I will return to this again and again as I am enamored by all these swatches, and not a little envious! I do wonder if perhaps you would have any interest at all in sewing them together into an oversized sweater or two or three? I could see them being delicious value-varied, beautifully artistic yet worn just to harvest milk-weed or clear out brush or leaves...anyway...just an idea. I'm thinking those lovely boxy kinds of sweaters, oversized to pull over a shirt or pajamas. :) Also could be made into a cardigan. But the layout of this value scale blanket is enchanting so that will surely be delightful as well!! Oh...and wouldn't Beryl look fetching in a Sarah Swett dog sweater made just for him? Well..I must go start knitting some swatches!!! Just to have them, to stuff them into a box and pull them out later for whatever...how splendiferously fun!!!!
Oh my -- a knitted patchwork Beryl sweater! That's an idea and a half --though I'd still have to figure out about the dog hair impregnation. Though perhaps it wouldn't matter -- just an extra layer of insulation. On the other hand, I can almost feel that boxy jacket (with pockets) landing on my shoulders for morning and evening dog walks. Oh MY. Thank you Jennifer for another swirl of possibilities. Also for your lovely words :-)
Thanks for the shout out, Sarah! And now I'm feeling like I really should do something about the boxes of swatches in my office closet. Out of sight...
And thank you in turn Sandi for your lovely words on yours! Your post generated all kinds of questions for me about art and craft and work and record-keeping... Might have to explore one or two over there...
Giggles throughout this newsletter Sarah! Especially the image of you swimming through swatches. As an avid swimmer, I loved it. Reminded me of a time when a friend and I came upon a huge shoal of moon jellyfish on an open water swim in Puget Sound. It was suddenly like swimming through tapioca pudding! 🏊♀️❤️
Oh my God -- I cannot imagine swimming through a sea of jellyfish. Well, actually I can because as kid who spent summers on the coast of Rhode Island there were often jellyfish. I don't think I ever knowingly swam through them (I'd have stayed out of the water that day), but your description of the tapioca pudding is still incredibly evocative and, at least in my imagination a perfect description of swatch swimming!
Might just have to do that. Indeed, as soon as I started working on this I longed for your input. Wouldn't want to divert you from your projects though, and kind of imagine that, spread out on the floor of the cabin, it could be a teensy bit distracting.
Wonderful. I now have knit-ability envy, swatch envy, and quilt envy but they are all adding up to joy! Glad you enjoyed Keeping the Wolf As the Door, too.
Oh the bliss of sharing swatches (and other projects) with the compost, where the lovely fibers can stop trying to be anything beyond what they already are. Thanks for the reminder.
What a delightfull read. I do not knit at the moment, but free sew on a sewing machine. For a moment I thought someone got into my studio , and took a photo of my textile gatherings.
I love all of this. The swatches are fantastic, and the way you use them is creative and wonderful. I have to admit that I look forward very much to Beryl's thoughts, and to the videos of your walks. I kept thinking as I watched this one though that "They have to walk back up!" Thank you. I am reading and watching this at the end of a long day, and it will give me great thoughts as I doze happily off.
Thank you for thinking of our walk back uphill! Beryl and I appreciate it more than I can say. Happily, this video was made on the way back down so we'd already done the climbing (hurrah). One of the benefits of walking up mountain-ish masses (vs canyon-ish forms which we also have around here....)
OH gosh, thank you so much! And I have to say the first time I thought to sew a patch on the palm of a mitten (rather than darn it), I felt marvelously liberated. The mitten has lasted longer too, as under the patch are several layers of darned darns.....
First let me say that I thought the 2nd picture of the cuff damage looked like a super delicious piece of chocolate cake with scrumptious icing! I don't think I am sweets deprived, but even looking at it again just now, it still looks good enough to eat!
With regard to the wonderful swatches, perhaps lightening the load by selecting several with a mutual theme of either design or colors and letting your mind play with them for a smaller project. You would still be giving those swatches new life, while the others are percolating, so to speak. I have seen quilts that have added the same color borders to irregular sized shapes to make it easier to join them and to also frame each piece. One could try a pillow or throw to see what you think. See how easily your swatches have drawn me in! I'd say you have a bag of very powerful swatches! It just occurred to me that the theme might be your memories!
Chocolate cake! Now that is a wondrous wool comparison. Thank you! A few weeks ago someone suggested that the picture of freshly washed fleece looked like meringue and I almost started drooling then too.
As for your excellent quilt-inspired approaches -- thank you very much. It's a super helpful way to think about/ approach them. Indeed yesterday I went and picked up one swatch, then tried to find all the ones that went with it (regardless of color and value) and imagined them as a discreet section of something, with a plain border. I didn't actually start sewing, but it stirred up my thinking in a most helpful way.
I will return to this again and again as I am enamored by all these swatches, and not a little envious! I do wonder if perhaps you would have any interest at all in sewing them together into an oversized sweater or two or three? I could see them being delicious value-varied, beautifully artistic yet worn just to harvest milk-weed or clear out brush or leaves...anyway...just an idea. I'm thinking those lovely boxy kinds of sweaters, oversized to pull over a shirt or pajamas. :) Also could be made into a cardigan. But the layout of this value scale blanket is enchanting so that will surely be delightful as well!! Oh...and wouldn't Beryl look fetching in a Sarah Swett dog sweater made just for him? Well..I must go start knitting some swatches!!! Just to have them, to stuff them into a box and pull them out later for whatever...how splendiferously fun!!!!
Oh my -- a knitted patchwork Beryl sweater! That's an idea and a half --though I'd still have to figure out about the dog hair impregnation. Though perhaps it wouldn't matter -- just an extra layer of insulation. On the other hand, I can almost feel that boxy jacket (with pockets) landing on my shoulders for morning and evening dog walks. Oh MY. Thank you Jennifer for another swirl of possibilities. Also for your lovely words :-)
The blanket of my dreams ♥️♥️♥️
If you knew me, I would ask you to remember me in your will 😁
ha! bless you for this enthusiasm !
Thanks for the shout out, Sarah! And now I'm feeling like I really should do something about the boxes of swatches in my office closet. Out of sight...
And thank you in turn Sandi for your lovely words on yours! Your post generated all kinds of questions for me about art and craft and work and record-keeping... Might have to explore one or two over there...
Giggles throughout this newsletter Sarah! Especially the image of you swimming through swatches. As an avid swimmer, I loved it. Reminded me of a time when a friend and I came upon a huge shoal of moon jellyfish on an open water swim in Puget Sound. It was suddenly like swimming through tapioca pudding! 🏊♀️❤️
Oh my God -- I cannot imagine swimming through a sea of jellyfish. Well, actually I can because as kid who spent summers on the coast of Rhode Island there were often jellyfish. I don't think I ever knowingly swam through them (I'd have stayed out of the water that day), but your description of the tapioca pudding is still incredibly evocative and, at least in my imagination a perfect description of swatch swimming!
Bring them to Sandpoint and I will joyously sort them in as many configurations as needed to find the perfect combo
Might just have to do that. Indeed, as soon as I started working on this I longed for your input. Wouldn't want to divert you from your projects though, and kind of imagine that, spread out on the floor of the cabin, it could be a teensy bit distracting.
Wonderful. I now have knit-ability envy, swatch envy, and quilt envy but they are all adding up to joy! Glad you enjoyed Keeping the Wolf As the Door, too.
Your posts are ever evocative --and your devotion to lists resonates on all the levels. Thanks.
Chuckling!
#7- ‘Tis the season to let things fall away!
ooh.. love where the color/value study is going... or how it is now i guess!
at times i've offered up old swatches to the compost pile...
Oh the bliss of sharing swatches (and other projects) with the compost, where the lovely fibers can stop trying to be anything beyond what they already are. Thanks for the reminder.
Thank you as always for opening my eyes even more and expanding my imagination!
Hilarious? Moving? Insane?
Pick one. Or maybe two.
I pick all three!
What a delightfull read. I do not knit at the moment, but free sew on a sewing machine. For a moment I thought someone got into my studio , and took a photo of my textile gatherings.
I
How infinitely satisfying that this kind of color pattern hodge podge/ order/ disorder/curiosity freely moves from one medium to another. Thanks
I love all of this. The swatches are fantastic, and the way you use them is creative and wonderful. I have to admit that I look forward very much to Beryl's thoughts, and to the videos of your walks. I kept thinking as I watched this one though that "They have to walk back up!" Thank you. I am reading and watching this at the end of a long day, and it will give me great thoughts as I doze happily off.
Thank you for thinking of our walk back uphill! Beryl and I appreciate it more than I can say. Happily, this video was made on the way back down so we'd already done the climbing (hurrah). One of the benefits of walking up mountain-ish masses (vs canyon-ish forms which we also have around here....)
I have never thought of using swatches as patches for mending. I love this idea. I love your illustrations. They make me happy.
OH gosh, thank you so much! And I have to say the first time I thought to sew a patch on the palm of a mitten (rather than darn it), I felt marvelously liberated. The mitten has lasted longer too, as under the patch are several layers of darned darns.....
First let me say that I thought the 2nd picture of the cuff damage looked like a super delicious piece of chocolate cake with scrumptious icing! I don't think I am sweets deprived, but even looking at it again just now, it still looks good enough to eat!
With regard to the wonderful swatches, perhaps lightening the load by selecting several with a mutual theme of either design or colors and letting your mind play with them for a smaller project. You would still be giving those swatches new life, while the others are percolating, so to speak. I have seen quilts that have added the same color borders to irregular sized shapes to make it easier to join them and to also frame each piece. One could try a pillow or throw to see what you think. See how easily your swatches have drawn me in! I'd say you have a bag of very powerful swatches! It just occurred to me that the theme might be your memories!
Chocolate cake! Now that is a wondrous wool comparison. Thank you! A few weeks ago someone suggested that the picture of freshly washed fleece looked like meringue and I almost started drooling then too.
As for your excellent quilt-inspired approaches -- thank you very much. It's a super helpful way to think about/ approach them. Indeed yesterday I went and picked up one swatch, then tried to find all the ones that went with it (regardless of color and value) and imagined them as a discreet section of something, with a plain border. I didn't actually start sewing, but it stirred up my thinking in a most helpful way.
Simply glorious!