Where Would the 21st Century Knitting Circle Be Without This Fella?
Our cosmic postman, Neith, recently started The Modern Knitting Circle here in Cyberspace for the purpose of sharing knowledge and weaving together the strands of our lives. It is made up of spinners, weavers, egg painters, paint splatterers, and assorted artists and craftspeople.
Now some might say the members are aging hippies, eccentric dingbats, dream chasers, and altogether unrealistc types, but this isn't so. They are a part of a very normal segment of society. Here is an interview with Diana Smith, who raises alpacas in Colorado.
You and your sister Betty Macmillian were the only full-time alpaca ranchers at Clearview Alpacas until 2004. What was it like running a two-woman operation?
We get along great. Always have. My shortcomings, she covers, and her shortcomings, I cover.
How did you first learn cattle ranching?
Mom was home working the ranch while my father worked in town. My mom and I did all the fencing, all the herding, branding.
You once moved off the ranch. Why?
When I got married, I got stupid and moved away from Colorado.
What do you do with the fiber after it's sheared?
I spin it into yarn. Betty crochets, and I knit-ponchos, hats, placemats, rugs. We do it by hand, with knitting needles. We like the feel of the fiber.
How did you learn all these skills?
We taught ourselves. Growing up in the mountains, you can't be sure to make it to class, so I learned when I was a kid: you get a book, and you teach yourself.
And so these age old traditions get translated into the modern era and carried on into eternity. Interview from the Denver Post:August 20, 2006.
posted by jm at 4:11 PM
13 Comments:
(((((jm))))) Thank you!! What a lovely way to express what is happening . . "for the purpose of sharing knowledge and weaving together the strands of our lives"!! That's it, tah dah!!
Alpaca is such an amazing fiber - soft, silky & warm! It's at it's best mixed w/merino wool to give it some loft. It's also one of those fibers that so darn expensive I can see why those gals would raise their own!!! Alpacas really are cuties too.
Neith, you're an angel. I owe you. It will take me forever to express my full feelings.
Casey!! When you next stop by here, please follow this link:
http://www.chiefarchitect.com/
And check the possibilities of really good home design software . . . :-)
Of course, anyone else is welcome to do so to . . . it's pretty amazing what they're doing.
Oh, man, I thought that was a llama! You guys DO know the llama song? Llamas are very big in the Simming world -- those guys who wrote the game made them mascots for their university expansion pack and they do turn up a lot.
http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/llama.php
Neith, jm, if you haven't checked Neith's page in the last, I don't know, five minutes, please do. S.O.S. Not for me. I'm feeling pretty content with myself. But I need your help.
Will now go check the architect site.
casey! Glad you're feeling OK. I'll take a look at the situation in a bit.
Not to nitpick, but... it's not paint.
What is it?
Nowadays, aniline dye. Anciently, roots, berries, leaves, etc. The process is the same as batik, or wax-resist, except on an eggshell instead of fabric. Beeswax is used to protect the shell from each dye bath in a pattern that you determine by drawing lines, using a hot stylus filled with beeswax.
I see.
That's quite amazing joe, all that detail on such a small surface. You must be very good with your hands(hands ruled by Gemini).
You can see pictures of the several types of styli that are used right here:
http://tinyurl.com/mswpx
I'm pretty good at fine motor work, I guess. :o)
I love the tools! Fascinating joe. I remember your eggs and they are gorgeous. I still wonder what attrcted you to this.
It reminds me of the Afghanis. They embroider their shirts with regular sewing thread, white on white, and the fine detail is out of this world.
I don't know but my great-grandfather painted eggs with India inks, using a very Art Deco style. They are hollow and very delicate, with a lot of pastels and white. I was fascinated with them as a child (and broke a few, my sorrow to say) but there are about 15 in existence.
Sometimes when in the middle of a project, I can't sleep for the designs that just flood my mind's eye. I sometimes joke that I'm channeling some long-dead Ukrainian woman. If I could recreate what I see there, I'd take 1st prize at the fair.
You just described the whole creative dilemma. Visions aren't meant to be caught, I don't think. Maybe imitated. They are vapors it seems.
That is beyond belief about your granfather's eggs and only 15 in existence.
The imagination exists in a different frame of reference and translating it to the dense material is the artist's job. Literally impossible.
I think the act is the reward not the finished product.
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