2013 Sock Challenge

I once knitted a pair of socks a long time ago, just one pair, and it took me all year. I was not an enthusiastic knitter, then or now. The socks (I did finish them!) have felted and thickened in washing, so they’re more like slippers now than socks. I didn’t know to look for superwash wool, if they even had it for knitters then. Altogether, not a good experience and it’s a sad thing too. I learned knitting from my mom, who would knit up our Christmas stockings in the fall. I still use double point needles for hats and wristlets, they just feel more natural than circulars.

From a functional standpoint, I go through a lot of department store socks. And increasingly, they are made of non-breathing materials and sprout holes and tears in the toe seams within a year. Cheap materials and factory made, but not a good bargain. I understand that a good knitter can turn out a pair of socks in a day or two. I could really use a dozen well-made socks. I could really use a dozen well-made socks in my favorite colors too. Surely, sock knitting is a learnable skill. So says Robyn, and I’ve watched a series of sock newbies turn out lovely socks in her classes (see photo below).

So my New Year’s resolution - and Nice Threads’ 2013 Sock Challenge - is to learn to make socks with Cat Bordhi’s technique in one of Robyn’s classes and then go on to make a pair of socks by February 15th. And then a pair each month thereafter. I’ll post the results on our FB page, warts and all, but hopefully we’ll see an improvement from the first to the twelfth.

A lovely sock in progress, made by Barbara from hand-dyed superwash merino yarn in last year's Personal Footprint sock class.

In making this resolution, I’ll be taking my own advice - Make at least 3 of everything! Only in this case, it will be 12, so 4 times as much trial and error, bad technique discovered and experimentation applied. 4 times as many tries as it takes to get it right. In that view, I can relax a bit about making my first pair perfect.

One of the beauties of Cat Bordhi’s technique is that it works with all weights of yarn. That means that all twelve socks can be completely different but I’ll be working the same pattern. My first pair of socks will be of bulky yarn so it will go faster and I won’t have to squint to see the stitches. I don’t know about diamond patterns and lace cuffs, but I’m sure my twelfth pair will be made out of that smooth, glossy superwash/silk yarn I sell to sock knitters at the the shop. And notice that I’m saying my twelfth pair and not my last - I am planning to be a sock knitter from here on out.

I hope you will join me! You can ask to schedule Robyn’s class anytime you are ready, or just drop in between 1pm and 2pm on Saturdays to get started. You need an hour to get the beginning information and then an hour to make your first rounds under Robyn's discerning eye, and then you can go home and finish the sock on your own. You can always make quick visits to Nice Threads for advice and repairs.


But you can also get the book and work along with us in your far-flung, but internet connected homes. A link is below and on our website, to Amazon for Personal Footprints for Insouciant Sock Knitters by Cat Bordhi, our source material. I promise you, it will be worth a book and a year of sock-making. (Who knows, you may perfect your sock knitting by May) I promise to share my sock-making insights along with all 12 pairs of good, bad and ugly, so at the least, check in to our Facebook page for updates.

If you are joining the challenge, upload photos of your socks to our Facebook wall or just send us a message and we’ll repost it. A prize will be given to the person who posts the most socks in the year. And maybe there are some intrepid experts out there who could make a pair of socks every two weeks. Amaze and inspire us and post your socks too!

Thanks and lets get knitting!
Leslie

Following Loose Threads

I hate - HATE - to sew. I hated it when I took sewing lessons at Sears at 16. I hated it when I had to take home ec in high school. But my grandmother was a seamstress at Hart Shaffner Marx, and she made knock-off designer suits and dresses for my mom, who was a model with a taste for couture. Back then, as a teenager and wanna-be hippie, I wore jeans and Indian kurtas, and little else. In the Whole Earth Catalog approach to construction, I made granny dresses from Indian cotton bedspreads for my friends, all hand-seamed and embroidered with peace symbols. Who needed fashion in the love generation?

But here I am. Still making clothing, and acknowledging that my mom’s love of fashion wore off on me in spite of the counter-culture that shaped me. And oddly enough, I’ve retained her respect for quality, in spite of my impatience with details. And that’s one of the reasons I still hate to sew.

The finishing details take the longest time, more time than designing and construction. Neat seams and no loose threads. Knotting and sewing back in the tails is agonizing, but if I’m going to justify charging what I put into the piece, I have to spend those hours squinting at the tiny threads to be sure they are immaculate.

But why do this in the age of WalMart? Who looks at details anymore? Clothing is disposable anyway and everyone expects their clothing to disintegrate after a season or two of wearing. People want cheap clothes now.

Exactly.

That is exactly what is happening to the garment-buying public - clothing has become a commodity - and the idea that we should continue to wear a treasured item is becoming passé.

This saddens me. I still have my mom’s prom dress from the 40s, a navy silk taffeta full-skirted dress, enshrined in my closet. (I can wear it when I am skinny; about once every 5 years I wear it to an event.) I also have my father’s Navy regulation great-coat, made by Navy tailors in Japan during the Korean War. It’s a little big for me but it’s WARM! I still have t-shirts from 20 years ago and a few things from college. There is a story in every item that is told again when I wear that garment.

When Nice Threads first opened, we exhibited a collection of home textiles that Robyn, Eileen and I had inherited from our mothers and grandmothers. Many were hand-woven or hand-embroidered or crocheted. And when someone would come down the stairs and see the dishcloths and table linens, they would invariably start talking about their grandmother or their aunt or their mother, and the textiles that were handed down in their family.

That’s the value of handmade textiles - they last. They are made with a level of quality that is unknown these days. We fiber artists are the last holdouts in the disposable age. And that is the purpose of Nice Threads, to remind people of the quality that has been lost everywhere else.

So if your seams are ragged, and your seam threads are hanging, they will pull out and ravel and all your hard work will be for naught. Don’t undermine your own work that way - take all the time necessary, adopt a Zen mind and knot and thread and stitch down those loose seams so they are secure and neat.

Even if no one notices, you know that jacket or scarf or coat will still be around for the purchaser’s grandkids to say, “Grandma wore this to all of our Christmas parties.” And they will try it on and wear it and keep it carefully for their kids and grandkids. That is your gift to them.

Taking the next steps in fiber

Teaching is a big component of Nice Threads. We spend a lot of time demonstrating and teaching, and our materials shop is designed to support our students for their journey from class to the next piece, and then the next.

At least we hope that our students continue in the techniques that they learn here, but we know that is up to each individual student. We want you leaving our shop confident that you can do [spinning/ weaving/ felting/ dyeing/ knitting, etc] on your own, and hope you come by and ask us for advice when you “lose the thread.” Not everyone who takes classes at Nice Threads will become a working artist, but it's not about the end result, or what you call yourself. Fiber is a journey, not a destination. You may be strolling through, or making careful itineraries, but Fiber is a lifelong endeavor, at any level of proficiency

The big secret to excelling at any of these techniques has to do with a basic fact - it’s all in the numbers. Your second piece will be better than your first, and your fifth piece will kill your second. Keep producing - and please, don’t think of it as practicing!

Practicing brings up scolding mothers and piano lessons on nice days. The word “producing” works better for me. Make a habit of starting a new piece (even if it’s just notes on what you would do better next time) right after you finish the old one.  Sketch if that is a good method, or cut photos out… whatever has you planning the next piece. Work on it regularly, even if you do just a little at a time. You will gradually improve technique and trust your own instincts.

On the subject of instincts, and your own personal expression, I leave you with the best advice that has ever been given to an artist (IMHO), in a quote by legendary modern dance artist Martha Graham:

“There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and there is only one of you in all time; this expression is unique, and if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium  and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is, nor how it compares with other expression. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you.”

Coming back to color

Wow, it would seem that we don't have much to say at New Threads, since we haven't blogged since last spring, but that wouldn't be true. The opening and running of a gallery, shop and workshop space has been engulfing, all-encompassing and time-consuming, to say the least! But we've had posts in mind that Facebook couldn't do justice to along the way, and one of those involves color. 

Dyeing is one of my favorite fiber arts, since it's practically instant gratification. It's an "I made this!" activity, and if you know some simple techniques, you can dye at home. I dye fiber and yarn every Sunday here at Nice Threads, and our Space Dyeing For Beginners class is a regularly scheduled class for people to try out those simple techniques.

But that's a process class - what are the steps, what equipment, what are the chemicals, how long do you heat, etc. What we can't cover in a drop-in class is 'what colors should we use?', and 'how do we achieve those colors?'

Remember those Tiger Beat and Seventeen interviews with teen stars that always included the cheesy questions like, 'What's your favorite word?' and 'What's your favorite color?'  That hasn't changed much these days, but what color Scott Baio liked in the past, or Taylor Lautner likes now makes practically no difference in your life, while your favorite color could be pivotal when you plan to knit your next sweater or weave your next scarf.

It's so interesting when Project Runway contestants choose their fabrics from Mood, taking their inspiration from rolls of fabric that someone else designed, with colors that a fashion industry committee chose. Even when they were allowed to design their own fabrics this season, I noticed that they -unanimously - chose black and white. Not many people have a powerful relationship with color, and those that do, frequently don't know how to create those colors. So we usually get our inspiration from the shelves of yarns at the local store.

But how personal is that? Have you noticed that sometimes you can't find the colors you like, or that the shades are off, or that some seasons, everything is just dog-ugly? Sometimes you are stuck with what you can find. But that doesn't have to be the case.

They say that Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and Color is also a matter of personal choice. But how do you choose? It's a journey that most fiber people take at some point in their development, and it's a fascinating one. And fun. Revel in discovered color, capture color in it's element, master your palette and make color serve your inspiration, rather than the other way around. Come and join our Color Journey for Fiber Artists class, a comprehensive study of color and fiber. Beginning in early November, we'll meet for 3 hours on 3 evenings to develop our color path and then take 2 workshops of 6 hours each, learning to create those colors in the dye kitchen. Open to anyone, at any level. Just email us to get the schedule.

Straight from the source

It is one of our highest commitments at Nice Threads to carry local fiber for spinners and felters. We've put the word out and many farms have brought us luscious rovings and fleeces, most identified by the name of the sheep or alpaca previously wearing that fiber. We recently heard from the Diastole Alpaca Farm down the mountain in Walkertown, NC and received some samples that were outstanding. I asked about their processor (call a Fuzzinator)  and how they'd package the fiber and got the email that follows as a reply. It's more than a business letter, it's a snapshot of the world of fiber animals. Notice also that they welcome volunteers on shearing day, so you can use Jim's links to find out more.

We will definitely carry Jim and Sandy's alpaca blankets so come on over in a week or two to see them.
~~~~~~



Hi Leslie,

This is Jim, the head pooper scooper at Diastole Alpaca Farm answering for Sandy. 

We have 6 - 8 blankets left from last year that have been cleaned with our Fuzzinator. Basically a tumbler that we run the fleeces in for an hour on a clear, dry, windy day (or we use a blower on the tumbler). We have been very impressed with the job that it does. It takes minimal picking of debris (seed heads or small twigs) by hand to have a very nice clean product. We also have some seconds and thirds that are cleaned. 

We will be shearing on April 14th and cleaning will begin ASAP (weather permiting) afterwards. We just switched everyone over to fresh pastures yesterday with lush green grass. They really have fun when they are let into a pasture they have not been in for several months.

As for packaging - we will do that however you like. The blankets will mostly range from 4-6 pounds - we do have two boys born last fall that will be much less - even though they think they are as big as anyone.

Sandy is working M - W this week and is off the following week (shearing). I can package up what ever you would like and get it out directly. If there are some 2010 fleeces that someone really likes we can reserve this year's shearing for them as well.

A great web site for anyone interested in shearing alpacas is www.allypac.com . We make it a prerequisite for anyone helping us on shearing day. We want it to be a low stress day for the alpacas and the folks we use for the actual shearing have produced this for their customers. 

Looking forward to hearing from you - beautiful Black Mountain should be starting to "green-up".

Best Regards - Jim Morris
-- 
Jim Morris
www.DiastoleAlpacaFarm.com

Is Nice Threads a Yarn Shop?

The short answer is yes and no.
Yes
Our name gives you a clue. We are a Gallery/Studio. We showcase the work (and play) of Fiber Artists, mainly from Western North Carolina, and we sell the fibers and tools our crafts require. Yarn plays a big part for most of those artists. Nice yarn.

Part of our mission is education and furthering the Fiber Arts and we have classes, demonstrations and open studio time so everyone can get into the act. The fibers and tools we sell are used in our classes.
The wealth of knowledge in our small Studio is huge: felting, weaving, spinning, dying, knitting, crochet, embroidery, lacemaking, tatting, papermaking, book arts, couture sewing, wild and out-of-the-box designing, fiber prep... I could go on.

One of my rules for good design and happy process outcome is  to have a lot of stuff to work with. And having the materials I want to work with, in the quantities that I need and the colors I choose.

Somehow, fiber consumers have been led to believe they need to buy yarn in quantities they don't need, in colors chosen for them by someone else. At Nice Threads, yarns and fleece are purchased by the ounce or pound, and we can order almost any yarn in it's natural color and teach you how to dye to get exactly the color you want for any project you can dream up.

We also have local handspun yarns and are getting fleeces in from our local farms as the shearing season is beginning. It's exciting to see our shepherdess' coming into the studio with big bags. We open and ooh and ahh and smell and feel and touch and our minds and hands and hearts are  full of fabrics to come.

I invite you to come visit us at Nice Threads,see, feel, touch and discover the interweaving of your inner and outer fiber creativity.

The No? Yarn isn't the only thing we have. Nice threads is a lot more than a yarn shop..

Come on by and we can talk about it with a chai and a freshly shorn bag of wool.
Robyn

Fiber Salon- Riches from Rags

Thursday at Nice Threads Ellen came in and said she had  something to make us laugh. Several years ago she had knitted and machine-fulled a bag, hated the finished product and threw it in the closet.

Leslie  looked at the bag - misshapen and poorly assembled - and complimented the colors and hand of the fabric and started pulling and forming it into interesting shapes and the ideas started to flow. A few hours later Ellen had created a lovely clutch bag with decorative hand blanket stitching to hold her most-used and often- misplaced purse items. All that was needed was a closure and we'll work on that soon.

This is my vision for Thursday afternoons. A Fiber Salon, if you will, where we can bring in what we are working on, even if it's only in our minds and watch as the magic of many creative hands, eyes and hearts do their work. It's amazing how someone else can pick up where I am completely stuck and make perfect sense out of what has me in a creative tangle. Part of the creative process is feeling free to ask for help.

I'm sure to need your help soon enough, so please come on by and ask for mine. The resources - studio space, material and tools of Nice Threads might also be what you need to move you to the next step, and hard to do at home alone.

Come on out of that closet along with those projects!

See you soon at Nice Threads- Fiber Salon Thursday 1-4.

Robyn