Arrowmont Summer 2013: Day 3

Today seemed very long! I think it's because I was able to learn and knit so much in one day that it doesn't seem possible!

We began class by starting another sampler, but this time we explored short-rowing. For those of you who don't know the technique of short-rowing, it is the process of knitting stitches back and forth across the needles while decreasing or increasing the amount of active stitches on the needles. This technique is often used in forming the heel of hand knit socks. We began with basic short rowing back and forth across the needles, but then explored making peaks, flaps and bulges in the fabric with this technique. 

My short row sampler, in a kind of PB&J color way.

Our wall of samples is getting bigger by the day!

Following this sampler, we went to lunch for taco Tuesday (!!!!!!) and then headed to the auditorium for a slideshow Adrienne put together of some inspiring knit, crochet and all around neat-o fiber artists.

Some artists from the presentation that I was most drawn to were:

-Helen Pynor (Delicate knits using actual human hair as the medium)
-Pharmacopoeia (A group of knitters who machine knit a lifetime supply of perscription drugs into a knitted piece) 
-Susie Freeman (A machine knitter who helped with Pharmacopoeia and focuses on the knitted pocket)
-Debbie New (A more traditional knitter, but who puts a spin on knitting both traditionally and as an art form)
-Itoamika Jung Jung (Crochet artist who uses arugami to realistically portray vegetables)
(more to come)
-Ruth Asawa (Wire knit sculptural artist)
-Ruth Marshall (Mimics the skin of animals with knitting)
-Tania Spencer (Another wire sculpture)
-Yvette Kaiser Smith (Works with crochet and hardened fiberglass) 
-Laura Kamian (created beautiful hand knit samples for "The Sampler Series")
-Jeung-Hwa Park (Utilizes felting and machine knitting together)

Once the slide show was over we began disecting various 2-D shapes like the square and the circle. We then used the idea of short rows to construct our own globes/spheres! Let me just say making a globe from scratch is much harder than it seams (pun intended). 

My notes on knitting squares, circles and spheres.

I was able to move outside to knit for a while and I took advantage of the great weather out here in Gatlinburg, TN. Just look at how nice it is out here!

MOUNTAINS!!! This Missouri girl doesn't get to see them very often...

After class, I got to have dinner. The knitting class has started sitting together for meal time which is a nice way to swap knitting ideas and stories. All I know is that I need to become more familiar with ravelry and pattern design! Then it was on to the Auditorium where we got to hear lectures from Debra Fritts (a ceramists who uses the figure to tell stories by adding various textures) , Holly Roberts (a collage artist, painter and Teal Wilson's mom), and Adrienne Sloane (the awesome sculptural knitting teacher and artist). After the lectures I peaked in on the natural dye workshop and it looks like they are really making some headway!

Natural dye samples just hanging out. Vicki is down at the end indigo dying.

So tomorrow we will get to use our finished spheres with our fabric stiffener, we may do some more plein air knitting (if weather permits), and finally begin to knit with wire. Now I need to finish knitting this ugly beige colored sphere for tomorrow!

XOXO