Monthly Archives: May 2010

>A Greek Pyramid Poem

15 Saturday May 2010

Posted by in Books, Jane Thornley, Poems, Thoughts and Journeys

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>Sometimes it is just a small poem or a sentence that will bring new understanding, reflection or interchange of thoughts and ideas. In light of the Burqa (burqu‘ )-discussion in Europe I kept on wondering about the concept of Strangers and what makes people strangers or strange to the beholder, who vice versa is seen as a stranger or strange as well. An interesting book on this subject is Beyond Beards and Burqas.

A Pyramid Poem written by Ntinos Siotis in Athens, on 22 July 1996 and published in his collection of poems Mouseion Aeros. Here’s an unofficial translation into English:

HOW STRANGERS DO SEE US 
How do strangers see us?
Do strangers see us?
Do strangers see?
The strangers?
Strangers?

There is an interesting article on Concrete Poetry on Wikipedia:
“Concrete poetry or shape poetry is poetry in which the typographical arrangement of words is as important in conveying the intended effect as the conventional elements of the poem, such as meaning of words, rhythm, rhyme and so on. It is sometimes referred to as visual poetry; a term that has evolved to have distinct meaning of its own, because the words themselves form a picture. This can be called Imagery because you use your senses to figure out what the words mean.”

Applied to knitting – visual poetry expressed in a beautiful lace pattern, such as stars, leaves, trees and other distinctive ornaments also form pictures – I’d love to call it “Imagery Knitting“, like the pattern of “The Tree of Life” (here from Fairy Stitch Sarah) or Lily of the Valley by Herbert Niebling.
In Freeform Knitting a perfect example would be the “Frond” wrap by Jane Thornley – 

Imaginative Imagery Knitting. 

Most wraps and shawls are images of Pyramid Poems, one could even follow an equation of one word-one stitch pattern, all realized in color and transporting sensory characteristics, the feel, the warmth, the shape and visual appeal. Why not start a textile project based on your favorite Imagery like Edgar Varese did in his experimental music? 
31 May: Jane Thornley’s thought-provoking new issue of the Inspired Knitters Club just arrived today. As it were, Visual Knitting – Imagery Knitting – is the main topic and her inspirational tales tell the story behind her patterns and suggest the roads to travel to new visual horizons.


 

>Just Giving – Great Patterns in Return for a Donation

13 Thursday May 2010

Posted by in P-HOP, Pattern

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> A post just for your information:
 
Here is a site with many great patterns generously donated by textile designers.
It is called the P-HOP – http://www.p-hop.co.uk/

Dowloading any pattern is free, and a donation to your favorite fund or charity is welcome.
You can also set up one’s own site picking your favorite charity!
So if you wish to protect birds or trees, or contribute to a children’s fund, here’s the place to share your own designs for a good cause.

>Stitches and Techniques

06 Thursday May 2010

Posted by in Stitches, Techniques

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>I am always on the look-out for fancy stitches and techniques. Fairy Stitch Sarah of knit1felttoo (on Ravelry) just added a great, beautifully photographed pictorial of the broomstick stitch done with lace ribbon yarn and I found a good video with a demonstration of the Channel Island Cast-On, done by OfTroy. A variety of cast-on methods are found on her video blog. I find it not complicated to follow printed stitch instructions, but a video demonstration or pictorial is so much easier to follow and understand the technique.

Working with Lace Ribbon yarn can be sometimes be a challenge if you are a perfectionist.
Ribbon yarn spins and twists and one will constantly have to counter the twist and keep the yarn straight. If this characteristic bothers you, you will have to add untwisting time to your project schedule!