New Autumn accessories

One of my favourite things about Fall is knitting myself new accessories. You would think after six years of obsessive knitting I would have enough scarves, hats and gloves/mittens. And indeed I do have several baskets full, but there is always room for more.

What usually happens is this: attempting to get out of my usual colour rut (ie green), I buy a luscious yarn in a colour I haven't used before. But because I'm just testing the waters I don't buy enough for a full garment -  just enough to make a small accessory - and then I have to buy more yarn to make the rest of the accessory set to match. And so the vicious yarn buying and knitting cycle continues.

Usually I start with a cowl. My first this year was Hypotenuse, by Olga Buraya-Kefelian, with a simple repeating geometric pattern. I was tempted to knit it in the suggested Shibui Knits Staccato, but it would have cost over £50, which is crazy for a cowl, so I plunged into my stash.

I surfaced with two skeins of Old Maiden Aunt silk/alpaca DK that I bought at last year's KnitNation. Gorgeous stuff, in pale sea green with a brownish halo. A very unusual colour.

So unusual that absolutely nothing else in my wardrobe or stash goes with it. Thus I was forced (quite against my will, I assure you) to buy more yarn. I found some gorgeous dark chocolate-brown Blue Sky Alpacas Royal Petites (mmmmm soft) and orange-red Zeilana Kiaora Rimu DK (mmmmm possum) at the ultra chic Nina in Chicago. I was surprised to discover that the colours went well with the cowl, and voila, new accessory set sorted.

The Royal Alpaca Countess mitts feel more like cashmere,
and the merino/possum Zealana Kiaora gives my
Snapdragon tam a gorgeous halo

 
Once that set was completed, I immediately moved on to another ensemble. The year before last I had bought several skeins of yarn at KnitNation specifically for a red accessory set.

You can see a theme developing here, can't you?

KnitNation (which sadly did not occur this year due to the blasted Olympics), is held in London in late summer, when the weather in England is already changing, we are thoroughly fed up with another sorry excuse of a summer, and we're desperate to move on to Fall knitting. I can never resist buying yarn for accessories there.

I knit a lace scarf out of my prize purchase that year - two skeins of heavenly soft and warm Quivik. But I wasn't happy with the result - my lace pattern was not open enough because I used too small needles, and besides I don't really wear scarves very much, preferring cowls or shawls. So I frogged it and knit the simple but effective Mira's cowl instead.

I had planned to knit a pair of Bobbie gloves with the pomegranate Woolmeise yarn I also bought, but it became a hat instead. Which has since been frogged as well, and I finally started Bobbie last week. See, I get to things eventually!

The gloves are knit in linen stitch, and will have
applied i-cord piping around the bottom and wrist

I've got a bright red, tweedy yarn in my stash for a hat, but I haven't settled on a pattern yet. I'm considering Helmet head from Vogue Knitting Holiday 2011.

© Vogue Knitting

I also really like the Fellowes cloche from the Woolen Rabbit Yarn Club. But sadly this pattern is not going to be available for general purchase until April next year. Though considering my rate of project completion, that might suit my schedule perfectly!

© splityarn

Maybe I'll knit Helmet head, and then next year I can frog it and use the yarn for the Fellowes cloche. Sometimes it takes several tries before a yarn finds its perfect pattern.

Knitting and stitching in London

I managed to make it to the Knitting and Stitching show at Alexandra Palace in London this past weekend. Normally I find out about these things too late, but this time I found out just in time AND had a free weekend.

We traveled via train and underground, arriving at Wood Green station.

Decorative ventilation grille on the platform

The walk from the station only takes about 25 minutes, and you get to enjoy some some impressive views of the city from the park.

London skyline

Alexandra Palace, or Ally Pally as it is affectionately known, was built in 1873 as a 'people's palace' - a public centre for recreation, education and entertainment. There is a skating rink, television studios, and several large halls that can be used for exhibitions and concerts.

The Knitting and Stitching shows (there are three each year) provide an enormous market place for specialist craft supplies plus lots of workshops. But the best part is the displays by professional textile artists and groups, including lots of craft guilds. It is just as much a show for looking as for buying  - which was good, because I'm currently on a yarn diet - but not a crash diet, as you shall see.

Here are a couple of things that took my fancy:

Miniature quilt

Less than 10 inches high!

QR code from Mr X Stitch

Do you suppose it would work?

Another selection from Mr X Stitch

Cross stitch car door

Wafer Thin 2012: A Study of the Role of Fat was long roll of fabric printed and stitched with images and sayings about food. There was an accompanying book with all the sections printed out so you could see the whole roll.

Another enjoyable aspect was the displays by student artists - you could linger and chat with them about their work.

Student with embossed, cut and stitched paper

Finally, at the entrance to the show, reminding us of our sometimes fickle nature, the tent of unfinishables.

Inside: tragic (and funny) stories of unfinished projects
Outside: all those poor, abandoned projects

And, as mentioned, I did not escape yarnless. I found several new fibres to add to my collection - Lotus Miya mink yarn from China and Bessie May nettle/wool yarn from the UK.

The nettle yarn has a lovely sheen. I'm thinking a hat

ArtPrize

I finally attended ArtPrize in Grand Rapids for the first time this year. ArtPrize is the world's largest open art competition with $560,000 in total prizes - $360,000 of which is awarded by public vote and $200,000 awarded by a group of art experts. The competition was started three years ago by a local benefactor and has been wildly successful, drawing artists and visitors from around the country and even the world.

In previous years the winners were selected by the public, but after some controversy last year, juried prizes were added. I thought this was probably a wise decision on the part of the organisers - after all, you want to have a wide range of entries, and professional artists with a less populist style might not want to participate if they feel they don't have a chance to win.

It was an amazing experience to wander around downtown encountering wildly different styles of art. One major difference with the art you generally encounter in art museums was immediately apparent. The people like animals. I'm pretty fond of them myself, especially when they appear in this state.

Amazing work of taxidermy 

Another of my favourites was, appropriately, migration data related. It consisted of more than 20 hanging glass cylinders, the shapes of which were based on the population growth of American cities. Coolest infographic ever.

The ballooning bulb is New York city. The rest of the cylinders
mostly tapered at the top - a consequence of urban flight.

But my very favourite of all, the piece I decided to vote for the minute I saw it, was Origami, which was origami, but with a twist. Origami paper squares were stuck on the wall, with the edges ever so slightly wrinkled and frayed so that the shadows created distinct, detailed profiles. The light was set to fade on and off so you could see the shadow faces materialise on the wall. Fabulous!

Incredible detail - you could even see eyelashes and beards

We were told that the faces were all of Grand Rapids locals, which might have been a bit of pandering to local sentiment. But who cares - it made it into the top ten, and if that touch of populism helped, so be it.

The final winners will be announced on Friday 5 October - but even if Origami doesn't win, WE know who really deserves first prize. You can see the short listed entries and all the rest of the 1517 entries on the ArtPrize website.