bits and bobbins

my tiny little office.

i finally got off my duff and cleaned up my desk area. it’s still a work in progress and seems chaotic to me, but i guess that’s the nature of the beast. work spaces almost always invite some messiness, right? i always get crazy and make a mess everywhere, and then afterwards clean it up. something about a somewhat tidy space makes my head somehow feel clearer and i can be more creative, as if a blockage is being released. i now feel as if i can actually get to work and start making things.

my miniature studio

desk vignette

close up of inspiration board

another close up of inspiration board

thread

***

grandma jo's bobbins

grandma jo's bobbins close up
these old yarn bobbins belonged to my now deceased grandmother, josephine. she died the day after christmas last year (2005), in the middle of the night. she was a knitter and a crocheter and a seamstress. a tiny, thrifty sicilian, a child of the depression and of bootleggers who brought liquor across the canadian border into new york state. she taught me to sew at age eleven, when i was in sixth grade. we made a pink linen straight skirt together, when she was staying with our family in florida for the summer.

every time i knit or crochet a stitch, or see the color purple, i think of her.

i want to turn these bobbins into some mixed media art piece, dedicated to her.
the colors delight me.

October 30 2006 | Posted in amazing art, creative dabblings., home(sweet)home, it's personal.

Comments

7 total remarks on this post.

  1. October 30 2006 at 4:11 pm

    melissa

    grandmothers are so great. just yesterday i was eating strawberry ice cream and thought of mine. it’s nice having these memories of them. little moments that make us smile and remember how our grandmas inspired us.


  2. October 30 2006 at 6:38 pm

    bess

    how does a yarn bobbin work? is it part of a knitting machine?


  3. October 30 2006 at 6:53 pm

    tricia

    bess: they are used in color/intarsia/picture knitting, by hand, when you are using little bits of yarn to make a picture. i understand that these are used because you don’t necessisarily want to be carrying around big, giant balls of yarn when you only need a little bit for this or that small number of stitches. frankly, i have not done any color knitting so i can’t explain it properly. :P


  4. October 30 2006 at 11:29 pm

    Rachel

    I am SO jealous of your library card cabinet! Where did you find it?


  5. October 30 2006 at 11:51 pm

    tricia

    rachel: i found it at a community college surplus auction several years ago.


  6. October 31 2006 at 2:59 pm

    ambika

    The card catalogue is rad, as is the colorful, organized nature of your work space. Full of jealousy. And yeah, those bobbins are crying out for some kind of craft, art, display something. Too fun.


  7. October 31 2006 at 4:37 pm

    Su-Ying

    I’m jealous! It’s both lovely and organized.