tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-203966862024-03-14T01:14:31.460-07:00gridjunkyCraft & CreativeJeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07524532218044716989noreply@blogger.comBlogger170125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20396686.post-86643720279149221922016-07-13T15:19:00.000-07:002017-11-15T08:27:39.625-08:00Shear Echo Six
I finished knitting this beanie way back in May, but I’ve been so busy with these new jobs that my content output essentially ceased to a halt. One of these jobs took up all my photography/post-processing time, and the other was simply a necessary supplement to the meager wages of the first. I seriously need a real job so I can quit all this stupidity.
Anyway: Shear Echo Six. Despite an Jeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07524532218044716989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20396686.post-64101005055242425462016-05-09T14:58:00.000-07:002016-05-14T11:21:22.460-07:00These Fragile Things
I’ve been pretty stingy about sharing all the batiks I’ve collected (and inherited) over the years. Somehow I feel like I’m oversharing. You see, these textiles mark a very specific time in my life, and in the life of my mother. She was the one who acquired them all, either by my request, or her whim. When she died, I claimed as many of them that I could find. There were many more than what I Jeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07524532218044716989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20396686.post-20645803159046222832016-03-01T10:08:00.001-08:002016-03-01T10:31:58.664-08:00Balance
One of the issues I ran into with the first recycled denim tote I made was the lack of rigidity in it’s structure. Visually, I like how it turned out, but I felt it was too floppy. There’s this balance that needs to happen between structure and weight that I’m sure a lot of architects would be familiar with. The thinner and lighter the material, the less stress it can withstand. Another Jeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07524532218044716989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20396686.post-85456533744659274172015-12-31T14:58:00.000-08:002015-12-31T15:15:03.640-08:00Pure
The most asked question—and I’m sure other makers get this, too—is “How long did it take you to make this?” I suppose it’s one of those things people are accustomed to asking, like saying “I’m sorry” at funerals or something. The fact is that the length of time it takes to make something doesn’t really tell you anything. The Work says everything.
So let’s just get this out of the way: This Jeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07524532218044716989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20396686.post-70389875116212395082015-10-28T14:56:00.001-07:002015-10-28T16:03:11.061-07:00To Remember
Something I don’t share very often is my modest collection of batik textiles. They date back to a short span of years between the late eighties, and early nineties. I know this because they belonged to my mother, and that was the timeframe in which she visited Bali and Java. I guess I don’t share these pieces because I’m reluctant to chop them up. That’s pretty much what I’m doing most of the Jeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07524532218044716989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20396686.post-70073705718477111022015-10-19T11:00:00.000-07:002015-10-19T11:00:30.699-07:00Take the Time
I think a common misconception about my photography is that I make tutorials. Although these photo essays can be seen that way, that's not really my intention. What I'm doing is sharing my creative process in order to help you develop yours. Explicitly telling you step by step how to make something doesn't really help you do that. And let's face it: creative people don't really need to be told Jeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07524532218044716989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20396686.post-69922446237896085422015-09-12T12:26:00.000-07:002015-09-12T12:26:06.569-07:00Fragments
I don't want to rename this project despite how much I hate the name "Fragments." In part I don't care about names at this point. This was a preliminary exercise at best, a way for me to begin looking at the compositional elements and techniques I wanted to employ. It's a rough draft of what would later become Delete Charlie. However, once all those ideas migrated over to that project, I just Jeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07524532218044716989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20396686.post-44628713868812705332015-08-14T11:33:00.000-07:002015-08-14T12:46:35.881-07:00Shear Alpha Five
In the previous version's blogpost on Shear Alpha (Four), I didn't really talk about this design, and how it has changed over the course of it's life. I think it's important to shed some light on that because it touches on some aspects of my creative process. A lot of knitters assume that because I design my own patterns, that there are downloadable versions of them out there, but there are notJeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07524532218044716989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20396686.post-46656753281807847212015-07-17T14:55:00.000-07:002015-07-17T14:55:04.181-07:00Shear Charlie Six
I've been knitting for five years now, and if my work has demonstrated anything, it is that knitwear design is a personal journey. I was at a craft party recently, hosted by my friend Amy. I got a few people asking me how I got started knitting, and it really was a spontaneous decision on my part. I've always had a visual aesthetic of geometric compositions in mind, and that's what I wanted to Jeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07524532218044716989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20396686.post-85641329599184912602015-06-25T15:03:00.000-07:002015-06-25T15:03:20.588-07:00Shear Alpha Four
Green was my Mom's favorite color. When I was growing up on Guam, she had this green Mustang that I wish I had more pictures of. It was totally impractical, but it's one of those lasting memories I had of growing up on a small island in the Pacific Ocean that nobody seems to know about.
Everything was green there. I don't mean that in a charming, "ocean paradise" sort of way. The island Jeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07524532218044716989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20396686.post-27665515728011195292015-05-15T15:04:00.000-07:002015-05-16T08:38:11.959-07:00Reflect Echo Three
For one reason or another I haven't knit another Reflect Echo since I introduced it back in 2012. In part it had to do with not having very much of this black merino to work with, but I also knew that the second would be for me (the first one sold rather quickly). Since it was slated as a personal project, it just got backburnered, and ultimately forgotten. I'd pass over this yarn from time to Jeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07524532218044716989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20396686.post-2970223361029098262015-04-30T14:22:00.000-07:002015-04-30T15:12:43.830-07:00Try New Things
As some of you may know already, I live in San Jose, California, and we have a plastic bag ban here. I won't get into why I think that's awesome, but it is. But one thing I noticed is how un-awesome the reusable bags I've collected are. They're terrible. And what's more: the growing collection of them is rivaling the previous collection of plastic bags they replaced. When it comes down to it, Jeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07524532218044716989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20396686.post-58449099761297858852015-03-20T14:58:00.000-07:002015-03-20T14:59:53.335-07:00Light Beats
It's been three weeks since I finished this piece, but weaving is still so new to me that I've been reluctant to model the final piece. After it was done, I kept it within reach so that I can wear it every now and then. In hindsight, the reluctance was irrational. I thought that the delicate openness would somehow distort into a tangled mess, or that it would somehow crumple like a vampire Jeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07524532218044716989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20396686.post-51027223583145182962015-02-02T14:43:00.000-08:002015-03-20T15:11:43.449-07:00Delete Charlie
Sometimes when I start a project, I'll blurt out my idea just to get it out of my head, and into fruition. Sometimes it's spot on in one try, and other times I have to kill the first idea and try again. That's how the creative process works. In order to create a strong body of work, you have to learn to kill your babies, specifically the weak ones. But doing the work, making that first attempt Jeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07524532218044716989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20396686.post-51500798764249974352015-01-06T20:08:00.001-08:002022-03-02T19:34:58.536-08:00Shear Echo Four
I've been mentioning it here and there over the years, and the time has finally come. This is the last of this 100% lamb's wool. I have enough for two hats, and it's finally gone. You might remember me mentioning how I found two of the same sweater which never happens. This effectively doubled this yarn lot. So over the past few years, this yarn has appeared in more hats I've knit than any Jeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07524532218044716989noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20396686.post-71895751894206232832014-12-07T19:20:00.000-08:002014-12-08T09:06:04.408-08:00Divide Alpha Four
According to my notes, I haven't knitted Divide Alpha since 2012. Time does indeed fly. I remember working on this for weeks, and being completely perplexed about how the transitions would cross. I remember the imperfections, and subsequent improvements that led from Alpha One to Alpha Two, and then to Alpha Three.
I modeled Shear Echo Three inside out. I wonder if those buyers noticed? They Jeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07524532218044716989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20396686.post-44799658916909862292014-10-22T09:39:00.000-07:002014-12-17T08:17:31.800-08:00Shear Echo Three
I have to say, Shear Echo has been rather exploratory for me. Prior iterations of Shear have had their variations, but Echo Series takes that design foundation of parallelograms, and demonstrates the most variation of all of them.
The design might just be perfect. I've been able to scale it into higher density and lower, by way of lighter and heavier yarns. I never do that, at least with the Jeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07524532218044716989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20396686.post-49090765949529674312014-08-08T09:48:00.001-07:002014-08-08T09:48:56.923-07:00Divide Bravo Nine
My Instagram feed has been green lately. I'm sure you've noticed Divide Bravo 9 flashing it's brightness over the past week among the olive drabs. It almost seems out of place among my usual color saturation preferences. I've always felt it was too bright. Maybe I also harbored some irrational resentment because it was recycled from an A&F sweater. But hey, that's not its fault.
The designJeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07524532218044716989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20396686.post-30300112706869539412014-07-29T13:30:00.001-07:002014-07-29T13:30:13.315-07:00Armer Class
I've been calling these "Armers," much in the same way I've been calling my leg warmers "Leggers." They function pretty much in the same way, adding warmth to the area of a garment where all the drafts happen (the openings). If you ride a bike, then you know what I'm talking about.
The idea has been rolling around in my head to make these since last year, so it's nice to have these done and Jeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07524532218044716989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20396686.post-41311977684548294502014-06-30T12:23:00.000-07:002014-07-03T07:45:24.559-07:00Worth Doing
My studio has been a mess lately because of this apron. Now that it's finished, I can get back to the other stuff that got back-burnered because I got a sudden urge to use up all this denim I recycled.
If you've been keeping up with me on Facebook, or more recently on Instagram, then you've seen all the in-progress images that I've been posting. There are a few you haven't seen, though. Jeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07524532218044716989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20396686.post-82364762005127437652014-05-13T12:23:00.002-07:002014-05-13T12:48:26.049-07:00Just Make
So that denim I showed you the other day was sitting around within my field of vision the past week because I wanted to sew something out if it.
I don't know what to call this, but I'm currently using it as a mouse pad. The physical parameters indicate that it's a bag. That's fine. If I feel like sliding a piece of paper into it with web passwords, then so be it. If I want to use it as a Jeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07524532218044716989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20396686.post-39676033676693746002014-05-09T11:44:00.000-07:002014-05-09T11:50:18.650-07:00I Call Them Gaunts
I need to catch up with all these projects that I finished and never blogged about. These gaunts were completed around the end of last year, and I tucked them away like so many other personal projects. They're a simple improvisational project with more experimenting than planning. Color block stripes, spiral jog stripes, and an angular transition thrown in for good measure. That's really all Jeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07524532218044716989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20396686.post-66096338066095338142014-04-23T10:27:00.000-07:002014-04-23T10:27:32.151-07:00Delete Bravo
As you may recall from the Alpha, "Delete" is a designation I've developed to essentially bust my stash. And if you know me well enough by now, you'd know that I'd never name a scarf something so obvious as "Stashbuster" or whatever because that would be stupid.
The names I give to my work have very specific origins. The hats are named after tools and processes in Adobe Illustrator. The Jeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07524532218044716989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20396686.post-10902510052282640772014-03-19T11:30:00.000-07:002014-03-19T11:53:26.255-07:00Place Alpha Zero
After writing up a heavily technical post filled with knitting jargon and shop talk, it occurred to me that those of you that would understand it would just be hearing what you already know: calculations can only take you part of the way, but you have to dive in and just do it if you want to see how well a project will turn out.
When I bought Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitting Without Tears a Jeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07524532218044716989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20396686.post-90176879151422992832014-03-05T16:08:00.002-08:002014-03-05T16:08:27.749-08:00Playing Darts
Yet when I say 'darts,' the term is used rather liberally. Frankly, I don't know what to call this. I've sewn horizontal darts into my jeans for years, and they are what you'd expect if you're familiar with darts on men's shirts. The goal is to reduce and shape the garment to fit better, but I use them on jeans because I don't like losing the ankle hems by folding them under. I also don't like Jeromehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07524532218044716989noreply@blogger.com0