March 30, 2010 of 365 : becky’s feet + crochet triangles in progress

Becky is always cooking up something super crafty. Her current project is currently installed in the window of the Knit Cafe. Colourfully crochet triangles that have been stitched together. Becky dropped by to lay all her triangles out on our large cutting table before sewing them together. I snapped a few photos of her taking photos of her project in progress.

If you invite Shannon Gerard to your trunk show, you are pretty much guaranteed that she will be the first to arrive to help set up and when she opens her trunk you will be simply amazed at the things she has made out of yarn. People say that crochet is ‘so easy’, but I can’t quite wrap my head around how you go about making plants you can’t kill, sprouting avocado seeds, strawberry-topped tarts, mustaches (or plushtache in Gerard-speak) and other anatomy from a couple sticks and ball of yarn.

Of course, this is just a small fraction of Shannon’s talent. I would encourage you to snoop around Shannon’s blog, her website and her etsy shop to learn more about the lovely, humourous, but deliberate work she creates.

You are involved in a lot of diverse craft – crochet, comics, screen printing, etc.. Where did it all start for you?

SHANNON : My crafting started with storytelling– I used to think of myself as a writer before anything else– which led to bookmaking and drawing. I started to make books that weren’t traditionally structured and got into the sculptural qualities of book binding materials. Then I learned crochet because I wanted to create the Boobs and Dinks as a side project to a book I was writing. But since then, crochet has taken over my whole life! Once I started, there was no stopping.

What is the story behind your Boobs and Dinks project?

SHANNON : Boobs and Dinks was first just a side project to Hung no.3; Lonely Tylenol, a comic book I wrote that tells the story of my boyfriend finding a lump in his testicle. We were pretty scared about it and tried researching online, but found very little information for men. Of course there are millions of resources available to women about breast health, but not so much for guys. So I asked a friend to teach me to crochet because I had this vision of wanting to get at the fear with some useful information that was delivered in a soft and humourous way. I really wanted to make plush warm-up toys that educated people about body awareness and crochet was the perfect medium. Although it is definitely still connected to the book, Boobs and Dinks has become a huge multi-dimensional project of its own– people really respond to it! Since it started, I’ve found out about so many other amazing craft related projects that deal with cancer and human frailty and fear. I’ve also connected with so many other crafters and video artists and writers and organizations that deal with very similar issues.

Oh and, my BF was fine– the lump turned out to be just a dilated vein– but that fear when we discovered it was so intense, and I hope the project humanizes that kind of panic in a way that people can understand.

Is there anything you can’t make with crochet? Seriously!

SHANNON : Well, I want to make cowls, but I can’t read or write patterns. I’ve made a few attempts at learning, but just gave up. The beautiful and addictive thing about crochet is that you can just think of any shape you want to build and then make it up as you go along. There are only a few different variables but no end of ways to combine stitches to get the design you want. But sometimes the math is a bit tricky to work out the first time. You should see some of the prototypes for my projects- they are so hilarious and lumpy.

What was your biggest craft triumph?

SHANNON : Crafts mostly always feel triumphant! There is such a strong community spirit in crafts. Ideas are constantly evolving and growing because of the inspiration of others. Because there isn’t a lot of “mine mine mine”, you can work on projects with friends (at a workroom Stitch and Bitch for example) and always know that your work is respected. And many times ideas become strengthened by the input of others. Last year at the Valentine’s Trunk Show, I was talking to Ayalah at the workroom and since she is a medical illustrator, she gave me lots of tips for making my plush hearts more anatomically correct– so this year I have a whole new and improved pattern! Stuff like that is my favourite thing about crafts. Everybody triumphs!

Are you planning on selling some rummage at the show? if yes, what might that be?

SHANNON : Yep, I’m combing my stores for rummage– so far I have a few odds and ends of yarn, a batch of 35mm colour slides, some old blank mini-journals, and maybe some fabric squares I cut out for a quilt that never happened.

What Valentines gift would melt your heart?

SHANNON : For Valentine’s Day this year I’m dreaming of a collection of security buttons from Sweetie Pie Press– I want to get some of the rare pink ones before they’re gone.

The Love & Rummage Trunk Show will be at the workroom on Sunday February 8, 12-5pm.

All photos courtesy of Shannon Gerard. “Last Year’s Heart” photo by Alison Westlake.

Once again, we’re approaching another trunk show here at the workroom, in collaboration with the City of Craft ladies. The Love & Rummage Trunk Show will be a little bit different than our previous shows, as we’ve asked our vendors to also go through their crafty closets and package up some vintage supplies and goodies, as well as making their special wares. I have a strong suspicion that many of them have a treasure-load of stuff and I can’t wait to browse through it.

I’ll be profiling vendors every day up until the show, so I hope you drop by to take a peek at what’s in store. Today I’m super excited to introduce you to Margie Oomen of Resurrection Fern. I first discovered Margie on flickr when I saw a picture of one of her crochet covered sea stones. The first thing I did was check to see if she had an etsy store, so that I could buy one. Alas, at the time she didn’t – but her etsy store opened recently and seems to be doing really well. If you want one of her stones, you have to be mighty quick, as they sell out shortly after being posted. I have a feeling the same will be true at the trunk show.

Nature plays a big part in your work. How did the play between craft and nature develop for you?

MARGIE : I have always been a nature girl and also a maker of things from a very young age but it seems only in the last year or so that the two have really become covalently bonded. I have been doing a great deal of reading and thinking about how we can do our part to help increase awareness of the effects of global warming and unregulated consumption on our little planet and what I came up with was the concept of helping people see and experience what it is that is worth saving. To put this more simply, I really want to do my part to motivate people to go out there in the woods, meadows, seashores or even there own backyards where they can then slow down, and see what nature is trying so desperately to show them in the hopes that it will motivate them and inspire them to be creative.

Tell me the story behind your delightful crochet-covered rocks.

MARGIE : The story started with me crocheting the “rock babies” which were two little smooth stones I half covered with crochet one day and then my daughter said they looked like little babies wrapped in blankets. I smiled and then decided to add very simple facial features with a permanent marker and thus they were christened the “rock babies”.

I loved the look of an eyelet fabric covered stone I saw on flickr made by Stephanie ( little bird ) and decided to crochet some lace like covers for some sea stones I collected on my summer vacation in Cape Breton. The rest is history.

What/Who is inspiring you these days?

MARGIE : Nature is and always will by my greatest source of inspiration. I have made some great friendships through flickr and my blog and this creative community feeds and nourishes me everyday and also keeps me grounded.

What was your worst crafting disaster?

MARGIE : There is no such thing as a crafting disaster, they are only lessons to learn.

Are you planning on selling some rummage at the show?

MARGIE : I have been cleaning out my storage craft area and will have some vintage buttons, ribbons and trim and some vintage fabric bundles for sale and again a few surprises. I am not sure how all of this will fit in my vintage suitcase but maybe it will be a magic suitcase like Mary Poppins carpet bag.

What Valentines gift would melt your heart?

MARGIE : The best Valentine’s gift would be to spend the day snowshoeing or cross country skiing in the forest with my husband and having a winter picnic with a small fire. Our hands, feet and noses might get cold but our hearts would be toasty warm.

All photos by Margie Oomen