Catch of the Day

Please welcome Susan Ludwig from Ludwig Collection Blog with a very special and inspiring Guest Post:

Catch of the Day

This was such a FUN project!  It all started as I've been curious about combining wire AND fiber.  When I spotted a contest for "Fish Hats" I instantly "saw" my entry... I just wasn't sure how to go about it.  Nevertheless, the spirit of creativity showed me the way and I won an award!

As many of you will understand, the execution of the project was definitely “fun” – in creating something new and unprecedented, I tend to go so far, then back off for a day until the next step reveals itself.  In this case, I couldn’t wait to complete knitting the body because I really wanted to knit the fins!  I’d expected to have a ‘cap’ on the bottom to fit the wearer’s head, however the fish kept falling over ‘dead’ so I had to prop him up from inside.  Voila! He swims!!

Yes, it's totally wearable, one size fits all and lined in silk fabric. "Catch" measures 18"x18" not counting the 'seaweed.'

Today, it's a hat; tomorrow it may become a sculpture.  It is OOAK (One of a Kind) definitely a conversation piece!!    $449.00 plus tax. 

(These artist statements have been so great. I was almost tempted to do two separate posts for Susan, her statement was so good. Support our Guests, Leave them a comment below. ~Sonia)

Ludwig Collection

Bodacious Bags… a Series

  

Knitting and sewing have been my constant companions since we were introduced at the age of eight.  Dressing and re-dressing my Barbie doll was a major pastime as a young girl.  Rather than follow an art career, I was

encouraged to seek a more ‘practical’ career in public education which I did. Years later, I broke away and wrote a book on fashion for the petite woman, promoting freedom from the longstanding “rules of petite dressing.”*

I ‘need’ to knit each day and enjoy the fact that it is a repetitive movement for the most part, which gives me a welcome opportunity for reflection.  I also like that it is extremely portable and NEVER the same.  I marvel at the fact that I can create something beautiful with just “two sticks and string.” 
Unlike the majority of knitters who purchase a sufficient quantity of one yarn to complete a garment, I approach yarn in the same way I would a smorgasbord buffet, selecting a little of everything and then attempting to fit it all on my plate - or into my current knitting project.  I don’t have a favorite color –it’s all about one color combined with others.
I am constantly learning and exploring opportunities to blend elements from dressmaking into my knitting, for example, each handbag is lined in a coordinating shade of sumptuous dupioni silk fabric.  I often incorporate hand dyed silk fabric “knitted” in my artwear.  Recently, I’ve added wire and multi-media to my repertoire.
I consider myself more fortunate than a painter because I have on my palette not only an array of color but texture as well.  To begin, I sit before a large basket brimming with a rich profusion of 12-20 different yarns.  By the time I’ve spent one to three weeks on a piece we’ve become so well acquainted that each insists on her own personality and is granted a name which is never used twice.

*Petite Style: The Ultimate Fashion Guide for Women 5’4” and Under by Susan Ludwig.  New York: New American Library, 1988.  Illustrated with 100 line drawings and 24 color photos; 183 pages.

Susan Ludwig

Ludwig Collection

Spanish Village Art Center, Studio 34A in Balboa Park

www.LudwigCollection.blogspot.com

Customer Spotlight...Ginny Schweiss

Ginny Schweiss, like many knitters, learned to knit as a child, on dime-store needles and Red Heart yarn. Forget Barbie dolls and her store-bought dresses--Ginny’s collection of Breyer horses wore the fanciest hand knit blankets in the country. Her first wearable design came out of necessity years later, when she had a dance to go to in high school and needed a top. It didn’t occur to her to look for a pattern. It didn’t even occur to her that it wasn’t normal to just sit down and knit a sweater, her first. While one might think this smashing, early success would lead to a long, illustrious career in design or any other fiber related industry, one would be way off target. Instead, she chose a route of physical therapist-turned-novelist, which prompts most people, upon hearing this, to pause, look confused, and wonder how one possibly led to the other.

Today, she still uses the same needles, and two grandkids play with the horses. Her office has made a visible transition from that of successful novelist to adventurous knitter. Research books peek out from behind the usual stash of colorful cones and skeins. Walls with writing awards are lined with knitting machines.
Her Butterfly sweater is the first project she designed on Garment Designer. She says the hardest thing for her is to keep anything simple, as once a design is underway, her imagination is always striving to make it unique, maybe memorable, definitely perfect, but not over-the-top. She loves designs that fit, texture, colorwork, and beads. Stitch Painter is on her wish list.

Ginny lives in St. Louis, MO. She can be found a few places on the web:
www.ravelry.com  - Beaded Pony Designs 
www.novelsites.us   - maintaining websites for other authors and knitters
www.jennamcknight.com  - her Jenna McKnight author website
http://jennamcknight.wordpress.com - occasional blogs about knitting and favorite rants

Garment Designer at Tennessee Tech University

There are quite a few Universities that have incorporated Garment Designer in there Fashion Design or Home Ec programs.

One of those Universities is Tennessee Tech University. Tennessee Tech University has two programs Merchandising and Design and Human Ecology.

In response to a call for Customer work submissions Sue Bailey, Ph.D., CFCS submitted the following:

Hi Sonia,

Based your call for customers to send blog material, I am attaching four photos of the students who designed vests and dresses in the spring'10 pattern making class at Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville, TN. Garment Designer was used to design each project. I have secured permission from each student to have their photo and work posted if you should choose to use them.
As the class instructor, I simply love the ease of using Garment Designer in the apparel design classes. And, the new videos on You Tube will be extremely helpful. Thanks.

Sincerely,

Sue Bailey, Ph.D., CFCS
Director
School of Human Ecology
Tennessee Tech University



What wonderful Student work! Thank you so much Sue for your kind words and submission.

~Sonia

Linda Arndt: Stitch Painter Project

Linda Arndt, a Cochenille user, recently shared some of her work with us.

We were so delighted to see what she does with Stitch Painter that we asked Linda to tell us more.







Here is what she told us:

The weavings are prayer flags. The inspiration is from a show I saw on public TV about Tibet. The mountain sides were covered with flowing prayer flags. That brought thoughts of my mother who had passed away a few years ago. Just the thought of prayers being carried up on breezes struck a note with me. This is when I started designing the flags using the Stitch Painter program.

I designed the alphabet and a master layout. Using copy and paste I just drop the letters onto the graph.

Weaving is very straight forward. Method is Double weave pick up. Threading the loom is 40 ends per inch 4 ends per dent in a 10 dent reed. 24 ends in background color, 24 ends in pattern color per section, warped in a straight draw on a 4 harness loom. I used lunatic fringe 10/2 mercerized cotton.

Thanks Linda, for sharing!

Below, a few more images