ConnieLene – KnitDesigner

So sorry to all those lovely people who have followed up on my patterns and my knitting progress. We have been more than a little busy here on our little wee lifestyle block (2.2 acres) in Miranda, Waikato, New Zealand.

Dinner when we were camping at new home

Since we arrived in September from the Netherlands we have had our hot water cylinder blow up and flood and damage the floor. We have had to do various electrical work to fix or make legal what was done here and we have added another water tank as all our water is gathered from the house and garage roof tops. We have also started several vegetable gardens and begun establishing fencing for a few sheep or a couple of cattle. We have lost a bit of the driveway and are filling sand around the tank to reduce the issue of the side of the bank risking collapse. We have also had rather difficult neighbour issues to deal with – which we feel are now solved but it certainly added to our stress for many weeks. We have retired here to live the good life and have fun stuff to do every day and we are doing that.

We are now eating cucumbers, tomatoes, celery, lettuce, herbs, courgettes, bok choy, radishes, spring onions, and more and that Best Beloved is floundering with our local electrician. What a great guy – he comes to sort out our electrical issues and now he and Best Beloved are floundering together. They brought in 8 flounder and 2 Kahawai this morning. Kahawai Information here

We have planted potatoes, kumura, cabbages, beetroot, and many many trees. Today we will put in 2 red currant bushes and 2 hazel nuts. We are also planting to reduce the risk of wind damage as the property is very very wind swept and our plants are young and tender. Best Beloved has counted 42 olives on one of our tiny trees – so all the Good Life stuff is happening.

I am just not knitting yet.

I still haven’t unpacked everything from the Netherlands and in the evenings I am just too shattered to even pick up the needles – besides I don’t have a knitting chair.

So all in good time – I will knit again and I have patterns to complete and stories to write – so SORRY SORRY for now that there is no knitting news.

and

A Happy New Year to you all.

I have spoken at times of the cloak that I created back in 1992 – very nearly 20 years ago. This cloak has been in exhibitions, it has been tried on by many people, it has been photographed on many people. Sadly it is showing its age.

I am attending the knit retreat “Knitting in Nature beginning tomorrow, and I am taking my “Island” The Great New Zealand cloak with me to show to the other knitters there. Why? Well I am teaching a workshop on Intarsia Knitting and this is one of the best examples I still own of my intarsia creations. I hope that seeing it will still inspire someone of the group to try freeform intarsia knitting after they complete the workshop.

In late 1992 or early 1993 the cloak was in an exhibition at Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand. The judges there decided that it was not suitable to be sold due to the fragile nature of the creation. I think 20 years of display and wearing is not bad for a creation of a fragile nature, using around 90 or so different yarns from wool, mohair to linen and a variety of fancy fibres. I actually think it has done rather well. And I am so glad it was not listed for sale as my family and I have loved it and worn it, as well as exhibited it.

I think “Knitting in Nature” may well be its last journey because it is rather thin and frail in some sections now, and we will store it away gently on our return to New Zealand and hope that we can still bring it from time to time and say “we remember this piece very well” and put it away again.

I am feeling rather sad that this piece that has been such a big part of my life is not going to be worn again BUT that does mean that it is time for another creation.

This is a link to International Fleeces article by Talia, from August 2010 on the “Stansborough Grey Sheep”

It made fascinating reading possibly because I am heading back to New Zealand later this year, possibly because I was born in Denmark and have interest in things Scandinavian, possibly because the wonderful “Lord of the Rings” trilogy which used the yarn for the gorgeous cloaks, or simply this is a great read, good historical information and it is all about fibre.

The history of Stansborough Grey sheep goes all the way back to the Vikings. They are direct descendants of the Goth sheep, one of the breeds of sheep whose wool was used to make the sails for the Viking ships. – that is your taster – go and read the full article via the link.

Thank you International Fleeces

Thank you Stansborough

There is a project that makes my mind boggle at the sheer time, dedication and mastery of the craft that will be required to create it?

You already know that generally I do not knit fair isle. I have created a sweet little pinafore with a row of hearts – which were created with yarns stranded across the back – a very simple Fair Isle. My boats on little boys sweaters were done with intarsia. When I had a knitting machine eons ago – I did manage to create pieces with Fair isle designs.

You also know that I attended a workshop in Amsterdam with Danish knit designer and artist Christel Seyfarth

Christel lives and works on the Danish island of Fano. The changing tides, the special light and the sky are all important source of inspiration for her special and unique knit designs. She is fascinated by traditional clothes and takes the old patterns and designs and translates them into modern creations and her creations are in Fair Isle. She showed us at that workshop in Amsterdam that although it looks complex it is in fact simple fair isle. Her work is amazing in its construction, colour use and the finishing is just superb.

I was gobsmacked on that day and I still think of it with a great deal of pleasure – for all sorts of reasons. We both love the sea and light, our environments, colours, and yarns. There is pleasure in all of those things – but I simply cannot imagine myself with the skills and patience and the dedication to create one of her truely amazing pieces and I am terrified of steeks. Piffle you say! No it is not piffle.

It is not the Fair Isle, that seems to be as easy as Christel has said. It is not the colour – I am in love with colour. The pieces are made in rectangles and triangles – easy. It is the techniques including the steeks, and the dramatic finishing of each piece.

Do I have the patience, the skills, the confidence? I don’t actually know.

So my challenge is to knit a piece designed by Christel Seyfarth. On my “to do” list for me, that is the finished piece which will be created by me will also be for me. It will have to wait until we have settled back in New Zealand. So the winter of 2012 on New Zealand – that will be July to September 2012 – my big project will be a Christel Seyfarth design. It will include steeks – which as I have said already, quite frankly terrify me.

I am no longer going to be a scaredy cat regarding steeks. So there.

Switzerland – June 19th 2011 – Stein. Freeform Intarsia Knitting, 3 hrs. 2pm to 5pm

Netherlands – July 10-15 2011 , Knitting in Nature, Swalmen – Knitting in Nature Knitting in Nature – Miriam Tegels FreeForm Intarsia Knitting

New Zealand – November 2011 (date to be advised) – Auckland – 2 workshops Mishi Yarns

New Zealand – February 2012 (date to be advised) – Auckland – 2 workshops Mishi Yarns