Circumnavigation: Things To Do When Not Actually Sailing

Sketching in Roller Bay, Hope Island

Roller Bay, so named because the round stones roll in and out with the waves making such a distinctive noise.

Picking up debris on what should have been a pristine beach. I collected a bag of stuff to incorporate in a work about the world's plastic garbage issue.

And there was always knitting when not required by the skipper to pull my weight.

Vancouver Island Circumnavigation - What I did this Summer

This summer Ron and I went on a big expedition. We explored the island we live on.  Travelling on our sailboat we took a month to circumnavigate Vancouver  Island.

We saw many beautiful sights including much wildlife: orcas, dolphins, sea lions, whales, sea otters, seals, bears, and birds - none of which I was able to capture adequately with  my point 'n' shoot camera.

I got lots of knitting time in. I read most of the books I stowed on board.

I did lots of quick sketches to make me really see what I was looking at.

My sketchbook is full of inspiration and ideas for future works which will keep me busy in my studio over winter.

Body of Work: 'Regression'

'Regression'

48"w x 84" h x 10"d. Materials: cotton, wool, silk, polyester, nylon, paper cord, wood. Techniques: strip-piecing, couching, hand and machine stitching, knitting. Photographer: Tony Bounsall, Tony's website

'Regression' is the companion work of 'Succession', View "Succession" here

'Regression', detail. Photographer: Tony Bounsall

The removal of components such fallen leaves from under a tree or the disruption of natural process by clear felling a forest, puts the whole ecosystem in a state of unbalance. The complex web of interconnected elements and processes are no longer able to rejuvenate. The fabric of life begins to unravel just as it happens to knitting when a needle is pulled out.

I have used textiles and crafts associated with the home to link our actions in the home with our actions in the natural world, our shared home. To disrupt the natural world is pathological behaviour.

The Process

I used the same technique as for 'Succession'.

The fabric covered cord was knit with large sonotube cardboard 'needles'.

The Process

Couched strip-piecing wrapped around a cord.

Body of Work: 'Succession'

'Succession'

96"h x 60"w x 36"d / 244 cm h x 152 cm w x 92 cm d. Materials: cotton, wool, polyester, nylon, wood. Techniques: strip piecing, couching, knitting. Photographer: Tony Bounsall.

'Succession', detail. Photographer: Tony Bounsall.

The well-being of an ecosystem depends on an unbroken cycle of organic processes. This work is knit with a continuous length of yarn made from  textiles usually found in the home. The work can be viewed as a tree, a forest or a web of living organisms - human and botanical.

'Succession', detail. Photographer: Tony Bounsall.

The red is the dark forest floor and red blood cells. Complimentary green is the forest canopy and chlorophyll cells. The shape and structure of both types of cells are the same, which vividly illustrates our intimate human connection with the natural world. 

The Process

A length of cotton cord was covered with strip pieced and couched domestic textiles.

The Process

The ends of the covered cord were joined forming an unbroken circle.

Using large-sized cardboard 'needles', the 'yarn' was knit into a web-like fabric.

The fabric can be continually unraveled from the top with the resulting cord wound into a ball to feed the continual action of knitting from the bottom.

Summer

I have finished my Christmas stocking knitting. Christmas 2013, that is.

Son William's scarf is blocked.

It is made from a lovely cotton and silk yarn.

It is winter in New Zealand so I mailed it straight away.

This was my newly planted Garden Tower back on 10th June.

To date I have harvested over 2kgs of swiss chard, arugula, celery, cilantro and basil.

Tonight we made a delicious vegetable curry.

The Wedding Shawls

The bride wanted to give her bridesmaids and brother's girlfriend shawls to wear in case things got a bit chilly standing on top of the mountain.

She asked me to make them. I was delighted.

First the sampling with white mohair.

Blocking the sample.

I knit a sample shawl on the bias using a Church Mouse pattern.

It was decided the pattern worked but the yarn was too woolly. 

So I had to go to the yarn store - oh dear.

We settled on a kid mohair/silk mix in colours matching the dresses.

Seven shawls, plus the sample one, were completed in good time. But I had to watch lots of movies on TV to get in the necessary number of knitting hours each week, to meet the deadline.

Here is Amber wearing her shawl.  Each time I saw her over the evening she was wearing it a different way. She made her dress too. She's such a clever girl.

Sampling

While spring cleaning I gathered up all of the wool threads from pre-owned kits I had collected, having taken the fabric out for other projects.

I also looked again at a collection of fulled knit fabric that has been waiting patiently for me.

Donna Clement  http://donnaclement.blogspot.ca/ and I had dyed then knit then fulled bags of chunky yarns then we split up the results.

Several months ago I had bought Gail Callahan's Color Grid http://colorgrid.net/ and wanted to try it.

I put all 3 things together with scissors and a needle and stuffed them into a bag for a 'To Go' project.

While on a road trip I stitched.

It has possibilities.

Donna, have you done anything with your half?

More Christmas Knitting Completed

Amber's Christmas knitting is finished - for the 2nd time. I guessed her head size and made it too small the first time round.

It is Fleece Artist's Ana Bandana in their luscious Woolie Silk (65% wool/35% silk).

Amber lives in New Zealand and there is no rush to send it to her because it is summer there. I am sure she doesn't want to be reminded winter is coming, just yet.

I was successful with an auction bid for this copper kettle and tankard.

Now I am set to do some natural dyeing with a copper mordant.

More Christmas Knitting Completed

Take some delicious yarns: (left) -3 ply wool & silk hand-dyed by Fleece Artist & (right) Diamond's lace weight pure silk...

... add needles & follow Fleece Artist's Ana Bandanna pattern.

The 2 yarns blended together so well into a softly draping sunset-looking fabric.

Younger daughter modeled it before it was packed up and sent to her older sister.

The pleating at the back looks like origami.

I have heard it fits well.

#2 Christmas Knitting - Check

I had a most enjoyable evening sitting in front of the fire and the TV while weaving in the ends on Sebastian's scarf. We watched 'Earth, Wind and Fire" - a movie about Georgia O'Keeffe, Emily Carr and Freida Khalo - I don't know what the connection is between this movie and the exhibition of work by these 3 artists.

Then we watched lots more TV, until 1:00 a.m.! Then I finished weaving in the ends this morning!

There are a lot of ends. It is such soft merino wool and mohair I put the ends out in the garden for the birds. They will be working on their nests soon. I am looking forward to the day when I find on old nest with some of my wool ends woven into it.

I did find this nest. There is a white horse over our back fence.

Onward with the Christmas knitting projects....

Christmas Knitting

Towards the  end of last year I got the urge to knit.

It may have been prompted by my daughter's request for thigh-highs.

After they were finished and I looked for something else to knit. 

With Christmas approaching I ambitiously decided to make something for each person's Christmas stocking.

Elizabeth got some leg warmers using one of my first efforts at dyeing wool, from many years ago.

I finished these on our 2 day road trip to Edmonton for the family Christmas.

Also on the road trip I knit this scarf for son-in-law, Sebastian.

He pulled it out of his stocking Christmas morning with the needles still attached.

Before I finished it I needed to know how long he wanted it to be.

Here it is on the wall washed and blocked.

Look at all of those ends to darn in. I need a good TV movie to watch while darning.

Sebastian is a scientist so his scarf is striped in a Fibonacci sequence.

New Articulation Work

Then I cut the strips again ...

... joined them then cut them into 6 panels.

I want to show what we all see when we fly over the prairies late summer.

Well this is what I see - you know I`m the one with the blind up while you are trying to go to sleep.

I cut and joined each panel once more, to add the survey lines the roads generally follow.

I`m calling this series `Section, Township, Range` the names of different surveyed blocks of land.

All Articulation members are making the same sized  panels. These panels will be hung close together to make a patchwork of the patterns found on the prairies. Each time the work is hung the panels will be in a different order so the work will look different in each gallery.

It is going to be an interesting series of exhibitions.