My creative space: Welcome to the guerilla knitting wedding tree

This is a project close to my heart.

As you may know, Craig & I are getting married this October.

Now, once you decide to get married, usually this involves planning a wedding of some description. And it can be very hard to get away from the wedding magazines and the white dress and the fancy cake and flowers. You start out with a clear head and a determination to do it your own way and as much as possible stay away from the wedding industry. But it's virtually impossible, and in moments of weakness (& sometimes clarity) you realise that no, you can't be the bride and cook for 100+ guests. It's just not a good idea.

So you take a deep breath and think about what's important about this day. And you go back to the notes from that brainstorming session you had way back when you convinced Craig we had to think about what we wanted this day to be, and the notes say 'handmade' and 'community' and 'participation'. And 'intergenerational dancing'(!)

Around the same time, I was reading a lot about guerilla knitting and yarn bombing (& even doing a little myself). I think what I love most about it is that, ultimately, it is a gift. It may be making a political statement or it may be just to make people smile, but someone has thought about it and spent their time and effort to make something that other people can enjoy. For no tangible reward. For people they most likely don't even know. I think the pure fact that this happens is enough proof that our economic system, which values competition and maximising personal utility at the expense of others, can never work in the long run. But that's another topic for another day...

So, what do you get when you cross handmade community participation with guerilla knitting?

You get this project, which aims to create a yarn art installation on a tree at our wedding, to celebrate the talent of our family and friends (and anyone out there who wants to participate, you will be welcomed with open arms!) and to create something that one person could not do alone, but that needs community, and is better for it.

Here is the tree. As you can see we have a big job ahead!

It also aims to tie in with the Go North Arts Festival, which is held in the Swan Hill region in late October. So if you would like to join in but you won't be at the wedding, your work will also be exhibited at the festival, which is a great chance to visit Swan Hill.

The 2010 festival theme is 'Journey'.

I will be following the project here, at least weekly, so send me your photos and your thoughts and I will attempt to record how things are going. I will also feature stories from guerilla knitters around the world, knitting (& crochet) tips, and whatever else evolves along the way. I am excited to see what will unfold.

The task for week 1 is: a new project name! Tentatively, this is the guerilla knitting wedding tree project. But that's a bit long and boring. Any ideas? Knitted Journey? A marriage of yarn? River red gum yarn story? Something else? Send 'em through, I have a prize for the best one.

I have kind of cheated this week and made this my creative space. Maybe if you have landed here via Kirsty's you might like to follow along? I would really like that...

If you've never been here before and you don't know who Kirsty is, then you're missing out. Every week she hosts 'my creative space', and 150+ crafty people play along and show the rest of us what creative things they've been up to. Go check it out!

Happy birthday SF

Again, I'm a bit behind - admittedly the gift was late, but not as late as others (and that's not even mentioning those still in progress - eek!). But I had to wait until it was safely received before I could show you:



It's made from lovely fine Empire 4 ply merino from Morris & Sons, who have been in their Melbourne store now for about a year. Great friendly staff work there and they are always interested in whatever project you have on the go. I have managed to go in there without spending money, but not often.

Anyhow, my gorgeous and talented writer friend is the recipient of this cushion. She has a burgeoning writing career, even being published in the Age newspaper last week! Check out her blog here. Happy birthday Sare!

look what I found

just had to show you these - still in the box!
they are in the cupboard at my Nan's - I think they belonged to her mother, my great-grandmother.

craft is all around

At christmas at my Nan's this year, I tried to appreciate all the handmade things that have just always been there. The amazingly intricate cross stitch tablecloth that comes out on special occasions and which my Nan & Pa received for their engagement. The crochet rugs that were made by my great grandmother - that yellow, black and red one has been on that green sofa in the 'good room' (more commonly known as the 'big loungeroom') for as long as I can remember. There are photos of my brother as a baby on that sofa, with that rug draped over it.
My Nan lives in country Victoria, in the house her mother lived in before her. My uncle & aunty run the farm which my grandparents ran before them. This is just normal to me - but when you stop and think about it, it is significant.

Nan's house is big, and old. There are four bedrooms, three living rooms and two bathrooms. There are five doors to outside, but no-one uses the front door. Nan has two fridges and a chest freezer (the 'deep freeze') - they must cost her a fortune in electricity, but where would all the food go at christmas? Until about 5 years ago she still used a wringer washing machine. The garden isn't as green as it used to be, what with the drought and the water restrictions, but Nan carts buckets around to water her pot plants.

At christmas we had about 20 this year. When everyone is home there are 28 of us, but that's a rare event. There's always someone overseas, or having christmas with their partner's family.

One day things will be different, but for now, I can't imagine it any other way.

my creative space: colourful crochet...

after seeing Melanie's post this week I was reminded that I also have a couple of outstanding birthday gifts to get onto. do other people have this affliction? you want to make because it's a way of showing how much you care, but does giving a present 6 months late contradict that?

I have a dear (patient) friend in mind for this one - she is extremely talented, gentle and kind, an excellent violinist and runner, and she had a birthday earlier this year but true to form wanted no-one to pay any attention to it(!)

It's going to be a cushion cover. I am thinking a recycled jumper (sweater), but still need to crochet another 7 squares to make it 4x4.

You can find links to more crafty people over at Kirsty's

Why I want to live in the country...

Imagine being able to ride your bike in through here every day (well, maybe not every day, but whenever you feel like it).

I was in the Grampians for the weekend and managed a short training ride on Saturday morning. Even met a local out on the road who told me to watch out for deer. I asked him if they were a pest and he said, officially yes, but the tourists like them so much they don't do too much to manage them. Wonder if that's true?

I also made some time to start a baby hat:

and I almost got it finished before realising I missed 8 rows, and therefore it's looking oddly stunted. Will have to unpick and start again. Ugh!

Lovely sunday pancakes

Roller door up, table out on the street - real maple syrup from Canada and funny stories about a man who puts Christmas lights in his beard (and keeps the battery pack in there too!). A lovely Sunday morning!

A week of special stuff: Monday

Yikes! This is my very first time participating in a meme - Pip's "A week of...". The theme is 'Special Stuff around your house'. Immediately I thought of this...

This knee rug is one of my favourite things. My nan Audrey knitted the squares - they were amongst her things after she died. I'm not sure what she intended to use them for, but my guess is she was using up scraps of wool and perhaps wasn't yet sure herself.

I wanted to create something from them and so I laid them out and there were enough to make this small rug, so I crocheted them together. I'm not really into fancy edgings so the edge on this is a simple crab stitch (I did need a couple of tries though - the first time I didn't put enough stitches in the corners and it curled up too much, so I pulled it out and started again).

I like to see this rug as a connection between us. We were quite similar I think, and I still had so much to learn from her. She was an especially good knitter and an incredible gardener.

When we were younger Audrey lived in Torquay, one block from the beach. People would walk past her house every day with their dogs and many, many people would comment on her beautiful garden.

Here is a picture of us together (me in my deb ball dress, circa 1997!)

Beyond the granny...

(photos from "200 crochet blocks for blankets, throws and afghans", by Jan Eaton)

Current inspiration... what to do when there are just not enough hours in the day, and so many things to learn? I have a babette blanket in progress (see others on Flickr), but how easy is it to get distracted by other new, exciting projects?

For my babette I have been using Panda Magnum Soft, an 8 ply acrylic that is nice and soft but has a limited colour palette (I am still waiting for a navy blue and a yellow to be released). Also - I am not very organised and at one stage forgot which size hook I was using (it's a 5mm, recorded here now in case I forget again!). But it has been a nice project to pick up every now and then, even if it takes 5 years or more to finish.

Hmmm... that reminds me - I do have a history of not finishing things. When I was 11 my aunty was pregnant and I decided to make a cross-stitch tapestry for the new baby. Conor is now 16 and the cross stitch is about 2/3 of the way there!