{"id":113,"date":"2012-01-09T05:00:31","date_gmt":"2012-01-09T05:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/christineguestdesigns.com\/blog\/?p=113"},"modified":"2012-01-09T05:00:31","modified_gmt":"2012-01-09T05:00:31","slug":"interview-with-my-friend-kathleen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.christineguestdesigns.com\/blog\/interview-with-my-friend-kathleen\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview with my friend Kathleen"},"content":{"rendered":"

circs or pins?<\/em>
\nDepends on the project<\/p>\n

Dpn or magic loop?<\/em>
\nDepends on the project, and what needles are closest.\u00a0 Usually I use dpn.
\n
\nEnglish or Continental?<\/em>
\nBoth.\u00a0 I try to alternate so that I don’t wreck my wrists, but I like picking because I can do it about twice as fast and throwing.
\n
\nNovelty yarn or classic plain?<\/em>
\nClassic.\u00a0 I once knit a scarf out of novelty yarn and it ended up looking like road kill.\u00a0 I’ve stuck with classic yarn ever since.\u00a0 But my favorite is homespun.
\n
\nSocks or Sweaters?<\/em>
\nSocks when traveling, sweaters when home.\u00a0 (Socks are smaller)
\n
\nCrochet too?<\/em>
\nYes<\/p>\n

Garments or things that don’t have to fit anyone in particular?<\/em>
\nGarments
\n
\nShort Answer Questions (skip any that aren’t fun!)<\/p>\n

What is your usual process on a fiber project, for instance, do you
\nstart with a yarn, a cute pattern, a need you’ve noticed, something
\nexciting you saw in a movie you want to copy, or a technique you want to
\nlearn \u2013 then what do you do next and then what?<\/em><\/p>\n

I usually decide medium I want to to work in (ie. quilt, sweater, felt, spinning, weaving).\u00a0 Then I spend a lot of time looking at other people’s work or photographs.\u00a0 And I draw (or doodle) to let my ideas start to take a shape.\u00a0 Sometimes the sketches will go on for days and days.\u00a0 Once I have a basic plan, I choose my materials to make my idea a reality.\u00a0 I almost always wing it; no patterns, no set plan, and – gasp – no swatches.\u00a0 A lot of times, I just let it evolve by itself on some seemingly random path.\u00a0 But one thing is for sure.\u00a0 I make it because I just plain feel like it.\u00a0 If I don’t feel like it, it will never become a reality.\u00a0 (That is why I very rarely do commission work.)\u00a0 Virtually everything I make is inspired by a mood that I want to keep.\u00a0 The piece might evoke a place or something I love, or something I find relaxing.\u00a0 Most of my work is inspired by nature.\u00a0 I like making things because I love to hold my dreams.<\/p>\n

Does anything intimidate you in knitting or crochet?<\/em>
\nNot usually; though I suppose, blankets might.\u00a0 They aren’t difficult,
\nbut they take so dang long to make.\u00a0 Generally, the projects that are most intricate and complicated and varied are the ones that keep me interested.<\/p>\n

When you want to learn something, do you look it up in a book, on
\nU-tube, or seek a real person to teach you?<\/em>
\nUsually a book – but I don’t like project based books that much.\u00a0 I like technique based books.\u00a0 I would prefer text books, but I haven’t found too many.<\/p>\n

Any repetitive motion disorders due to knitting or crochet? How do you
\ndeal with them?<\/em>
\nI have to be careful.\u00a0 I do get fatigued, but I try vary my techniques; and projects.\u00a0 If my wrists are tired, I might quilt for a bit, or felt, or spin.\u00a0 Then I’ll come back to knitting or crochet in a week or two – or three or four.\u00a0 I also stretch my wrists and do shoulder exercises.\u00a0 And I have been told that it is very important to keep your wrists warm.\u00a0 I’d like to knit myself some wrist warmers this year.<\/p>\n

Do you frequent a particular yarn store?<\/em>
\nNot now.\u00a0 But I do miss The Yarnery in St. Paul, MN terribly.\u00a0 I used to get a ridiculously priced coffee and then go there for a fiber jolt during my lunch breaks when I worked at 3M. Hmmmmmmmmmm …… fiber jolt!<\/p>\n

Do you usually finish things?\u00a0 If not, does it bother you?<\/em>
\nI finish things about 70% of the time. I usually have about 10 projects going on at a time.\u00a0 So some projects take years …. and years ….. and years.\u00a0 But if I don’t like it, I don’t waste my time finishing it.
\n
\nWhat makes you buy a pattern (lovely photo, the story of the project, it
\nlooks do-able, it looks slightly challenging…)<\/em>
\nI have a confession: I can’t follow directions.\u00a0 I don’t know if it is because I don’t understand them or if I am just plain obstinate.\u00a0 I secretly think I am am obstinate.\u00a0 But as a consequence, I very rarely buy patterns.<\/p>\n

What gives you the feeling that you got your money’s worth out of a
\npattern?<\/em>
\nIf it fits and I like the finished project, I suppose.
\n
\nWhat do you most enjoy about knitting or crochet?<\/em>
\nI love the creativity of making my own patterns and I like the feel of wool.\u00a0 Both the creativity and the wool are so soothing to me.<\/p>\n

What are your crafting ambitions?<\/em>
\nI love making things …. in all mediums.\u00a0 Fabric, yarn, wool, wood.\u00a0 I started selling my felted pieces to make sure my crafting supplies are completely paid for.\u00a0 Somehow it has evolved into a (very) part time job.\u00a0 But long term, it is my plan for working and still being an accessible parent to my three children once they are in school.\u00a0 I’d really like to set up my own shop someday.\u00a0 The current plan is that it would include materials, but would mostly serve as a fiber education center.<\/p>\n

Just for\u00a0 you;<\/p>\n

Where did you hear about felting?<\/em>
\nI had a friend, Nancy Zalusky Berg, give me a five minute tutorial the day before I moved from MN to NH.\u00a0 Once I got to NH I ordered some wool online, and I haven’t looked back since.<\/p>\n

Have you developed new techniques?<\/em>
\nNothing significantly new.\u00a0 But I have explored techniques and pushed their limits farther than a lot of people. This is mostly because I am an engineer; most fiber artists like abstract art but I like very concrete images.\u00a0 I learned to control wool in order to get the level of detail that I really love.\u00a0 But others have done this.\u00a0 It is nothing new to felting; felting has been around for thousands of years and is the oldest know textile.<\/p>\n

What about felting most makes your math brain happy?\u00a0 (engineering
\nbrain?\u00a0 Structure brain?)<\/em>
\n\u00a0 I really love the material properties of wool.\u00a0 It is important to understand the material properties so that you can control the piece of work without distorting a very defined image.\u00a0 This doesn’t matter nearly as much if you are doing abstract work.\u00a0 But with a picture, you can really elongate it, or shrink it in only one direction – one of my first pieces was a picture of my brother fishing from a canoe.\u00a0 But in the end, it looked like my brother was standing in a tiny little boat (my brother got taller and the canoe got shorter).<\/p>\n

How can someone take your classes?<\/em>
\nThey can contact me directly or check my website.\u00a0 (www.mhfiber.com)<\/a>.\u00a0 On occasion, I also give classes through the League of NH Craftsmen, and you can always check their websites.<\/a><\/p>\n

See your work?<\/em>
\nMy felt is for sale in the League of NH Craftsmen galleries around NH.\u00a0 You can always contact me,\u00a0 Most of the time I have pieces that are not in galleries.\u00a0 I also have a photo gallery of my felt<\/a> on my website – you can contact me about any of these pieces.\u00a0 Generally, I don’t sell anything besides felt.\u00a0 So if you are interested in seeing my knitting, spinning, weaving or wood working, contact me directly.\u00a0 Also, I usually include these on my blog.<\/a><\/p>\n

Want to be interviewed? Download the questions<\/a> here and mail them back to me with your answers to christine at christineguestdesigns dot com<\/p>\n

Thank you!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

circs or pins? Depends on the project Dpn or magic loop? Depends on the project, and what needles are closest.\u00a0 Usually I use dpn. English or Continental? Both.\u00a0 I try to alternate so that I don’t wreck my wrists, but I like picking because I can do it about twice as fast and throwing. Novelty […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interviews"],"yoast_head":"\nInterview with my friend Kathleen - Christine Guest Designs Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.christineguestdesigns.com\/blog\/interview-with-my-friend-kathleen\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Interview with my friend Kathleen - Christine Guest Designs Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"circs or pins? Depends on the project Dpn or magic loop? 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