Oh My GOD!!

Oh my god!
This is what I came home to last night!

Apparently the dogs were bored!

Vitamin D!

It has been delightfully sunny and not nearly as cold this week. The sun is making the snow and ice do funny things. Unfortunately, my back steps are a death trap. My dog's are tear-assing down the stairs, sturdy on four feet, and I'm gripping the parts of the railing that aren't covered in an inch of ice, slowly inching my way down.
The ice on the giant nuts and bolts was a pretty cool find. Weird how that happens.

I finished my sisters Florist Scarf and her handmuff the other day. I overnighted them to her so that she could wear them to her big event. She and a group of other wedding vendors set up their own group and held their own bridal fair in the theme of Alice in Wonderland. I guess it was a huge hit. 300 people was the final headcount! The group is called Wedding Hive. Check out their website. I really wish I could have seen the event. Hopefully pictures will be posted soon on their site! And apparently she got lots of compliments and inquirys on her Muff! I think I might be making a few more of these as well! The Muff was quite easy and knitted up fast. I made the pattern up as I went and I hope I can replicate it and write it down! The scarf is just four repeats of horseshoe lace, one of the Shetland Island laces. It's really pretty but that scarf was a nightmare. It took me to almost half of the scarf to memorize the chart and it is chockfull of mistakes. Oh well, you really can't tell unless you are a serious knitter. So please Serious Knitters, don't look closely.
I went to my first Stitch 'n Bitch last Sunday at Lovely. The girls were really nice and welcoming. But what I thought was cool was that they used the 2 hours to size me up. Make sure I was legit. Not in a snotty way, but in a (responsible?) way. They were interested in what I was making and offered constructive criticism and helpful tips. But it was definitely awkward for me at first 'cause it was like inviting oneself to sit with a different group of friends in the highschool cafeteria. These girls knew each other and had been knitting together for awhile. And it was a bit of a humbling experience. They were all knitting sweaters and colorwork mittens. This is what I made.Yes. It was embarressing. But they didn't make me feel bad, they went out of their way to tell me they thought it was cool. So I'm going back tomorrow. I'm in-between projects so I'm sure I'll wind up starting yet another quick embarressing project to wow them with! Awesome.

2009 is the International Year of Natural Fibres

The U.N. deemed that 2009 will be the International Year of Natural Fibers and plans to announce it in a celebration on January 22nd at the U.N. Agricultural and Commerce headquarters in Rome. The idea is to stimulate worldwide economy in small farming of natural fiber and to use sustainable farming and manufacturing practices.

I find great inspiration in this. And with that ideal in mind, I would like to start off 2009 with a more honest approach to my artwork, craft and lifestyle.

Lately, and by lately I mean since college, I have been wondering what kind of career I want. I've tried a myriad of things and always fall back to tending bar and serving. Not glamorous or great but fairly lucrative and flexible. I have wrestled with all sorts of ideas such as, seamstress, restaurant management, metal fabrication, teaching, picture framing, veterinarian technician, writer. Although I was and am genuinely interested in all those fields, none of it felt honest or could withstand the test of time. (Except for maybe metal fabrication: my love of fiber has met it's match in metal.) So, I finally decided I didn't want a career. To be able to live and craft and make art and write stories and walk dogs and make delicious food seems fine. No security, no health insurance, the constant explanations that yes, I went to college, no, I don't want a 'real' job, seemed like little annoyances that would fade over time. But still... and so I started back up knitting this fall. And it has snow balled. I'm thinking about art in new ways. I'm thinking about color and structure and form and composition. I'm also aware again of my affinity for making things. I struggled to find my voice in college and I have struggled to find my voice in the real world. I think I have possible found it. Not just in knitting, but in making things. Taking away the stigma of craft and arrogance of fine art and come back to the pure act of making objects. Its satisfying and simple. It's a can-do in every sense of the phrase.

This little guy, one of my bathroom succulents, makes me so happy. He sprouted his new hat a few weeks after I put him in my shower window.

To start things off on a positive and ambitious note, my sister and I have talked about (and will decide tomorrow) buying a slot in Chicago's Hand Made Market, held at The Empty Bottle for March. Conveniently only 3 blocks from me. That gives us a little over 2 months to make things to sell. Might be a good idea to cut our teeth on something small before we take the total plunge in the wildly popular DIY industry. Above are some sketches for dog booties that actually are made to fit a dogs foot. They are a response to Vogue Knitting's dog booties that look an awful lot like baby booties and not surprisingly, don't fit my dogs paws. If I can work up a pattern and make it work, these dog booties may become my first item to sell in March!

Time to get cracking...

Now that Christmas/Solstice is over, a number of projects vie for my creative attention. I'm finishing up a scarf for my sister and am knitting a pair of mittens for my mom. I'm concentrating on projects that I already own the tools for because work is slow and money is scarce. (Although I peruse the yarn shop websites constantly!) In fact, I have several things already started that I need to finish.


This is where I do the most of my work, right here on the coffee table.


As some of you know, I'm volunteering at Fire Arts Center of Chicago. They've been going through some difficult times and have recently moved to a relatively small space in the Cornelia Building on Chicago's North side. They are a metal arts center, teaching foundry, mold-making, and lost wax method casting. They also do jewelry and some forging. I am now on the board and in November I was on the pour team with the Director Vince Hawkins and co-founder Michael Bennett. I haven't poured bronze since I was working at Eligius Bronze Foundry in Kansas City! It was such a thrill! Right now I'm working on knitting a piece in the shape of a water pitcher. I plan on stiffening it up, coating it in wax, making a lost wax cast and then casting it in bronze! That project was put on the back burner in lieu of Solstice presents but it's about to be picked right up. Unfortunately, Fire Arts new location is farther away from me than the old space and our inclement weather hasn't been good for cycling.

A couple of other things on the list are an embroidery I started this summer. It's much more detailed than my last embroideries and is taking a bit more concentration and time. I'm also working on sketching and eventually painting a still life I set up in my living room/ art studio. The still life is good but my work table is a mess. I'm so cramped and with out proper storage space for my accoutrements that I'm procrastinating on that project.Here's the still life. Don't you think that I need something textural? Fluffy or feathered? It's all smooth objects. That's the other thing that is holding me back... What to add?


This is the night view from our back porch. It can be quite tranquil to gaze out beyond the rooftops if you can stand the cold.

This is an introduction

Hello all!

I am starting a new blog in order to talk about art and fiber and knitting and dyeing and reading and anything else that necessitates a creative dialogue. If you are getting this as an email, then I have put you on the list to receive posts as I've written them and I thought you might be interested. If you don't want to receive these posts as emails, let me know and I'll be happy to take you off the list.

The main purpose of this blog is to talk about art. It's important to have a constant dialogue about art, whether it's mine or yours or someone out there making waves. I also would like to use this format to share my ideas and pieces and get feedback from you, as I respect your opinions. It never hurts to connect to another artist! I'll be posting pictures soon and go into detail about what I'm working on in the next blog!

Thanks for taking the time to listen (read) and I'll be talking to (at) you soon!

Love, Meghan