Non-Traditional Christmas Tree #16: A Celebration of Yarn

Celebrating Christmas at the End of a Pandemic Year

Christmas Tree 2020

What a strange year this has been. I think I have spent more hours in my home since March of 2020 than in many years combined prior to that. A lot of the ‘at home’ activity revolved around creative projects, so it would make sense that my 2020 non-traditional Christmas tree this year reflect that.

Since fibers are a bit part of my life and I have ample in my possession, I decided to create this year’s tree from all things related to yarn.  You can see some of the ingredients below.

balls, skeins and cones of yarn

cord, tassels and pompoms

The core of the tree was set around some decorative display items that Starbucks used in their stores a few years ago. I had asked my local store if they were going to toss the displays at the end of the season, if they would toss it my way. Lucky for me, they did, and I’ve been using these yarn and glass ball displays in my home holiday décor for many years.

Decorative core, thanks to Starbucks

Around the tree I placed my cones of yarn around the core. Some of these were from my weaving years, and others from my current machine-knitting years. I attached tassels around the edge of the tabletop. These I made these as demo items in my Textiles class. When we began to study yarns, I showed my students how to create cord, and then how to build a tassel. 

tassels placed around the edge of the table top

Next, I draped the hanks/skeins of hand-painted yarns around the base, and then, I positioned pompoms (also a demo item for my students in Textile Design) and balls of yarn to fill in the gaps.

fill-in items

The last item for the decoration was the stringing of lights. There you have it… a yarn holiday tree,  #16 for me.

Texture... a trend for Fall/Winter 14/15 Pitti Filati

One yarn display

Ciao!
I just finished two days at the Pitti Filati, which is a trend show for yarns that takes place in Florence Italy, twice a year.

If I had to pick one statement to make, regarding trends, it would be TEXTURE. The yarns are textured, the stitch patterns are textured, and the garments are textured.

Here are a few samples of different ways texture was created in the knit fabrics themselves.

embroidery of sorts, and texture stitches

an assortment

cut-outs

crochet as well

Pitti Filati in Florence/Firenze

I am currently at the Pitti Filati in Florence, Italy. This year, the Inspiration Room is themed with recycle materials. Below you can see the 'rags' area and a few of the mini knit garments.

There is so much to take in. The knits and yarns for Fall Winter 2012/13 are amazing. More later.

Yarn in Verona! Jenny Klaer, Filati & Ricami

I have been to Verona many times, and have looked for yarn stores with no luck. You have to know who to ask, and so, you must ask a knitter. I was pleased to find out that my Italian friend Anna is a knitter, and so, she took me on tour of a few wonderful stores in Verona and area. We will begin with Jenny Klaier, Filati & Ricami. To the right here, you can see Jenny (left) and Lina (right).







First of all, meet Anna.. a fellow fiber enthusiast.


Jenny Klaer is the name of the store and of the owner. It is a lovely shop full of color, samples and of course, interesting yarns. Here are a couple shots of the interior of the store.



Jenny Klaer, Filati & Ricami
Via S. Egidio, 11, 37121 Verona (this is near Piazza Erbe)
Tel: 045 596761
Jennyklaer@yahoo.it

This is a great yarn, and you can see the project I am going to do. Jenny was very gracious and sketched the design and instructions for me. This is a simple shawl that begins with 151 stitches and involves decreases every other row. The first portion is knit with the edge of the yarn as your stitch. This creates a fringe of sorts. The latter body-portion is knit with the entire yarn forming the stitch.




Here is another yarn





Another yarn and scarf.

Knitters in the City (of San Francisco)

Last weekend I was having lunch at a little creperie in San Francisco. I happened to glance over at another table, and immediately had to smile, as lo and behold was a group of hand knitters, happily knitting away amidst chatter and laughs.

Given the nature of creative and yarn people, I knew the women wouldn’t mind a little intrusion, so I walked over to chat with them and find out more about the communal nature of group.

Meet ‘the Knit Wits’, (a newly dubbed name, by the way). This is a group of women who meet every Sunday at a little creperie restaurant near the yarn store called Atelier which is located on Divisadero in the city. The ladies have been meeting for two years. Their projects varied from scarves to hats to shrugs, and beyond. The knitting was well advanced in technique.

Here you can see a few of the projects members were working on.

Victoria Done!

Last weekend I had a couple of girlfriends over for dinner. Victoria brought a project that was almost 'done', and together we threw it in the washer and dryer to perform the last step, which was 'shrinking' the poncho. We measured it first, then placed it in a mesh bag and threw it into a hot wash, cold rinse, and then the dryer. It was a little scarey!


Here you can see Victoria wearing the finished item. It is made from Touch Me yarn by Meunch Yarns. Check it out!

Victoria says:

This is the most luxurious garment I have ever knitted. OMG. I'm going to do one in black next. 650 grams of Touch Me on size 7 needles. It's a Muench pattern: "Poncho with Cowl Neck". I made the Small/Medium.

I'm going to wash the purple one in cold water then put it in a hot dryer and see what happens.

We'll ask her for photos, yes?

La Lana Wools, Taos, New Mexico

In Taos, New Mexico, there is a yarn store.... what more can I say. Lynne, one of the employees treated us royally, and totally delighted us with her personal touch to sharing the shop's history.

The shop/gallery features all naturally-dyed yarns and fibers. The owner, Luisa was inspired by the beautiful yarns of Peru, Bolivia and Guatemala, and has carried her passion forward to create the line of color you see below. They support their yarn with a full array of patterns, needles, and other items which are candy-to-the-eye. The patterns are developed by designers who know and love La Lana yarns.




La Lana Wools
www.lalanawools.com
136 Paseo Del Pueblo Norte # C
Taos, NM 87571-6099
(575) 758-9631

Thanks to Lynne for sharing herself and her world of fiber.
Below see various shots taken during our tour and shopping trip.

The High Road to Taos: Ortega's Weaving Gallery

The High Road to Taos is a beautiful drive between Santa Fe and Taos, New Mexico. Eve with the scenery, the drive becomes more interesting if you can stop at various artisan studios along the way.

Our Retreat group's first stop was at Ortega's Weaving Gallery and Shop in Chimayo.

Ortega's Weaving Gallery and Shop
www.ortegasweaving.com
CR 98 at NM 76
Chimayo, NM 87522
Phone: 505-351-4215

Robert Ortega explained the Ortega family history. They have been weaving for 300 years, but commercially since 1900. The style of weaving is traditional, and pulls its roots from Spain during the 17th century. It is known as Chimayo or Rio Grande weaving. The looms are of Euopean origin. Wool is the fiber of choice.

Robert demonstrated the weaving process on a rug loom as well as a blanket loom. Below you can see some shots of the weaving process, as well as a rug on the loom.

A Yarn Store in Venezia (Venice)

Last week I went to Venice with friends visiting from California. It was their first trip and so we were all excited.

Last fall when I was here doing research while on sabbatical, I had seen a yarn store, but given the labyrinth of Venezian streets, I had little hope of finding it again, and I had been remiss in taking down the address. By chance, in our wanderings, we did come across the yarn store. It is near Palazzo Fortuny and beside Campo Manin. Fortuny was a designer of the early 20th century, and of course, his museum was a stop on our meanderings.

The yarn store is called Lellabella, and it is named after the owner Lella. The name of the store translates to beautiful Lella, and indeed Lella was. She (on the right) and her daughter Monica (on the left) run the business and they were delightful. Monica speaks very good English and Lella speaks some. As a team, they design and knit all their own models (samples) in the shop.



As you can see here from photos, the yarns are scrumptious, the owners are “bella”, and the samples are great! Make sure you visit with them if you get to Venice!

Lellabella
Calle della Mandola (Della Cortesia)
Venezia 30124
San Marco 3718
www.yarnshopinvenice.com
lellabellavenezia@libero.it
041 522 51 52

Some of Lelle's and Monica's original designs




Views from inside the store



Lelle