If idle hands are the devil's workshop,
then do constantly busy
hands cause angles to whisper in one's ear?
My mom has always been a knitter (at least, for as long as I've
known her), so I guess it was natural for me to pick it up. But you
can only wear so many sweaters at one time, and winters in DC can be
just as cold as Connecticut, so a lot of what I've made ends up on
other people. You can see some examples below.
"We knitters have a secret passion:
to clothe
ourselves and our families and friends
(and occasionally perfect
strangers)
in marvelous colors and textures and warmth."
--Susan Gordon Lydon, in The Knitting Sutra
Some projects I've completed:
- Baby blankets are fun because the pattern is pretty simple; it all
comes down to texture. Felix and Rachel's son Grant modeled this one
shortly after his arrival.
- When Sara told me she was having twins, one blanket didn't seem to
cover it, so Mom and I found a sweater pattern we both liked and made
these (almost) matching cardigans for Izzy & Charlie (those things
they're eating are telephones).
- Alex and Yanni model hats and mittens in our office (yes, it
really was that cold in our office).
- Isaac only asked for a hat, but I had a lot of nervous energy to
work off while studying for my last written exam.
- It was my first time working with cables--they're really easy once
you get the hang of it.
- Mom models my attempt at a fairisle--with leftover yarn and (of
course) no pattern.
Quilting is a relatively new thing for me. It's a
nice change from tangled skeins, but not quite as portable.
I don't have the patience for hand-quilting,
so this is all done by machine.
- This baby quilt is adapted from a design in Jinny Beyer's
book on designing with tesselations.
- You can see the pattern of quilting better on the back side.
- The first quilt I ever made; the design is Amish.
When I learned there was a pottery studio on campus,
I had to try it. From the beginning, I had a talent for throwing
asymmetrical pots. But there's something theraputic about being up to
your elbows in clay, so i stuck with it. Here are some later examples:
- my favorite piece (so far): the pot-bellied bowl.
- Once I got the shape down, I could play with glazes.
- You can see the glazing on the outside, too.
