Paris Journal: Now showing at the Galerie Gobelins

We happened upon the beautifully-executed exhibit Gobelins par Nature at the Galerie Gobelins in Paris. The show runs until January 19, 2014. The Gobelins is the French National tapestry studio. They weave tapestries for the French government.

The last Sunday of the month, the gallery at the Gobelins is free. But if you're visiting this summer, remember that they close for holiday in late July through August.

The exhibit was staged like a park with park chairs and flowering trees and garlands. It was just lovely. I went back twice. 

More photos of the tapestries with details to come...

Paris Journal: Will knit for Barbie?

When you're in Paris you expect the odd accordion or saxophone player playing "Strangers in the Night" in the metro, but this one was new to me. As I walked to the Boulangerie Landemain on the rue des Martyrs for my mid-day baguette, this woman was sitting on the sidewalk, knitting. On the ground in front of her were a coffee can holding scissors and a handknit-dressed Barbie seated on a box. The piece she was working on looked more like a fun fur scarf than anything that Barbie might wear, but Barbie does always need evening wear, doesn't she? 

Was she offering to knit Barbie clothing for passersby for a small fee? Or were we to applaud her on her industriousness with a few Euro coins? I'm still not sure.

Only my second sighting in over 10 years of visiting Paris of anyone knitting in public  (other than me).

I am always knitting in public (KIP) here in Paris since there is always idle time on the bus or metro. People are always fascinated when I pull out my sock-in-progress and knit away. If they ask me what I'm knitting, I usually tell them "chausette" (sock), then they give me a surprised look like "no way, why bother!", then they go back to looking at their phones. The lines for the butcher, fishmonger, boulangerie, patisserie and Vuitton can be really long, stretching around the block. Whenever I see a long line here, I think "these people could be knitting!" Think of all the socks and Barbie dresses that could have been...

Look closer, she's not only KIPing, she's set up shop as couture knitter to Barbie!

FLASHBACK: Penland Weaving Concentration: Kudzu, indigo and all things Scottish!

Beth organized some wonderful visiting artists during our concentration at Penland last spring.

Junco Sato Pollack revealed to us the wonders of kudzu fiber. Her elegant manner is reflected in the restrained and beautiful table mats she weaves out of silk and kudzu. Junco will be teaching at Penland this summer. 

Lynn Pollard brought stories, video and fabrics from her textile travels in Asia. We also had a chance to admire her amazing handwoven garments and weaving art. Lynn also shared her latest creative experiment, indigo "paintings" on paper.

Marjorie Logie Warren shared her knowledge of Scottish history and traditons. Her discussion of tartans, Harris tweed and estate checks was timed perfectly since each of us in the class had just woven our own tartan blankets. 

My blanket warp color order on the chalkboard. Guide string is in green with warp threads ready to be wound.

For this project, I used llama yarn that I had brought from home with a brown heather and three different colors of wool that had been donated to the class. My blanket was woven in twill with an oversize plaid design. The taupe llama yarn alternated with the brown heather for the background.

Scottish-inspired blanket requires a Scottish warping technique....

I still marvel at the wonders of winding a warp this way...

...it looks like a lot, but it took me only minutes per inch of warp.

Nothing is prettier than a full warping board!

Blanket warp, sectioned and ready to wind on. Boo-yeah!

Virginia Rugfest 2013

The Shockoe Slip Rug Hookers of Richmond, Virginia, do an amazing job of hosting the Virginia Rugfest and Hook-In each spring. It is always a lively gathering where hookers catch up on each other's projects.

The marketplace included vendors like Notforgotten Farm, Mary's Wool Garden and Rebecca Erb's Wool Studio. There were great things to shop for and yards of wool to ogle. Since I don't have a current hooking project needing wool, I enjoyed hunting for wool for my friends' rugs. And, bonus, there are door prizes and raffles throughout the day!

I won this pretty bundle of wool from Mary's Wool Garden in the door prize raffle.

This year's featured speakers were Judy Carter and Leonard Feenan. They spoke about the "Eye See You" and "Eye See You II" projects. Leonard designed the first rug based on an idea by Judy. Judy hooked the rug. 

Eye See You, hooked by Judy Carter

Eventually, the idea came to turn each eye into its own rug and a team of rug hookers worked to create the huge "Eye See You II" installation. Both projects were on glorious display at the Rugfest, the last showing of the complete "Eye See You II" rugs. Read more about it at Eye See You  on Judy's website. Fantastic work that pictures just don't do justice to. It was such a treat to see the rugs in person, almost too much to take in.

Eye See You II, hooked by multiple artists

It's fun to figure out what animal the eyes belong to...

A rug hooker friend got the striking envelope below in the mail from the World Wildlife Fund. I thought it fitting for this post.

MUST READ: Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion by Elizabeth Cline

In light of the recent Bangladesh garment factory building collapse where the death toll is now over 600, this book, Overdressed by Elizabeth Cline, is an important read. In a world where we care and know more about where our food comes from versus where our clothing comes from, this book is an eye-opener. Cline does a great job of tracing the origins of this country's now-disposable clothing obsession. It doesn't take much more to link that to tragedies such as the one in Bangladesh. It will make you think twice about that next clothing purchase.

Necessary Indulgence: Handknit socks; cotton stretch shorties

I have been enjoying my handknitted wool socks during this winter that never seems to end. But, I am more than excited that it's almost getting to be warm enough to wear my recently-completed summer shortie socks. I started knitting these in January 2011 (no typo there) and the first sock was completed pretty quickly (pretty sure that two weeks is a record for me in the sock completion category). Sadly, the second sock faced the misplacement of the red ball of yarn for the heel and was in a holding pattern/hiatus for a year or so. Now, all done, only 2 years later!

Happy feet

Lace stitch pattern; easy to remember if you don't put your socks down for a year+ in the middle of knitting them.

The socks are knit in a stretchy cotton yarn, Cascade Fixation, in a pattern that I think is from the Cascade website. I changed the heel and toe to red since I only had one ball of the multicolored space-dyed yarn. And I added a single crochet edging in the red to the top of the cuffs to balance things out.

I knit these on US size 3 needles, so they were quick to knit, as long as I was knitting them, that is :). They were knitted with the neat square double pointed needles from Kollage.  I highly recommend the square dpns and circulars from Kollage for those with hand soreness issues. They actually do work to ease the pain.

MUST SEE: Impressionism, Fashion and Modernity

I was lucky enough to see this exhibit in Paris when it was at the D'Orsay Museum in December of last year. The exhibit does a lovely job of connecting art with fashion. Curiously, the French title left out the word "Modernity".

The exhibit opened in New York City in February "Impressionism Fashion and Modernity" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art until May 27, 2013. It will continue to the Art Institute of Chicago on Wednesday, June 26, 2013, where it will be until Sunday, September 22, 2013.

There are wonderful examples of period dress along with the fantastic impressionist artwork. The final exhibit room in Paris re-created a park with a soundtrack of songbirds, grass-green carpeting and park benches interspersed with the paintings and fashion...such fun!