Fiber artist remembered as having made her mark

The needle arts lost one of its champions and a knowledgeable textile historian when Deborah Pulliam, 54, died in Castine on May 22. A regular contributor to Piecework magazine, her writing allowed those of us who share a love of fabric and needlework to gain a greater appreciation for and to deepen our knowledge of it.

Pulliam was a spinner and knitter well-known among Maine fiber artists. She conducted workshops in those skills, passing on what she knew to enrich the knowledge of others.

I always looked forward to Pulliam’s stories in Piecework. Her writing illuminated the history of fiber, textile and handwork in a way that made it accessible and interesting to beginners as well as experts. For the magazine, she wrote about silk knitting, knitted containers, knit teakettle holders, a sashiko farmer’s coat made in Japan, and household livery worn by the servants of the wealthy, to name just a few of the more recent topics she covered. Her articles always included a bibliography as a guide to further reading, and often instructions on how to make an item she was writing about – the silk purse, for example.

Pulliam also was a frequent contributor to Interweave Knits and Spin-Off magazines.

Several years ago Pulliam helped organize a fiber festival in Castine, an idea borrowed, with Pulliam’s blessing, by librarian Christy Coombs of the Bangor Public Library, where a similar festival is held each February. At the event, needleworkers of many persuasions demonstrate their craft. At next year’s festival, it will be good to remember that it was Pulliam and her idea that was the impetus for the well-attended gathering at the library. Pulliam also participated in the library event, where she demonstrated spinning. She will be missed.

When knitters learn that a friend or member of the family is expecting a baby, the first thing they do is reach for yarn and knitting needles. Now they have a delightful new book to grab as well. “Easy Baby Knits” by Claire Montgomerie has compiled a collection of clothing and accessory designs for infants to 3-year-olds that are timeless and sure to please the most discerning knitter.

The cotton booties with ankle straps are enough to keep the needles clicking hour after hour. The simple sweater, the matinee jacket and baby bonnet designs are enough to make this book indispensable to knitters intent on dressing baby with elegance and flair.

The book will appeal to those learning to knit because it contains clear instructions on the technique of knitting, and because the patterns call for simple stitches.

Directions for a knitted bird mobile and a long-eared toy bunny add a whimsical note to the collection of designs.

Directions for a dress, blankets, a double-breasted coat, caps, mittens and other toys also are included in the book.

If wool makes you itch, don’t let that slow you down as a knitter. Amy Singer’s book “No Sheep for You” wants knitters to “knit happy with cotton, silk, linen, hemp or bamboo yarns.” She devotes the first 25 or so pages of the book to imparting information about these yarns. Then she dazzles knitters with 20 sophisticated designs created by almost as many designers, including Singer herself.

This is a book for the seasoned knitter who enjoys a challenge and knows how to read knitting charts.

Standout designs are the Midwest-style thrummed mittens, “he and she” Gansey sweaters and a pullover top done in mosaic knitting with openwork sleeves.

The designs in this book, for the most part, will speak to experienced knitters, but the Berthe collar is easy enough for a beginner to tackle.

Snippets

The Bangor Area Sewing Guild offers the class, Altering Ready-made Clothing, 9:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, June 9, at the Municipal Building in Hampden. The cost is $10 for Guild members, $15 for others. The class is open to the public. To register, call 862-4367.

Quilters Peggy Voakes of Vermont and Eleanor Greenwood of Camden have been cutting and stitching again. They have created yet another greyhound-themed quilt to raffle as a fundraiser for the Maine Greyhound Placement Service in Augusta. The quilt features the fabric images of lithe dogs appliqued to the quilt squares. Tickets are $1, six for $5 or 13 for $10. To purchase tickets, call 626-2893 or visit www.greyhoundplacement.com. The drawing will take place in October.

Parishioners from 11 parishes in the Episcopal Diocese of Maine have created needlepoint kneelers to be used in worship services at the Cathedral Church of St. Luke in Portland. Those who worked on the project are Barbara Michaud of the Aroostook Cluster; Fifi Richards and Lois Rendell, St. Andrew’s, Newcastle; Barbara Sunderland, St. Savior’s, Bar Harbor; Beatrice White, St. Peter’s, Bridgton; Evelyn Rowland, St. Andrew-St. John, Southwest Harbor; Mary Semler, St. Francis by the Sea, Blue Hill; the Rev. Betty Gilmore and Gertrude Warnoch, Trinity Church, Portland; Barbara Longest, St. Peter’s by the Sea, Cape Neddick; Isobel Devitt, St. Martin’s in the Field, Biddeford Pool; Dody Gates and Paget Higgins, St. James Chapel, Prouts Neck; and stitchers from the St. Luke’s Kneeler Guild, Allison Dale, Elsa Dalheim, Joe Edgar, the Rev. Richard Ellis, Barbara Hall, Jane Irwin, Barbara Michaud, Martha Roediger and Lee Webster.

Each kneeler required approximately 500 hours, 57,000 stitches and a half-mile of wool to complete. Each kneeler is designed individually and is unique to the church or stitcher it represents, officials said.

Call Ardeana Hamlin at 990-8153, or e-mail ahamlin@bangordailynews.net.