Monday, October 29, 2012

Too Much Inspiration


I went camping last weekend with my family to Simpson Springs on the Pony Express Trail in Utah's West Desert. It was our last camping trip of the fall. Because it was very cold (but beautiful - see pictures below) we spent a lot of time sitting around the campfire. I was struck with a big dose of inspiration for pieces I want to design. Inspiration from reflecting on all the places around the Great Salt Lake that I have been this last year. The upside is that I have a lot of ideas and can't wait to start knitting them. The downside is that now I have six original projects I am working on at the same time not to mention the other regular works-in-progress that I have. 

My inspiration has netted me these six projects to design (or finish): Antelope Island Scarf, Lake Effect Muff, Strawberry Mittens, Oquirrh Mountain Shrug, Stansbury Mountains Neck Gaiter, and Oolitic Sand Muffler. Most of the inspiration has come from all the camping we have been doing but others from my trips around the area for work. Stay tuned for updates on each of these projects. But I do need to finish the Antelope Island Scarf first!

In the mean time, here are some pictures from my last camping trip. 




Friday, October 26, 2012

Black Clouds


The big storm yesterday caused by the lake effect was pretty spectacular. I tried to get a good picture of the front of clouds coming off the Great Salt Lake. This is the best that I could get.



The front of clouds was pretty distinct and when it hit Salt Lake the storm was intense. But after about 20 minutes it was gone and sunny again.

For my Lake Effect Muff I am using a pretty dark grey wool/silk blend that looks a lot like the clouds I saw yesterday.



For the inside of the muff I will be using a soft white alpaca/silk blend that reminds me of snow.


Thursday, October 25, 2012

Lake Effect


I am still working on my Antelope Island Scarf, slowly but surely I will get it done. I have realized that I like making things once. When I have to do something a second time, I lose interest. Especially when I have so many ideas for new things I want to design and make. This is very true today as we got our first snowfall of the season. This is the view outside my office window today.



The Lake Effect happens quite often in Salt Lake resulting in big snowfalls in a short amount of time. I hear about the Lake Effect on the news all the time but I thought it was high time I really looked into what it is. It is actually quite simple. Lake Effect snow is made when cold winds move across warmer lake water. The air picks up water vapor, which then freezes and falls on the shores of the lake. It makes for great clouds and beautiful snow.

All this inspires me to make something warm that reminds me of the clouds and snow. So I think I want to design a muff (no snickering please). I have some beautiful dark grays and soft whites that I will think about using. 

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

And the winners are...

15 Bytes, a Utah arts magazine, published a video of the jurors talking about the '12 Utah Craft and Photography exhibit. Quite a bit of time is spent talking about my work. You can view it here: http://artistsofutah.org/15Bytes/index.php/and-the-winners-are-utah-2012/



Once I figure out how to embed video, I will do that. It is very exciting to have my work recognized. I might have to figure out how to do more with it to get it out into the community.