Paris Vitrine

(the view from my desk)

Indianapolis: June 10-11

I'm thrilled to announce that both Cascade Yarns and Sterling are sponsoring my attendance at this summer's TNNA conference in Indianapolis, Indiana, June 10-11 (http://www.tnna.org/). If you are attending, please stop by Cascade's booth to say hello. The Cozy Knits trunk show will launch at TNNA; each of the garments and projects in the book will tour yarn shops across the country. (Trunk show schedule to follow.) Many thanks to Cascade and Sterling!

Massive Knit

Just back from Massive Knit's project in Washington Square Park (http://www.massiveknit.org/), honoring the late Jane Jacobs. It was wonderful seeing so many come out on such a brisk evening, most knitting free-form lengths and shapes, linking them together to form a literal community work. For my contribution, I knit a thick red cozy for a fence finial (the thing on the top of a post on the low fence partitioning off the planted borders near the Washington Square Arch). Naomi Dagen Bloom (the Worm Lady) was in time to document the installation of the cozy, lit by a patch of long, evening light while I posed in front of it with Lisa Daehlin. If you don't know Naomi's work on composting and knitting, you must check out her website at: http://www.cityworm.com/about.htm. I was delighted to see Lisa, whom I recently met at the Cozy Knits signing at Knitty City last month (sporting an elegant, beaded bag of her own design). Lisa personifies the spirit of the collaborative aspects of knitting married with deep technical knowledge and is just a lovely person in every way. I was pleased to learn that she is offering a series of knitting and crochet classes (all levels) through Cooper Union's continuing education program this summer. Check out http://www.cooper.edu/ce/knitting.html or email her at lisadaehlin@yahoo.com for more information, especially if you are interested in lace knitting. Also on hand was the ever enigmatic and gifted Eiko Berkowitz. You can read about her renowned shop Yu at: http://newyorkmetro.com/listings/stores/yu/. Check out downtownyarns.com for info on her spinning classes. Enough. Coming soon, a report from the streets and subways, where I do most of my knitting (while walking).

*** Epilogue: Five minutes after installing the finial cozy, it was gone. Did the wind blow it away? Was it liberated as a doll hat by a passing child? Or was it confiscated as defacement by a Park Official?

Photos from Knitty City/Sahara's blog

Check out Sahara Briscoe’s beautiful blog at:

http://sistahcraft.typepad.com/sistahcraft_/

Thanks to Sahara for her wonderful report (A Cascade of Admirers) about the joint book signing for 220 Projects for Cascade 220 and Cozy Knits for Cuddly Babies at Knitty City on April 26th.

Scroll down about 2 pages to see a photo of Jonathan Bee’s brilliant new creation (white on white with wings).

This is me holding my rescue kitty, King George Tum Tum III.
The vest I am wearing is based on patterns in Annemor Sundbo's marvelous book, Everyday Knitting: Treasures from a Ragpile (Torridal Tweed, Kristiansand 2001).
The background is the cement-painted-on-brick wall of the narrow lightwell that is my tea garden in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.