BreiRijk is Open!!!

BreiRijk Local Yarn Store in De Pinte at Baron de Gieylaan 9

BreiRijk opende op 27 september haar deuren met een Tricot Thee – party. We dronken koffie en cava en we genoten van gebakjes van bakkerij Hanssens, één van mijn favoriete bakkers in De Pinte. Het was heel gezellig om tijd door te brengen met al onze vrienden die we maar weinig gezien hebben sinds de zomervakantie begon. Alles bij elkaar leek iedereen in zijn sas met onze nieuwe winkelruimte en de collectie garens die we aanbieden. Net op tijd voor “terug breien” nu het weer koud aan het worden is en lange winternachten net om de hoek zijn.

Openingsuren

Dinsdag                 9.30 – 12.30 u                      14.00 – 18.00 u

Woensdag             9.30 – 12.30 u                      14.00 – 18.00 u

Donderdag                                                         14:00 – 21.00 u

Vrijdag                    9.30 – 12.30 u                      14.00 – 18.00 u

Zaterdag                9.30 – 17.30 u                           doorlopend

BreiRijk September 27 with a Tricot Thee party.   We drank coffee, cava and had pastries from one of my favorite De Pinte bakeries, Hanssen’s. We had a great time visiting with all of our friends that we haven’t seen much of since the summer vacation began.  Overall, everyone seemed pleased with our new shop space and the collection of yarns we offer.  Just in time for “back to knitting” with the weather turning cold and long winter nights lurking around the corner.

BREISTER VAN DE MAAND

Elke maand brengen we U een “Breister van de Maand” van onze Tricot Thee breigroep. Deze maand heb ik Christine Steijaert gekozen, die al lang deelneemt aan onze Tricot Thee en ook aan de Knit Flanders breiclub van Gent. Na een korte consultatie met mij, de eigenaar van BreiRijk, ging Christine aan de slag met twee garens, Grignasco Kid Seta en een Fijnknit zijde bouclé, in één draad gebreid, en een patroon van het boek “Lace Style” dat ze hier gekocht had. De naam van het patroon is “Katherine Hepburn Cardigan”. Het is zeer mooi uitgevoerd, met een verrukkelijk lichte textuur, chique genoeg voor een party en tegelijk “casual” genoeg om je jeans beter te laten uitkomen. Kom gerust binnen in onze winkel om Christine’s mooie werk te bewonderen en bestel dit prachtige nieuwe boek, Lace Style, geredigeerd door Pam Allen en Ann Budd. Lace Style bevat een collectie van zowel traditionele als innovatieve ontwerpen van beroemde Amerikaanse ontwerpers.

KNITTER OF THE MONTH

Every month we will feature a “Knitter of the Month” from our Tricot Thee knitting group.   I have chosen a knitter of the month, Christine Steijaert who has been a long time member of our Tricot Thee and the Knit Flanders breiclub from Gent.   After a short consultation with me, the owner of BreiRijk, Christine used two yarns knit together as one thread, Grignasco Kid Seta and a Fijnknit Silk boucle. and a pattern from the book, Lace Style, that she purchased from Breirijk.  The name of the pattern is Katherine Hepburn Cardigan.   It is beautifully executed with a lovely light texture, dressy enough to wear to a party or casual enough to dress up a pair of jeans.   Come into the shop to see Christine’s lovely work and order a copy of this wonderful new book, Lace Style, edited by Pam Allen and Budd.  Lace Style contains a collection of traditional to innovative designs by famous American designers.

TRICOT THEE 

ELKE DONDERDAG-Drop In

14u tot 21u

Kom langs voor thee, koffie, gebak en goede conversatie met medebreisters. Breng je boeken, je patronen, projecten en goede ideeën om te delen met andere brei- en haakenthousiasten. Blijf zolang als je zin hebt, vertrek wanneer je wil. We vragen één euro voor koffie, thee of bruiswater en €2,50
voor koffie, thee, water met een gebakje, maar verder kost een plek aan de tafel om met vrienden te babbelen niets.

EVERY THURSDAY 2 PM -9 PM

DROP-IN for tea, coffee, pastries and great conversation with fellow knitters.   Bring your books, patterns, projects and good ideas to share with other knitting or crochet enthusiasts.   Stay as long as you like, leave when you want. We charge €1 for coffee, tea, or bubbly water and €2.50 for coffee, tea, water and pastry.   But otherwise a place to sit at a table to sit and chat with friends is free.

WORKSHOPS

Iedereen vraagt naar brei-en haak lessen. In de komende dagen ga ik een nieuwe serie workshops op de website zetten, op de workshop pagina. We proberen vast te stellen wat de noden van onze klanten zijn, en de beste tijden om de workshops te houden. De eerste workshop, Breien – Vilten, is verspreid over drie maandagen,  en begint op maandag 15 oktober, van 14:30 uur tot 17:00 uur. Zie Workshops voor details.

Everybody is asking for knitting and crochet lessons.   I will be posting a new series of workshops on the workshop page in the coming days.  We are trying to determine the needs of our clientele and good times to offer the workshops. The first workshop, Breien-Vilten, begins on October 15 at 2:30 – 5 pm for 3 weeks.   See Workshops for more details.

BreiRijk Opens September 27 2012

BREIRIJK is a full service local yarn store

We’ll be opening Thursday Sept 27 at 2:30 pm with a ‘Tricot-Thee’.

Tricot-thee is a time for women to gather with their knitting and crochet projects, books and experience, and  share and learn from each other and enjoy each other’s company.

 We provide coffee and tea and a beautiful, well lit atelier space

 Drop in any time between 2:30 and 9 pm.  

10% DISCOUNT ON ALL YARNS OPENING DAY!!!!

We are located in the cozy village of De Pinte on the main street, just 2 blocks from the train station. 

 BreiRijk is een ‘full service’ breiwinkel.

 We openen op donderdag, 27 september om 14:30 uur met een ‘tricot-thee’.

Tricot-thee is een tijd voor vrouwen om samen te komen met hun brei- en haakprojecten, hun boeken en hun ervaring, om te delen en te leren van elkaar en gezellig bijeen te zijn.

Wij voorzien koffie en thee en een mooie, goed verlichte atelierruimte.

Kom langs wanneer je wil, tussen 14:30 uur en 21:00 uur. 

10% KORTING OP ALLE GARENS OP OPENINGSDAG!!!!

 

 

ATELIER fijnKNIT NATURAL DYE AND FIBER WORKSHOP SCHEDULE– SUMMER 2012

INTRODUCTION TO SHIBORI & NATURAL DYE COLORS:   PURE COLORS, THEIR SIGNIFICANCE, AND USE IN FIBER ARTS

In this workshop, you will discover the range of  pure, deep colors  in the color spectrum offered by natural dyes on cotton/linen and wool and silk fibers.   While you learn the technical aspects of natural dye coloring, we will study the significance of color and effects on your physical body, emotions, and spirit.   You will learn how to prepare the fiber for perfect and consistent results and colorfastness.   We use only the highest quality natural dyes that promise pure, deep colors and the best possibility of colorfastness that natural dyes have to offer.

We will be combing the use of natural colors with an introduction to Shibori:

INTRODUCTION TO SHIBORI

Stitched, clamped, and folded shibori on silk with natural dyes

Shibori is a shaped, resist -dyeing technique that is so much more than the tie-dye that became well known in the 60’s.   Shibori is a dye-resist technique that is used to create simple and complex, seemingly printed, patterns on fabric and which also can be used to create texture and more dimension to fabric.  The resistance to the dye on fabric is achieved by using string or thread to stitch or tie fabric or by clamping or folding the fabric.  These techniques have been used for centuries all over the world and exemplify many textile traditions in East, Mideast, Africa and South America.  Shibori designs add mystery and beauty to cloth unequaled by any other surface design technique.

This class is broken up into two sections:    The class must be divided into 2 sessions per week because of the 2-step process required, and each shibori technique is followed by the dye bath lesson.  Participants will have the chance to take sample work home and bring their extra samples to dye on Sunday.  It is not an option to participate on Sundays only.

Saturday & Sunday, July 28, 29, 2012,    9:30-17:00

Saturday & Sunday:  August 7, 8, 2012,      9:30-17-00 

Natural Dye & Fiberworks Atelier at Salviapark 38, De Pinte

Beginning level, taught by Catherine van Laake, textile designer

Instruction fee: €310   Includes sample materials, dyes, and handouts.  Payment in advance by July 25th.   Maximum 10 participants.

Spacious studio space with outdoor patio workspace and perfect light conditions.   Bring your own lunch, but tea, coffee and biscuits provided.

If you would like to attend this Shibori workshop or would like more information, please fill out the form below.

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Spring, Building the Nest… and Women’s HERstory Month

It’s Spring and light, fresh air, and change comes quickly to our feminine souls, doesn’t it?

For the past two months I have been busy building my nest for the new knit/natural dye/ textile supplies shop that I will be opening this fall.  The name of my shop will be Atelier fijnKNIT and it will be located in De Pinte, on the main street, Baron de Gieylaan in De Pinte.  We will be offering a weekly Tricot-Thee on Tuesday afternoons and evenings, children’s knitting lessons on Wednesday afternoons, adult knitting lessons, and special workshops on topics such as natural dyeing, shibori, felting, and more as requested by students.  Of course, we will have a full selection of yarns for knitting, crochet, and weaving, high quality natural dyes and mordants,  needles, books, and supplies for knitting, crochet and felting.   Please stay tuned for the workshop schedule which I hope to publish in the next few days.

Today, I want to tell my story about how my journey through the world of textiles has led to this dream of sharing textiles with other women in such an overt fashion.

I left the United States 4 1/2 years ago partly drawn by some ancient textile history hidden deep within my psyche which landed me in Belgium and which has taken me these last several years to grasp.  I also left the United States with deep grief about the state of my motherland and my countrymen/women that seemed to be on the wrong path in a never-ending push for war and dominance around the world that I simply could not bear to be part of any longer.   I believe the reason that I had such strong feelings against this war-mongering, was that my life of studying textiles has brought me so close the beauty of other cultures that I couldn’t bear the thought of all those cultures and peoples that created such magnificent works of textile art could be worthy of such destruction for any ideology, no matter how righteous the cause, let alone for the lies that were at the heart of these destructive forces.  I came to Belgium with a heavy heart, longing to see the US get back on a track to peace and the idealism that I grew up with in the 60’s.    I also came to Belgium with my passion for weaving, natural dyeing, and knitting with the hope of sharing that passion and rich experience with other women in the US who taught me how to weave, dye, and knit.

Nature speaks to me.  Through textiles I see the invitation that nature offers us.  It is the invitation to feel gratitude for the abundance and magnitude of diversity that nature gives us freely, without question, without judgment, without selfishness.  We are invited to feel gratitude for the fibers from the flax and cotton plants, sheep, goats, and alpacas, silk worms that once naturally roamed the earth and who willingly gave us their gifts.   We are invited to feel the softness, warmth, shine, color, and texture of these fibers.   We are invited to discover the science of chemistry in plants by extracting their color essences and dipping our fibers into liquid pools of color and minerals that causes us to play.   We are again invited to feel gratitude for the playfulness and joy that natural fibers and natural color give us.  We are invited to learn and see the origins of mathematics and architecture in weaving and knitting, and thus invited to experience the transformation of science into art as we begin to understand what design is.   We create functional fiber sculpture (our clothing, interior decorations) from the mathematics of weaving and formulas that make a sweater fit.   Isn’t this process grand?  And finally, we transform art into love.  We love nature for her abundant gifts, and that love is transformed into showing each other our love by the giving of gifts of color, sculpture, warmth and protection.

We create a circle of appreciation and trust with each other when we share the art and science of making textiles together.   That is why I have formed the knitting/textile arts group now at my house/studio and soon to be at the new location, my shop, Atelier fijnKNIT.  I want to again invite all my spring-chick women friends, and those who would like to be friends to join us the first and third Tuesday of every month, starting at 2 pm at Salviapark 38, De Pinte.

And speaking of gratitude, I want to thank my friends, especially Kathy Hattori, proprietor of Botantical Colors, for her inspiration, help, patience and trust in believing my vision, and Annie and Christine and the women in the fijnKNIT Brei-Circle for their unconditional support of my “Spring Chick” project (the new shop) in spite of its imperfect and incomplete status.

Many times I hear women say that they are hesitant to come to the group because they are beginners or because they don’t think they knit good.  This is precisely why we want you to join us.  Nature doesn’t demand perfection and neither do we.  Imperfection and vulnerability are the birthplace of creativity, learning, sharing, and belonging and we have nothing to be ashamed of.     Of course, there are fundamental techniques, the art and science, that require practice and understanding to achieve a desired outcome.  There is an abundance of expertise in the group to help others along.  I believe that this sharing of textile techniques is a sacred ritual that connects women through the ages, through cultures, and gives us one avenue to be seen for who we are.   We gather together to celebrate each individual approach to our practice.  Listening to and seeing the brilliance, the sacred and the mundane in each other, creates the magic that is reflected in the beautiful and functional creations that we make for ourselves and our loved ones.

Creative New Year!

fijnKNIT Brei-Salon Update, JANUARY 2012

New Meeting Hours Beginning February 7, 2012

nieuwe uren

elke 1^ste & 3^e dinsdag van de maand

Open BreiAtelier vanaf 14:00u in de avond tot 22 u

breng je eigen wol en je eigen ideëen

of kom gratis leren

5€  per persoon, omvat drankjes & hapjes

luxe brei garens en natuurlijke kleurstoffen te koop

 salviapark 38, 9840 de pinte     09 330 6190  Catherine van laake    fijnknit@telenet.be

Annie and Christine who expertly follow their patterns while chatting

A small group of women have continued throughout the winter to gather every 1st and 3rd Tuesday at 2 pm to share knitting ideas, resources, and of course, our experience at fijnKNIT Atelier.  The conversation is mostly in Dutch, and I (proprietor of fijnKNIT) try to follow as much as possible with a little help from my friends.  Our translation is not limited to conversation, however.   We share knitting books and resources that are written in Dutch, English, French, Japanese and German and all of us seem to have diversified skills such that we compliment each other and provide a wide diversity of talent to enjoy.

Kimono as Art: The Landscapes of Itchiku Kubota; Fijnknit yarn with natural dyes on the side. Christine brought this beautiful book for us to enjoy.

Marie-Paule is our expert lace knitter, displaying her latest in fine cashmere

We invite everyone from beginners to experts, young and old, Flemish speaking and non-Flemish speaking.  We enjoy coffee, tea, homemade goodies, wine and cheese while we sit around a well-lit table.  I ask a small donation of 5 € to cover the cost of the goodies and beverages.  I provide a tool table with a skein winder, ball winder, and other various and sundry tools that one might need while working with textiles.  The open atelier gathering lasts into the evening and everyone is free to come anytime after 2 and leave anytime before 9 pm.  I have a beautiful selection of luxury and naturally dyed yarns, and a fabulous selection of the highest quality natural dyes available for sale.  We have a lot of fun together…

Sometimes, accidents happen, and we all have a good laugh.

All knitters know that sometimes accidents can turn out quite pretty, so Marie-Paule signed hers.

And we have another eager friend, always willing to keep you company, my darling Jasmine….

Our little mascot who is not always so calm. She loves everybody and wants to be with the girls.

Between trims, she looks more like an alpaca than a dog, and everyone asks me if I spin her hair.   The answer is no, never.  I don’t spin dog hair, no matter how cute they are.  I’m hooked on lambswool, thank you very much.

So, if your interested in sharing slow fiber and knitting of all sorts, learning no matter who you are or what you know, and enjoying the good company of women, please feel free to join us.

Atelier fijnKNIT

EVERY 1ST & 3RD TUESDAY

5:30  PM ‘TIL WHENEVER

SALVIAPARK 38

DE PINTE

09 330 6190 OR EMAIL ME, Catherine van Laake:     fijnknit@telenet.be

OCCUPY YOURSELF & CREATIVE NEW YEAR!

Amazing New Colors from Vegetable and Insect Extracts: Himalayan Rhubarb, Pomegranate, Saxon Blue, Spaced-dyed Cochinea, over-dyed with Botanical Colors Saxon Blue

With the lengthening of the daylight I’m back from my winter hibernation sabbatical.     November is the time of the year when the wool between my fingers and the knitting designs in my head just seem to merge, and I found myself eagerly pulling out the new natural dyes that I was too busy to try out a few months before.  Until this spring when I went to a natural dye conference in France, I wore rose colored glasses (i.e., mostly fascinated with reds and purples) when it came to natural dye colors.   The conference made me see the beauty of the colors in the yellow range.   Since I now have this fantastic and easy to use indigo (herein called Saxon Blue from Botanical Colors) that doesn’t require a vat, I have been harboring an urge to mix up a whole slew of new colors mixed with blue to use in Fair Isle designs.

Genista tinctoria on silk, over-dyed with Saxon Blue

Pomegranate on silk, over-dyed with Saxon Blue

Himalayan Rhubarb, over-dyed with Saxon Blue

So, busy I have been with dyeing, researching and inputting Fair Isle designs into DesignAKnit, and learning how to electronically knit Fair Isle with naturally dyed yarn.

Gauge sample, merino, silk, cashmere, natural dyes, machine knit

Naturally dyed yarn does present some problems with the knitting machine because either the mordant or the dyes that sits atop the yarn creates more friction for the knitting machine and I have had lots of tension problems that make my machine drop stitches (usually on the last several rows of the project, of course!).

Ski Hat, Merino, Silk, Cashmere, indoor light

Finding a good day to photograph in the winter in Flanders seems almost next to impossible.  Even today with the sky clear as a bell, the sun is so low in the sky that shadows are cast even with a flat piece of fabric.   Photographing naturally dyed yarns in artificial light seems like an oxymoron, but my halogen lights in the dining room seem to do alright.  As you can see, I’m not a pro at photography.

Ski Hat, merino, silk, cashmere, natural dyes, machine knit, felted, outdoor light, full sun

In this piece, I used a spaced dyed yarn as the main yarn and it gives the effect of changing yarns every couple of rows behind the design.  Felting wool dyed in natural dyes is very easy and the results, as you can see are quite lovely.   My method of a controlled felting is to place two separate pans of water side by side, one as hot as you can stand it, and the other cold.  Then swish the finished project (before sewing it together) in hot, then cold, several times until you see the felting begin to occur.

Ski Hat, merino, silk, cashmere, natural dyes, machine knit, felted

I like to felt the Fair Isle a little bit to set the floats on the back into the fabric.  Wring it out well or soak up extra water between towels.   Then pop it into the dryer and set the timer for 5-10 minutes.   These pieces were in the dryer for approximately 20 minutes, but I checked it about every 5-7 minutes until I got the effect and size I wanted.

Next on the agenda is to make matching hats and leg warmers before the winter ends.  And a Fair Isle sweater fully shaped on the knitting machine.

Little Darling, Everthing is Alright…. and that’s the truth

Machine knit merino, silk boucle, crochet silk border, brasiletto natural dye, subtle shibori

Today, it is said, is the last day of the current Mayan calender, and the beginning of a new age.   To honor this monumental event this week, I got sick with the flu which required that I spend the week in bed, keeping myself busy with my first avocation, working with silk threads to crochet and finish the neckline of my newly knitted and shiboried sweater, reading three novels, and thirdly, seeking inspiration from philosophical writers.  Today being the 28th of October, it was fitting that I came across the following quote by Micheal Brown (The Presence Portal) that pierced my heart and leads me to write today’s post and dedicate it to my mother.

“When we hold onto the past, those that would free us, appear as devils.  When we open our hearts, the very same transmissions become hymns deliberately sung to awaken our souls from a long, cold, and lonely winter.

And the hymn tells us, ‘Little Darling, everything is alright'”

On the eve of my dear daughter’s wedding, I promised her that I would write the long, longed-for letter of forgiveness to my mother that I was seeking to find in my heart as soon as I returned home.  Since that time, I have been searching for words that expressed the truth about the gifts mom had given me and not words of recrimination or perceived victimization.  Finally, stumbling upon the above quote, both mine and my daughter’s wishes came true and I found a way through this emotional block and burden that I have been carrying so long.   There is a foreshadowing of the story and letter I am about to tell in the first sentence, when I stated that I kept myself happily occupied for 4 days in bed with crocheting, reading and studying philosophy.   You see, these were the gifts that my mother gave me, how she interpreted the soul of a young girl and they way she tried to nourish a curious and lively spirit of a girl that she was terrified would become a woman some day, and hence, face the trials and tribulations of what it historically and traditionally meant to be female.  It was precisely because my mother was forced into a premature marriage at the age of 16, that my sister and I became fierce defenders of the women’s liberation movement of the 60’s and obsessively independent to boot.

Mom, don’t take this personally, but if Susie and I could have hit each other over the head with the “not the mama!” pan, we would have.  Never in this lifetime, could we have dreamed of living through the hardship that you endured, having had 4 children by the age of 21, and having your innocence stolen from you at such a young age.  But in spite of having been ripped out of high school, from your friends and your future as a college grad like your brothers, you began giving me the chance you never had, even if furtively, by bringing me home books every week to read, so that by the age of 13, I was reading Tolstoy, or at least tried….do you remember?

Detail of silk crochet border

I think I was about 8 years old when you taught me how to knit a Barbie Doll skirt with very fine thread and needles.  You taught me how to sew my first dress at the age of 10, and it came out perfect my first attempt at sewing.  How proud I was of that accomplishment.   For years, I told my women friends, how my mother had this amazing, hands-off approach to teaching me how to sew…the way you said, “now read this pattern very carefully, and if you have any questions, just ask.”  You proceeded to show me the basics, like how to sew a straight line, thread the machine, put in the zipper and inset the sleeves, but that was all.   Your trust that I could figure it out on my own, gave me so much confidence.  Confidence that lead me to mostly independently learn how to use the spinning wheel, the loom, the knitting machine, natural dyeing, ceramics, and all the arts that I have pursued for so many years.

Did you ever know how in awe of you I was when I saw you reading all those hefty philosophy books, like Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Thomas Mann, studying the Dead Sea Scrolls and the bible like it was an anthropology project?   Knowing that you didn’t even finish high school. And my sitting in your bedroom in my pre-pubescence, having those philosophical talks….did my precociousness scare you?   Were you afraid that it would be unappreciated the way yours was?   Oh, how I cherished those pre-bedtime talks that suddenly ended on the dawn of my womanhood.  To this day, I still don’t understand the depth of your fear that you had to reject me because I was becoming an independent woman, and I focused all these years on your fear demons, rather than the on the hymn of deep and abiding compassion that they were trying to awaken in me.  But one thing I know for sure.  That is, that it is the search all these years for the promise of a friendship with you that has lead me to pursue my textiles and friendships with other women, and understand the true value of these moments together.  Liberated or not, women sharing textiles is a rite of passage, is a way of being together, and a way to honor each other.

Brei-salon, 18 October, 2011

Latest announcements regarding Brei-& Haaksalon:

Dinsdag (Tuesday), 1 November is een feestdag (holiday), dus geen salon. 

15 November is er een breisalon.

brei-& haak salon

elke eerste & derde dinsdag van de maand

vanaf oktober 2011

14:00u tot ??

kom langs op om het even welk ogenblik

breng je eigen garen of projecten;

of kom gratis leren

luxe breigarens

natuurlijke kleurstoffen

te koop

salviapark 38, 9840 de pinte                   09 330 6190

Catherine van laake                                  fijnknit@telenet.be

 

For the Times They are A’changin

“The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is rapidly fadin’
And the first one now will later be last
For the times they are a-changin’ ”

Bob Dylan

I had a wonderful time this past weekend giving the Rainbow Colors Workshop.   All of the participants came from different walks of life, and we were all connected by our fascination with the possibilities of natural dyes being applied to our individual crafts.   We shared our different perspectives and hope for continued connections based on the time we spent together.

One topic that always comes up no matter who I talk to is why we have an ever dwindling textile craft industry in the Western world, as well as few viable marketplaces (other than the internet) to sell or trade our beautiful handmade articles.  Since I have been a weaver, knitter, and clothing maker for most of my life, I can honestly attest to the time that it takes to complete any project by hand.  I have placed the video below because not only does it explain why we cannot compete with the cheap imports of foreign lands, but also it speaks to the sad reality of these foreign textile workers in stark contrast to the way we as children and young adults learn about textiles without exploitation, and why we enjoy such an enduring love of our craft.  Many of us have been lucky and proud to have enjoyed the training and company of other textile artists via the network of handweaver’s guilds that have been in place in the US for almost 100 years and in Great Britain and Ireland even longer.  More on this topic below the video:

How could a young life begun like this ever spawn joy or creativity with regards to textiles?  The industrialization of textiles, in spite to the wonderful technology it has given us, has usurped our god-given joy and inspiration to work with what nature has to offer, namely fibers from plants, wool from animals, and natural color from plants and insects.  We have allowed the cheapest and easiest processes and products to dominate our consciousness, and hence the idea that the bottom line ($$$$) is really the driving force that should be considered.   We are encouraged to compare everything by the bottom line without taking into consideration the quality of natural materials,  beauty of process (which requires time), and the ultimate love (creativity) and passion (design) that may or may not (exploitation) go  into the creation of the textile supplies, clothing and household articles that we purchase.

Don’t you think it’s time to begin to bring this process home?  We don’t need to exploit women, children and impoverished people from all over the world just to have cheap textiles to throw away at will.  We can make our own textiles and make them to last, even hand them down to family members as remembrances.  We should not let others convince us that these beautiful gifts that we give to each other in the form of handmade textiles are silly, little old granny things with no inherent qualities, because they are not bought from some exclusive shop with fancy designer labels.   Secretly, we all know that behind the beautiful shop props and designer labels, workers are exploited and outrageous profits are pocketed by the already rich and famous.

To do my part, I will begin an bi-weekly knit salon starting in October, 2011 for the local people in the surrounding Gent area:

atelier fijnKNIT

brei & haak salon

elke eerste & derde dinsdag van de maand
tussen 15 u tot 21:30 u

kom langs op om het even welk ogenblik

 breng je eigen garen of projecten of

luxe breigarens en natuurlijke kleurstoffen  te koop

 voor breien, haken, & weven

Atelier fijnKNIT:   salviapark 38, 9840 de pinte

contact: Catherine van laake fijnknit@telenet.be  of 09 330 6190

There is no need to register for this, but an email or phone call would be nice.

For the Times They are A’changin  

Rescheduling Indigo Vat workshop:  

1 & 2, October,  2011

INDIGO VAT & AQUARELLE INDIGO   NATURAL DYE WORKSHOP
Saturday and Sunday, 9 am-5 pm                                                                        Beginning and Intermediate
By Textile Designer CATHERINE VAN LAAKE

Venue:   fiijnknit Design Atelier, Salviapark 38, De Pinte, Belgium

During this class you will learn to dye with an indigo vat and the new Aquarelle Indigo that does not require a vat.  On the first day, you will begin working with small samples to achieve different variations of blue in the vat and learn some resist techniques.  On day two you will apply the resist techniques to silk and cotton samples and learn some overdyeing techniques to get a variety of colors from the indigo vats and Aquarelle dyes.

Instruction fee:  150 EURO  includes instruction fee, handouts, all dye materials and silk and cotton sample fabrics for custom dyeing.

Basic materials and equipment are supplied but students are also required to bring: • small embroidery scissors • rubber gloves • apron.   Please wear clothes that you don’t mind getting stained.

Extra yarn and Silk, as well as natural dyes will be available for sale.

Fijnknit Atelier: Spacious studio with facilities for both wet and dry textile techniques. Outdoor patio workspace for perfect light conditions, and lunch, and tea-time.
Sustenance:  Unlimited tea, coffee and biscuits are provided for all classes. Please bring your own lunch as there are no shops close by. The studio has indoor and outdoor areas to eat.

If you are interested in attending this workshop  please fill in the registration below.  There is maximum of 7 participants for each workshop.

Register for Natural Dye Workshop(required)

Brei & Haak Salon Natural Indigo Vat & Aquarelle Indigo

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THREE DEGREES OF SEPARATION-Plums, Sumi-e & Natural Dye Workshops

Chinese Plum Sauce

How are the following pics separated by 3 or less links in my world in the past 48 hours?

Sumi-e Lotus

The idea for today’s blog began with homemade plum sauce.

Yes, the plum sauce that I was making while procrastinating writing this blog.  When the hand blender fell out of the pot and splattered plum sauce all over the curly, long-haired head of my white standard poodle and onto my new suede sandals, and after an extended list of curse words left my lips, I thought, “This is a real back asswords way of natural dyeing!  What the hell are you doing here?”, I asked myself.  I cleaned up the mess before I thought to take a picture.  You see, yesterday, while picking up a donated roller press iron, the owner, Lieve, had some plum trees that had a luscious load of ripe plums begging to be plucked.  Since she was already up to her neck in plums, she offered us a bag and a ladder.  We had just the day before found a U-pick site not far from our village that we had planned to visit next weekend, so of course, we jumped at the opportunity.  While we picked we got to talking.  It turns out that Lieve is a water-color artist and when she found out that I was a textile artist who worked with natural color, she invited me in for coffee and a tour of her work and studio.  Lo and behold, she teaches workshops for Sumi-e.   I have always wanted to learn brush painting, but never got around to it.  If you remember my last blog and the royal mess I made of the recent attempt at spontaneous painting, you can see why I was REALLY interested in learning the art of sumi-e brush painting.  Consider that I don’t even know how to hold a brush properly!   When she found out that I was giving a demonstration, and two workshops on natural dyes in August and September, we made a happy trade.  I get Sumi-e lessons, and she gets natural dye workshops.  I went home iron press in the trunk, plums in hand, a painting class to look forward to, and the task of dealing with these plums before they rot, thus delaying me even more from getting this blog done and making the necessary announcements regarding my workshops this summer.  Funny thing though, while cleaning up the  splattered the plum sauce mess, I thought about this idea of “3 -degrees of separation” for the blog.   If Lieve didn’t have plum trees, we might have never had the discussion over water color painting and sumi-e, and we wouldn’t have both had the opportunity to share our life long artistic aspirations and journeys.  According to Wiki-leaks and a 2007 article published in The Industrial-Organizational Psychologist, we are now only separated by 3 degrees of separation because of the internet.

Curlysheep's English Leicester sheep

Not only do I get all of my participants in my workshops via the internet, people that I never would have met, but I get to talk and learn about other people’s lives and share our loves and dreams so easily.  For example, two days ago, I received a comment on my website from a woman in Tasmania who found me via Kathy Hattori’s Botanical Colors website.  Kathy Hattori supplies me with fabulous natural dye extracts that I use for my artwork and which I sell via my fijnknit business (also on the web).   Those cute little lambies are curlysheep’s  English Leicesters, that are endangered.  The multi-colored square of colors are the curlylocks of her English Leicesters displayed in her installation for her art class.

Curlysheep's English Leicester naturally dyed curlylocks

Which leads me the next degree of separation….Procrastination probably does serve me as a place in time to ripen my ideas whilst I decide what I really want to do and say.

Listed below are the details of my natural dye demonstration at the Herbakkersfestival in Eeklo, Belgium, the 14th of August (in Dutch).   I will be teaching natural dye workshops at my fijnKNIT atelier, the 19th-21st August and 9th-11th September.

Wild breien in de stad (Wild knitting in the city) of Eeklo

http://www.herbakkersfestival.be

Wild breien is een nieuwe vorm van Street art. Wild breien is een verrassing op straat en doet mensen even stilstaan en glimlachen. Het Herbakkersfestival springt op de kar en het maandelijkse breicafé van de bibliotheek is een ideale uitvalsbasis.

Wat we nodig hebben zijn veel gebreide stukken: lapjes van 40 breed en 30 hoog.

Vele handen maken een groot werk licht. Wie wil meedoen kan contact nemen met de bibliotheek via martine.vermeire@eeklo.be of langskomen in de bib.

Heb je nog een voorraad (liefst kleurrijke) wol waar je eigenlijk geen weg mee weet? Zelfde adres! Heb je geen wol, maar wil je graag meebreien, kom dan wol afhalen in de bib.

Op zondag 14 augustus verhuist het breicafé naar een tent op de markt. Iedereen is welkom. Als extraatje voor alle breifanaten komt Catherine van Laake van fijnKNIT wol verven met natuurlijke materialen tijdens doorlopende workshops. Het breicafé komt samen elke laatste woensdag van de  maand om 19 uur in de veranda van de bibliotheek.

On Sunday, August 14, I will give the following demonstations:

14:00 u    Solar Energy

Solar energy is the way to go, and so are yellows for the Fall/Winter/Spring 2012 Fashion Scene.  I will be demonstrating 3 beautiful and colorfast yellow dyes and how you can turn them into green.  I will also demonstrate the beautiful copper color derived from Cutch which has a golden hue.

15:30 u    Exotic Reds and Purples from Foreign Lands

As far as I’m concerned, exotic reds and purples and the stories of these natural dyestuffs from exotic lands are always in fashion.  Natural dye reds are never out of fashion because the colors are classic and were always highly sought after.  I will demonstrate 3 beautiful reds and 3 exotic purples from trees and insects.

17:00 u   Wild and Local

Northern Europe was famous for it’s colorfast yellows and natural browns, which are necessary color components in today’s fashion colorways.  I will demonstrate how to make your own extracts from raw materials you can pick from the wild or easily cultivate yourself.   I will also talk about the history of woad, indigo and madder that was grown in Belgium and Holland before the introduction of synthetic dyes.

New  Summer Workshops

19-20-21 AUGUST 2011

RAINBOW COLORS     NATURAL DYE WORKSHOP
Friday 9am-5:30 pm, Saturday 9am-5:30 pm, Sunday 9am-1 pm          Beginning and Intermediate
BY Textile Designer CATHERINE VAN LAAKE

CREATE LIVING COLOR WITH RAW MATERIALS AND EXTRACTS OF ROOTS, BARK, TWIGS AND BUGS ON WOOL and SILK MATERIALS

Venue:   fiijnknit Design Atelier, Salviapark 38, De pinte, Belgium

During this class you will learn to dye with extracts from natural raw materials, powdered extracts and a sensational new liquid indigo.   We will focus on dyeing protein fibers such as wool and silk, and limited instructions will be given for cotton and linen dyeing.  You will leave with a collection of small silk and wool samples in a range of many colors and a handout with complete dye instructions for the beginner.

Instruction fee:  190 EURO  INCLUDES INSTRUCTION FEE, HANDOUTS,  DYE SAMPLE MATERIALS

10-11  September,  2011

INDIGO VAT & AQUARELLE INDIGO   NATURAL DYE WORKSHOP
Saturday and Sunday, 9 am-5 pm                                                                        Beginning and Intermediate
By Textile Designer CATHERINE VAN LAAKE

Venue:   fiijnknit Design Atelier, Salviapark 38, De Pinte, Belgium

During this class you will learn to dye with an indigo vat and the new Aquarelle Indigo that does not require a vat.  On the first day, you will begin working with small samples to achieve different variations of blue in the vat and learn some resist techniques.  On day two you will apply the resist techniques to a handwoven silk/cotton shawl and learn some overdyeing techniques to get a variety of colors from the indigo vat and Aquarelle.

Instruction fee:  150 EURO  includes instruction fee, handouts, all dye materialsand a handwoven silk/cotton shawl for custom dyeing.

Basic materials and equipment are supplied but students are also required to bring: • small embroidery scissors • rubber gloves • apron.   Please wear clothes that you don’t mind getting stained.

Extra yarn and Silk, as well as natural dyes will be available for sale.

Fijnknit Atelier: Spacious studio with facilities for both wet and dry textile techniques. Outdoor patio workspace for perfect light conditions, and lunch, and tea-time.
Sustenance:  Unlimited tea, coffee and biscuits are provided for all classes. Please bring your own lunch as there are no shops close by. The studio has indoor and outdoor areas to eat.

If you are interested in attending either or both of these workshops, fill in the registration below.  Please register as soon as possible because they are filling up quickly.  There is maximum of 10 participants for each workshop.

Register for Natural Dye Workshop(required)

Natural Rainbow Colors Natural Indigo Vat & Aquarelle Indigo

Name(required)

Address(required)

Phone

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Website

Comment(required)

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Abundance of Inspiration, Process, and the Yin and Yang of Deadlines

Natural dye sampling on silk with chicken scratch notes taken while standing at the dyepot.

With the onset of the warm weather and beautiful summer days, my daughter’s wedding  on the horizon, and now having an abundance of natural dyes, yarns and rainwater for dyeing, I am overwhelmed with inspiration and frustrated at the same time by simply not having enough time to squeeze it all in.  My only daughter is getting married next week, and while we are thousands of miles apart, we are trying to share what we can of the planning process and accompanying excitement (hiding our stress…it’s so easy and necessary with this distance).   I had big plans to make my dress for the wedding on my knitting machine and shibori it with natural dyes.  (You are probably wondering why I didn’t make plans to make my daughter’s dress.   Well, I always wanted to, but she has her own ideas. )  So I made several samples for my own dress and finally decided on a fine linen and silk boucle.  I was so excited about making this dress, but was afraid that I didn’t have the right pattern for me. I didn’t want to waste my limited supply of very fine silk boucle without making a sample dress of something else first.   In the meantime, attending the ISEND conference, new dye sampling, a trip to Paris to visit my granddaughter, and my son and his new restaurant, creating two websites, meetings, and all sorts of sundry odds and ends, left me where I was last week, last minute shopping for a dress, shoes, and finishing old projects that would be nice to wear in the US.

Madder, Brasiletta, Aquarelle Indigo, Fustic over Myrobalan on felted wool/silk

My numerous creative impulses had their way of creeping into my mind all the time, but with the deadline of leaving for the US quickly advancing, I find myself mostly unsatisfied with the results of my last minute efforts. Creativity is a strong impulse that needs time and energy to finish and flourish, and when I get caught up in the fear of a deadline that interrupts this flow, my creative process sometimes goes amiss.

Two weeks ago, when I thought I still might have time to make my dress, a client who ordered a handpainted, felted baby blanket called me at the last minute and asked for the blanket now because the baby was already born premature.  I had come to the conclusion that she had cancelled the order because I never heard from her about the colors that she wanted.  Under last minute time pressure, I did the samples ass backwards, beginning the project by only making 1 gauge swatch for the fabric that I intended to felt on my knitting machine.  I had grabbed 1 strand of a nice silk/merino boucle and once strand of a merino/silk/cashmere to knit together that I knew would felt nicely.  As I was finishing knitting the second long piece, I realized that even though this is a beautiful fabric, this is just too exotic for a baby blanket.

Some rainbow colors to give me an idea of how colors blend and how paints work on this wool/silk

Mobius painted without sampling

Sample overdyed with Aquarelle Indigo

So I began the sampling that I should have started two days before.  I made several more samples, felting and hand painting them before I made any decisions about what worked for the project.  These I showed to my client, rather than a finished piece, i.e., guesswork.  Well, after all that, the client did choose the simpler fabric and decided it was too expensive for a baby birth present. She wanted it for a christmas present.  In my haste, I had mordanted all the fabric that I had just knitted plus the samples (1 kg) and was now left with four long pieces of mordanted machine knitted fabric waiting to be painted.  Okay, I’m thinking, so I’ll make a mobius out of the two boucle pieces.  Again under pressure to finish something, please, just something to publish on my blog before I go to the US, I slapped on the natural dye with almost complete abandon and very little planning.  I told myself, that natural dyes are so pretty, it probably wouldn’t matter how they are applied, if the color scheme is okay.  To say the least, I was not happy with the results!  Yes, the colors are pretty, but it looks like something a clown would wear with all the polka dots!  Given that I’m not really a painter, I thought, let’s overdye the whole thing in indigo.  Thank God, I finally had an intelligent moment of forethought and decided to overdye the small sample in the indigo before overdyeing the mobius.  What a great idea, actually, the correct correct way to do things, but in my misguided need to have a completed project NOW, I actually forgot my normal PROCESS. Needless to say, the overdyed sample in indigo was not pretty.  It’s not the problem of the dyestuff, but the dyer!  The colors all merge into mudiness and do nothing for me.   Was I glad that I didn’t rush in to ruin another piece.  I know from experience, that every single time I thought I could cheat and get away without taking sufficient time to sample, I was dissatisfied with the results.   It’s so tempting to dive right into the project in our excitement to try out a new idea, that we think we can skip the MOST important part of the process.   I think this is where most people get stuck and don’t move forward in a craft.  They have created something that really didn’t work, and they don’t know how to fix it.  So they give up, not understanding that samples are part of the learning process, part of the artistic process, no matter how experienced you are.  Not every sample is a good sample…that’s the whole idea, that we have to choose the best and most inspiring sample out of a host samples that give us different directions.  The sampling process should be seen as a neutral process.  I have found that when I sample until I get that feeling, “Yes, that’s it! That’s what I looking for.”, I can go forward in my project with confidence and still make corrections and improvements as I go.  And I enjoy working on the project so much more!

The Yin and Yang of deadlines?  I have found over the years that deadlines for shows and clients are really helpful to motivate me to try new things and to force me through the “eye of the needle”.  When I am inspired to sample, sample, sample, sometimes I have to make difficult decisions between different really good samples.  I have to think about why I’m making one choice or another.  Here comes the point when I have to dive in and take the risk.  And still I make mistakes.  I have to deal with my fear of failure every time I pick up that beautiful skein of yarn to dye, knit or weave.   For creativity, mistakes are my best friends.  You say, how can that be true?  Well, when I make mistakes with good quality materials or pieces that I’ve put a lot of time into, or that have to go into a show and there’s no time left to make a new one, something happens.  I am forced to find CREATIVE SOLUTIONS.  “Necessity is the mother of invention.”    I am sure of this.  I have learned more from my mistakes than from what I thought I knew.  This is the Yang.  I think of Yang as the courage to forge ahead, to take the risks, and to find our way out from the fear of failure.

The Yin is the focus on process.  When we give ourselves over to the process and let it happen without regard to time and instant results, that’s when we experience the joy of inspiration and the joy of seeing what we are capable of.

The completion of the mobius will just have to wait until after the wedding and I return home to peaceful summer days to begin my work again.

So I dedicate today’s blog to my daughter who is a very talented artist in her own right and who has given me the opportunity to continue to learn how to practice what I preach.  Happy Wedding Day my dear!

Love,

Mom