A Circle of Friends

'Tis true, 'tis true...Ilana finished her first Scarf and Mery's headband came out beautiful!

I am really happy because when we first got together, some of the girls had no idea how to even hold the needles and they have come such a long way. They have proudly finished their projects, something that they never saw themselves doing before. Our reunions (and our email exchange-sometimes way too late at night) have united us in a very wonderful way, our little knitting group has blossomed into a circle of friendship. Cheers my friends!

Headband Mania

Today was no chit-chat morning. Three ladies from the knitting club came over to my house to learn how to make the flower headband. Both Mery and Aviva were really concentrated and determined to understand the pattern. And the third lady, you might ask? The third lady was Mary's mom. Glued to the cel phone she took part of the meeting on speaker phone. Silvia Abadi is now part of our knitting club and our official representative in Mexico City, welcome to the club girl!

Increases and decreases in the pattern were a bit of a challenge tough, thus we came up with our own visual chart. Although it might look odd for those experienced knitters, it really worked for us!

By the way, The Flower Headband posting has been updated with a little information on the knitted flower pattern. I have added a link to a tutorial video as well. The flower on this new headband I made is done in crochet and it is slightly bigger than Andreas grey one, it is about 11.5 x 11.5 cm.

If you like them oversized, check this one out- from Urban Outfitters. The crochet flower I made is very similar to this one. The actual headband is really fast and easy to make on circular needles... use it as a neck warmer if you wish.

Good Day Neckwarmer

Today was a good day because I finally finished Odette's scarf-neckwarmer. This was actually the first project I started when I joined the Knitting Club. The story is that Lorena had been telling me to come to the meetings for the longest time and I had not knitted for ages. I was kind of hesitant because I knew I would have to start researching on what to knit, I was not even sure if I was going to be able to get the knitting mojo back. Odette asked me if I could knit her a simple but really long scarf. This was the perfect project for knitting at the meetings because I would be able to talk and knit at the same time. The simple stockinette stitch went on forever though...actually about 2.5 meters. It got a little boring to knit this after a while, this is why I made so many other things in between.

I ended up joining the scarf at the ends so Odette can wrap it around her neck several times. I kinda think it looks like a neck brace but she loves it, and it actually looks really good on her.

Lace Goes Urban

Thanks to Joep Verhoeven of Studio Demakersvan designer of Lace Fence, the fence wire is undergoing a transformation. The result is that the fence no longer symbolizes caution and danger. The message of Verhoevan’s new Lace Fence is decidedly not “Keep Away”—it is instead “Enter.” With the various patterns of the Lace Fence, the industrial-strength wire says, “Enter a New World.”

The high-end metal fabric is meant to give insight on how to create unique environments through the combination of the ancient craft of lace and industrial chain link fence. Demakersvan have been collaborating with a number of partners on public projects which integrate the lace fence into their developments.

Lace Fence comes in two types of wire with an outside wire diameter of 2.5 or 3mm; and in galvanized iron or PVC coated. The panels come in various sizes. Lace Fence is strong enough for outdoor use, yet soft enough for interior use: "Demakersvan combines the small and sensitive with the powerful, large and industrial.” Lace Fence can be used for room dividers or staircase railings as well, as seen here in the lobby of a new trendy Belgian hotel.

Lace Fence integrated on the facades of apartment buildings, designed by SeARCH architects.The facades consist of 150 panels that are seamlessly put together to cover a total area of 3000m2. they are located in the hague, and made from betafence white PVC coated wire.

Flower Headband

By request from some ladies from the knitting club I managed to find the pattern for this knitted headband. I could not wait to make it... so I did.

I was in front of my computer trying to follow the pattern, counting stitches and trying really hard to concentrate, but my mac's mail application kept jumping up and down(announcing that I had a new email e-v-e-r-y 2 minutes).

Meanwhile in NYC fireworks were seen near La Guardia airport! apparently the knitting girls were throwing a party for Ilana. And I? well, I was busting my butt trying to finish the headband to make sure it came out like the one Mery wanted (I think she needed a fancy accessory to dress up for the cousin).

I used less than one skein of Patons Classic Wool in Dark Grey for both the headband and the flower, and a pair of size 6 us (4 mm) needles. The pattern can be found at T. Mattews Fine Art blog.

For those of you that need help understanding the abbreviations and want to learn how to increase and decrease stitches, I strongly recommend you to visit Knitting Help. This is a wonderful site where you can find many tips, easy to understand instructional videos, a glossary of common knitting abreviations, patterns and tips on knitting. If you like learning things on your own, this is a site you must bookmark on your computer.

The flower on the headband is from Itty Bitty Hats by Susan B Anderson. The flower is made with 4 layers. Each layer is made separately, then stacked from largest to smallest and sewn together.

She has a video on youtube where she demonstrates how to make one of the layers. For the first layer (10 petals) cast on 112 stitches, for the second (8 petals): 90 stitches, for the third(6 petals): 68 stitches and for the fourth(4 petals): 46 stitches.

For my friends from the knitting club I must tell you, when you visit the site you will find, that the instructional videos are shown in two styles of knitting: Continental (pink button) and English (blue button). Pick the continental one. I also recommend you watch the video on Combined Knitting, which is the way I was taught to knit and I think many of you as well. It explains why we end up with twisted stitches on the hat project while using circular needles and also how to adjust our stitches when following western patterns.

I hope you all enjoyed yourselves last night, and I ask you nicely...next time, throw a party for me!!!

Knock Knock

Daniel Beaty is a spoken word artist and writer whose video I came across a few days ago. I found it very powerful and inspiring, I hope you all like it as much as I do.

Dave Cole

Dave Cole- Contemporary American Sculptor born in New Hampshire in 1975. Cole deals with controversial themes and unique construction techniques and often places his subject matter in a violent context to create shock.

Cole deconstructs the process of knitting itself by utilizing unlikely materials, such as extension cords and shredded American dollars in place of wool, and poles and fork lifts in place of needles. While we associate many of his materials (i.e. kevlar, shotguns, iron, and fiberglass) with pain, aggression, and violence, themes of comfort and domesticity often dominate his sculptures.

Cole’s work simultaneously evokes tension and humor. Visual puns are common, for example in Money Dress and Electric Blanket, as are flags and symbols of war. The domestic process of knitting is often exaggerated or made hyper-masculine.*

* From Spinhandspun Designs Blog

Dress made of shredded dollar bills !!!

"Knitting with Loaded Shotguns (Safties Off)," 2008, spun statuary bronze with 12 gauge shotguns, 72" x 66" x 10".

The Knitting Machine, comprising two excavators specially fitted with massive 20' knitting needles, was one part of a three-part exhibition of Cole's work at the MASS MoCA museum.

Electric blanket