I am currently working on “Enchanted Mesa” – it is a wonderful sweater pattern by West Knits and it is pictured in progress here with Lucy the Lamb. 😉
The sweater uses the “short row method” – this is when you go back and forth before you reach the actual end of a row (or in this case, round.) Working like this, and turning early, creates beautiful waves of shapes. I first came across this concept when I went to HV Skola, a textile college last year…
I was lucky to study knitting and textiles full time for one year. In my final project, I incorporated short rows to create waves in a wall hanging inspired by Gustav Klimt and a reflection of my life as a musician. The pictures above also show sections of intarsia knitting to draw a segmented treble clef and the squares and spots abstract art, spirals using crochet, machine knitting for the background panel and the short rows for the waves of colour in long panels. It was an epic project with many hours of work but such an amazing opportunity to have made it. I was most proud by the comment after my presentation: “du är ju konstnär!” meaning “you really are an artist!”
I have had some lovely feedback over the years and, as I get older, I lean more towards the artistic and creative in my knitting and crochet and try to learn new techniques along the way. It is also a reflection of my life as a musician, which runs in parallel, where I love to improvise!
My crafting also reflects the struggles I have with long-term health issues. Even through the toughest times, creating yarn art is what makes me happy and it is what I can usually physically manage most of the time, even on harder days.
Well, this leads me to the question, could I ever really be a bona fide, commissioned yarn artist? Hence the “long odds” in my title…
There is a request online for artists to apply for a commission to create inspiring pieces to go up on the walls of a hospital here in Sweden. Believe me, I have spent a lot of time in hospitals of late. Perhaps there might be a slim chance that the hospital decision panel might consider a textiles installation and the deadline to apply for interest is today… so I am just going to fill in that online form and hit send and see…
garnharmoni 
Good Luck with your application. You never get anything in life if you don’t ask and who knows you might just surprise yourself x
Thanks Sarah! Yes, you never know! 🙂 Thanks for popping by and taking time to comment and giving me well-needed encouragement! ❤
My pleasure. I have long term health issues too and I use creativity to help me too so I identify with your thoughts. Take care of yourself and be kind to yourself. (I found your blog from the link that The Twisted Yarn posted last week.) x
Oh, thank you for visiting my page and sharing your own experience. It can be a long road but at least we have crafting on our side. 🙂 I hope you are having more good days than bad and that you have a project that keeps your spirits up. You take care, too! /Christina
Yeah! Go for it! Good luck with the application. It is a brilliant idea. Please let us know the outcome!
Thanks Mary! It looks like they might be looking for more established artists… but, we all have to start somewhere! 🙂
Oh, I so much hoped you’d get the job to do an installation, but then I saw this happened last year..This is Gunni (Gunborg) from today, by the way..
It’ s really inspiring to see all the colourful pieces that you’ ve created. They would really be suitable in a hospital. Have you tried to contact a hospital and show then? But I suppose in this country everything has to be done in a certain, formal way. Hmm.. Anyway, lovely to see your work!
Thanks so much Gunni! And it’s so kind of you to pop by to give some “pepp.” 😉 I really need to do an update on my blog and your comment encourages me to do so and to keep developing my crafting projects. ❤ Thanks, Christina