Present Joys

Day 85: wed, 12 mar 2014. Alix’s sweater energizes, refreshes.

Two weeks ago, I wrote a little about my burgeoning senior thesis project. Since then, I’ve purchased a gently-used knitting machine from VonStrohm, a very cool woolen mill and yarn store about 25 miles south of Columbus. On the day I picked up my machine, I spent a few hours in the shop with Toia Rivera-VonStrohm learning the basics of machine knitting and talked with her about the logistics of my project. It’s looking like I’ll be able to purchase yarn from VonStrohm, which they’ll spin and dye especially for me. If that works out, it’d be great.

I brought the machine home and set it up in my work room. It is like an archaic, enigmatic monster. Besides the few hours of lessons at VonStrohm, I’ve been reading a few books about machine knitting (as well as the owner’s manual) and learning what I can from YouTube. I reworked my generic sweater vest pattern for the machine and knit up a quick vest—the first actual garment I’ve made with the machine! It all went okay. But I still have not tried tackling colorwork and that will be a big challenge.

What’s next?

I have a lot of practicing to do until I’m comfortable with the knitting machine. Only when I’m comfortable will I have the knowledge to finalize my garment pattern and start production work.

Besides that, I still need to figure out what else I’m going to make! What is this brand going to be about? What else will I create? I still need to talk to some of the CCAD old-guard and dig through old photos in the Archives. This project has got to be more than a sweatshop! I’d love to document this whole process through video, so I also need to find somebody to help me with that. There is a lot to think about…

No school today! We’re having a cold day, so I’m working from home. It seems like a good time to kick off a series of posts about my senior thesis project. I’m supposed to be blogging about this project once a week, but that shouldn’t be a problem because I have a lot to say! A few years ago, I designed and knit a sweater. It seemed like a fun thing.

Since then, whenever I wear it at school, people are intrigued by it. I’ve had a couple requests to make some more. And though I don’t really like hand-knitting for other people, I’ve always thought how much fun it would be if all my classmates (or at least a bunch of them) had matching CCAD collegiate sweaters. After all, that’s the whole point of ivy style—uniformity, dignity. My sweater oughtn’t stand out like a sore thumb; it should have friends. I want to get other people wearing these things, too.

So that’s the first thing. Here’s the second: I really want a knitting machine. I love hand knitting, but lately I’ve been more and more intrigued by knitwear production methods—and how I might incorporate some of that into my own work. Until now, though, I haven’t had a good excuse to buy a knitting machine.

Here’s the third thing: I just really love my school. I want to do something with all that love before I graduate. I enjoy the history of CCAD and how it’s grown alongside Columbus; I enjoy my peers so much; I enjoy the whole vibe of being at an art school, though admittedly I choose not to partake in most of it; most of all, I enjoy the teachers I’ve had. I’ve built some great relationships with teachers—many of whom have been at CCAD for decades! I take lots of snapshots of my teachers and I talk about them a lot, but I’d love to figure out some other way to celebrate them and their commitment to the school.

Those three things make up the core of my thesis project. I want to make sweaters for my friends and classmates, I want to master machine knitting, and I want to do something to celebrate this school.

What’s next?

I’ve got to figure out how all these things fit together. I don’t just want to make a bunch of sweaters—there’s got to be a soul to this thing. Stay tuned to hear what I come up with.