Julia Ramsey's knitwear

I just discovered the incredible work of Julia Ramsey, care of ecosalon.


This is from her collection Pelt, which is exhibiting at New York City's Textile Arts Center. Her aspiration with this collection is to be conscious of the animal origin and tactility of wool, with gratitude expressed by sourcing it from ethical, traceable shephards. Much like how my clothing acquisitions are now driven by a need for a connection to their creator. The image below: “I just bought superfine merino wool roving from a local certified organic farm in CT. A 9 year old girl named Amelia raises the sheep; and she recently won a blue ribbon for her fleece. It was processed at Zeilinger’s Mill in MI—- and I will soon be spinning, perhaps dying, and then knitting away."


I love everything she has to say about it. “Normally, when you’re wearing a sweater, it’s completely devoid of an origin; since I’m inspired by materials that I work with, I think it’s really interesting to make the materials the center of attention... They kind of take on a life of their own, and when you’re wearing them, you feel like you have this second skin; it makes you take on another persona and they almost speak for themselves... I think it’s important to know the connection between the materials and the end product and the human and how it all comes together; a lot of times, I think it’s taken for granted.”


I love love love supersized chunky knits. It reminds me of an idea I have that I should probably get working on, which is to get an i-cord maker and make a knitted cord of laceweight yarn, then knit it like a chunky yarn. I am definitely feeling inspired now, and I have a cone of peace silk to do it with...


She also knits/crochets wedding dresses, which not only is how I wanted to make mine but a great idea, I think, because brides are willing to pony up for some serious beauty and the work is very intensive, so there's a lucrative reciprocity. Oodles of them are posted on her blog. These are my faves.



“I think it’s important to have things that people would love to wear, and are actually wearable, even though they stand out and make an impact.” Double high fives for this sentiment, and I think she absolutely succeeded. I would save up for one of these pelts!