Totally Radical...

So Saturday I packed up the second Jaywalker sock and took it into New York City for some culture. (See how the sock is almost done? Yeah, so is the yarn. I see an unmatched toe in this socks future and I really think I'm ok with that at this point.) Along with my knitterly friends Tracy and Chris we went to the Museum of Arts and Design to see the Radical Lace and Subversive Knitting exhibit. Definitely more art than craft it was really something to see. Some of my favorite pieces would have to include an untitled piece by Hildur Bjarnadóttir which was actually a crocheted lace tablecloth surrounded by 3 dimensional skulls around the edges. Very cool. Another favorite-the work of Piper Shepard written about in Knitty here, was simply stunning. She had taken huge swaths of fabric on rolls and hand cut what seemed like miles and miles of lace panels out of the fabric by hand with exacto knives.



Before the museum we went for a visit to the amazing School Products. Wow. What an amazing yarn store. It was big and bright and just had tons and tons of stuff. They seemed to have a lot of laceweight which was good for me, that's just what I was in the market for. They had an impressive stock of Koigu. I see why this stuff makes people weak. It was hard to resist. But I remembered my new 'No New Sock Yarn' mantra and stayed strong! Lots of unusual things, silk blends, coned yarns, and cashmere.... Now this might seem silly to some but I always kind of wondered what the big deal was about cashmere. I think maybe I just let myself stop at the price tag and that was enough to dissinterest me right there. But at School Products cashmere is actually affordable. It was reasonable to find skeins in the $30 dollar range that would have enough make a nice, respectable lace weight scarf. I on the other hand just blew that figure right out of the water and picked up enough of the stuff to make a big ol' drapey shawl for myself. It's actually a cashmere boucle, in a dark hunter green with a few variances of brown and gold here and there. I'd show a picture but the photo I tried to take in today's cloudy weather of it looks so bad! It's enough to sour generations on cashmere in the future! So no picture, I promise when I start knitting with it you'll get to see it, promise.

And of course the company just made the day a complete success. We knitted on the train both ways, took part in a great lunch and libations at a brewery near the museum and giggled and giggled a whole, whole lot.


In the spirit of the Radical Lace and Subversive Knitting show when I got home I decided to try my hand at some Subversive Knitting and come up with some soft sculpture pieces. You know, maybe to keep in the wall unit by the tv, or to submit for an exhibition or something.


Just kidding. It's not sculpture. But it is the finished pieces of my red cardigan! Finally! Let the drudgery of seaming and button bands begin! Sigh. But this has to mean I'm at least halfway there right? Maybe?