Art + Nature at the Fruitlands Museum

Now that life is back to normal—or something closer to normal—here in Massachusetts, I find myself wanting to get out and explore new places, and revel in the freedom of wandering about mask-free (I’m fully vaccinated). Ours is a small state, but so rich in art, culture, history, and natural beauty that you can live here a long time (for me, 25 years) and never exhaust the possibilities.

One of my first post-COVID explorations was a day at the Fruitlands Museum in Harvard, Massachusetts. Though the name suggests otherwise, the Fruitlands is not an orchard but a former Transcendentalist farm founded in the 19th century by Charles Lane and Amos Bronson Alcott (father of Louisa May Alcott, author of Little Women). Their experiment in subsistence farming lasted less than a year, though, and in the early 20th century the property was opened to the public. Today it includes the original farmhouse, a Shaker House, a Native American Museum, an Art Museum, and a network of trails criss-crossing a varied landscape of more than 200 acres.

View of the farmhouse at the Fruitlands Museum

Trail head at the Fruitlands Museum

My sister Betsey and I met up at the Fruitlands primarily to see the exhibition Piecework: Resistance and Healing in Contemporary Textile Art. But after a nice lunch on an outdoor terrace at the cafe, we decided to explore some of the trails first. I highly recommend them! There’s a nice mix of mown paths traversing wide-open meadows and shady woodland trails, with remnants of a farm along the way. You can walk a lot or a little, depending on your energy or the weather. Having discovered that this beautiful place is just a little more than an hour from home, I will definitely be going back to further explore the trails. (It’s sure to be gorgeous during fall.)

At one point, we rested on a bench near this old tree and contemplated its life. It’s lost one large branch on this side, and on the other side it looks like it’s been hit by lighting or lost more branches to bad weather (like the famously tree-damaging heavy snows we get). This tree is another reason I must go back and bring my sketchbook. I would like to draw it both close up and from a distance—it has a curiously flat top (the tree is to the right of the Shaker House in the photo below).

The Piecework exhibition did not disappoint. The contemporary artists in the show “build upon the traditional mediums of needlework and quilting to offer constructive responses to the topics of Indigenous land rights; the representation of Black people, by Black people; capitalism; and environmentalism, respectively.” There’s much to see and learn; we spent quite a bit of time with the work. I was especially intrigued by the self-portraits embroidered with hair by Leslie Schomp.

The Art Museum also had many historical textiles on display, everything from handmade rag dolls to embroidery samplers (I loved the sheep cleverly rendered with French knots). We were unable to visit the Shaker House, as it wasn’t yet open for the season. So there’s another reason to go back!

Rag doll (likely owned by the Alcott sisters) and stuffed bunny (possibly Shaker)

French-knot sheep

Patchwork segment (1860–1910)

If you visit, be sure to pick up a copy of Art + Nature: An Exploration Journal (it’s available for free). This little book juxtaposes creativity prompts with quotations and sketchbook images by Massachusetts artist Polly Thayer Starr. There are plenty of blank pages for your own sketches, poetry, or journaling.

We ended our day sitting alongside a refreshing fountain, enjoying the breeze and the views the spot afforded of a incredibly peaceful landscape. I knit a bit on a sock and continued to regret not bringing my little red landscape sketchbook. Well, I’ll just have to go back and be sure to bring it with me. I have a feeling I’ll be revisiting the Fruitlands Museum often!

Next in Line Afghan Update

My Next in Line afghan project for the Fringe and Friends Log Cabin Make-along grows and grows. Right now, it measures about 32 x 36 inches. If all goes according to plan, the finished afghan should measure about 52 x 60 inches. Nice and big — perfect for cozy winter evenings on the sofa, right?

Knitters have been asking for yardage estimates so they can get their yarn before the pattern is released. But it's really too soon for that. I'm currently knitting Log No. 12, and if I stick to my current plans, there will be 19 logs in all. So hang in there; the end — while not exactly near — is in sight!

While you wait, you can check out the videos I've posted on Instagram about this project. One shows my method for weaving in ends; the other shows how I pick up stitches along the bound-off edges. I'm @bluepeninsula on Instagram, if you'd like to see them.

Here's a closeup of the wrong side. It's different from the right side, but just as nice:

The weekend's almost here, and after a week of not one but two Nor'easters, I'm ready to curl up with this project and enjoy lots and lots of non-stressful garter stitch. Hope your weekend brings lots of satisfying knitting time, too!

Logging Along

Have you been following the new log cabin knitalong happening over at the Fringe Association blog? It's nicely open-ended: You can join anytime and make whatever you like using some form of log cabin construction. All sorts of log cabin projects are sprouting up in the #fringeandfriendslogalong Instagram feed, from very traditional to freeform blankets, to beer bottle cozies, to treasure bags, to an utterly genius translation of a Josef Albers painting into a cowl. (Seriously!)

Intrigued (I've never made anything remotely log cabin-ish), I flirted with the idea of joining — then told myself no, that's crazy, I've got too much going on already. After all, I've got my own Treat Yourself KAL going full steam in the Ravelry Blue Peninsula group, plus magazine projects to finish, design submissions to send in, and new patterns to prepare for publishing. In other words, a lot on my plate!

But in spare moments after Christmas I found myself getting more and more drawn in. I started perusing log cabin projects on Ravelry. I pulled out stash bins to see if I had anything that might work. Lo and behold, I had several leftover skeins of Cascade 220 in colors that played really well together. At the same time, I received the happy news that a friend was getting married! Well, that did it. I decided the perfect gift would be a log cabin throw . . .  or afghan . . .  or blanket (that part will get sorted out eventually).

On New Year's Day, I cast on. With no plan. No sketch. No worrying or fretting in advance. I'm going to improvise and do what looks good, just as I do when painting or stitching abstractly. I may change my mind now and then and have to rip back, but that's OK. It's part of the process.

I'm using three colors of Cascade 220 from my stash (silver grey, straw, and doeskin heather), plus one color of Valley Yarns Northampton (lake heather) — which I did have to purchase.

There is one recurring design element: each log will have a few contrasting rows of the color that will be the main color of the next log. So the first log was grey, with straw stripes. The second log was straw, with doeskin heather stripes. And so on.

After binding off each log, I'm reorienting the piece and picking up stitches along another edge. So each log is connected to the last yet knit in a different direction (see photo above). I'm keeping scrupulous notes, so I can write up the pattern later on. (The pattern will be called Next in Line.)

I've thought about knitting a log cabin blanket before, but one thing held me back: all that garter stitch. I was afraid I'd get bored and never finish. But now that I've begun, I'm pleasantly surprised. So far, it's been a satisfying, joyful knitting project — even weaving in the ends has been fun (I'm weaving them in log by log, so as not to have a gazillion to deal with at the end).

It's a nice change of pace to knit something without referring to a chart, or keeping track of shaping. And it hasn't been boring because each log brings new creative decisions: what color should it be, how long and deep, how many stripes should there be, where should they be placed, etc. 

Read all the blog posts about the Fringe and Friends Log Along here and see all the Instagram posts here. What do you think? Will you join the party?

Solstice to Equinox Project

It's winter solstice, always a happy day! I love this day so much, because from this point onward, the days will grow longer. As a morning person — or more accurately, a very early morning person — I'm excited that in the weeks ahead the sun will rise earlier and earlier.

I'm also excited to start a new project: Solstice to Equinox — Out of the Darkness into the Light. Organized by the 100DayProject, Solstice to Equinox invites you to "study, document, journal, create, practice, explore, make, observe, or initiate something new each week. This is meant to be a weekly hands-on visual, written, or audio interpretation of whatever interests you during the 13 weeks between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. Whatever helps bring you out of the darkness. . . ."

Such a great idea! I already have a daily art practice in the form of a stitch journal, "Presence/Absence" (learn more about it at my Patreon page). So I don't want to add another art project to my already-full days. But one thing I would like to make more time for is swatching. Trying out new-to-me stitch patterns or combinations, or new-to-me yarns, is how nearly all of my knitwear designs come into being. Swatches are essential to keeping design ideas flowing. The more robust my "swatch stash," the better.

Plus, swatching is just plain fun!  I love discovering how a stitch on the page of a stitch dictionary looks "in real life." So with the goals of fun, creative play, and developing new designs, I'm going to swatch as much as possible in the 13 weeks of Solstice to Equinox.

Some of the yarns I want to swatch with, from left to right: Stitch Sprouts Crater Lake, Periwinkle Sheep Purpose, Bartlettyarns, Inc. Sport, and Bare Naked Wools Breakfast Blend fingering.

There are no rules for the Solstice to Equinox project, other than doing something hands-on with your project at least once a week. So it's not as high-pressure as a daily project — you have some breathing room in when and how much you work on it. 

I'm also doing a personal yoga project. I'll be focusing on one pose a week, studying it in my various yoga books, trying variations, watching videos, and making an effort to learn the Sanskrit name (I'm pretty bad about that).

This week I'm starting with Setu Bandha (Bridge Pose). It seemed appropriate because these 13 weeks will be a bridge from fall, through winter, into spring. And also because I tend to avoid Bridge, and I'm not sure why. Maybe I'll figure that out in the coming week!

Are you joining the Solstice to Equinox Project, or the 2018 100DayProject? Have you done a 100DayProject in the past? I'd love to hear how it went, or what your upcoming project(s) will be.

Happy Solstice!