Shawl, hat, socks…I’ve been finishing old projects, enjoying the Crimson WIPalong, and trying to stay sane whilst I’m in a really intense period trying to finish writing my PhD thesis. I’ve also been watching and reading Anne of Green Gables, an old childhood favourite. Through this, I’ve been thinking about collective approaches to remembering, and the past. What is the best way to preserve culture steeped in values of another age – whilst not being defined by it?
Announcement: Listen to The Sounds of Botanical Desires – I feature in this episode of the Technecast podcast about my artist residency at the Archive of the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew.
Join in the Crimson WIPalong at any time! You can find us on Instagram or Discord (access via Patreon). Find more information here.
Show notes
What I’m wearing
My magenta pink cardigan is Aureus by Michelle Wang (Ravelry project link). I made a lot of modifications when knitting the pattern.
I’m also wearing my Knit Dickey design, published in Making Winter Vol. 4 Gifts (view the design on Ravelry). I shared much more about this design in Episode 58. To find out more about this design, read my blog post all about the textile techniques that inspired me.
Knitting Basket: my current projects
Thanks to the Crimson WIPalong, I’ve problem-solved a long-standing unfinished project: my grey chunky shawl. I’ve managed to knit my ideal scalloped border edge, and I’m so happy with this project!
I finished the blue ribbed hat using worsted-weight yarn by The Urban Purl. I knit this for my sister, complete with a pompom.
I knitted a new pair of Oregano Socks using Black Isle Yarns Killen 4-ply in the shade Seaweed.
Conversational Threads
I shared the second artwork that I’m knitting for a community art project called Traces: Stories of Migration. This is a red pair of monogrammed socks with my initials knitted into one leg, and my Chinese name in simplified characters stitched into the second sock. I’m using materials as a metaphor for places that are part of my own migration story. By working my names into the socks, I’m thinking about asserting my own presence into a family history of migration.
I’ve been reading and watching Anne of Green Gables (the Netflix adaptation is titled Anne with an E). This has been a really enjoyable process of revisiting my past perspective on this story.
Listen to The Sounds of Botanical Desires – an episode of the Technecast podcast about my artist residency at the Archive of the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew. I share my music, the sounds I made, and the process of how I went about researching and responding to an archive of colonial historical documents.
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Featured Designs
I knit a new version of my Oregano Socks design using Killen Sock 4-ply. The pattern provides directions for both sport- and 4-ply (fingering)-weight sock yarn.
