...

Hello !.
You may , perhaps very interested to know how one can make real money .
There is no need to invest much at first. You may start earning with as small sum of money as 20-100 dollars.

AimTrust is what you haven`t ever dreamt of such a chance to become rich
The company represents an offshore structure with advanced asset management technologies in production and delivery of pipes for oil and gas.

Its head office is in Panama with offices around the world.
Do you want to become an affluent person?
That`s your chance That`s what you desire!

I feel good, I began to get income with the help of this company,
and I invite you to do the same. If it gets down to choose a correct partner who uses your savings in a right way - that`s AimTrust!.
I make 2G daily, and my first deposit was 1 grand only!
It`s easy to join , just click this link http://gaviqufoz.freecities.com/tepuzuba.html
and go! Let`s take this option together to feel the smell of real money

Anonymous said...

… Unbelievable , but I just found software which can do all hard work promoting your pickupandknit.blogspot.com website on complete autopilot - building backlinks and getting your website on top of Google and other search engines 1st pages, so your site finally can get laser targeted qualified traffic, and so you can get lot more visitors for your website.

YEP, that’s right, there’s this little known website which shows you how to get to the top 10 of Google and other search engines guaranteed.

I used it and in just 7 days… got floods of traffic to my site...

…Well check out the incredible results for yourself -
http://magic-traffic-software.com

I’m not trying to be rude here, but I believe when you find something that finally works you should share it…

…so that’s what I’m doing today, sharing it with you:

http://magic-traffic-software.com

Take care - your friend Jennifer

Anonymous said...

After getting more than 10000 visitors/day to my website I thought your pickupandknit.blogspot.com website also need unstoppable flow of traffic...

Use this BRAND NEW software and get all the traffic for your website you will ever need ...

= = > > http://get-massive-autopilot-traffic.com

In testing phase it generated 867,981 visitors and $540,340.

Then another $86,299.13 in 90 days to be exact. That's $958.88 a
day!!

And all it took was 10 minutes to set up and run.

But how does it work??

You just configure the system, click the mouse button a few
times, activate the software, copy and paste a few links and
you're done!!

Click the link BELOW as you're about to witness a software that
could be a MAJOR turning point to your success.

= = > > http://get-massive-autopilot-traffic.com