The focus of Workshop 4, led by Philippa Larkam, was on completing our knitted and crocheted objects, using the materials from Workshop 1 and Workshop 2, and following the designs we had developed in Workshop 3.
May The Fleece Be With You
Our Knit and Matter journey started with raw fleece. Now freshly washed, the fleece from Workshop 1 joined us again. The fleece had taken us back to the first stages of making with wool, shaping our thinking about what we make and why, in ways that will stay with us. This is reflected in participants’ sketchbooks, as they worked out their ideas.
We joked, ‘May the Fleece Be With You’, which led to the fleece being named ‘May’ for short! To honour its significance, some participants incorporated parts of May into their work. (See if you can spot it in the finished items that will be shared in later posts).
Work in progress
The pieces that have emerged from the process of the workshops show various interpretations of landscape. As well as physical places that hold meaning, they reflect internal and emotional landscapes, personal journeys through knitting, and other aspects of our own stories. The pieces include pictorial as well as abstract depictions, and range from two-dimensional representations to freeform and sculptural structures, and items for wearing.
The materials we’ve worked with have shaped our pieces and our thinking about making, from the textures of spun fleece to the interactions of colour. With many pieces also including yarn and other materials from previous projects, or from places or times that mattered to their makers, the product of our workshops knitted together with other threads and other stories. After all, knitting and crochet are powerful reflections of the connections that are part of our lives.
By focusing on materials, Knit and Matter explores what happens not just when we’re making, but when we’re ‘making with’. This of course suggests making with fibres of different kinds, but our workshops have also shown the significance of making with each other. The workshops demonstrated the passion and expertise amateur crafters bring to their work, as well as how openly they share and learn from fellow makers.
We ended the workshop by sharing our pieces and reflections on the process as we look forward to celebrating the work together later in the summer. Knitting and crochet not only connect together different parts of our own lives, but also offer a powerful way to connect with the lives of others.
Watch the slideshow to see more of our making!
Share your thoughts
- What would you make to reflect your own ‘landscape’?
- What have you learned about your own knitting and crochet by making with different materials?
- Does knitting and crochet connect you to others?