Black and white

Ack, I couldn't resist leaving one last post before we leave. I was searching, in vain, for the air conditioner receipt today - I need to mail a rebate claim before we go - and noticed that my tearsheets lately seem to have a black and white theme. It must be a "palette cleanser" (to use the fashion designer phrase for a clean, neutral palette in between seasons), although I haven't been keeping track of fashion trends lately so I don't know if it's just my own taste or if it's an actual trend. So Bebe and I dropped everything to make an inspiration board, just for old time's sake.


Since I don't have a studio, the closet door in the bedroom often functions as design board for me. I can attach everything with magnets, which is actually more convenient than the t-pins we always used on bulletin boards at work. The door to the right of my "board" is Bebe's room.





Ok, now I really have to go find that receipt. See you in August!

Work in progress, work completed

Making a trip to the post office today, since I've finally finished the remaining baby gifts.



And I missed Work In Progress Friday, so here's the current project, which will be accompanying us on our trip.


It's a cardigan for Bebe, based loosely on a Debbie Bliss pattern. I'm using a different yarn, so I needed to change the gauge, and I'm adding knitted eyelet trim at the hem based on a pattern from Nicky Epstein's Knitting on the Edge book. I'm also eliminating the ruffles at the sleeves, which I know would be dragged through anything the kiddo would ever touch and would be a messy disaster right from the start. But I wonder why the pattern for this sweater doesn't include an 18-24 month size? I'm making the 2-3 year size, which I'm afraid will be enormous on Bebe (she'll be 18 months in August).

Maybe I'll have further progress to show you upon our return. Until then, cheers! We're on our way out of town, and we'll see you again in August.

Play dress

A little dress for Bebe, based on the summer tops I made her earlier. I wanted to add little orange gingham ruffles at the sleeves, but Todd thought the fabrics didn't look right together. I may still add them; I think they would be cute and would add a little visual interest to the dress.




My Grandma died last Thursday morning. The Kiddo and I will be flying to Michigan on Tuesday for her funeral, and we've decided to stay for three weeks so we can spend time with my other Grandma and with Todd's parents. We'll also take a little vacation with Todd at his parents' lake cottage. I probably won't have computer access while we're away, so you may not hear from me until August. (You'll be okay; I'm not worried about you.)

Since I won't have a sewing machine while we're gone, I've been busy preparing lots of little hand-stitching and knitting projects to work on. I also hope to finish some of the many projects in the canvas box. I'm sure I'm packing much more than I can possibly finish, but the thought of running out of things to do while we're away gives me terrors! I'll also be meeting with someone regarding a business plan I'm working on. Good news will be coming shortly, I think!

White on White (and a little rambling)

Holidays are the best time to be a New Yorker. Like Christmas, for example: if you head to midtown on Christmas Day you'll have the city to yourself, which is such an amazing luxury after the pre-Christmas shopping ordeal that midtown becomes during November and December. On Christmas Day there are no cars, no crowds, just you and a lot of quiet. You might not get the tree at Rockefeller Center all to yourself, but you'll be one of very few viewers on Christmas morning.


Summer is relatively quiet as well because everyone goes to the beach (the Hamptons or the New Jersey shore) or leaves on holiday. But New York is so hot and humid during the summer that it's not much fun. Which is why everyone leaves, of course.

Unfortunately, we were here over the sticky-hot Independence Day weekend, so we decided to make the most of it and headed to 53rd Street for an orgy of museum-going. At least the museums would be cool and not very crowded. We stopped at the American Folk Art Museum (the White on White (And A Little Gray) exhibit), the Museum of Arts and Crafts (Eames Lounge Chair), and the MoMA (Against the Grain).


Lisa was right; the White on White show is lovely. It's also much smaller than I expected. There are nine coverlets in the show, each more than 100 years old. Yet they all seem surprisingly contemporary, and it was a pleasure to step right up close to them to examine the handworked details. One trapunto coverlet was covered in the smallest quilting stitch I've ever seen. The candlewicking on another reminded me of the current trend for sashiko. And as the review in the New York Times suggests, the textures and mood of white needlework on white cotton evokes a spare, modernist feel that reminded me of the work of Agnes Martin, one of my favorite artists.



To me, one of the greatest pleasures of the show was to return home and re-read this paragraph in the review from the Times:

"This show traces the influence of neo-Classicism through the nonprofessional ranks of homemakers, embroiderers and amateur artists. Everything in it was made by women, whose place in art history is steadily increasing. This exhibition contributes to that expansion and suggests a possible answer to the question asked by the title of Linda Nochlin's famous 1971 essay, "Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?" To wit: there have been; they just didn't work with paintbrushes or hammers and chisels."

You go, crafters! Keep those needles busy.

The New Macrame?

Did you know that before it became popular (and horrendously tacky), macrame was a legitimate art form for fiber artists? This little sampler was made by my Grandma, and I think it must be linen. It's been hanging on our bathroom cabinet for years; I just tied it to the handle one day, and it's never moved.


I suppose that acrylic and polyester did to macrame the same thing they did to knitting and crochet: once people started using the lower-quality fibers, macrame developed a reputation for being a tacky hobby instead of earning respect for the lovely knotting and composition it can include. I'm sure that all those plant hangers and belts made by hippies in the 1960's didn't help it gain any respect, either.


I wonder if macrame will be rediscovered (like crewel has been) or if it's still too early. Or maybe it will just never catch on in the same way again.



I own a few of my Grandma's books on macrame and gave a half-hearted attempt at making a small sampler a few years ago, but someday it might be fun to really experiment with it. I'm still a little unsure that I'm interested enough to really get involved with it, but combined with weaving it could be really interesting.


And I promise I won't make any plant hangers. No wall hangings either.