Friday, April 08, 2011

Dream Large. Or Possibly Very, Very Small.


It's out! Lela Nargi's book, Astounding Knits is available now on Amazon. I think it hits the bookstores next week. My project, The Knitted Mile is in it. As someone who has work featured in the book, I received a copy and I must say, I am very pleased with Lela's choices. It was wonderful to find myself genuinely impressed with the selection in the book. I am especially pleased with the section that my project is included in - all works for which I have nothing but respect.

You see, Janet Morton and I had a conversation back in Sackville in which we both confessed to actually kinda disliking the whole yarnbombing thing. It felt like the Pope saying he doesn't really like red hats and yet it was a huge relief to finally say it out loud to someone who knows exactly what I mean. Both of us have done work that could be seen as precursors to the phenomena of yarnbombing. I know I have had a strange relationship with it - feeling slightly ripped-off and misunderstood. But Janet had it right when she said that, while not criticizing anyone who feels compelled to do it, there is huge difference in the intention. And in art, intention is everything.

So I was a little afraid I would be in the yarnbombing section but I am not! Hooray and thank you Lela!

The book has many fascinating projects including, despite the title, a little bit of crochet. I think it would make a good addition to your bookshelf. You can take it down whenever you are feeling like you need a bit of inspiration. Or perhaps when you feel the need to be astounded.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

There wasn't even a yarn bombing section!! ;-)

Robyn said...

Oh - you sent me running back to the book! And (of course!) you are correct. There is one segment called yarnbombing but not a whole section. I think it is just that I get a kind of blindness when I see Knitta Please and I forget all other details. Or that's what I am telling myself anyway. But really, I do love your book....I hope that comes through at least.

Unknown said...

It comes through in spades! Thanks for the kind words.
What's funny about this exchange is that it never occurred to me that your work might be construed as yarnbombing; maybe because I was introduced to your Knitted Mile project at the same time as your Knitting Sprawl, which was so obviously about something else entirely...