Collections

When I knitted these clover leaves I just had to add the flowers as well!

I have had a collector's mindset all my life. One approach to ornaments is that they can be viewed and designed as collections, grouping items that are some way similar to each other.

When I bought a stained class ornament for my batchroom window, I just had to have more of those grass greens and other bold colors and forms. I painted the bathroom walls bright green and changed the style to go along with the single ornament. It just looked so lonely that I had to do something!

Many of my collections have been carefully defined. Like my doll collection which is something I cherish the most. Some collections found at the house are more loose, just a group of items that seem to go fairly well with each other.

I like to combine pricy items with cheap ones like in the little collection of souvenirs around the world that are connected by their ethnic style more than their monetary value.

The best collections in the world are those that are filled with stories. In Finland, a great collection is found in Hyvinkaa. If you visit the town you have to go to the teddy bear museum and talk with the owner, Armi. She is a great collector with a great sense of humor. Soon you will find out that every little toy of the museum has its' own incredible story. Someone should make a book about Armi and her teddy bears!

I want to tell stories with my knitting. This approach makes knitting so exciting! (I will reveal the whole story around clovers when the bag they belong to is finished.)

Sometimes a material can be the one that adds the story to the form.

Triangles in the scarf can be the plainest ornaments of all but the colors and texture of the yarn makes them look like something old, wooden, carved and valued. Here the yarn is the element that takes us to the ancient Japan where we drink tea with harmony and look over the hills cherishing the view.