Storied Stitches Volume 11

Storied Stitches Volume 11

Dear Readers, With every volume of Storied Stitches that we make, we are always surprised and awed by the variety and beauty of the work submitted. It reminds us of why we started this project in the first place; to celebrate the creations of fiber artists, what their work says about them and their hopes, struggles, dreams, and how they view the world.

Storytelling is an innate part of being human, and in these pages a group of fiber artists from different backgrounds, different places, and different mediums tell part of their story through the things that they make.

We hope you find wonder, inspiration, and joy from these images, as we do.

Happy Stitching, Valentina Castro & E. Caroline Walters Co-Founders of Storied Stitches

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I NEVER SLEPT Yarn, found object, crotchet - outdoor installation Naomi Are you really asleep if you are dreaming?

The complete phrase is ‘I NEVER SLEPT WITH YOU’. I thought removing the you, was truer to the emotional ties but most importantly the constant uneasiness.

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Equal and Opposite 2021 Teri Anderson

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Now the Inner Refuge

Fabrics, Batting, sequins and embroidery work 2021 Eleanor Louise West

‘Now the Inner Refuge’ (2021) is a miniature version of the work by the same name produced in 2019.

Made for a online solo show at the Compact Contemporary Gallery, this small work is very special to me.

The pandemic has made being an artist extremely challenging as its cut many off from their equipment or supplies to make work, without a sewing machine I recreated this work for a gallery that had been set up as a space for Artists to showcase work during this challenging time for the creative sector.

The original work used imagery from the Protect and Survive booklets that were distributed in the 1980s that was then readopted and queered to be used to talk about the isolation of being a queer teen. In the quilt, the “refuge” is signified as being the bedroom which is illustrated with a circle around it. Textile arts have been important to me as they can be a soft way to talk about traumatic or difficult subjects. Through my work I reflect on my existence as a queer person, and hope that my art can provide validation to other queer people who have been through similar things.

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Kendy P.

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trying to glimpse, and couldn’t help but reflect on how we are all trying to catch a glimpse a view of the future, and maybe Babe can see it for us.

trying to gain a better view. I wish I could have known her, but I thank her every single day for passing down her love for fiber. I wonder what she was

Grandmother Bernadine (affectionately called “Babe”) was taken as she was looking past the camera, either shielding her eyes from the sun, or perhaps

imagery from my family’s albums, often selecting the images that seemed to expose a narrative rather than the posed portraits. This image of my Great-

This was the final piece of work I made in the studios at school before the University (and the world) shut down due to COVID. Last winter I began using

Lindsey Ruth Wilson

Cotton, Jacquard Woven, 46 in x 12 in, March 2020

Moon Watch

RIP Environmental Jerks Pillows Recycled sweatshirt fabric, velvet, recycled Polyfil 12” x 3”, 2021 Kate Tatsumi

Irving Fisher was a Yale professor who, while discussing public health on a report for the National Conservation Commission, went off on a tangent about “race suicide” that he believed would follow if the USA would not replenish itself with “Northern European stock”.

Madison Grant was a conservationist who wrote about white supremacism and warned people about the decline of the “Nordic” people and the rise of and overtaking of the “Alpine” and “Mediterranean” people. Hitler praised his writings.

Biologist Paul Ehrlich wrote “The Population Bomb” and used racist examples of people of color as “unclean” and “hellish” to further his point of overpopulation for his white audience.

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Response to the murder of Sarah Everard Luca Hodgins I made this piece to put up in my local park in reponse to the murder to Sarah Everard and the subsequent public discussion about womens’ safety. I wanted to raise awareness of this issue to people who may not have come across it on social media.

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The Nonbinary-Binary Gloves Handknit, stranded colorwork gloves knit out of merino sock yarn in the nonbinary pride flag colours, Original Design July, 2020 Harper Bee

These gloves are inspired by two short essays by Alok Vaid-Menon, a brilliant, gendernonconforming writer and performance artist who has captured an international audience for their groundbreaking work on gender, race, trauma, and being human.

In particular, I’m inspired and awed by their relentless dedication to uncovering and examining the gender binary as a Western, white, colonial, and, ultimately, racist form of oppression.

This pattern was purely a labour of love, as a nerdy non-binary knitter who thinks themself entirely too clever; and admiration, as a long-time follower of Alok VaidMenon’s work.

Each glove “reads” one of two quotes from Vaid-Menon about being non-binary, converted into binary code: “being non-binary isn’t new; you can’t divide billions into two.”

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The Path Between Hand woven baskets with round reed, wrapped in knitted and crocheted yarn sleeves Molly Kate Burki The Path Between brings to life my overly nostalgic & queer identity by pairing traditional craft technique with contemporary color and installation.

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Custom clothing piece

Monster Under Your Bed Clothing by Mandy All of my pieces are made with love by me! My heart and soul goes into every thread I make!

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Paeonia Courtney Drymon When it comes to designing I like to try to create pieces that are comfortable but versatile. Pairing simple pieces (a hoodie and skirt) with a print that has a touch of elegance to create something that can be casual or dressed up with the right accessories. A “no pressure” kind of fashion.

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Loved Socks Stephanie Mittens Over this last Christmas my grandfather was in the hospital for the fourth time in the past six months, and things weren’t looking good. Because of the pandemic he wasn’t allowed visitors and spent Christmas day alone in the hospital. Despite not being big on holidays, I felt very isolated and wasn’t sure how to cope with the feeling. A few days after the holiday, through an odd series of events, I fell completely in love with BTS. As cliché as it sounds, their music brought me comfort and warmth when I needed it most.

Less than a month after my grandfather left the hospital, he was diagnosed with COVID, and a few weeks later, after many ups and downs, passed away. I didn’t feel comfortable flying home for the funeral, so my partner and I drove across country from Los Angeles to Pittsburgh. BTS was not only a major part of the trip’s soundtrack, but also inspired my entertainment for the trip.

I have the worst habit of seeing sweaters and thinking “I MUST knit that”, so when I saw one of the members wearing a lovely Gucci sweater in one of their music videos, I was immediately inspired. I knew if I tried to knit this sweater it would forever remain a WIP. Instead, I went for socks. These ended up being the perfect trip knitting project – I finished one on the way there, and the other on the way back – and they left me feeling very loved in the end.

When I got home, I wrote up the pattern, which can be found here: bit.ly/3tUz4EE 15

CHD Awareness Scarf Valentina Castro I made this scarf and pattern to celebrate Heart Month and CHD awareness. My inspiration for this pattern is the CHD awareness ribbon, which is half red and half blue like the circulatory system.

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Tendrils Manuel Castro Tendrils Strong, nifty Intertwining, knitting, climbing On the net to bloom profusely pink scented pea flowers

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Ha dumped me Needle Felting, 9” x 12”, 2021 Sarah Katz

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Picture books aren’t just for kids! Adults need illustrations to process the ebbs and flows of life too, the heartbreak and trauma, the love and the healing. Ha dumped me is a breakup picture book about the artist’s real gut punch of a heartbreak (during the pandemic no less!). And, through it all, love is still there, expansive like the sky, available to all of us when we reach for it.

Sarah Katz is a fibre artist, poet and community worker. She’s facilitated with and supported marginalized folks in community arts and urban agriculture programming. She has had her art work displayed in local galleries in Toronto and published a number of poems in anthologies. Most recently, she’s turned her attention to building a social entreprise called Social Fibre, in which she engages marginalized youth in employment and artistic opportunities in making and selling artisanal wool slippers.

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Contributors Courtney Drymon Instagram @motley_fae Paeonia … 14

Naomi

E. Caroline Walters

Sarah Katz Instagram @socialfibre | socialfibre.ca Ha dumped me … 18-20

Instagram @blackmothergoose | naomimomoh.com

I NEVER SLEPT … 2

Instagram @ecarolinewalters | ecarolinewalters.com

Hot Summer Stitches … cover

Stephanie Mittens Instagram @smmitten_knittin Loved Socks … 15

Eleanor Louise West Instagram @tepidpaper | eleanor-west.format.com

Now the Inner Refuge … 4

Teri Anderson

Harper Bee Instagram @disyarning The Nonbinary-Binary Gloves … 9-10

Instagram @tinyteri13 | teriandersonsite.wordpress. com

Equal and Opposite … 3

Kate Tatsumi Instagram @kate_tatsumi | katetatsumi.com RIP Environmental Jerks Pillows … 7

Valentina Castro Instagram @castlevalentine CHD Awareness Scarf ... 16

Kendy P. Instagram @missmuffcake Vaccination Cross-stitch … 5 Lindsey Ruth Wilson Instagram @lindseyruthdesigns | lindseyruthdesigns. weebly.com

Moon Watch … 6

Luca Hodgins Instagram @dippycatcrochet Response to the murder of Sarah Everard … 8 Manuel Castro Tendrils … 17 Molly Kate Burki Instagram @mk.textiles The Path Between … 11-12 Monster Under Your Bed Clothing by Mandy

Instagram @monsterunderyourbedclothing Custom Clothing Piece … 13

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Submit to our next volume!

Be political, be creative, be yourself.

We are looking for free patterns, illustrations, comics, knitting tips, poems, pictures, stories or anything you can think of.

Email your submissions to storiedstitches@gmail.com Our next volume will be Fall 2021.

Follow us on Instagram for updates @StoriedStitches

StoriedStitches.com Instagram @StoriedStitches