Karie Westermann

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Day Two: Pictured

6774276196_ea43748a23KelvingroveI am still amazed that I live in the same city as this mad, bad building known as the Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum. When you travel along Dumbarton Road/Argyle Street, all you see are dull shop fronts and dwellings. Suddenly the shops and houses give way to the Kelvingrove Park with Kelvingrove itself situated right on the edge. It was built in 1888 for a Great Exhibition and the building feels like a manic Victoriana Gothic fever dream with tiny turrets, arched windows, statues and staircases. Inside it is far more calm than you would suspect. I have been there so often it feels like my second home - if I were the heroine in a steampunk novel, that is. Right after I took this photo, a hailstorm broke. People tried to take shelter at bus stops or under umbrellas. Glasgow weather is one of the greatest challenges I know as a knitter and photographer. Try taking shots of a Finished Object or for a pattern when you don't know what the weather is going to be like ten minutes from now. No wonder that so many of my photos are taken indoors..

Then I went pub-knitting with a bunch of friends. I was trying to capture the spirit of a get-together: the banter, the chat, the riot of colour, the yarn mountains, and knitterly frustrations. I gave up. Instead I simply shot a series of people knitting. I never get tired of watching people knit (is this weird?) and how their hands work in small, precise motions.

Pub Knitting

Pub Knitting

Pub Knitting

Pub Knitting

Pub KnittingThe last photo is of me (wearing Signest's amazing "I YARN CPH" tee) and apparently I knit too fast for the camera shutter.. Apparently.

Knitting to me is also about community, feeling part of something a bit bigger than yourself and nurturing creativity across boundaries. It is about going to the pub with your best buddies and turning a heel over a glass of Whatever. It is about making knitting a part of your everyday life.

You can find more blogs participating in the Knitting & Crochet Blog Week by googling 3KCBWDAY2. If you have come here as part of the Knitting & Crochet Blog Week, thank you for visiting. I'll still be here once this week is over and I'm usually blogging about arts, books, films, language besides all the craft stuff. Do stick around.