Photos just don't do it justice, but if you want to see more, check out Flickr. Now, normally the Knit and Stitch brings out the hoarder in all of us, in fact, I still have some threads and things I bought many years ago. But since I went on a little book ordering spree before the weekend, I made the decision to keep the spending fairly low-key. and I actually managed to succeed. All I bought at this years Knitting and Stitching show, were...new crochet hooks!!
I won't bore you with the details, but theres a bamboo, size 12, and 4 Clover hooks in various sizes. I have never used these Clover Hooks before, but I got to test them out while doing crochet demonstrations, and I found them great to work with. Oh sorry, just bored you with details....
With a bad hangover, on Saturday morning, I decided to go for a stroll around town, before heading home, might as well make this a full-on cultural outing! I was worried about my new crochet hooks, and decided not to take the risk with airport security, and went down to the GPO, and posted them to myself. I shouldn't have bothered, as they didn't even find the small pair of scissors I didn't know were in my bag!!
So, cultural outing no 2 (the Knit and Stitch being the 1st): A visit to the LAB gallery to see a lovely exhibition Krickle Krackle, of crochet by Dorothy Ann Daly. The venue is quite nice but a pity about the lack of signs, the junk left in the hallway, and the 2 lads at reception who didn't seem to know anything.
Cultural outing no 3: Walking past the Douglas Hyde Gallery in Trinity, I had a quick peek to see what was on. Skipping past the bad paintings, I discovered, tucked in a small room was an exhibition of Japanese Tea Bowls. Not a big deal if you are not into Japanese Tea Bowls, and personally I'm not really into Japanese Tea Bowls, but I'm interested in the whole aesthetic behind Japanese Tea Bowls. The whole thing about Japanese Tea bowls is they, to use the blurb,
looked at from another perspective, the best of them possess great depth, beauty, and integrity. When I was trying to get my final pieces together for my diploma, I was struggling to get the necessary thoughts into words. I wanted to create something from nothing, ugly from beauty, and of course in typical me fashion, something completely non-functional!! I came across a book in a 2nd hand shop called Wabi-Sabi: for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers by Leonard Koren. This book, I can say changed my whole outlook on art and life, and certainly my diploma show!! It is about the aesthetic behind the beauty of these Tea bowls. There was actually a copy of the book in the gallery, and I haven't thought of it in ages so it was a beautiful reminder.
Cultural Outing no 4: Usually I go to the Chester Beatty Library whenever I'm in Dublin, but a wonderful conversation with Anita Bruce who had visited the Museum, made me feel like going there. I haven't been there in years. It seemed appropriate since I'm currently reading Dress in Ireland by Mairead Dunlevy, and since I had only read the 1st two chapters, most of which is displayed at the National Museum, it was great to see the actual pieces she was talking about. I was very proud of the fact I didn't spend too much money at the Knit and Stitch Show. But, alas, my thriftiness was short lived. Its like a trap going into the Museum, you have to walk through the shop to go inside, and I thought I'd just take a quick look at the books. Needless to say, I ended up spending a few €'s. I'm sorry but could you resist a book on Viking Headscarves from Fishamble Street! While I was there I also did a few sketches, much to the amusement of the French students milling about. The museum is bigger than I remember, I definitely didn't see the Bog Bodies section before, which is a little bit creepy..
I won't bore you with the details, but theres a bamboo, size 12, and 4 Clover hooks in various sizes. I have never used these Clover Hooks before, but I got to test them out while doing crochet demonstrations, and I found them great to work with. Oh sorry, just bored you with details....
With a bad hangover, on Saturday morning, I decided to go for a stroll around town, before heading home, might as well make this a full-on cultural outing! I was worried about my new crochet hooks, and decided not to take the risk with airport security, and went down to the GPO, and posted them to myself. I shouldn't have bothered, as they didn't even find the small pair of scissors I didn't know were in my bag!!
So, cultural outing no 2 (the Knit and Stitch being the 1st): A visit to the LAB gallery to see a lovely exhibition Krickle Krackle, of crochet by Dorothy Ann Daly. The venue is quite nice but a pity about the lack of signs, the junk left in the hallway, and the 2 lads at reception who didn't seem to know anything.
Cultural outing no 3: Walking past the Douglas Hyde Gallery in Trinity, I had a quick peek to see what was on. Skipping past the bad paintings, I discovered, tucked in a small room was an exhibition of Japanese Tea Bowls. Not a big deal if you are not into Japanese Tea Bowls, and personally I'm not really into Japanese Tea Bowls, but I'm interested in the whole aesthetic behind Japanese Tea Bowls. The whole thing about Japanese Tea bowls is they, to use the blurb,
looked at from another perspective, the best of them possess great depth, beauty, and integrity. When I was trying to get my final pieces together for my diploma, I was struggling to get the necessary thoughts into words. I wanted to create something from nothing, ugly from beauty, and of course in typical me fashion, something completely non-functional!! I came across a book in a 2nd hand shop called Wabi-Sabi: for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers by Leonard Koren. This book, I can say changed my whole outlook on art and life, and certainly my diploma show!! It is about the aesthetic behind the beauty of these Tea bowls. There was actually a copy of the book in the gallery, and I haven't thought of it in ages so it was a beautiful reminder.
Cultural Outing no 4: Usually I go to the Chester Beatty Library whenever I'm in Dublin, but a wonderful conversation with Anita Bruce who had visited the Museum, made me feel like going there. I haven't been there in years. It seemed appropriate since I'm currently reading Dress in Ireland by Mairead Dunlevy, and since I had only read the 1st two chapters, most of which is displayed at the National Museum, it was great to see the actual pieces she was talking about. I was very proud of the fact I didn't spend too much money at the Knit and Stitch Show. But, alas, my thriftiness was short lived. Its like a trap going into the Museum, you have to walk through the shop to go inside, and I thought I'd just take a quick look at the books. Needless to say, I ended up spending a few €'s. I'm sorry but could you resist a book on Viking Headscarves from Fishamble Street! While I was there I also did a few sketches, much to the amusement of the French students milling about. The museum is bigger than I remember, I definitely didn't see the Bog Bodies section before, which is a little bit creepy..
Outings over, it was time to go home. An uneventful flight home (thank god), a tired Sunday and a mad dash to get some Celebrity Designed Hats made for the Big Knit. Monday, brought all the goodies I have been waiting for, (and the reason I was thrifty at the Knit and Stitch).
But that's a story for another day....
