#14 - HOLIDAY INSPIRATION

From Blogger Pictures

Talila Abraham's Dantela, 2004

via The Curated Object

The holiday season gets me thinking about ritual and how we move further and further away from it as a society by being so wrapped up in consumerism.  On this train of thought and in search of good reading material, I stumbled upon the exhibit Reinventing Ritual at The Jewish Museum in New York, running through February 7, 2010.  Ritual allows us to transcend our everyday activities and to provide them with meaning.  Some artists are seeking to revive our connection to ritual, and pieces like Talila Abraham's Dantela are of great inspiration to me.  Merging art, technology, and craft, Abraham has created a metalwork object that is reminiscent of traditional lace textiles.  An item to be used at the Passover seder, it connotes tradition, family, faith, and history.  I hope that my holiday activities can similarly reflect upon these ideas, and the process of hand-making gifts helps me to do just that.

From Knitting, etc.

From Knitting, etc.

With all of that in mind, I finally have some finished objects to share!  First off, the Building Blocks scarf from Interweave that I shared in the veeery early stages last time.  I knitted it in an admittedly small gauge, thinking I could figure things out as I went.  I made no alterations to the long scarf pattern, and after blocking, it was still much too short to actually be a scarf.  Not wanting to frog it, I decided to stitch it up into a loop, making a lovely double-wrapped cowl.  It's so soft and the colors look great, so I hope my friend doesn't notice my measuring error and thinks I intended to make it as such.  Also, please excuse these sort-of awful photos that illustrate how irritated I became with my camera's self-timer.

From Knitting, etc.

(yeah, PhotoBooth is the worst.)

From Knitting, etc.

I also knitted up the Cable and Bobble Headband, also from the Interweave Holiday Knits issue for another friend of mine.  She requested a headband-type item with big pom poms, so I'm pretty sure this delivers.  It was quick and really simple - made from Manos del Uruguay Wool Clasica in an afternoon's time - and I think the pom poms are a nice touch.  Here's hoping she agrees!

Now, I'm working on some fingerless gloves - the Spirogyra wristwarmers from Knitty, yet another gift.  I'm altering the pattern a bit so I can use up more of that giant pile of Turkish yarn in my stash.  Depending upon how these turn out, I may make another pair for my sister-in-law.  If not, Fetching is a reliable standby.  

I'm so very glad that the semester is wrapping up this week... because I have so much more knitting on my plate to complete by December 25.  5 hats, 2 pairs of socks, and a shawlette - if all goes according to plan.  Undoubtedly that will change, but I like to aim high - so we'll see what happens!