no wrist for the wicked.

2011 has been a long, strenuous and daunting year with no end in sight. in fact, it seems very likely that 2011 will still be happening well into 2012. carpal tunnel syndrome is not on the to-do list, though. that is why one of my lone personal craft projects this month was to crochet a duo of wrist wrest for myself and my sweetie. made with scrap yarn and stuffed with scrap fabric, they are basically a free solution to a growing problem we were both lamenting. and they work like a charm (so we can keep working like beasts of burden). it is amazing how much gets done in the current world at the flick of the wrist.

yarn dazzle.

just look at this aghan my friend trixie is working on. she even sent me on my way with a square so i could be mesmerized while i travel onward to germany.

soft spots.

how is it that all my friends are popping out babies these days? this little crocheted bonnet has been submitted for the approval of little zora. we shall see if it ends up tossed into the montreal now or not. congrats to both baby and mum!

heart attack!

thanks to a request from michelle, i spent a little time last night fooling around with crocheting hearts. using this ingenious pattern, i had a great time playing with different options and a few mild variations of my own. i also finally got to learn the easy and gratifying magic ring technique. if there is some level of interest, i may make a few variations of this for the love & rummage trunk show. either way, they make great valentines.

renewal notice.

photo by garth johnson

i was offline so long that i neglected to mention my involvement in renewal notice, a group show curated by garth johnson on the topic of reuse. the exhibition runs in conjunction with this year's american conservation film festival in shepherdstown, west virginia.

the show (and garth's presence at the festival) are related to his book, 1000 ideas for creative reuse. i have to admit that none of my work is in the book. i considered submitting some work when the call was out but was feeling gunshy after an entirely unrelated and strange experience with another publication. i now regret my hermit-like reticence as garth has become a good friend who i consider to be exceptionally thoughtful when it comes to art, craft and intellectual pursuit. he is a veritable bridge of a man, linking various worlds that tend to misunderstand one another (art, craft, academia).

my contributions to the exhibition are a small sampling of plastic bag models from the toronto hyperbolic crochet coral reef (pictured above, right) and a selection of buttons from the security envelope project (not pictured). i could not be happier to be involved. thank you, garth.

renewal notice has a brief run from yesterday (november 4) through november 7, 2010. if you re in the area, you might want to go check it out.

how much is that polygon in the window?

sunny days = glare.

but here it is, my triangle in the window. it's only at the knit cafe for the rest of the month, so go check it out!

while i was taking it, that first picture there reminded me of serena's picture of main street, bruno. serena's picture is grander than mine, but it's so rare to get a 'main street, bruno' feeling in big ol' toronto.

out of the hive (and visible to the street).

it's finally up! my headaches are still with me and this shift in temperature really explains it. the first big crochet triangle thing from my hive series project found its way to the knit cafe's window on this drizzly afternoon.

it was too soggy out and my head hurt too much to take more pictures. i will have to come back on a nicer day. but here it is. go visit! say hi! stare and scratch your head!

suggestions of direction.

"go that way," it says.

today i was lucky enough to make a date to meet up with karyn at the workroom earlyish. she let me use the cutting table to figure out the layout of my big triangle of triangles (barring any emergency big cutting, that is). it was such a boon to have a wide open space that isn't my home in which to contemplate the possible colour configurations. and karyn is no slouch when it comes to colour, palette and layout, either, so i felt i would have a safety net should i encounter any panics.

this thing is supposed to go up in the window of the knit cafe in two days. i have been riddled with migraines recently and experiencing some serious back pain from all the sewing, so we will see how it goes. i feel like i can gauge the changes in barometric pressure with my cranial blood vessels. i'd really rather not have this dubious gift, though. it's getting in the way of my triangular visions for the world.

now back to sewing, when what i really want to do is flop down on the workroom floor. someone's got the right idea...

ps - karyn also took some pictures of my layout and somehow they are way cheerier than mine. you can poke around through them round about here. thanks, karyn!

peaks.

did you know that twin peaks (the best thing ever to appear on television) is twenty years old? twin peaks had a lot to do with me becoming an actor (and nothing to do with me mostly quitting).

but that kind of has nothing to do with how i start hats more than i finish them. sometimes, i just run out of harmonizing colours and have to wait. the one on the far left is made from the yarn i just spun, the little one is made of a plying example that kristyn gave me and the other one is scratchy lopi that nobody but me will ever love. maybe i should give up on hats. when i look at their beginnings like this, i just want to crochet a mountain range.

then i could live in its shadow, eat pie, tuck my blouses into my skirts, smell like a pulp mill and possess dark secrets. i should pull those dvd's out again.

ply to me.

i realized i hadn't yet taken any pictures of my plied yarn, so here are a few as the last scraps make their way into my replacement wool elf hat.

a) in super macro, yarn starts to look a little gross.

b) all that roving only spun into enough bulky yarn for the peak of the hat (which looks like a little mountain sitting on my kitchen table). does anyone have any more roving in these natural greys/blacks? i am not too picky about matching but am really into the idea of spinning all the yarn for my new hat. anyone? anyone local?

one hundred!

no image, just a quick note to say that i completed by 100th crocheted triangle today over tea and chats with shannon and tara. we are forming something of a crochet support triad, so it was an appropriate place to house this milestone. and now the piecing and stitching begins. have a good weekend.

secrets revealed (or of cats and bags)

okay, here it is. this is a first laying-down of the first piece for this big crochet project i have been dreaming of/hooking up. named 'hive series,' the project should eventually encompass a collection of pieces. i am not sure how many, yet. this first one is still a few triangles short (and the stitching is going to be equally laborious to the crochet, i presume), but it was pretty thrilling to see so much of it together.

the possible configurations are mind-boggling, so i think my end layout will probably have more to do with fate than planning (fatalism being a character flaw of mine).

so...there. something.

weird project nearing turning point.

i have almost 100 triangles made. is anyone following this cryptic progress? anyway, i have another hint: a first iteration of this thing will be on display in the window of the knit cafe for the month of april. that's where this current push has come from.

truly, all this secrecy has come from my own lack of clarity about what i am doing. as my own fog lifts, yours will, too...ifever you are.

making in public.

tonight, i found my way out of my nest/cave to catch the last half of the workroom's monthly stitch and bitch. serah-marie and i had lots to chat about as she worked on an afghan and i crocheted more triangles. i. am. al. most. there. 94 done. 100 to go.

thanks, karyn, for giving me excuses to get out of the nest/cave.

three point turn.

here is a bowl of crocheted triangles in a future terrarium. i currently have 70 out of the 100 triangles i need for this mysterious thing i am making.

i can give you a hint, though. it has something to do with this.

hooking up.

man, i love crochet.

this is another new neck warmer. i am probably going to bring them to the erotic arts and crafts fair this weekend and then divide the rest up between good catch and etsy.

but man, i love crochet.

travelling warmth.

here is a custom neck warmer i made for my friend bob who is now on his way to europe for a six week tour. he makes music and you might like it. i do. also, he sometimes tours with a video of a movie of a puppet show i made for him. i can't guarantee he's bringing it on this tour, but it's pretty cool if he is. you europeans should go check him out.

stay warm on those german and finnish nights, bobby!

a point in every direction.

...is the same as no point at all.

serena came over this afternoon and helped earn her new hat (which she has already earned) by doing some modelling. look at all the ways you can wear your elf hats! two ways. don't they looks better on heads?

thank you, serena, for being my lovely model.

serena actually came over the interview me and aitor for her indie artist blog residency at broken pencil. we were chatting about all citizens, small places, travelling the continent and walking into books. the article should go live sometime tonight.

hat attack!

i finally finagled some proper lighting to photograph the elf hats i have been making for the love and rummage trunk show. they are surprisingly picky to photograph (i guess i really need some model shots; they look so much better on people). as with all of my crochet designs, i have done a bit of revamping and codifying for 2010. here are a couple of icy peaks i made inspired by winter and valentine's day...

palette society.

...just a picture of a pile of triangles. i am thinking about colour palettes for this new mysterious thing i am working on. i think i am calling the piece 'hive series', though. so...i have figured that much out. also, i think this first incarnation will be six feet tall.