Red Thread Studio

What Would Buffy Do?

Buffy the Vampire Slayer was easily the most subversive thing on television, and possibly in all of popular culture, in its heyday, and I was a very dedicated fan -- a fanatic. Joss Whedon, creator of the series, knows something about craft in all its forms, and he gave an interview to Kim Werker, former editor of Interweave Crochet and a blogger at CrochetMe.com, that's very funny and endearing. (It's amazing what you find in the black-hole week betwen Christmas and New Year's Day, isn't it?). 

I'm linking here to the full Q&A transcript of the interview so you get more Joss, less of the interviewer talking about herself. The Q&A format is tricky too, though, as any writer or editor will tell you; sometimes you get to see too much of the sausage being made, as in, the interviewer trying too hard to be cool and clever, and banter with the celebrity, and it's distracting. This one has some of that self-consciousness but all in all it's pretty good.

Werker asks a lot of leading questions to try to get Whedon to take a firm DIY/Craft 2.0 position, but his answers reveal something of a Slow Cloth aesthetic and philosophy:

Well, you know, at the end of the day right now, you can create something; what you can't usually do is make a fortune off of it. But if we're talking about the sort of people who are actually checking a crocheting website, we're talking about the sort of people who understand that part of what we're doing is in the process. That it's not about, "I'm going to crochet the most hats! I'm going to be the fastest! I'm going to be the most [mumbled] millionaire without enjoying the process and the product." Ultimately, the artistic expression can't be squelched; it's just they'll try to cut off any avenues for that expression to be, shall we say, monetized in a realistic fashion. Like I'm saying, the sort of people who understand the DIY mentality are more about the doing than the having.

Elsewhere this morning, the New York Times has a short piece about the opening of a Manhattan shop for Les Toiles du Soleil, a French fabric company specializing in gorgeous bright striped cotton canvas that will make you think of a summer house at the beach. The company has been making these fabrics for nearly 150 years. They're very . . . French, I guess, in all good ways. Creating a harmonious yet interesting stripe pattern is harder than it looks, and these are wonderful.

photo by Donna Alberico for the New York Times

I really think that every molecule of my being would be happy in France, but to date, I've never been there; I've had a few trips planned that became near-misses. Maybe 2009 will be the year. 

And here's a small piece for the Moon of Long Nights:

Dressing for a Perilous World - Ancient or Modern

Last week was definitely strange. I felt pulled in too many different directions to focus on anything, and at the same time I wanted to hibernate. The economic news is scary and hard to bypass, and everyone feels vulnerable. 

Synchronistically, I discovered a few interesting connections between textiles -- clothing in particular -- and a sense of safety. Can cloth make you feel safe in a precarious, even terrifying, world? It isn't just a matter of covering up and putting more layers between you and said world. Since humans began to dress, they added elements of magic and power to their clothing to stack the deck in their favor. We've talked about mirrors, used on textiles to repel negative energy and the "evil eye," but textiles were also structured for safety and inscribed or marked with elaborate symbols to add protection.

Threadspider has posted a new page of source materials with some excellent references; among them, you'll find a link to Google Book excerpts from Asian Embroidery,edited by Jasleen Dharmija. Though you can't preview the entire book, they've made several fascinating essays available (including one by shining cloth expert Victoria K. Rivers) and beautiful photographs. The editor's introductory essay talks of the powerful magic associated with pieced and quilted clothing; ancient Persians made quilted armor, and many cultures embroidered talismans and added stones, coins or other objects imbued with meaning. According to Rivers, it isn't just the embellishments but also the placement of the cloths, in the body or in the environment, that worked magic. A lot of this textile symbology and vocabulary is probably lost to us now, but we can still appreciate the incredible detail and mastery of these pieces.

Today, modern clothing designer Rebecca Turbow launched Safe Clothes to "create beautiful and elegant handcrafted clothing that centered on the concept of safety and protection. . . contrasting soft and sturdy fabrics with clean, geometric patterns and detailed craftsmanship, Turbow marries comfort with high design to create pieces that please  not only the viewer, but the wearer as well. Through exaggerated collars and hoods, quilted padding constructed by hand and her meticulous eye for color and texture, Turbow's work uses whimsy to express Safe Clothes' mission of providing protection from the dangers and perils of everyday modern living." 

I love the concept and some of the clothes, too, though some -- an extremely short bubble dress? - might not feel all that safe. 

If I really wanted to feel like a 21st-century Wonder Woman and warrior goddess, protected and immensely powerful, I think I'd wear one of Sandra Backlund's utterly fantastic knitted creations. Winter puts me in a knitting mood, and I was searching around for interesting ideas -- but not expecting to find work that is quite so amazing.  Go to to SandraBacklund.com to see more of this knitted art and her thoughtful artist's statement. Photos by Denise Grunstein (top) and Ola Bergengren (bottom).

The less abstract connection between textiles and our economic crisis is all the interest now in making things. It's been building for several years, as we all know, but suddenly there's a new imperative and a new purposefulness to knowing how to stitch and how to sew,for practicality as well as creativity. I don't know if ascribing magical powers to what we wear will help in this economy, but I do know that I'm glad I can make beautiful and useful things. 

Twist Collective (and Curmudgeon Alert)

There are some popular online knitting magazines and community sites that a lot of people love but that haven't done much for me. I've shrugged it off as generational, the Craft 2.0 vs. Slow Cloth/Authentic Cloth debate. But knitters rejoice --  Twist Collective is a new online knitting magazine with a different, smart sensibility that I really like at first view.

It's visually beautiful -- I think they are Selvedge-influenced, or maybe there's just a new standard of aesthetics in textile magazines -- and sophisticated and down-to-earth at the same time. The business model is this: The magazine is free, but you pay for the patterns, and this first batch of patterns looks stylish and grown-up, interesting, and well-designed.

Even better, the writing and editing is professional. It's not a sea of exclamation points, one of my pet peeves in online writing and a pervasive feature in the craft and design blog world. I know I sound curmudgeonly, but those exclamation points are not necessary - I think it's this book that says that writers should be allowed one exclamation point for every 10,000 words, or is it every 100,000 words? Seriously, if you want your writing to instantly be sharper and stronger, just drop most of the !!.

Whew, I've been wanting to write that for a long time. So thank you, Twist, for giving me an opening.

Twist Collective has Kay and Ann of Mason-Dixon Knitting writing for them, and that's a plus, as they are truly funny (and the exception to the rule -- they use their exclamation points well in a way that perfectly suits their style, but don't try it at home) and they know their knitting. And definitely visit the article on Tatjana Yanishevsky's large-scale knitted flowers here.

Next up (soon), some thoughts on mysticism and magic in textiles, and no punctuation rants, I promise.

The Odometer Rolls Over

I've had 10,000 page views on this blog since December. I realize that's peanuts to a lot of people in the big global Internet blogging world, but it sounds pretty good to me, especially since I've not yet made a custom banner, attached the blog to an easy URL, set up an RSS feed, a blogroll (which will be voluminous, and I have to figure out how to organize it properly) or any of that stuff. So I really want to thank everyone who has visited and especially everyone who has commented. I feel lucky to know you, and I do feel connected to a global community of extraordinarily creative and interesting people.

As far as I can tell, viewer #10,000 was someone googling for John Robshaw Textiles , a company I've written about.  I was just at that site the other day, wishing I could buy one his exquisite duvet covers and looking to see if they were hiring for any marketing/pr/global textile explorer positions. Sadly, they are not.

Meanwhile, I saw this week that the current issues of both Vogue Knitting and Vogue Patterns magazine have feature articles on sustainable and "green" materials and supplies. They're both good resource articles. Some of the hyperbole (i.e. bamboo, the perfect fiber) gives me a green headache and green fatigue -- weren't we all exhausted with Earth Day hype and ready to go smoke cigarettes and litter and boldly throw a glass jar in the regular trash by the time it was over this week? And tired of celebrities claiming that they've always been really green, for decades, and deeply concerned about the planet? Really? Anyway, it worries me that too many exaggerated claims will ultimately leave people disillusioned.

But most of the information in the VP and VK articles is very good, and I'm thrilled to see it in the knitting and sewing mainstream. I'm writing an article on organic and sustainable fabrics myself, for a new sewing magazine to be out this summer that I think will be very creative and inspiring.

I also received my review copy of Sustainable Fashion: Why Now?, a book of essays edited and conceived of by the brilliant Janet Hethorn, a professor at the University of Delaware (which offers a graduate certificate program in the business of sustainable fashion) and Connie Ulasewicz of San Francisco State University. This is intended as a textbook (with a big textbook price) but it looks very readable and very enlightening for anyone thinking about a clothing business or just a better understanding of clothing and textiles in our lives today. I will read and review.

Now, though, I'm going to go finish a skirt that's been on the worktable forever so I can move on. I have a long list of projects and need to complete some craft and make some art.

One more thing before I go -- I've been resisting watching The Last Lecture because, you know, it's become such a thing, and also I knew it would hit close to home -- my father was a scientist who died of cancer at 63, and we lived in Pittsburgh for a few years, though he didn't teach at Carnegie Mellon but at the University of Pittsburgh. This morning I read the transcript. It is, as everyone says, very poignant, sweet, funny and smart, and truly well worth viewing or reading. Share it with your kids and take the time to watch. I promise you will laugh and cry. Randy Pausch is still with us, and though his prognosis is still terminal, I hope he's here for a long time. Now go be well and follow your dreams.

Organic Knitting Yarns

Knitting with environmentally responsible yarns is quite the rage . . . it's the cover feature on the new issue of Vogue Knitting, and eco-knitting has been featured in most of the knitting magazines. Knitters have some choices now in organic wool and cotton, as well as other treats in the "sustainable" family like bamboo and recycled Tibetan or sari silk. (I always want to have an asterisk next to bamboo, since most of it doesn't really make the sustainability cut yet in my book -- the process of turning bamboo into soft fabric or yarn is very chemical- and water-intensive.) 

A quick review: organic has a specific legal meaning in the United States. In broad strokes, it means that no toxic or synthetic pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers are used. Genetically modified crops, animal growth hormones, and antibiotics are prohibited. Livestock must be fed organic feed and have access to pasture. All of these practices must be verified by an independent third-party certifier. And responsible manufacturers don't just use organic fiber; they also use recommended dyeing and finishing practices to maintain the integrity of the organic product. Bamboo, considered a wood product, does not have organic standards; though it doesn't require a lot of pesticides to grow and is highly renewable,  pesticides are sometimes used and the entire process has limited transparency, since most of the production takes place in China. And then there's the issue of the chemicals used to make this hard, brittle plant soft and fluffy.

That said  . . . ahhhh. There are some really lovely organic yarns that are not prohibitively expensive. The natural shades are always beautiful and classic; for those of us who live for color, there's plenty of that too.

• I am besotted with the heathery, clean colors of O-Wool Balance, 50 percent organic merino wool and 50 percent organic cotton. It's in a worsted gauge and may be the perfect yarn. A few of the colors are below. PurlSoho sells this yarn for $8/skein.
• 
• The Fibre Co. makes gorgeous artisan yarns. Organik is a blend of 70% organic wool with silk and baby alpaca in some amazing colors.
• 
• Also by The Fibre Co., Savannah is hand-dyed 20 percent organic cotton blended with merino wool, soy fiber and linen.
• 
• Blue Sky Alpacas has led the way with organic cotton knitting yarns, both undyed in naturally color-grown shades and dyed with low-impact dyes (below).
• 
• Rowan is offering naturally dyed organic cotton yarn in eight shades. 
• Tierra Wools is a cooperative in New Mexico making beautiful naturally dyed yarns for weavers and knitters using wool from organically raised sheep. This company has provided right livelihood for many people in this underserved region, allowing them to stay on the land and use time-honored artisan skills in their work.  It's a fascinating and lovely place; most definitely worth a visit if you're driving through New Mexico flying your cowgirl flag high.
  
• Finally, many small wool producers are using very responsible and humane practices even if not certified organic; these are often sold to small independent spinners and dyers and handpainters. Supporting these cottage industries is a great idea.
• Buy from a local yarn store if you can; there are also excellent yarn retailers online. I like Purl Soho, Jimmy Bean's Wool, and Yarnmarket, and there are many more. NearSeaNaturals sells both organic and sustainably produced yarns and fabrics.
  

Craft 2.0, Authentic and Slow, and Extreme Slow

I've been thinking a lot about the last post and thought I'd say a little more. This is a long post .

I have no problem with anybody who wants to knit crazy acrylic scarves on size 17 needles, or scrapbook, or do no-sew sewing, or any other activity with their hands and hearts. It's really different from the approach to art, craft and design that I'm calling Slow Cloth or Authentic Cloth. There's nothing wrong with the people who are doing it, and nothing inherently wrong with what they're doing if they enjoy it and nobody gets hurt; the thing that gets under some of our skins, I think, is the marketing and selling of it.

I'm not even sure what Craft 2.0 means, but I think it's what String or Nothing was talking about -- lots of crafts skewing very young, marketed as hip and trendy, and suggesting that you really don't need any skill or time or commitment. "Make a sweater in a weekend!" "It's not your mother's knitting!" "It's not your grandmother's beadwork!" (There are always unnecessary exclamation points involved.) Some of the results are beautiful and charming, some are okay, and some are really awful. But it doesn't serve anyone to suggest that there's no value in going past beginner-level skills and kits and throwaway materials. (There's also a lot of use of recycled materials in these crafts, and that's fantastic, yet it's still often marketed in silly ways.)

I think what's most appealing for young women is that there's a lot of community, both electronic and real, in this movement. They're discovering the amazing sense of belonging that happens when women get together to talk and stitch. The stitching adds a dimension and connection that is nourishing and regenerative. There's nothing new about this. From time immemorial -- quilting bees being the best-known example -- these talk-and-stitch gatherings have had power.

I discovered it around 1990, living in Chicago and working on weekends at The Weaving Workshop, then on Diversey. The store was owned then by Marilyn Murphy, now president of Interweave Press. Amazing women worked there and knitted there -- Stacy, Melissa, are you out there? Once a month we'd all get together for potluck and knitting. Coming from a family with three brothers, it was truly my first positive experience of a group of women supporting, liking, and encouraging each other, and sharing creative work. Yes, we irreverently referred to those evenings as "stitch 'n bitch" and we all understood how great those evenings were. We just never thought to MARKET the concept or turn it into a book or a zeitgeist, and the world wouldn't have been ready if we had.

My Chicago friends were incredibly skilled knitters, and generous with everything they knew. I learned so much from them. We used to talk about having a "no-brainer" project that didn't require much attention, and then a more challenging one for moments of full presence. In what's becoming the "craft industry" we see a lot of no-brainer projects and not much else. And our culture devalues taking time and can barely imagine or support doing an art or craft over a span of years, and not taking shortcuts (I don't mean every project has to take years, though as we know, some inadvertently do).

Next time you're in Santa Fe, visit the Tai Gallery on Canyon Road and spend some time with the bamboo baskets there, made by very old Japanese basketmakers. You'll forget every trivializing joke you've ever heard or made about basketweaving. These vessels have an integrity, a life force, and a beauty that is indescribable, because years of learning and relationship to the materials have gone into them. They are made mostly by men (traditionally the skills aren't taught to women, and that's one reason the art is dying). This is from the gallery's Web site:

There are now less than a hundred working bamboo artists in Japan. The young people who have taken up the call to learn bamboo basket making make a commitment of time that is hard for us as Westerners to comprehend. The first ten years are devoted to learning the basic techniques of cutting, dyeing, and plaiting bamboo. After this is mastered, another one or two decades are spent developing as an artist. Artists begin to gain full recognition as they come into their fifties and sixties. There are a number of basket makers who are still working in their eighties. It is an honor for our gallery to represent some of the top living bamboo artists of Japan.

I guess you could call this Extreme Slow art. Most textile artists and artisans today don't have this mindset or cultural support, and we should all be a part of our time and our world. But the reverence, the authenticity and the respect for the materials is so rich, and if you are open to it, these baskets have a depth and a vibration that feels profound and eternal.

Somewhere between these baskets and throwaway trendy projects is Authentic Cloth. And it's taken an eternity to read this, right? Thank you! Back soon with inspiration and links and more.

Athena's Web

I'd like to pay homage to some of the goddesses of textile blogging who have really inspired me, the well-worn bookmarks that set a standard for the rest. I don't really know what this blog will become, but these are some I look to for their focus, knowledge and warmth, and highly recommend as a core online library for the textile community.

• Dijanne Cevaal's blog, Musings of a Textile Itinerant, is a gorgeous showcase of her work, her multicultural inspiration, her thoughtful process, and her tenacious pursuit of the artist's life.
• Serena Fenton's Layers of Meaning is not updated as frequently as some others, but every entry is a gem of inspiration and beauty.
• Kay and Ann of Mason-Dixon Knitting have justifiably earned fame in the knitting and blogging world. Their wit and geniality is unsurpassed. Whatever they're drinking, I need some.
• Sharon B's In A Minute Ago is the mother of all textile blogs; Sharon is Australian, a crazy quilter, an educator by nature and a pioneer in creating a global Internet community and using the resources of the Web.