In the Studio this week Carol Fagan In the Studio this week Carol Fagan

Knitting with Convolvulus

For some time now i have been playing around with weavable vegetation form my garden. Convolvulus (Bind weed) is a perennial weed that causes me quite a bit of grief trying to stay on top of its rampant nature. Earlier I posted a small bowl that I had made from it. Now, after reading about Alice Fox’s investigations with the vine, I decided to try knitting with it and making a textured wall hanging.

Here is the result. The convolvulus vine was cut, leaves stripped and the vine coiled and dried before rewetting for pliability and knitting on No 8 needles. I started each new piece at the beginning of a row, weaving in any ends at the side. The darker area is a part of the root vine whereas the greener parts are those that travel up to the light.

The finished piece was stitched onto a linen mix substrate and that was stretched onto a piece of thin MDF and mounted in a box frame without glass. I prefer the texture to be readily visible rather than confined behine

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What is my current Textile Focus

My interest in textile art is wide and varied. My focus at the moment is on completing panels for my scholarship project Parallels in Maori and Celtic customs and art. I am currently working on a Tromp L’oeil piece that represents the Winter solstice coming through a gap in the hills that was important to both cultures in mapping their seasonal world. the centre piece is hand embroidered and now I am trying to complete the effect of adding small pieces fabrics to create the effect I am looking for