Dransfield & Proud

I’m a member of the Quilting Guild of the British Isles but I have to confess that since I joined I haven’t really done anything with the membership - except get a nice discount off my Festival of Quilts tickets last year and read the associated journals/ newsletters. Late last year however I did come across details of a quilting competition linked this this years AGM. After much dithering about whether my skills were good enough I decided to give it a whirl (nothing ventured, nothing gained after all). The theme for the quilt was “A visit to Scotland” - as this years AGM is in Scotland. (As tumblr is playing silly games at the moment I will post the picture of the finished quilt separately in a moment).

It uses a photo I took last year whilst on my hols with the in-laws in Sandyhill (near Dumfries) as inspiration. My OH and I loved walking along the beach and generally adventuring in a very Enid Blyton kind of way (despite a very wimpy display from me at one point when I was convinced the tide was going to come in at speed and leave me stranded). I am also a bit of a geek about seaweed so there are a good many pictures from the holiday that look like variations of the one I just posted.

The quilt gave me change to try out a range of techniques which included:

- shibori for the sky

- needle felting for the trees

- applique for the rocks

- needle weaving and beading for the seaweed

- surface printing and painting on the sand, rocks and trees

- natural dyes for the sand

- recycling/ upcycling of fabric (all the fabric used was recycled).

I finished it, with what I thought was plenty of time to spare but looking at the competition entry details again I noticed the closing date was the next day, mad rush to the post office and a fortune on next day delivery costs (thank goodness it was only 24” square rather than a full sized quilt) as a result but fingers crossed it got there on time. AGM isn’t until the end of the month so I have weeks of agonising to go before I find out if anyone liked it (or even if it arrived on time!).

As quite an opinionated lover of all things crafty I jumped at the chance of snaffling a free craft book, whilst sharing my rambling thoughts with others, when I saw that Popular Crafts Magazine were on the look out for people to review books for them. Having trawled through the list of books avaialble and realising I couldn’t really get away with offering to review them al,l however much I wanted to, I finally settled on the following book;

“In the loop: Knitting now” by Jessica Hemmings, first published by Black Dog Publishing in 2010.

I had perhaps better warn you that it is not a nice little book filled with lovely patterns, tips on improving your skills or stories on the history of knitting. It is however a book about the role of knitting in art and activism - but don’t let that put you off, it makes for a fascinating read. Before I got chance to read it myself my other half (a non-knitter) spotted it on the dining table and was interested enough to ask if he could read it first. I said no and distracted him with a book on wallpaper until I had time to sit down and read it myself but he is eagerly awaiting his turn now that I’ve finished it.

The book is made up of a collection of essays based on presentations at a conference at the University of Southampton back in 2008 and explores four key themes; rethinking knitting, narrative knits, activist knitting and the future of knitting.

Rethinking knitting:

Essays in this section focus on knitting as art, either the finished products themselves, or the process and its creation of a narrative. This narrative can have many forms including discussions on the search for perfection through the use of new technologies. The issue of knitting’s image problem is also addressed with a suggestion that collections of knitted artefacts can help us to understand the many and varied faces of knitting.

Narrative knits:

As the heading suggests this group of essays deals with the role of knitting within literature starting with the use of knitting in Miss Marple stories where it serves to lull characters into the idea that she is just an unthreatening old woman, passing through modern day knitting detectives in Knit Lit fiction where is plays a central role in the plot and finally ending with its role in South African fiction where it frequently serves to act as a peaceful contrast to the acts of violence surrounding the main female characters. Before you start thinking its all about us women men do get a look in too, with an exploration of the juxatoposion of heroic, ultra masculine yet vulnerable personas in the form of hand knitted, super hero style body suits.

Activist knitting:

The use of textiles in activism is nothing new early examples include the use of embroidered banners by the suffragettes or the items sewn to fences by protesters at Greenham Commons women’s peace camp. These essays deal with the role of knitting in activism today from the large scale performance and installation pieces by Knitting Nation to the quiet activism of Diedre Nelson. Knitting is used to explore a much wider range of concepts such as sweatshop labour, fashion and gender identities and textile production and post-colonialism.

The future of knitting:

The focus here is very much on the role of technology in the future of knitting. Links are drawn between basic knitting stitches and binary code and how this could be exploited to create a fusion between the worlds of craft and technology. Thought is also given to how savings achieved by technological advances and mass production of garments could be reinvested in post production techniques which would in turn serve to incorporate artisan ideals into the work so it will be seen as less disposable by consumers.

I agree with the author when she says that the book is not one to try and digest in one sitting but something dip in and out of as the mood takes you. It also helps if you have had some experience of reading academic papers before, which is not surprising given that it arose from a conference at a university. This doesn’t mean that its all hard work and no reward, far from it, it just means that its not a book you can multi-task with it needs your undivided attention but when you give it, it rewards you with some fascinating insights into the hugely varied roles that knitting can play whether its the use of knitting to mark the passage of time waiting for fishermen to come home from sea or noting how the use of textiles in unexpected (non-domestic) environments can be both provocative and threatening.

Its a book that makes you think. During the time I spent reading it I felt compelled to be more mindful in future of where my clothes are produced and what they are made from. In addition to this I began to wonder what the pieces I knitted said about me, after a comment in one essay about how the flaws in finished items can tell us about the mental and physical health of the maker. The book also inspired me to go in search of further information, until the other day I wasn’t aware that there was a difference between the English knitting style and the Continental knitting style. Finding out what this is may help me to understand why I regularly get confused when my friend (who was taught how to knit in Germany) talks about what she is knitting. Being a fan of easy reading murder mysteries I also feel the need to search out some of the Knit Lit books mentioned (I already own all the Miss Marple ones).

If you come to this book looking for an easy read about the practicalities of knitting then you will be disappointed but if you come to it with an interest in social history, art and activism or at the very least being willing to learn about how knitting has a role to play in all of them then you will no doubt enjoy the book as much as I did. The best bit about the book is that it is full of wonderful examples to prove to all those non-knitting friends out there that knitting really isn’t “just for old ladies”.

As mentioned in my last blog I was recently given a very kind donation of some vintage fabrics, at the same time I was also given 2 big bags full or wool. These were mostly odd bits and bobs left over from other knitting projects that weren’t big enough to rework into whole patterns. Always keen to make the best use of scraps and left overs I thought I’d use them to try and make a woolly patchwork blanket. As I currently have 3 knitting projects already on the go I didn’t fancy another one so I dug out my crochet hooks and set about it.

At this point it is probably a good idea to say that I struggle to follow crochet patterns and tend to just make things up as I go along when crocheting anything. I also had the added challenge of the wool no longer coming with a label as to what weight it was, I managed to work out that there were odd bits of 4ply, DK and Aran. Three different weights of wool and no pattern later I came up with this cute little pram blanket;

Once I’d made it I thought I’d have a go at writing the pattern down in the hope that this would help me follow other patterns in the future and also so I could share the pattern with others.

So here goes with the pattern…

The majority of patches are worked as above using DK yarn and a 4mm crochet hook.

2 more patches are worked still using the 4mm crochet hook but this time with Aran yarn.

To jazz it up abit I worked 2 more patches using the aran yarn and 4mm hook, when finished these patches are actually rectangular despite the diagram looking l

ike a square!

Each patch should be the same size when finished, the next step is to work a row of trebles all the way round each patch in DK yarn with a 4mm hook.

Assemble the patches as follows:

Once all the patches have been sewn together work the edging as per diagram. Rows up to but not including the double crochet are worked using DK and 4mm hook, rows from the double crochet to the finish are worked using 4ply and 3mm hook.

Despite being very generously given a huge bundle (read 3 bin bag sized bags full) of vintage fabric yesterday my heart still skipped a beat when I saw a competition to win a selection of fat quarters via www.veryberryhandmade.co.uk. I think I have to finally admit I may have a small problem. In my old house this fabric addiction was less of a problem, plenty of rooms to fill and only me to know the guilty secret of just how much I have stashed away. In my new house however I’m in danger of my OH stepping in and performing some sort of intervention.

To avoid this dreadful situation (or the inevitable - “Do you really need all that fabric”, to which I reply “Ditto you and all those bicycle accessories”) my resolution for this year is to get myself more organised with my makes (and associated use of the giant fabric stash). Rather geekishly I drew myself up a gant chart at the beginning of the year with all my knitting related projects for the year listen on it and so far I have to say I’ve stuck to it. I may have to do the same for my sewing. Once I’ve plotted in all the quilting projects for the year for work I may even find I have the odd day left over to make time for some quick and easy sewing for me (for once on the machine rather than hours of hand sewn paper piecing and ideally clothes orientated).

I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I win the extra fabric (even though I don’t really need it) but in the mean time I’m getting the coloured pens out and starting on the chart!

…or rather these quilts are made of memories.

As the run up to Christmas saw me working my fingers to the bone (at one point almost literally - damn those sewing realted accidents!) on a number of special quilts for special people I thought I’d now take the time to share them with you.

My first attempt at a memory quilt was quite a mammoth one and some of you may have seen a picture of it before (if you’ve read previous blog entries or looked at my website).

The design inspiration for this one came from a discussion with the man I was making it for about a black and white tiled floor that he remembered from his childhood. He also has as much of an unhealthy interest in buttons as I do (although perhaps not the need to continually sort them in to separate piles by colour, by size, by preference or by any other criteria which grips me at the time). I’ve tied this in to the quilt with a number of unusual buttons, keeping to the black and white colour scheme. Some of the buttons are also cat shaped - referencing his cats (past and present  most of which luckily were also black and white). Finally I also incorporated image transfers of photographs taken over a 6 month period which linked to activities, weekends away and other key people and events from the recipients life.

Christmas this year however saw a move away from using commercially produced fabrics and towards using recycled, reused and vintage fabrics instead, partly because of the environmental impact, partly because I prefer working with them but also as a way of adding additional layers of memories into the finished products.

The recipient of the quilt below moved from the UK to Germany in June 2011 to start a new chapter in her life. Sadly this took her miles away from some of her oldest friends and this quilt was made as a reminder for her of them and to give her something to snuggle up under when she was feeling homesick.

The challenge for this quilt was getting it to match Emma’s tastes. It took all the strength I had to over ride my own tastes for all things colourful, floral and/or gaudy to design something which matched what she already had in her house. Key points - minimalism, no pink (most of the decor in her bedroom is blue and white) and geometric rather than natural forms. The tumbling block pattern was hand pieced using hand dyed recycled fabric (some of them using shibori techniques), a third of which were than over printed before piecing. The outer border was hand quilted and features black and white photographs of Emma and her friends over the last 15 years. These images are relatively distressed/ rustic in appearance and muted in tone (echoing the nature of memories themselves). This effect was achieved by transferring the images in the following way:

1. Print the images on plain paper using an ordinary printer

2. Cover the right side of the image with white acrylic paint

3. Whilst paint is still wet press this on to fabric in desired location (image to be transferred will be reversed)

4. Leave to dry

5. Once paint is dry soak the backing paper in cold water and then rub in a circular motion to remove.

6. Acrylic paint and image should remain on fabric

7. To fix image iron reverse of fabric where image has been transferred.

The final memory quilt for today was both a challenge and a delight. Challenging because it was the first time I had worked with jersey fabric for a large scale project and a delight because it was made with baby clothes that still had the scent of babies wafting up from them as I worked. This quilt was made for a very special boy called Jacob (and his mum).

Jacob has just turned 2 years old and his mum wanted to do something with all the outfits he had grown out of and something which acted as a reminder/ celebration of the progress he had made since being born very prematurely (weighing just 1lb 2oz). The main body of the quilt uses a selection of his baby grows to make up the pattern, and the end panels feature some of his smallest outfits (and hand knitted ones) left intact so that they can both see just how much he has grown.