DFW Fiber Fest 2008-1
Our wisteria bloomed at the end of March. We loved going in and out of the house, so we could admire the abundant flowers and breathe their sweet scent. I wish I could attach that smell to this post, so you could enjoy it, too!
When the wisteria blooms, I know that the DFW Fiber Fest will be coming up soon. This year it was very, very soon–like last weekend. The market was bigger this year, with lots of hand-dyed yarns. It is big enough to give you lots of variety, but small enough to be pleasant and calm.
I taught two workshops: how to make polymer clay buttons on Friday, and seamless argyles on Sunday. Both classes were small, which I really like. It means everybody gets more attention, and it’s much calmer. I like calmness. Can you tell?
Sharon, Jane, and Doreen made these argyle sock in the round. It’s an advanced technique, and they did well. It’s normally a very quiet class (except for people whispering to themselves), because people have to concentrate hard. But we did manage to discuss some options for improving the class.
They wanted to finish a sock, and suggested expanding the class to 9 or 12 hours. Convention organizers don’t usually like this option, because participants don’t like to invest that much of their precious workshop time with one technique or teacher that they may end up not enjoying. I understand that completely.
Another option was to make a smaller sock. The one we make now will fit an average foot, and makes a good sock for around the house. A smaller sock might fit a kid. This may be the way to go for big conferences. Guilds, on the other hand, might go for a longer workshop, over a weekend, possibly.
Now, imagine a yarn-covered car and stay tuned for more DFW Fiber Fest.
Animal Kingdom Knitting
This is the last report from Disney World, and it’s a good thing, too. We’ve been back for two-and-a-half weeks already! And, I need to tell you about the DFW Fiber Fest. If you missed it–poor you!
Back to Animal Kingdom. By the time we got to the Mt. Everest Expedition ride, the wait time was already 45 minutes or so. We made the best of it, talking and admiring the authentic looking expedition station. Snowshoes, skis, and other snow equipment hung from walls and ceilings as if a group of explorers might come in at any moment.
Among the cold weather equipment, we saw these colorfully striped and patterned socks. After a few more bends in the long line, we walked under these crazy-color, knitted gloves. They looked handmade to me.
It was worth the wait. In addition to the lovely socks and gloves, the ride was thrilling.
Animal Kingdom and Epcot Center were the group’s favorite Disney parks, but I’m ending these spring break reports with a sight from the Magic Kingdom: flowers from a float that was in the night parade.
Magic Kingdom Mosaics
Still footsore from our day at Epcot Center, we got to Magic Kingdom early the next day. I wanted to see one thing, most especially. A few years ago, when we were at Disney World with family, I glimpsed the mosaic panels inside the castle at the Magic Kingdom. Ella was only one-and-a-half at the time, and we were hurrying to some other place, so I didn’t get to study them. This time, with camera in hand, I was determined.
Oh no! The castle was roped off! Luckily D-World has employees every few feet, so we asked one if we could go inside. “The castle is open from, like, noon to 12:30 and 2:00 to 2:30, to let crowds through after the show,” he said.
We were looking at souvenirs nearby at precisely noon. Eva and I ran over, and managed to get a few photos before the crowd made it too difficult. Wow. Several panels tell the story of Cinderella, according to Disney. The detail on the gowns in the picture above, is amazing.
It’s funny to see the caricatured Disney stepsisters rendered in such an ancient technique. My eye is used to seeing portraits of ancient Romans in mosaic–not cartoon characters!
Here’s Cinderella, fleeing the ball. Most of the photos are at an angle, because I had to use the flash inside the castle. The flash of light reflects off the glass and it whites out the colors. So angles it must be!
Cinderella tries on the slipper, as the prince (right) and one of the step-sisters (left) watch. Below, you can see the top part of this panel. The prince is fairly grown-up and stern-looking.
I’ve noticed that Disney has trouble with princes. We have two Disney-Cinderella storybooks at home. The prince is different in each one. In one, the artist goes to great lengths to obscure the prince’s face, for instance, when they dance, their clasped hands hide his face. We can see Cinderella just fine!
Any ideas about why this could be? I thought that the idea of handsomeness changes so much between generations, there’s no caricature for it. And really, the beauty of the Disney princesses is very much a caricature. Badness is also easily caricatured.
The prince carries Cinderella home in this picture. The details are so pretty: look at the horse’s trappings, all the gold tiles, and the ground with all its little clumps of grass (some blue-grass, I see!).
The mosaics are beautifully done and well worth seeing, if you find yourself in Disney’s Magic Kingdom in Orlando. May I offer advice? Go with a friend or spouse. Marvel at the ingenuity of this totally artificial place. Be amazed at the extremely competent crowd control. Bring a fat wad of money to spend at one of the nicer and less-crowded restaurants (make a reservation). Leave before you become exhausted.
Don’t bring little kids. They get hot. They get tired and hungry. The jostling crowds of people way, way taller than they are, frighten them. Most of the rides are not appropriate for them. Many children are scared of those huge (to them), weird characters. I have never seen more unhappy children in one place, than I have at Disney World. Their parents, having spent so much money to get there and get into the park, are determined to get their money’s worth. Not a good combination.
Knitting at Disney World
Eight or nine countries have exhibitions on the far side of the lake at Epcot Center in DisneyWorld. People from those countries work there. The buildings and lanes are done in the style of each country. And the shops have imports from each country. You can find some really nice stuff!
I loved the Morocco exhibit, with its gorgeous tile work. I love to find connections among different craft traditions. These tile compositions remind me of patchwork quilts. Mosaic, with its bits of color, reminds me of Fair Isle knitting. It’s fun to figure out how to knit or crochet something that I see in another craft.
After the amazingly colorful China exhibit, we walked to the stark and simple exhibit of Norway. Norway has a recognizable knitting tradition, and it is most famous for the black and white, stranded ski sweaters. That’s just what I saw, looking gorgeous in one of the shop windows.
“I need to go inside and see the sweaters,” I said to the other mom we were running around with. You knitters will recognize the name on the label.
This one has the colorful trim around the neck that Norwegian sweaters are so famous for. I’m going to make one of those someday! I think they are beautiful.
These flowers are beautiful, too. Don’t you love the silvery leaves with the pink and purple?
Orlando Mosaics
Eva and I are recovering from a busy school trip to Florida. When we stepped out of the plane at the Orlando airport, there was a gorgeous mosaic. It was probably about 30 feet long. These pictures show only a small part of it.
What a great start to our spring vacation!
We went to Universal Studios, Kennedy Space Center, and Disney World. One morning, we had an airboat ride, where we saw some sunning alligators. A bunch of cows grazed along the water’s edge. “Don’t the alligators eat the cows?” asked one of the students.
Our guide said, “No. A cow is too big for an alligator to swallow. Now a dog, on the other hand –¦.” Alligators clamp their prey in those strong jaws, but they can’t chew, so they have to swallow everything whole. If it’s too big to swallow, the alligator is not interested.
We also saw some water birds standing near the banks, with their wings outspread. “The minnows go into the shade of the wings, and then the bird has a snack,” our guide told us.
A couple of days later, we were at the Epcot Center of Disney World. To enter “The Land” exhibit, you walk between two long and beautiful mosaics that remind you of landforms. The mosaicist used glass, tile, stone, and glass pebbles all together in these mosaics.
Was there anything at all for knitters at Disney World? Why, yes there was. Stay tuned.
This added a few days later: The mosaic at the Orlando Airport is called Florida Vacation, and it’s by Victor Bokas. You can see the whole thing at the Orlando Airport web site. The fish with the pink circles is at the bottom right. We saw another mosaic while we waited for the tram to take us to baggage claim. It was Field of Ferns by Henry Sinn. I didn’t take pictures of it, but find it, too, at the link above (scroll way down).
Cuff Repair and Knit, Crochet, Craft Mornings in Dublin
The cuffs of my pink cardigan were fraying badly. And the sleeves were about two inches too long. All I had to do was cut off the old cuffs plus a couple of inches, and reknit. There was even plenty of cuff yarn left in my stash.
So about two years later, I packed my cardigan, yarn, and tools. I took them to the Knit, Crochet, Craft Morning at the Dublin Public Library. It would be our first meeting.
Two other knitting ladies came to the Knit, Crochet, Craft Morning. Both heard about the meeting through Ravelry. We sat and talked. I re-knitted my cuffs. Hooray!
Unfortunately, I didn’t count the stitches, so I made one cuff smaller than the other. It nearly made me crazy to wear it. I redid that cuff later.
So now, when we have our next Knit, Crochet, Craft Morning (March 11, 2008 at the Dublin (TX) Public Library, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.–all crafters welcome), I can proudly wear my brand new cuffs and work on something more interesting.
Weighing Roses
This is a flower fabric project (later renamed as Crochet Charm Lace), and here is how you do it:
- Crochet a bunch of flowers and leaves–gauge not too important
- Cut a piece or pieces of fabric into the desired shape–you can use a sewing pattern or draft your own garment
- Pin flowers face-down onto fabric, making sure the edges touch. You can put in lots of flowers to make the fabric dense, or fewer flowers for a lighter fabric.
- Use sewing thread to sew flowers together, wherever they touch. The sewing thread usually sinks into the yarn, so you can’t see it. Tack thoroughly before snipping thread.
- Remove the sewn-together crochet from the fabric.
For the cape or poncho I’m making, I have to crochet about 144 oval-center roses, 280-something simple five-petal flowers, and 84 or so rose leaves. The yarn is coming from stash, so as the rose-colored yarn started dwindling much faster than I expected, I began to worry whether I could have enough.
Luckily, Charles has an accurate scale. I hauled yarn and flowers to his office and weighed them. Whew! It looks like there will be just enough rose-colored yarn and plenty of blue. But I’m going to have to add another shade of green to the mix. That’s alright, though, because flower fabric isn’t dependent so much on accurate gauge. I’d like to find a woolen yarn that is fairly close in weight to the greens I’m already using, but there’s lots of room for variation.
Stitches and California
Stitches West was fun! I met my roommate, button-maker extraordinaire Gail Hughes, at DFW Airport and we flew to San Jose together, talking the whole time.
I went with her to Pleasanton, California, on a sales call. Well, she went on the sales call and I had breakfast and went to a bookstore. Then we drove over the Oakland Bridge into San Francisco and visited Chinatown for a couple of hours. I loved this Chinese-style bank nestled among the brick buildings.
Back at the convention hotel, I sewed flowers onto my book-advertising cape. The goal was to wear it at the market and banquet on Saturday. I wouldn’t have gotten much sleep, if Gail hadn’t helped me sew flowers one evening.
Here’s someone cute, modeling the finished cape. Instructions for crocheting all the flowers are in Crochet Bouquet. Let us say, it is noticeable.
In fact, when Erica and I arranged to meet in person (we’ve known each other online for a couple of years), I said, “I’ll be wearing a pink and black poncho or a flowery cape.” She recognized me right away, and from a distance. We had coffee and a good talk about kids and knitting, before we went to the market. See us here!
Crowds of people admired yarn, knitting accessories and jewelry, and books. Several popular booths had long lines at the check-out. I bought some buttons and trims, which I’ll show next time. Then it was off to my Dotty Knits class, and later, to the banquet.
My plane didn’t leave until Sunday afternoon, so we went to Santa Cruz for the morning. We went down to the beach, but the damp wind and cold and spray from the pounding surf quickly drove us back to the car. When Charles and I were here over twenty summers ago, we loved the ice-plant covered hills. The succulent leaves were red then. In the coolness of February, they were green and blooming. These little black birds liked them too.
We had a delicious breakfast at Kelly’s French Bakery in Santa Cruz–I recommend it! A kind lady at the restaurant told us where we could find a good used book store downtown. “It’s wonderful,” she said. And it was, with two big floors of used books (and some new). We could have spent hours there, but I had to get back to the airport.
I love to take pictures of clouds, when I’m traveling by plane. This time, we passed over large patches of cloudless desert, and it was just as fascinating. The afternoon sun threw everything into sharp relief. These hills remind me of knitted cables. Charles often talks about ‘braided streams.’ Could these be braided hills? This image makes me want to knit a wall hanging. The Oakland Bridge does, too.
Getting Ready for Stitches West
Stitches West starts in four days!
I’ve been revising my Seamless Argyle handout yet again. When I taught this class in the early 1990s, some students complained about the gaps at the edges of the diamonds. Last summer I revised the handout to fix the problem, but the cure was worse than the disease!
I went back to my original sock pattern and improved it. I figured out a simple, effective way to close the gaps–sew them closed with the cut yarn end. Sounds simple, but I was really stuck on the idea of not cutting the thread between certain diamonds, to avoid having more ends to weave in. Sometimes my own rules cause me a lot of trouble. But if I can make ’em, I can break ’em, and that’s what I did.
Thanks to the people who take my classes, my handouts continue to get better.
There’s one more major thing I need to do before I go west. I’m going to sew a cape and applique flowers and leaves from my book onto it. I’ll wear it to the Stitches banquet for sure, and give out slips of paper with book-ordering information to the hoards that will fall in love with the flowers. Just a little shameless book promotion!
Crafty Valentine’s Day!
Happy Valentine’s Day!