For the Love of Textiles

Yes, a month ago I did write my last entry and loads of things have happened in the last 4 weeks or so. Busy as usual at the end of the schoolyear with nice things as fashion shows and presentations of happy students and things as meetings, arguing which takes a lot of energy and sometimes give a negative feeling.. But holiday is slightly appearing at the horizon and in 3 weeks I am now staying on the Shetland Isles for 4 weeks. As mentioned: we had a fashionshow and as ususal I was the ladyspeaker (strange name by the way!!) and 2 collections brought almost tears in my eyes. One was from a student who was born in Afghnistan and came as a refugee to Holland. She had made an eveningcollection made from Burka's which she imported from Afghanistan. It was almost a political statement when she took of her burka in which she stood behind during the show. I was very touched by it. She is a wonderfull student who told me alot about her life in Afghanistan and what this collection ment f...

On monday-evening I was so fed up knitting big items such as my Daniel (the weather is too nice to knit warm and wooly items) that I decided to go back to one of my favourite items to knit which are.... socks. Found my lovely Pale Bleu and Green bamboo/wool yarn from Easy Knits in my stash (bought it last year at the IKnit show in London)and with his pattern the Diamond Geezer off I went. They come out nice and I immediatly ordered the Rhubarb colour which hopefully arrives this week. I love to knit socks and my husband has now a big collection of my handknitted socks in the most amazing colours. My own collection is (so sad) partly eaten up by some moths (due to an old sheepskin somewhere laying behind: partytime overthere for all moths living in our house) and the rest I have to mend (Make do and Mend as mentioned in the wonderfull podcast from Brenday Dayne: Cast on ). But those new ones will be worn proudly this spring and summer. Knitting socks is such a technical way of kni...

My knitting-adventure started years ago in the late 70's when I was studying Social Studies.I was 19 at that time, living on my own in a very small room and very alternative in a way. It seems to me that almost everyone was knitting at that time and we even knitted during our lessons sociology and patterns were shared with everyone. I was a very crafty boy when I was young. No matter as it was drawing, painting, handicrafts with old boxes, ceramics,macrame (O, those plant hangers were everywhere and I was very into big walldecorations knotted with thick hemp yarn and handmade big beads from raw clay) I loved everything. So one day I asked my mum to teach me how to knit after I had learned to crochet from an aunt of me. She was a very good knitter; not really difficult items but she was very precise. We went to the departmentstore called HEMA and there we bought needles and dark brown 100 wool yarn. I still have those needles. They are made from yellow plastic, size 5. We also boug...