My Life With Knitters

When I teach...

2011-07-18T15:40:00.000-07:00

When I teach art, I like to set up learning stations around a room - usually focusing somewhat on what I'm most interested in at the time. Adults & children can choose their spot and work at their own pace with my (sometimes not so gentle) encouragement.

In this way, over the course of my so-called career, I've taught students of every age, from 2 years old right up to 80. We have such a great time!

So - what does this have to do with knitting or knitters? Well, right alongside the intensive still life drawing lesson and the colorful imaginary lands is a young man trying out some yarn and needles. Or a young woman learning to spin. Or a handful of happy needle felters, poking away. (I'm leading them all down "the slippery slope" of fiber!)

This past week at Searsport Shores, I was invited to teach in precisely this way. I was given a lovely cabin and a studio and complete freedom. Here are some pictures:

She's drawing (see next photo)


So are Norma & Jessica

FINISHED! 2 hours)

Everybody was encouraged to join in.

Water-based markers are great for true enthusiasts!

This, by the way, is a picture of the Fairy Swimming Pool.

Lori chose to draw the garlic scapes - a real challenge.

Needle felting was so popular we ran out of materials!

And out in the yard, my favorite blacksmith was also attracting a crowd...

Jeff forged these handles for the cabin.

And more knitting & spinning...

Finally, I actually made some art - or at least started to...

Faith & Hope, version one

5 ft x 3 ft, charcoal & pencil

My Life with Kritters: Wickety Splits Learns to Spin & other July Doings

2011-07-07T11:09:00.000-07:00


Here is Wickety Splits, foundling kitten, getting her morning spinning lesson. My, but it was hard not to grab that twisty fluff! (Knitting was even tougher!)

Knit-wise, I'm trying my hand at designing a lace scarf, combining traditional gull & scalloped-edge patterns. The yarn is Hempathy by Elsbeth Lavold. Size 5 needles. The drape is lovely.

The pattern is just difficult enough to be engaging.

Both ends will feature the scalloped edge.

The gardens are lovely today & Village Books is open to the Maine air!

From July 10-16 I'll be a Visiting Artist at Searsport Shores Resort & Camp Grounds, in Searsport, Maine. Drop by for a drawing lesson or to spin or knit each morning 10-12. Jeff will be forging nearby too!

Next up: Spinning CVM. YUMMY!

What's Next? Acadia Fiber Fair!

2011-05-12T05:18:00.000-07:00

Saturday, May 21
visit our vendor booth!
Acadia Fiber Faire
Southwest Harbor, Maine

I sell used knitting, spinning, dyeing, weaving (etc etc) books!

My yarn company, Random Roving, also sells roving, batts, & yarn all sourced from Maine farms.

Come check us out in Southwest Harbor!

If you can't make it to Acadia Fiber Faire, you can also visit Village Books

at 18 Waldoboro Rd, Washington, ME on weekends 10-5 pm.

Armchair travelling? Go to our website!

DPN'S!!! And lighter stuff

2011-05-11T10:22:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

I know, I know, you want pictures. Believe me when I say YOU DON'T. Knitting has become an ugly thing, full of slippery sticks, twisty fingers, gnarly words & distinctly bad manners.

The books never tell you not to try to cast on with a crocheted afghan on your lap.

Meanwhile, happier events are taking place at the spinning wheel. AND I just bought a used Louet Jr. drum carder. Yay! My own doffer! I'm wielding it like a pro.

SHETLAND! Lovely, lovely, romantic, soft Shetland. I'm processing it and spinning it myself, small batches at a time. All from Maine farms. The natural color of this gorgeous stuff just won't show up in my pictures!
A milky tan. A cup of cream someone passed a coffee bean over.

My First Spin-In

2011-02-13T14:44:00.000-08:00

NEWPORT SPIN-IN, FEBRUARY 12, 2011

I've mostly been on the vendor side of things at events like the Newport Spin-In, but I decided to give myself a "busman's holiday" and join the spinners instead. What a great day!

The variety of wheels alone is astonishing. The quiet conversation & occasional peals of laughter are

accompanied by the hum & click of dozens upon dozens of these lovely, simple tools. There is nothing quite like a roomful of spinners.

Kathy Goldner of Knitting Out Loud fame learns how to spin.

Debbie Bergman of Purple Fleece is her able teacher.

The amazing wheel was handmade by

Kathy's husband, Scott Moore.

My two favorite spinning buddies,

Cindy and Toni, travelled

with me up to Newport - about an hour's drive for us.

Cindy is shown here with her venerable & trusty Louet.

Toni's getting ready to spin.

We all bought some beautiful fiber (even though we'd vowed not to, as usual), including a bunch from Friends' Folly Farm in Monmouth. They always have the most gorgeous colors!

It was kind of crowded, but in a good way.

Some finished yarn, spun by yours truly - corriedale & mohair, blended and dyed to a lovely, frosty blue called "January".

A Classic Conundrum

2011-01-07T09:37:00.000-08:00

WANT to write. NOTHING to write about.

My poetry mentor, Erich Hintze, always encouraged me to include important content in the title and continue the poem with no thought break between the title and the body of the poem.

There you go, Erich.

Today is a wordy day with no anchoring topic. Music & words are filling my head so loudly while I spin & knit that I can't listen to my good husband when he talks to me.

When this happens, I catch myself talking internally to SOMEONE, as if I'm writing a letter. Maybe I'm just doing some lazy (ie: not actually writing it down) journalling. I invent tag lines to blogs and articles that I'll never write.

Let's see there's:

Hit the Tiresome Button!: What NOT to post on FACEBOOK or RAVELRY

How Making Stuff Keeps Me From Going to Jail

Short Bus Luddites

What Would Lorelei Do?-Advice for Mothers with Brainy Daughters

Stop Talking!

Etc, etc.

I guess these are mostly rants. Anyway, these things (and many more) are rampaging through my brain today. Soundtrack: Sting Live in Berlin. Audible only to me.

Pictured below is the sweetest girl I know. She knows just what to say when this mood is upon me!

Dixie Marie

Let's Get Going!

2011-01-03T11:13:00.000-08:00

I love the holidays. Definitely. But I'm soooooo ready to get back to work again. Pondering colors like mad. Looking and looking at the world, flipping through my books, watching the light change...Which color next?

Here's the beautiful violet color I achieved last dye session. I carded the mohair with some Romney - isn't it delicious?

While I was sighing & longing over one of my British interior design books, I hit on the idea of trying to get that most serene of all colors, Duck Egg Blue, frequently featured in historic British homes.

The slightly greyed-out Coopworth I was working with helped me get REALLY close. On pure white roving I got aqua, a whole different mood. Duck Egg is a slightly "dirty" color and the packet labeled Robin's Egg Blue just didn't cut it on its own, so I added a teeny bit of plain yellow.

I need some more baskets, obviously!

A VERY FULL BASKET of

Random Roving Yarns!

New Year's Goal: a full stock of my own yarn in my shop (www.villagebooks.info) by the time I re-open in April. Stay tuned....

A Day to Dye For!

2010-12-16T08:22:00.000-08:00

While I was working in my bookstore & yarn shop, I realized that I had WAY TOO MUCH brown & grey yarns (even tho' the Maine Shetland has just about sold out)! So out came the Cushings acid dyes and my pots and some Romney batting from my friend Betty's farm in Winterport.

Royal Blue + Buttercup Yellow + Romney = lovely, Park Bench Green! One of my husband's very favorite colors.

Watching the dye bath change from green to a series of gorgeous yellows was a treat too! Mohair locks from Jefferson gleam in the 3 shades of olive, warm yellow & peach-yellow that resulted.

Of course, PURPLE just had to follow - my painter's soul cried out for it.
And guess what? Royal Blue + Magenta + Romney = purple. Or periwinkle & lilac. LOVELY. Ran to the last, clean mohair locks I had and threw them in the pot. The final color is a stunning violet that just glows on mohair. The result is on the wheel right now & will be viewable in the next chapter.

But THIS YARN does me (& Betty & Cushings) PROUD:

Don't forget to check out my website at www.villagebooks.info for the latest in great used books and fabulous Maine yarns!

Bright holidays to you & yours.

Karen

Last Day!

2010-12-05T06:51:00.000-08:00

The Holiday Open House at Village Books ends today at 5 pm. Stop on by for some hot, mulled cider!
Last day of this season will end Christmas Eve, 3 pm. Until April please either call me to arrange a visit (207-845-2133) or go the new website www,villagebooks.info for updates on book titles and hand spun yarns..

Spinning & Dyeing, Dyeing & Spinning

2010-11-19T09:28:00.000-08:00

Here are the latest yarns from Random Rovings, my new yarn company. I'm taking this winter to develop a yarn that I love to spin & want to sell in my shop. It will be ONLY from Maine-raised, sheep and/or goats and Maine-processed wools. (And no, Village Books is NOT going out of the book business - VB is still the best used book store on the MidCoast!)

Above, from left to right, are a single ply Romney, a double-ply Lincoln Romney blend, double-ply Shetland, & a crazy art yarn made from Mohair & Lincoln plied together. All are from small Maine farms and all are dyed with Cushing dyes. I love the Mohair!

Dyed & Uncarded

Bobbin O' Mohair

But the Shetland has also captured my fickle heart. So soft! So many shades of brown! So much fun to spin! Sigh...You can expect to find several serious skeins of natural Shetland for sale at VB during our Holiday Open House, Dec 3-5.

Then, of course, there's the CASHMERE.

This wee bowl is from my goats.

Winnie

Lucy

VB will also be featuring raw cashmere & gorgeous yarns from Black Locust Farm, just up the road. Yvonne Taylor is my goat mentor & I can only aspire to the greatness of her cashmere products at this point. But my girls & I are working on it! They're both out under the apple trees fiercely concentrating on growing beautiful fiber as I write this post.

Village Books is open Fri-Sat, 10-5 through Christmas. If you are curious about the new yarns or want to know about new titles in books, drop me a line (karenjelenfy@gmail.com) or call 207-845-2133.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Karen

Our Yearly Party!

2010-11-16T06:27:00.000-08:00

Annual

HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE

VILLAGE BOOKS

18 WALDOBORO RD, WASHINGTON VILLAGE
207-845-2133

Fri, Dec 3 10 am – 7 pm

Sat & Sun, Dec 4 & 5 10 am – 5 pm

Now featuring yarn & roving from

Maine sheep & local crafters

Food, friends, unique, handmade gifts!

Best used book selection!

Regular hours until Christmas are 10-5 pm Friday, Saturday & Sunday.

2010-10-14T07:05:00.000-07:00

Village Books is all set to become a Cushing Perfection Dyes Dealer. The brick & mortar shop at 18 Waldoboro Rd, Washington, Maine will be stocking the Cushing Acid Dyes (for protein fiber) starting this month. When I am a vendor at sheep & wool festivals and fiber events, I'll be toting the Cushings along too! Cushing Perfection Dyes is an old Maine company operating out of Kennebunkport. No need to take your fiber dollars out of our lovely state! And Mid-Coasters save on shipping costs, while enjoying a scenic trip to the best used bookstore in Maine.

Next up: Fiber Maine-ia, University of Maine, Orno, Oct 16 & 17! Gently used fiber arts books, handspun, hand-dyed Maine yarn, roving and other goodies for spinners, knitters, weavers, crocheters, hookers, etc...

The Fiber Side & My Life with Knitters Combine! See PS

2010-10-14T06:41:00.000-07:00

I've been playing with all the different fibers I've bought over the past month or two. I'm calling the products of this daily practice RANDOM ROVINGS. Above you can see a pile of various rolags composed of combinations of merino/silk & mohair, coopworth & mohair, & coopworth & merino/silk, dyed with Cushing dye (Egyptian Red, very weak) and handcarded.

This is a LOT like painting...

Back in the day, when I got tired of painting, I'd turn to sculpture. I've used welding wheels like the one shown below as a 3-D material many times in the past. (A blacksmith's wife always has a few of these!)

Best artist question ever: WHAT IF...?

A yarn sculpture!

Actually, this is a new idea I have for displaying my handspun, which is beginning to take over the house as well as my bookstore. Here you see a few of the skeins I've completed recently. Jeff is helping by supplying me with hand-forged hooks.

Here is one of my current favorite spinning raw materials: Coopworth locks.

I spun some yarn directly from the natural colored, uncarded locks, then plied it. I got a marvelously soft, fat yarn (it's a little too brown in the photo). Swatched it on #13 needles. Cushing is sending me some more dye this week, so I'll be making more of this to color!

Different fibers, beautiful swatch:

"Art Yarn" I think they call it.

The beautiful bench below was completed this past weekend by the husband-blacksmith. The owners provided the rock & asked Jeff to create an iron support for it. Don't you love it?

More from this creative outpost in a day or two, when the Coopworth is dyed!

PS For those of you who follow both, I'm going to make life easier for us all by combining my two blogs. Village Books will continue to have its own, books only blog and a new website when Kathleen gets to it.
Meanwhile, the link to MY LIFE WITH KNITTERS is the one to use!

Found Objects & Knitting

2010-10-05T14:51:00.000-07:00

CURIOUS? Check it out over at The Fiber Side of Village Books!

Dye Job

2010-08-20T07:50:00.000-07:00

Friday, August 20, 2010

My first dye job...

if you don't count my hair! Here is the gorgeous combination roving I bought from Guinea Ridge Farm in Union during the Open Farm Tour. I spun it and plied it. I set the twist (yes, I did, Jeannine!) Then I pulled wads of jewelweed from under the apple trees (much to the goats' chagrin - they love jewelweed) and boiled it up. Can't say I cared for the smell much. I soaked my handspun, 2 ply in warm water, with a little cream of tartar dissolved in it. Then plunked it in the dyebath for only ten minutes or so, since I love this light, creamy orange. Et voila!

Village Books has been reorganized to display the gorgeous roving that my friend, Toni, & I have been producing for sale. Currently on offer are Maine Finn, both dyed & undyed, Romney dyed & 2 shades of natural roving, white Dorset, white Border Leicester & some lovely brown llama roving from Eolian Farm down in Newcastle, who also provides me with Shetland roving on occasion.

Since I'm just a neophyte, I'm keeping most of my doings for my private use, but I did sell my first skein of yarn this month! My spinning wheel is busy every day.

Meanwhile, lots of new books have come in, from the latest great fiction to histories to classics in knitting (I use these big hand-forged hooks to hang yarn). The Fiber Side of Village Books will be a book & roving vendor at Fiber College in Searsport, Maine, happening September 9-12. This is a beautiful venue and a wonderful learning & networking opportunity for crafters. Come check it out! And stop by my table to introduce yourself!

0 comments:

CHECK THIS OUT!

2010-07-30T13:50:00.001-07:00

Over here!

New Stuff!

2010-07-26T08:06:00.000-07:00

So it was time for the Knitting Guild of America Conference in Manchester, NH and I was READY. Here we see a tiny bomb (knitted by my sister Kathlene) in place at a McDonald's in Augusta, Maine.

Later that same day -

A railing outside the Radisson Hotel, Manchester, NH, was hit!

Then the KNITTING OUT LOUD team got to work! We had a great weekend!

In other news -
I'm working very hard at my spinning. Here's my first attempt at plying two of my handspun yarns together! The grey is hand-picked, hand-carded & hand-spun Romney, and the gold is hand-spun from merino roving I bought in NH. Very excited about the way the gold gleams through the grey. We see this colour range a lot in late fall in Maine.

I'm also trying to hone my designing skills. Here's a little sample I came up with, holding two yarns together & working in stockinette. (one commercial yarn, one my Romney). I love the way it appears to form a pattern, just because the mohair I used and the Romney both have beautiful fuzzy bloom.

Washing & drying more Romney now in the cool, fresh wind that we're being treated to here today.

More soon!

OPEN FARM DAY IN MAINE

2010-07-25T14:50:00.000-07:00

A glorious summer's day here in Maine, and farms throughout the state were open to visitors. We managed Brae Maple, Agricola, Hawes and Guinni Ridge farms in Union, before visiting Sweet Season Farm Cafe here in Washington for lobster rolls and ginger ice cream.

At Brae Maple I met a bunch of spinners who graciously invited me to sit and knit (I didn't bring a wheel), then I went down to Agricola and bought some lovely black alpaca yarn. At Guinni Ridge we looked at the Katahdin & Suffolk sheep, and I bought some white roving (Corriedale & Romney blend). Definitely would like to carry roving at Village Books and talked it up a bit with the spinners.

At Hawes Farm we bought some beautiful French green beans and small red potatoes (which we were going to have for dinner until I got the lobster roll/ice cream idea).

All in all, very satisfying day. And now to my spinning wheel! Do you think spinning will burn off those calories?

The Fiber Side of Village Books: Check it out!

2010-06-11T06:18:00.000-07:00

Don't forget to stop by The Fiber Side blog here for the latest on gently used fiber & textile books. We only carry the best, in the best condition and you'll pay a lot less! Plus, you'll be supporting a Maine independent bookstore & small business.

Alice Starmore

Fiber Frolic, Windsor Maine, 2010

2010-06-08T10:30:00.000-07:00

The animals were the stars of this year's Frolic, especially the cashmere, Finn, and Angora kids, who let me hold & stroke them. Melted my heart! Chris Leith of Eggemoggin Textile Studio was our fantastic neighbor to one side. Beautiful silks and handwovens! I also got to meet knitting maven Mary Jane Mucklestone, a real delight. My knitting circle, The Washington Handcrafters, were out in force, doing their part to boost the economy. Congratulations to Janet Eckhard of Burkettsville, who won first place for her cashmere wristlets in the first ever Make It With Fiber in Maine contest, juried by Mary Bird of Fiber Maine-ia fame.

During quiet moments in the Knitting Out Loud booth, Kathy & I worked at our knitting, of course! I've gotten this far with my Shetland Nemesis shawl:

Added 4 rows of Fair Isle just to get crazy:

When my hands got tired, I began my search for my FF knit bomb target. I finally settled on Golding Spindles. This company's booth always gleams like a jewelry store. The spindles are one of the holy grails of
handspinners - truly beautiful, functional works of art. But Seth, minding the booth alone, seemed restless during the quiet stretches. "My duty to cheer him up", I thought. Soooo...

Golding's cunningly designed seller's stand received a friendly decoration. Seth was intrigued and amused. So I taught him to knit!

Being a clever lad, he caught on right away & settled in to help with the knitting of a future "bomb".

You may be next!

Watch for Knitting Out Loud in Manchester, NH at the Knitting Guild of America conference July 9-10.

Knit In Public Day, Washington, Maine

2010-06-07T07:45:00.000-07:00

There will be a celebration of World Wide Knit In Public Day at Village Books on June 12th from 10 am - 1 pm. Join us to knit (or sit) and for a potluck lunch! If it rains, we'll take over the shop & house.

Anyone interested in contibuting to the Washington Village Knit Bomb Project** should let Karen know! Squares, swatches, and unwanted handknits eagerly accepted.

Village Books, 18 Waldoboro Rd, Washington, Maine (Rt 220)
FMI: 207-845-2133.

** The Washington Village Knit Bomb Project is the brain child of Karen Jelenfy, who is determined to bring glory to our humble town! First target: the old Silvia's Market site!

Read us in The Free Press!

2010-06-02T10:56:00.000-07:00

My Life With Knitters will be available online in the Free Press as often as I can get to it!

Up first, my interview with Kathy Goldner of Knitting Out Loud fame.

Stay tuned for interviews, pictures, fair & festival reports and other handcrafters' concerns.

Unnecessary Struggles

2010-05-30T09:39:00.000-07:00

My mind is buzzing with new projects - from paintings to public sculptures. All of these include knitting or other needlework, of course. This morning I sat in Village Books awaiting the "Sunday morning rush" & trying to jam a gesso'd canvas into a large (but flimsy) embroidery hoop. (Don't ask...)

And it set me thinking.

As an artist and as a woman, I'm constantly trying to do things that require more than two hands. Stretching canvasses, walking two goats, knitting my Shetland shawl together, frying 14 cheeseburgers for the crew at work...you get the picture. How is it that we have all arrived at this place in time where we mostly are on our own? I think of the people I know who farm alone. We run businesses alone. Alone, my husband cuts down large trees in the forest. We drive long distances alone. Build sheds alone. Sometimes we raise children alone.

Long ago, when farming thrived and clothes were made by weaving or knitting and paints were hand-ground, humans were surrounded by EACH OTHER. And helping was part of what one did. Nowadays, we have to force ourselves outside of our little spheres and contact each other - by mail (snail or e), by phone, by Facebook, by blog, by walking up the street, by driving across town.

It's harder. But not impossible. So I tell myself: don't forget to ask for help. Don't forget your neighbors. Don't be afraid to grab a surly teenager & request assistance. Don't go into the forest alone. There is no need.

Think I'll call Kathy.

Shetland Knitting

2010-05-18T08:32:00.000-07:00

In solidarity with experienced and fledgling knitters in Shetland, I've taken back up the "monster shawl" project, a pattern in the beautiful book Country Weekend Knits by Madeline Weston. (This is the opposite side to what's posted on my KnitVision Ravelry site) Shetland knitting & its traditions are being threatened for the usual reason : MONEY. A mere 130,000 pounds will be saved by cutting the now free knitting lessons provided by Shetland schools. School children and other citizens from all over the world have written to the Shetland newspapers in protest.

It is rumoured that mega yarn merchants, Jamieson & Smith, are doing something to help out. I hope this is true.
In Shetland, knitting is a WAY OF LIFE and PROVIDES INCOME - it is no fad.

Find a gorgeous, traditional Shetland pattern in a book or on Ravelry and start knitting. Post your thoughts here! Use as much homespun as you can.

LOOK! UNBELIEVABLE!

2010-05-12T05:02:00.000-07:00

http://whiteliesknits.wordpress.com/2010/05/10/vintage-boudior-fashion-video/

This is what I'm doing RIGHT NOW.

Why is this SO MUCH FUN?

2010-05-11T08:13:00.000-07:00

A Rest Stop in Maine

Dunkin' Donuts in Henniker, NH

NH Sheep & Wool Festival 2010

The Kearns's house in Derry, NH

Merrimack County Savings, Hopkinton, NH

A child at the S&H Festival

Four years old

Sharing the warmth with a friend

Motorcycle at McDonald's in Augusta

Ode to the Festival Folk

2010-05-11T06:23:00.000-07:00

Kathy Goldner: freezing but still cheery!

Having just gotten back from the New Hampshire Sheep & Wool Festival in Hopkinton, NH, I'd like to devote this morning to the hardy men & women who devote their lives to freezing their asses off at these events. These sturdy people risk their sanity month after month to bring you & me fleece & other beautiful, handmade things. For two days, as part of the Knitting Out Loud team, I watched & listened as our neighbors patiently and winningly recited their mantras. Generous Sue Carey of Marble Meadows, the unflaggingly cheerful Nancy Brome of Hair of the Dog, spinner & knitter deluxe Eileen McCormick of Prairie Wind and Sarah Pollock & husband at Spinner's Warren all helped us not to slit our throats in despair and fend off the vicious wind gusts & rain in the open-ended barn to which we'd all been assigned. (There was some brisk :) business in fingerless mitts and alpaca socks, I assure you!) Check over at the Knitting out Loud blog where I'm sure Kathy Goldner, so much more organized than I, has pictures of beautiful wool & blue noses & fingers.

Now back in Maine, where it remains in the upper 30's, I am happy to be typing in front of the woodstove. But these heroes of the handmade nation must not go unsung!

More later... ( I yarn bombed a CHILD!)

Karen

Guerilla Knitting on the Road

2010-04-26T06:00:00.000-07:00

Kennebunk, Maine Rest Stop South Rt 95

Cracker Barrel, Rt 84 just inside Massachusetts heading north again

Rest Stop Kennebunk, ME, heading north on Rt 95

Pattern used:

Cast on 34 stitches (I used size US8 single point needles) and work in K1,P1 rib for five rows. Increase one stitch at both ends of row 6, which is knit. Purl Row 7. Continue in stockinette stitch for three more rows, ending on wrong side. Increase one stitch at either end of Row 11, using K1, P1 rib. Row 2-5 are worked in K1, P1 rib. Row 6: Bind off loosely in rib pattern. Use extra yarn to sew into an open-ended cylinder.

Use bright colors! Be happy! Spread knitted joy!

This is a quick & easy knitted coffee cup cozy that makes an excellent "pop-over" knit bomb ready-made. You need open-ended poles to install these if you decide to sew them up prior to installation - or you can leave the piece open until bombing time. (I tend to bomb in full daylight so I favor sewing & swift placement.) These also make cute cuffs just to wear on your wrist. Of course, anything goes yarn-wise, length-wise, width-wise etc. Just play! Make yourself smile! Others will too!

Thanks to Knitting Out Loud for transportation, laughs & encouragement over the past year. If you find out where to buy Yak Butter Tea, Kathy, I'm going along for the ride!

Sweater Quest by Adrienne Martini

2010-04-19T10:57:00.000-07:00

Needles in hand, I cast on 357 stitches. I count again - 359. No problem. I rip two stitches out. Count again - 356. Cast on another - 356. Again. Crap. Pull needle out of work & unravel all of it, because my counting mojo is not on my side. Steps must be taken. p.75

Ms. Martini had me at the opening sentence: "Had I not discovered knitting, I would not be the paragon of sanity that I am today." But the above quotation from deeper within the book nails it. This is me and my knitting as of April 2010. My "counting mojo" has abandoned me. Luckily, I had Sweater Quest on my bedside table the week my left brain decided to shut down. Reading about the author's "Year of Knitting Dangerously" was just the tonic my sore knitter's heart needed.

In the book, a memoir, Martini's tackling an Alice Starmore sweater, the Tudor Rose. Never in my wildest dreams would I try such a thing, but being a book dealer who has seen a few Starmore books come & go, I know how incredibly beautiful & complex a Starmore sweater is. I am in awe. Then I'm jealous - because, along the way, Martini gets to hang out (have a sleepover even!) with Ann Shayne & Kay Gardiner of Mason-Dixon Knitting fame and Stephanie Pearl McPhee, the Yarn Harlot. (And Clara Parkes sounds exactly as I imagine her.) The sweater goes everywhere, receiving oohs & ahs as it grows ...and grows...and grows. Whether it fits or even gets finished is for me to know & you to find out when you read this delightful book.

Sweater Quest made me laugh out loud. That will, I'm sure, go a long way towards luring my recalcitrant knitting skills back from their unscheduled vacation. Short version: buy or borrow this book!

Black Locust Farm, Washington, Maine in Spring

2010-04-16T12:34:00.000-07:00

Up at Black Locust farm here in Washington, the babies are starting to be born! Cindy & I got to hold this one day old kid.

Adorable AND cashmere!

This farm has become one of my favorite places in the world. I just sat down in the field with the does & wethers and listened & watched.

Next time I'll bring my sketchbook.

www.blacklocust.com

Visit My Other Blog

2010-04-13T07:30:00.000-07:00

Please see today's blog at www.villagebooksmaine.blogspot.com. This is where my head's at these past three weeks or so... And my knitting is suffering. How do you knit garter again?

A Goodly Group: Knit In at Waterfall Arts

2010-04-04T09:39:00.000-07:00

Look at these wonderful people! All of them trusted me to lead them down the path of 3-D, free form knitting! Bravo to all!

Knit-In with Karen Jelenfy

2010-03-30T06:58:00.000-07:00

Nest for Katie's Sister

Don't forget to join me this Saturday, April 3rd, At the Clifford Gallery, Waterfall Arts, Belfast, Maine 10 am - Noon. I'll be sharing my methods of basic 3-D knitting and talking about how I moved from painting to knitting over the last four years. I'd love to listen to YOUR stories too! Bring whatever you're working on or come empty handed - we'll get you started. There will be camaraderie and interesting yarn - bring your own sticks!

Free & open to all ages. See you there!

Waterfall Arts
256 High St
Belfast, ME
207-338-2222

Bombing East Baltimore

2010-03-27T09:47:00.000-07:00

Somewhere on E. Biddle St.

Baltimore, Maryland

March 2010

We've Been Bombed!!

2010-03-07T07:47:00.000-08:00

The Target

DONE!

AND THEN...

bombing "the clubhouse"!

2010-03-05T16:55:00.000-08:00

Look at what sprang forth! Guess this is where the nests are taking me next...

Up at last!

2010-03-05T07:57:00.000-08:00

Here's a glimpse of the completed installation of Swifts & Swallows by Katie Wolfrum & Karen Jelenfy.

Katie getting started...

Karen overcomes her fear of ladders....AGAIN

DONE! See you at the opening! 5-8 pm tonight! Exhibit runs through April 23rd.

Watch for posting of a public knit-in event in the gallery during the run of the show.

KOLOTR (Knock Out Lord of the Rings??? um no - Knitting Out Loud on the Road!)

2010-03-02T08:06:00.000-08:00

Here we have the lovely ladies of Starcroft Fiber Mill, Leah Estell (left) & Jani Estell (right). We were very naughty in their booth, frolicking amongst the juicy yarn and calling one and all over to frolic too. A worthy Maine enterprise indeed, Starcroft uses the "fog washed' fleeces of Nash Island sheep, sheared by local women. The wool is gently washed & spun at Starcroft, then hand-dyed using colors inspired by the Nash Island landscape.

THINK WE BOUGHT ANY?

Do check out their website here and continue your support of small, local businesses. Leah & Jani also were just about the nicest folks we met, out of a whole slew of very nice people.

Now this little bit of Americana is the motel where we stayed. Kathy & I were particularly appreciative of the little bush in it's square hole, so stalwart & severely pruned. Later we realized that we had three times the space in our inexpensive room as the people down in the Freeport hotels did in their hi-falutin' ones. A bit of smugness set in, I confess.

The Old Maine, disappearing fast...

NETA Knit, Spin, Spa

Kathy is meticulous about her booth and passionate in her promotion of knitting literature via Knitting Out Loud. The three year old business is becoming well-known in fiber circles. The newest release, Wild Fibers, sold quickly. We heard some fascinating stories from the many artists who stopped by.

The handknits being modelled at every turn were extraordinary too. Here's my pick for best blend of yarn & pattern:

Although the Starcroft ladies also scored big with this pattern, the Nash Island Sweater in their Nash Island L obster Bake yarn:

And finally, my favorite thing about the whole weekend: THE FREE TABLE!!
Kathy wasn't piggish (as I was) confining herself to this lovely little Fair Isle vest:

I got TWO WHOLE BOXES of stash & magazines & needles and some strange objects. If you know what these are and can more or less prove it, you win a free knitting book from Village Books:

Comment here or email me at kjelenfy@fairpoint.net with your guess.

More soon & happy spring knitting,

Karen

Last Push!

2010-02-25T06:34:00.000-08:00

Katie & I met for our last work session at good ol' Zoot this past Tuesday. The large waterfall painting was finished (have to go to the show to see it) and only two nests remain to be knitted. All of the artists will hang the show next Wednesday & Thursday in the Clifford Gallery at Waterfall Arts in Belfast. Until then, Katie and I have a concept, but no SOLID idea what Swifts & Swallows will actually look like! Just part of the thrill of doing installation art!

Come be surprised with us next Friday, March 5th, when the exhibit opens, from 6-9 pm. I'm planning on selling the individual nests for $4.00 apiece as a donation to support Waterfall's great "Branching Out" program.
Hope to see you there!

Now I'm off to "help out" at the NETA Knit, Spin & Spa this weekend in Freeport. I'll be travelling with Kathy of Knitting Out Loud. Really looking forward to this & hope to see some of you there! Check out NETA's site for details.

So this is what it's s'posed to do!

2010-02-17T07:19:00.000-08:00

ENLIGHTENMENT HAS BEEN ACHIEVED!

Reggae Shawl

2010-02-14T10:07:00.000-08:00

This shawl is starting to look like it listens to Bob Marley & smokes ganga!

It even has dreads!

Goats & Birds

2010-02-14T09:02:00.000-08:00

MY GIRLS: Lucy & Winnie

Cashmere combing has commenced. Lucy is the main producer so far. Neither of them thinks it's a lot of fun - but a handful of grain helps. Yvonne Taylor of Black Locust Farm is helping with advice. In March we'll go over to her place & help comb.

Bird-wise, Katie & I flapped on yesterday in a pretty crowded Zoot, painting & knitting respectively. There are now 15 "nests", one finished drawing/watercolor and another large watercolor well on its way.
The opening reception at Waterfall Arts is Friday, March 5th, 5-8 pm. The Taking Wing exhibit will be on view until April 23rd.

Mentor: Kathy Goldner, of Knitting Out Loud

2010-02-09T08:26:00.001-08:00

Of the many things I do each week in the winter to bring in money, my favorite is the work I do for Knitting Out Loud, a small audio book company based here in Maine.

Kathy Goldner, founder and owner of KOL, has been one of my closest friends for too many years to contemplate. She married my husband's closest friend, then curmudgeon, now deluxe spouse, Scott Moore.

Every year we'd make the trek to coastal Maine from no matter where we lived (California, Maryland) and stay with these two wonderful & talented people. They always tried to talk us into moving to Maine; and we always tried to comply - but it wasn't until 2004 that we actually made it happen.. By then both couples had one irascible girl-child each (who proceeded to bond and add to the general enlightened chaos).

Nowadays, as you may have gathered, I find myself taking knitting very, very seriously. This is Kathy Goldner's fault. To pay her back, I'm going to publish here, for the first time, my interview with this knitting maven, good friend and successful businesswoman.

I spoke with MY KNITTING MENTOR, Kathy Goldner, by phone in October 2009. There was a lot of laughter during this conversation, which I've edited out for the sake of brevity...

MLWK: How did you get started knitting?

KG: My grandmother taught me as a teenager. I remember the usual scarf that started out one size & ended up another. Then I don't remember knitting anything until I was in my 20's. I worked with a woman who knitted. I knit a sweater for a boyfriend. I just go from one cliche to another! (I did dump HIM, so it makes it better.) Another friend taught me how to knit socks, so I knit one & gave it to my mother. I never knit the other one. My mother has one sock.

Two years ago, a friend gave me a very beautiful ball of yarn & I knit a scarf. Elisabeth, my daughter, took it. I was so thrilled that I'd knitted something somebody actually wanted! So I went to buy more yarn & the yarn store blew me away.

MLWK: What do love about knitting?

KG: The yarn, the colors & the textures. The fact is that if orange is not a popular color and you want an orange sweater, you have to knit the damn thing! Because I have this company (Knitting Out Loud) I don't have a lot of time to knit. I knit a lot of small things to give to people.

MLWK: What about your mother's other sock?

KG: Mom can't wear wool next to her skin! But I knit her a blanket, a hat & a scarf.

I also like the creative aspect of knitting.

MLWK: What's happening with KOL these days?

KG: In the works are "Arctic Lace" (Spring '10 release) featuring quiviot, musk ox and Native American cooperatives in Alaska & their knitting.

"Knitting America" by Susan Strawn will come out this winter. It's another history of American knitting. And "Wild Fibers" magazine editor Linda Cortwright will be reading articles that are no longer in print. They're just wonderful! She travels all around the world.
"Knitting for Peace" will come out this winter too.

NOTE: While MLWK was diddling around, the lovely "Knitting Yarns & Spinning Tales" was released, featuring a reading by Meg Swansen.

MLWK: What do you wish you could make?

KG: I love making clothes. I just wish I had more time! I knit at night and when I come to a problem like armholes, I have to wait 'til morning when I can trot across the street to Purple Fleece and have Debbie help me!
MLWK: How does your family view your knitting?

KG: Because I have a business doing it, it makes it more acceptable. My daughter thinks it's eccentric. My husband makes things with his hands - he gets that. He is a person who thinks it's necessary to make things with his hands.

MLWK: Talk some about your other huge project, History of Western Literature for kids.

KG: It's a literature program for elementary students that I developed & ran full time until the funding ran out. Teachers then asked parents to fund me so I could come back. It's a very hands-on program - I bring in objects & models. We do projects like Medieval rubbings from a knight's gravestone. (Scott's mother gave this to us!)

MLWK: Final comments?

KG: I find it very odd the way I feel grabbed and drawn by knitting. It's comforting somehow - like a wood fire.

NOTE: Knitting Out Loud has an umbrella company called Out Loud Audio Books. Upcoming in Cooking Out Loud selections are South Wind Through the Kitchen: The Best of Elizabeth David; The Book of Jewish Food and The Taste of Country by Edna Lewis.

Oh and Village Books carries them all!!

Shetland Monster & Taking Wing

2010-02-06T09:46:00.001-08:00

The Shetland Monster Shawl

The book that makes me want to be a better knitter, Country Weekend Knits by Madeline Weston (St Martin's Griifin, 2008), includes a pattern for the Old Shell Shetland Shawl. In this free adaptation (which I am knitting for myself) I am choosing colorways that reflect both my stash and the natural colors on the coast of Maine. I call the shawl "Monster" because it is growing into an unruly lap warmer, with a strong personality. The softer, kinder version in Country Weekend makes my shawl look downright feral. I'll be knitting it, by the way, for the rest of my days...

In other news, the Taking Wing project is still flapping along. Above is a better shot of the nest/bait bag hybrid. Katie & I had some great working

time again yesterday at Zoot, where a lurking lad took our picture. He wasn't THAT young, actually. He turned out to be Robin, the artist responsible for the terrfic exhibit of black & white photos currently on display in Zoot.

Katie & I are creating a "Bird Paradise", and in this photo we're working on the imaginary landscape that Katie designed as a backdrop for the nests. We're thinking of it as an installation, with elements on the wall & suspended from the ceiling. What do you think, Martha?

More when I replenish my batteries, both in the camera & in my body.

Happy knitting or whatever creative act you're committing!

Karen

Bird Struggles!!!

2010-02-03T07:04:00.001-08:00

This "nest" is knit in the round then sewn to a discarded & torn lobster bait bag. Seems like something a bird might pick up as building material.

A sketch of a cliff swallow in its early stages. This bird don't want to appear!!! Color may help....

THERE!

Katie in my Studio/House

2010-01-27T09:05:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I brought Katie out to my house

to see the studio and Village Books
and to meet the goats. Eventually we got to work. You'll have to wait a little longer for the paintings - yesterday we put a wash on the Arches paper and did some preliminary sketching. You can see Katie working away in the photos. I drew a bit and knitted too. The nests (see above) are increasing in numbers & complexity as I get drawn further & further into the process of knitting them.

Thanks, everyone, for all the comments! By next week there will be paintings to show!

Working at Zoot

2010-01-26T15:39:00.000-08:00

Here's Katie this past Saturday, working on a prototype for our "Taking Wing" project. We both came up with imaginary landscapes in watercolor pencil. I knitted a bit. Caffeine was ingested.

Later we went over to Rockport Blueprint and bought luscious Arches paper on which to do the final paintings.

Today we met at my studio and began to paint. I was knitting too, of course...

Look at this lovely thing I found!

2010-01-26T03:21:00.000-08:00

Minnesota Poetry: Eireann Lorsung's "Knitting"

Posted at 8:31 AM on January 25, 2010 by Marianne Combs (1 Comments)
Filed under: Minnesota Poets, Poetry

Éireann Lorsung's poetry reflects a love of craft; not just the craft of poetry, but her love of textiles, dressmaking, and paper. Lorsung's artistic talents are not limited to being a wordsmith; she also used to have her own line of clothing and now creates prints and drawings. Lorsung was born in Minneapolis and earned in MFA in writing and her BAs in English and Japanese from the University of Minnesota. You can find out more about Lorsung at her website, ohbara.com.

Knitting

When are you coming back to stand in front fo the window?
(I heard you whistling last night. Cars pass me by all day,

waves circling the enormous globe.)
So much is left out, I'm knitting a pattern without

stitches, without needles, only long fingerbones
to carry yarn. There was something buried

the night I left Eau Claire for good, and I never knew
how it would grow. Now your childhood friends

are my students, I walk past houses you lived in
without my knowledge and your scent trails

from abondoned bakeries. Whole warehouses
have been invented to catalogue want like this.

I go on knitting night and day because I don't know
any other thing. All unknits by darkness

into twine birds use piece by piece. What secret
name can I call you? What adventure are you on tonight?

There is forgetting in the density of raw new wool,
yarn shop one block from your apartment,

the cheap scarf - you don't value things
because you never make them. Moon over the whitening world

sharpens spindle, windowframe. The sash
is pulled, seam is set: without material, there is no map.

Taking Wing - Hand Knitting & Nests

2010-01-22T05:44:00.000-08:00

The first "nest" for the Taking Wing Exhibit at Waterfall Arts in Belfast, Maine is knittted from viscose + cotton yarn. It measures about 6" long, not including the strands, which will remain. I like the "dangly" look!

Here's another, using a variegated cotton yarn. Same approximate dimensions.

Most of this yarn was donated to the project by my good friend, Toni, knitter & spinner extraordinaire. Thanks, Toni!!!

The current plan is that the nests will vary wildly in color, a little less wildly in shape and only a little in size. My partner, Katie, will provide a beautiful painted & drawn backdrop in front of which the nests will hang.
Hoping for at least 20 nests!

More to follow after my first working meeting with Katie tomorrow!

OTE (overtaken by events)

2010-01-20T15:52:00.000-08:00

Yep, that's me. But, lots of knitting & knitters were included in the events that overtook me. I've been lost in a cowl fetish - fast to knit, as beautiful as jewelry, and the perfect Maine winter-wear. Many thanks to Ballantine, who shared a favorite pattern with me.

Right now I'm using up a lot of scratchy odds and ends of wool & other fibers to make "bird houses". These will be part of an installation I'm doing with my 12 year old partner, Katie, over at Waterfall Arts in Belfast, Maine in March. Katie & I are studying cliff swallows and chimney swifts, birds that are in danger in the area's watershed. My contribution is a bunch of hand knit "nests" in all kinds of colors & textures to hang in front of a sunset backdrop painted by Katie.

Pictures to follow!!! I promise! And more about knitters WHO ARE NOT ME...

Karen

The Teacher: Roxanne Jelenfy

2009-10-19T07:20:00.000-07:00

We all remember our first knitting teacher - that special person who now seems vaguely like a, well, drug-pusher, or other evil being who desired my very soul...No wait, for MOST people, a beloved grandmother or mother was the teacher of knitting (this, according to the Book of Ravelry). But for me, it was a 12 year old girl, in the living room of our first house in Maine - a rental house decked in Landlord 1971 carpets & wall colors - our first warm haven during a winter where 4-5 feet of snow fell & NEVER melted til the end of March.

I guess it must've been a Christmas gift: The Klutz book of Knitting, by Anne Akers Johnson.
This is where we start our interview with Roxanne Jelenfy, my daughter, now almost 17 years old.

Who taught you how to knit?
Mom bought a book & I couldn't figure out how to do it by myself. Stephanie Thostenson, the mother of my friend Erin, taught me. I wanted to learn how to make my own scarves. I liked the way yarn felt & looked.

What's your favorite yarn?
The nice, soft kind! Any classic shade or sparkly yarn.

Have you continued to knit?
Knitting isn't so much a serious thing as a thing to do while watching TV.

At this point in the interview, Roxanne, who is styling grunge these days, thumbs through her recently acquired pile of vintage records, & puts on The Doors...

Do you have anything to say about how seriously your mom has taken this whole knitting thing? Isn't she sort of...obsessed?
NO COMMENT!

Tell our readers about your infamous crochet ball. Do you still have it?
Yeah, it's up in my room. I learned how to crochet in Montessori School when I was 7 or 8. The older kids in the school taught us. I only learned how to do a chain, so I just kept on doing that. When I stopped, the crochet ball was about the size of a small globe.

Which do you like better, crocheting or knitting?
Knitting.

Do you have anything else you want to tell us?
Yes! I need a pattern for a slouchy beret. In the words of the Beatles, "HELP!"