Perfect weather for Knitting

I was never a very good knitter, my heart always fell more towards crochet. However, knitting was the first textile art that I learned. I was 6 and I knitted a orange cotton scarf.. for my baby doll! I still have it, it was transformed into a headband during my teenage years.

My second project happened when I was 8 and it was a scarf too, this time for my great grand mother. Despite my hard work and my grandmother’s help, the scarf could barely cover the whole neck, but hey, maybe it was just a premonition of the now-s0-fashionable-cowls?

(Courtesy of Banksy)

My mother use to knit complicated fair isle sweaters, my grandmothers spoiled me throughout the years with beautiful lace knit cardigans and even one of my high school boyfriends was really into knitting. All this to say that I feel emotionally connected to knitting.

And that I love the The Virgin Knitter exhibition, now up in the walls of the Textile Arts Center. During one month, Kimberly Hall taught knitting workshops at TAC to anyone who had never finished a knitting project, in exchange for their first scarf. Her belief is that each first scarf is a lucky object because it is the only first scarf the knitter can make.

All the scarves from the TAC workshops and others that Kimberly has been teaching since 2007 are part of the exhibition and up for Silent Auction —  not for monetary exchange, but for the desire for the particular scarf. Kimberly believes that the act of giving away allows the maker to consider the emotional and intellectual work he/she put into the piece.

See photos of the opening of The Virgin Knitter exhibition at TAC and learn more about the Virgin Knitters project here.

Scarf by Kaori H., 5 year old

It’s been a treat to look at the scarfs and read the stories and fall in love with them.. Like the little finger-size-doll scarf knitted by a 5 year old girl (try to outbid me on that one and you’ll see what portuguese anger is all about).

Scarf by Rachel S.

Come  join us at the Textile Arts Center next Friday, December 3rd, to learn more about Kimberly Hall’s The Virgin Knitter project and the allure of handmade. There will be wine and cheese and good company. The exhibition is only up until December 11th, so it’ll be the perfect opportunity to come see or re-see it and make your last bid (no $ required, just a good reason) on the scarfs before Kimberly Hall makes her decision.

The Virgin Knitters Opening & Sabrina Gschwandtner

Friday night was the Opening for The Virgin Knitters by Kimberly Hall. We had a great turnout thanks to the wonderful participants, Fire Island Beer drinkers, and Radio Jarocho dancers.

The Virgin Knitters is a beautifully subtle and visually minimal show. And, of course, what attracted us to Kimberly Hall’s proposal was the concept. For an arts education center focused on textiles and craft, this was a fantastic combination of educating the public while forcing the audience to think more about the creative crafting process, or making anything by hand. What do we give of ourselves into these objects, and then what happens when we give them away?

Each scarf hangs from a hook, with a Silent Auction sheet, pen, and close to a full length mirror. We are asked to try them on, read about the creator, and “bid” on our favorites. The winners are chosen by Kimberly as the most deserving of the “luck charm”.

One of the favorites was this tiny doll scarf made by an impatient 4-year-old:

If you didn’t make it for the Opening, the show will be up through December 11. And in the month you can expect plenty of “knitting” posts. Join us for Sabrina Gschwandtner’s lecture on “Knitting Now”, this Thursday November 11, at 7PM. RSVP at rsvp@textileartscenter.com

And for all the intermediate knitters out there who want to get past their “virgin scarf”, there is still room in our Seamless Sweaters class beginning Nov. 17, 6PM.

Weird Art

Something weird I came across this morning was the mixed media art created by Paolo Fumagalli.  His pieces are surprising because he takes a common object and turns it on its head into something foreign and fantastical.

In the Land of the Blind

 

Mother Tongue

 

White

 

Pacifier

 

Ca va sans dire

 

Para Bellum

 

Love will Tear Us Apart

 

Basic Instinct

 

Real Life

 

Textile News: November 5th is the date of the Textile Arts Center‘s second gallery exhibition “The Virgin Knitter” curated by Kimberly Hall.  Come join us in a night of art, wine, and great people.