Jenny Dowde
Dapto, ASW" Australia
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Books |
Freeform Knitting and Crochet
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| Specialty |
I am a 'freeformer' at heart, preferring to let things happen as I work rather than follow rules so I work primarily in the freeform knitting and crochet techniques.
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| Contact Information: |
175 Burke Rd Dapto, ASW" Australia
02 4261 4728
jdesigns@tpg.com.au
featuresList.php?CategoryID=57
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| Favorite Cast-On |
Long tail
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| Favorite Knitting Tip |
Photograph your work
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| Classes |
Freeform knitting and/or crochet
Freeform wire and beads - knit or crochet
Polymer clay buttons
Computer design
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| Biography |
I live in Dapto, a suburb of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. I am a relative latecomer to textiles and didn't begin serious creative activities until 1984 when I enrolled in a drawing class with a friend. This led to a total of 6 years at art school, including a post-graduate year with a major in painting during which time I also spent 2 years learnign to machine knit. During those inspiring art school years, I developed a great passion for colour and texture. In 1997, after discovering Scrumbling (freeform crochet) at an Australian Fibre Forum workshop taught by James Walters and Sylvia Cosh, I found I could combined these passions into one wonderful medium, with the only equipment required being needles and hooks and lots of yarn!
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| What is your knitting mantra? |
Turn every mistake into a design element!
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| What inspires you? |
Colour
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| Confess - when it comes to hiding your yarn, what are your secrets? |
I don't hide my yarn.
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| What is your idea of knitting heaven? |
Total design freedom
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| How many UFO's (Unfinished Objects)do you have going at once? |
Maybe two or three...
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| My yarn stash equals the GNP (Gross National Product) of ... |
China
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| Whom would you like to see accept an Academy Award wearing your creation? |
Janet De Boer OAM - Australia's Queen of Textiles and editor of the Australian Textile Forum Magazine
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| What knitting commandment do you most like to break? |
Thou shalt swatch! In freeform you don't have to!
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| What frequently-asked knitting question do you hate to answer? |
How long did it take.
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| What is your most dog-eared knitting reference? |
Probably Ruth Lee's "Pattern on the Knitting Machine" followed by Crochet Workbook by Cosh and Walters
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| When and how did you learn to knit? |
Age 8 or 10 sitting of the front verandah steps knitting a red garter stitch scarf.
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| What is the most unusual place you've ever knitted? |
I've only ever knitted in "normal' places....
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| How long can you last without knitting? |
Maybe a day - even a few rows satisfies the need...
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| If you were stranded on a deserted island, what one yarn, book, or gizmo would you want along? |
Dazzling Knits (it's new and unread), an Amazing Needle that you can knit and crochet with and a Genie who could make sure I didn't run out of yarn.
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| How many hours have you knitted non-stop - and why? |
10-12 because I had to meet a deadline for my book.
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| What do you want your knitting epitaph to say? |
"I never practise, I always play"...originally said by Wanda Landowska
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| Who would you like to greet you in knitting heaven? |
Sylvia Cosh and James Walters because they gave me freeform and Paul Higgs because he gave me colour.
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