When good projects go bad

When tension and color differ

The good, the bad and the ugly

What my mind envisions in a project is not always how it turns out. A recent project combined all the wrong elements to result in a truly ugly item. I had seen the pattern for a cute shrug pattern that was cleverly constructed. It was knit in one piece and sewn together somewhat like a fortune cookie. 

I couldn't wrap my head around 'how,' so I bought the pattern with plans to knit it up with some yarn I had in my stash, Araucania Ruca. Made from sugar cane, the yarn is soft with a sheen reminiscent of silk. Nice to touch. Bad choice.

Shrug, back view. 
Note color variation and extreme sag.

I knit and knit and knit....It was a boring project IMHO....ribs and short rows that seemed to go on forever along a  long curved rectangle. I found it a slog, but still looked forward to sewing it together.

But when I did, I  hated it. I still hate it. It is ugly. And it is all my fault. 

The pattern was not the problem. The problem was me. I introduced too many variables and ruined it.

My choice of yarn was the main 'hate.' Although it looked good in a skein, its drapey quality knitted up into a saggy, sloppy-looking garment. In addition, the color variation skein-to-skein was too great. When  the beginning side of the rectangle was sewn to the side of the end of the piece, the color difference shouts. In the photo above and at right, the beginning of the rectangle is on the left. The end is on the right

Oh, there was another problem and, again, it was all my doing. My tension from beginning to end varied. (I confess: I was bored and put the project down far too often.) The variation in tension is distinctly visible in the photo. 

Taken together, the combination of tension difference, yarn with no memory and color variation and does not a pretty picture make.

Play it safe...or not

This shrug is only the last in a long line of misshapen and/or misfitting garments that have failed to live up to my expectations over the years. But as I see it, there is really only one absolute solution and that is to be safe. 

I can buy a pattern and knit it in the recommended yarn to be fairly confident of the outcome. But what's the fun in that? Where's the adventure? 

So, I can be safe or I can try different things. This means that I have to be willing to throw away the mishaps--no donations to charity!--and learn from them. If time is the only factor, I should have a trunk full of lessons learned and make nothing but perfect projects, but it doesn't work quite that way, does it?

I intend to keep trying new ways. I expect to throw some of them in the dustbin but some will be mistakes that lead me in new directions. 

Working with fiber is most rewarding when I can insert something of myself into the process. Whatever you call it the result--personal expression, originality or creativity--I can call it mine.

A treasure trove

Adela Akers, The Grid, 2008

How have I overlooked Philadelphia Art Alliance?

Maybe because the city is so rich in art and culture? Although true, that's too easy an excuse. I've walked and driven by the historic house on Rittenhouse Square many times, but never entered the historic building, which means I've overlooked its treasures for years. 

No more.

The center for contemporary craft and design, the Philadelphia Art Alliance (PAA) is celebrating its centenary this year. 

For me it's year one.

PAA mounts about a dozen new exhibitions each year and hosts a range of other related cultural events. We took advantage of a curated gallery talk for the current exhibition, Material Legacy: Masters of Fiber, Clay and Glass that honors five Fellows of the American Craft Council. 

Lewis Knauss. First Snow, 2004.

Not surprisingly, I was particularly interested in the fiber artists. 

Works by Adela Akers, a Spanish-born textile artist whose career spans the history of modern fiber art. Her work is geometric. In this exhibit, I was most interested not only in the works themselves, but in how they were made. Composed of narrow strips of woven linen that are sewn together and embellished with metal foil, horsehair and/or paint, the whole is greater than the parts. And they are striking. 

Works by Philadelphia fiber artist Lewis Knauss, which are in the upstairs gallery, might best be described most simply as wall hangings composed of natural fibers. But simple they are not. 

Knotting is an important element in many of Knauss' works. Lots of knots. My favorite piece of Knauss' was First Snow, is worked with linen, hemp, paint and fluffy white feathers.  

Warren Seelig. Red Funnel, 2015.

The third fiber artist is Warren Seelig, who is described as an artist working in fiber/architecture. The curator noted that he is a third generation weaver, but I confess that I had trouble connecting weaving to his most of work on display. The installation composed of red monofilament came closest. 

But Seelig's work in architecture? Absolutely. Especially in his "Shadowfields" series in the exhibition. We were particularly taken with Shadowfields/Colored Light, a large work that featured stainless steel and fluorescent plexiglas shapes. Part of the Reading (Pa.) Public Museum Collection, the effect of light and shadows is mesmerizing. Where do the actual shapes end and the shadows begin? It drew us in.

We loved the exhibition, but it ends Nov. 29. If possible, get there. It's worth it.

Warren Seelig. Shadowfield/Colored Light, 2007.

Nothing beats a fiber guild

Scarves, swatches, and education

Weaving sample and documentation

Since becoming aware of the group at last year's Vogue Knitting Live, I wanted to go to a New York Guild of Handwearvers (NYGH) meeting. Their programs looked impressive. I put their meetings on my must-do list. 

Setting time aside and carrying through is always the challenge. The Guild meets on Saturdays at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan, which is very near where I once worked. No excuses on that front. I just needed to block out the day and go. The Pope's visit, with accompanying regional road and transit disruptions, foiled plans in September, but I was determined to go to the October meeting. And I did.

For one, NYGH gets high marks for their 75th anniversary celebration. They set a goal to weave 75 scarves for distribution to the homeless in New York City through Partnership for the Homeless. About a dozen--all different and all lovely--were on display at the their monthly meeting in October. I only regret that I didn't take a photo of a selection when I had the opportunity, which was before I knew what I was seeing.

Organize and learn

The NYGH Swatch Project is a group project that achieves two goals. Structured as a collaborative study group, members will organize the Guild's large collection of swatches. In October, they began to identify, catalog and organize them into notebooks that can be used as resources for guild members. Some of the swatches have been well documented, but many stand alone. No identification, no threading or treadling diagrams. Just a woven square. This is an excellent learning experience for weavers at all levels of expertise.

Daryl Lancaster wearing
her handwoven garment

Document and photograph

Well known among contemporary handweavers for her handwoven garments and custom art-to-wear, Daryl Lancaster, weaver and fiber artist, brings her industry expertise to weavers and other fiber enthusiasts through her published articles and workshops.

Her presentation to the NYGH, Photographing Your Work, is self-explanatory and included photographing fiber work for documentation, for the web and for submission to publications. 

Her presentation aimed to help us help ourselves. Beginning with camera basics--aperture, settings, resolution, etc.--she moved quickly to the less-frequently discussed challenges of photographing fiber works. 

Documentation is a must. "To make something and have no record of it is a shame," she said. No model and just need a photo for documentation or blogs? Selfies can work, as can dress forms. (I've tried both with moderate-to-little success, but I'm going to try these options again with her suggestions.)

Discussing the importance of photos to accompany articles submitted to publications, she reports utter dismay at the quality that came across her desk when she was a magazine editor. "There is something about the fiber community that consistently provides terrible images," she said.

I particularly appreciated her tips for submitting photographs of work to publications and her discussion of image editing software. I confess a love/hate relationship with programs such as Adobe Photoshop. I love the potential, but often feel daunted at the array of powerful editing tools. But after this presentation, I'm ready to step up and master the few basic tools needed to improve my photos, both here and as documentation.

(Missed Daryl Lancaster's presentation? You can purchase her monograph here.)

Breaking barriers

MAD highlights the influence of mid-20th century women artists

Forecast Rug,
Marianne Strengell

The two American women who have broken the gender barrier to graduate from the Army's elite Ranger Training School are simply the latest to enter male dominated territories. An exhibition at the Museum of Art and Design (MAD) in New York, Pathmakers: Women in Art, Craft and Design, Midcentury and Today, recognizes women who broke similar barriers in the art world in the middle of the last century.

It was pure delight to see early works by fiber artists such as Lenore Tawney, Sheila Hicks, and Anni Albers as they have definitely shaped and influenced my view of fiber arts. MAD connects the early days of these bold innovators with their influence on modern design. 

All but shut out of traditional media (Quick! Name three women artists!), most of these creative women made significant contributions to modernism in what is now termed alternative materials--fiber, clay and metal.

The exhibition, which is now open through Sept. 30, features beautiful and innovative textiles, ceramics and metalwork. Most of the women are American. Not surprisingly, I was most interested in the fiber. 

Handweaver's Pattern Book Installation
Polly Apfelbaum

Beginning on the upper floor with works created primarily in the 1950s and 60s, the sense of continuity flows down to the lower floor that features contemporary artists and designers. 

Walk down the steps to the lower level, as I did, to emerge from the stairwell to Polly Apfelbaum's dramatic installation that was influenced by Marguerite Davison's classic pattern book, "The Handweaver's Pattern Book." A photo cannot do it justice.

I was intrigued to find works from the postwar era that featured aluminum. When the war ended, Alcoa was left with a glut of aluminum. Seeking new markets, Alcoa hired Marianne Strengell in its campaign to find new uses for the metal. The Forecast Rug she wove is huge--and probably not one for bare feet. But it is dramatic and definitely makes a statement. (Photo, upper right)

Test panels: Ford Foundation
Installation, 2013. Sheila Hicks

Many of the textiles were clearly identifiable to the post war period mainly by the colors. But some are timeless. 

One example is an installation originally designed by Sheila Hicks circa 1967 for the Ford Foundation in New York and  recently reconstructed. Made of linen, silk and plexiglass, the design is timeless. I had to look closely to see that the twisted circles are constructed of silk threads.

Ruanas, Alice Kagawa Parrott

Among the few garments in the show, I particularly liked the ruanas designed by Alice Kagawa Parrott. Commissioned by the Santa Fe Opera Company to be worn by their ushers, the simple and colorful garments seem a perfect 'uniform' for the annual Southwestern event.

I did miss seeing work by Maria Martinez particularly since there are two ceramic pots by two women in the black-on-black style associated with her name. Perhaps because she worked with her husband? Or perhaps because she recreated and refined an ancient technique but executed them in traditional Pueblo shapes?

I know. I know. Exhibitions like this can't include everything--or everybody. There are more than 100 works in the show, each very special. The show is well worth a visit. 

A fiber bash

MAFA scores 10 out of 10 for instruction and inspiration 

Rainforest evening bag
Charlene Marietti

It was a fiber extravaganza! The MidAtlantic Fiber Association (MAFA) represents nearly 60 guilds in eight states and the District of Columbia. Its regional biennial event, also known as MAFA, is organized and managed solely by volunteers. The workshop weekend, which was held July 16 to 19 at Millersville University (Millersville, Pa.), drew 306 attendees.

Keynoter Jennifer Moore set the tone for the two-and-a-half day event with an inspiring retrospective, "Weaving my way through life." Like many fiber artists, she was 'called' to weaving. Trained as a medical illustrator with a minor in pipe organ, she sees her loom as another string instrument--but one that allows her to create color and design instead of  sound. And she excels in the space.

When Moore hears music, she visualizes colors and images. Look at a musical score, she urges, then compare it to a weaving draft. She is an expert in the ancient technique of doubleweave pick-up, which she often works on hand-dyed fibers. 

To understand see why I'm so awed and inspired, look at her wall pieces, silk scarves and shawls, and her Chromatic Fantasy series inspired by Johann Sebastian Bach's 'Chromatic Fantasy' for the harpsichord.

Learning, doing, networking

Internationally-known fiber artists led 34 workshops that focused on broad categories of dyeing, felting, spinning, weaving, learning garment construction, ply-splitting, tablet weaving, tapestry, or temari. I say 'broad' because some of the workshops combined techniques. Mine did.

My Ikat warp

My workshop focused on Ikat as a design tool and involved both dyeing and weaving. Polly Barton, a silk weaver from Santa Fe, N.M., was the instructor. My warp was first dyed with shibuki (wild peach bark), which gave a yellow-gold color, then over-dyed with indigo. I came home with a gorgeous green/blue/yellow warp on my loom--a warp that is purely experimental. I dyed some mini-skeins with different patterns, but the indigo bath was spent and the effect is muted. I'll weave them up any way. Although I have long vowed that I was not interested in maintaining an indigo pot, I've changed  my mind. Now I just need to find a place for it. 

Two not-to-be-missed scheduled events 

A beautiful shawl at the MAFA Fashion Show

Friday evening was called a "Fashion Show," but it's really a show-and-tell. Anybody can participate and--I'm estimating here--40 to 50 people did. It was great fun and some fabulous work was displayed. I shared my 'Rainforest' evening bag (above) and was pleased with the reception.

Saturday evening was 'Open Studio.' This was a chance to see what all the other classes had been doing for two days and talk to the instructors. It took us nearly three hours to do the rounds. IMHO this is a 'not to be missed' part of the event. Workshop highlights included Amy Tyler's spinning and plying; Inge Dam's tablet weaving on a loom; and Anita Luvera Mayer's dyeing and embellishments. Oh, and I drooled over the groups that learned fabric marbling and shibori and.....and many others. Below are three examples of works in progress plus a tapestry by instructor Kathe Todd-Hooker.

And I would be remiss not to mention a very important part of the weekend--and that is meeting and talking to other fiber people. Dorm life is far behind most of the attendees, including me, but staying and eating onsite is a very valuable part of the experience. 

Oh! And I nearly forgot another valuable resource: The vendor hall! Nearly three dozen vendors offered yarn, tools, and equipment.

And last, but not least: Thank you to the MAFA volunteers!

MAFA volunteers did an amazing job and I am grateful to each and every one of them. 

Fabric marbling

Tablet weaving on the loom

Tapestry by Kathe Todd-Hooker

Color work for iridescence