This Thing of Paper

This Thing of Paper

Majuscule & Minuscule

- - Bibliography

Exclusive Backer Pattern: Purslowe

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Patterns

Doggerland Collection

The Hygge Collection

Workshops

This Thing of Paper

This Thing of Paper

Majuscule & Minuscule

- - Bibliography

Exclusive Backer Pattern: Purslowe

This Thing of Paper Stockists

Patterns

Doggerland Collection

The Hygge Collection

Workshops

Karie

September 13, 2009

Personal, Photography, Scotland

Weekend

Karie

September 13, 2009

Personal, Photography, Scotland

sept09 251

Tagged: friends, Glasgow, personal stuff, Photography, real life

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Karie Westermann

I do things with wool and words. Knitwear designer, teacher and author.

And other stuff too.

This Thing of Paper by Karie Westermann

This Thing of Paper by Karie Westermann

18.99

Workshops & Events

The garment I chose to mend at the @celiapym workshop was made by my grandmother. She is now in a care home with dementia and can no longer knit. This is the last piece she knitted for me. I cannot fix the damage caused to my family, but I can mend the holes. For the hole in the back, I chose to use two colours (a bright teal and a grey). I wanted to superimpose new stripes on top of the existing stripes to give a ghostly effect - a bit like when my gran has a lucid moment and her personality bleeds through - but I should have chosen a stronger contrast. I am now working on an edge darn: it is challenging to maintain the tension but it is a satisfying challenge. I have another hole to fix on the buttonband once I'm done with this edge darn.

Did a #visiblemending workshop with @celiapym today. It was such a good, relaxing and inspiring day. I worked on a cardigan - I'll tell you more about it in future posts - and so pleased that I got to work on edge darns. Much to think about - especially about garments and bodies, traces and ghosts, garments as palimpsests, and sutures. Oh, and how Eurovision makes for excellent darning soundtrack (NOT MY FAULT).

Tomorrow I'm off to a workshop on #visiblemending with @celiapym. I will be bringing two items that need some holes fixed, but I'm spending tonight thinking about the memories embedded in the items and how the damage happened. Like with these old houses in Central Copenhagen, clothes show wear and tear but the beauty & functionality remain. I'm writing about our relationships with clothes and our making over Patreon. A big thank you to @fustian_garb for a wonderful conversation about the everyday wardrobe in our lives this past Thursday.

This is what someone with depression looks like on the road to recovery. I am starting therapy next week and I'm taking every day as it comes. This month has been generally good but I'm struggling to get on top of everyday things. It's hard to know what to say when I hear "but you don't look depressed" - but that's because you don't see me when I have a bad day. And depression has nothing to do with feeling sad. It's numbness. It's having any drop of emotion squeezed out if you until there is only greyness all around. I'm not there anymore. I'm getting better. And we all need to get better at talking about mental health x

I'm obsessed with the idea of making an everyday wardrobe (I've just launched The Everyday Wardrobe Project over on Patreon) and here are some of my current making plans. My everyday wardrobe is colourful and happy-making. The hot pink baby cord will become trousers, the pink/orange cotton lawn a top, and as for the @gamercrafting yarn? Well, I have plans for that too. Never thought I'd have pink as part of my wardrobe but here we are.

Just a couple of spots left on this delightful grand day out at @whistlebare on May 25. Lambs! Sheepdogs! Cake! And I'll be teaching you how to knit lace, deal with lace charts, deal with lace issues and basically LACE. It'll be utterly wonderful.

Whoops. Or, it took me twenty-five years to get around to doing this. Self-image is weird. I look in the mirror and think "this is what has always been missing; this feels so complete."

Culottes. They are not quite right. I have an hourglass figure, so I will need to grade the pattern so it both fits the waist and the bum/hips. I'm rather excited about being able to play with sizing and construction in a different medium than knitting. It informs my job, but is also a nice hobby. ANYWAY. My Patreon features four free posts on how to make what you wear, how to consider your wardrobe needs, and how to embrace slow fashion. I have a new series on the Everyday Wardrobe starting today for patrons, and I'm looking forward to hearing your musings - hey it's #memademay :)

Making Stuff: Karie Westermann's Blog RSS

About Karie

Karie's Knitterly Guide to Scotland

Photography by David Fraser

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