We hope you will enjoy photos of locally made goods and snapshots of our guest artists and visitors, as well as the grounds, buildings, and activities at the Old Bethpage Village Restoration - the site of the Long Island Fair.
Our thanks go to organizers of the event, craftspeople who submitted work to Think Green category, and to our guests on Saturday and Sunday - knitters Joyce Colucci and Gail Ryan, wood carver Don Dailey, jeweler - bead maker Gea Hines, and painter James Johansen.
Bethpage knitter Mary Burke was born and raised on a family farm in Kenmare county Kerry in Ireland, one of the westernmost places in Ireland, 'next stop Boston'. Her father was a deep sea fisherman in the scallop and lobster seasons and carpenter when not at sea. In the true spirit of self-reliance, the family made most of the things right on the farm. One of seven siblings, Mary remembers fondly some of her tasks - making butter and cheese, collecting and washing eggs for the market, even making fishing nets.
Baby sweater by Mary Burke Photo by Ewa Rumprecht
Mary was six years old when her grandmother plucked two quills from a turkey, stripped them of feather, and gave the quill needles to Mary to start knitting; there was only one pair of metal knitting needles in the house and grandma was not willing to part with it. Also, grandma was dubious that Mary, who was left-handed, could master the craft. Just to prove her wrong Mary learned to knit, right-handed, and continues knitting to this day.
Shawl by Mary Burke Photo by Ewa Rumprecht
Since commercial patterns were beyond her means, Mary relied on the word of mouth and on her observation and common sense to pick up stitches and patterns. It worked quite well for her. She learned from her family, friends, and colleagues. She returned her accumulated knowledge in equal measure to countless novice and experienced knitters.
At Think Long Island First we carry her baby sweaters, baby hats and headbands, and scarves for adults - a very small sample of the vast number of items she had made since the first sweaters she knitted to supplement her modest school wardrobe. She knitted out of necessity, out of curiosity, and out of the generosity of spirit.
Baby knits by Mary Burke Photo by Ewa Rumprecht
Far removed from her first turkey quill needles, Mary now prefers bamboo needles - they are noiseless and more calming. She likes working with wool as it has a natural stretch to it. She finds cotton too rigid and does not use it at all.
Mary favors knitting over crocheting and other fiber arts, because, as she jokingly puts it: 'I can look at other things and gossip'. She exercises this merry employment every Monday when she joins a group of senior knitters at her clubhouse; 14 ladies get together to make clothes for premature babies from underprivileged families, clothes are distributed to local hospitals - a wonderful way to give back.
We are gearing toward another event - Knitting Circle - Potluck Lunch which takes place at the store on Saturday, November 5th, between 11 am - 2 pm.
A group of novice and expert knitters, weavers, fiber artists, and spinners meets at the store for a few hours of swapping patterns, exchanging ideas, and just pure fun.
We held a similar event last year to a great success. In addition to knitting and crocheting we got a chance to try our hands at spinning and weaving - Donna Lee Trunk brought her portable loom, Carrie Wood set up her spinning wheel.
It's a potluck event so please bring a small dish (really small) to share with other guests. We will have limited storage and heating abilities so make is something uncomplicated.
We had an excellent time at our Long Island Knits event today. Our guests, Donna Lee Trunk, Carrie Wood, and Theresa Wasserman, were busy giving instructions and explaining the work required to make the beautiful woven, knitted, spun or crocheted things they do.
It was great having the three ladies and other guests at one table. Aside from expert instructions, the ladies were fun! We were occasionally surprising the Buckingham shoppers with outbursts of laughter. And why not?
Carrie took her spinning wheel outside; passersby were curious to see the demonstration, we even had one man try his hand at spinning. Jolanta and a few guests joined Carrie with their work on the sidewalk.
Donna Lee Trunk of Donna Lee Fiber Arts, specializes in unique wearable art. Her pieces range from small items to coats; they are all made from natural fibers in nature inspired colors.
Donna Lee Trunk's both grandmothers were involved in crafts, one in sewing, one in knitting. Donna experimented with macramé and wood working in her college / hippie years. A Loom - a wedding gift from her husband, John, made Donna look for weaving instructions. She found them at the Paumanok Weavers Guild where she eventually acted as co-president. A Christmas gift - spinning wheel, directed Donna to the Spinning Study Group in Smithtown. She trained and took expert workshops with masters of the craft: spinning with Patsy Zawistoski, felting with Carol Huber Cypher, knitting with Iris Schreier, knitting and design with Louisa Harding, among others.
She has been active in the field for the last ten years or so; runs her studio in Shoreham, participates in shows, has web presence at http://www.donnasfibers.com, teaches hands-on natural dyeing, spinning, weaving, knitting and felting at various venues including 20 Long Island libraries. She has recently received a New York State Council of the Arts (NYSCA) grant to teach fiber arts to the community including adults, youth and art teachers in schools. She is now in the process of organizing classes at Hallockville Museum Farm in Riverhead. Teaching comes naturally to her; she loves her craft and it helps that she studied psychology, sociology and education.
Her alpacas. There are two - ten year old Fitzroy, white coat, and five years old Gordon, black coat. The two boys are doing very well indeed. They are well adapted to Long Island environment, they enjoy the winter, their shearing time falls right before the hot summer months. They even like traveling in Donna's minivan to craft presentations around the area. Their gentle nature makes them a good company. Fitzroy and Gordon draw a fair share of attention on the few occasions when Donna takes them out for a walk around the neighborhood. How frequently does one see alpacas strolling through a quiet Long Island street?
With proper care one can get about 5 lbs of hair a year from one alpaca. Shearing is done by an expert from an alpaca farm. Donna spins and dyes the wool herself. She likes using her own dyes - marigolds for yellow/gold color, poke weed berry for purple, beets for red, onion skins for light brown, black walnut for dark brown. She plans to experiment with sumac bush and Concord grapes next.
The next thing - decorative fiber art, an exciting new chapter. It will be interesting to see where the inspiration takes her.
In the near future, Donna will be one of the guest knitters at the Long Island knits event on Saturday, November 13th, between 11 am and 3 pm.
Theresa Wasserman, a knitter from Hicksville, remembers knitting taking place around her since she was a little girl. Both her grandmothers, Italian ladies from Sicily transplanted to Canarsie, were confirmed knitters. One used to knit skeets, as she called them, tiny slippers for sliding on the wooden floors of a long hallway. The other specialized in blankets.
Theresa first picked up needles at the tender age of 7, she started by making blankets and afghans. She never stopped.
After knitting various items as gifts for friends and family, Theresa opened her own business under the name Puddinheart Treasures. She attends local craft shows, takes custom orders, and now also sells her work via a retail store - ours, we are glad to say! She can be reached at puddinhearttreasures@verizon.net.
While busy with her professional life she always found time for knitting and crafts; it was a family tradition to employ minds and hands in creative pursuits. She remembers wearing shoes made by her grandfather; the wooden forms made by him are to this day a cherished family memento. Theresa's father enjoys wood turning, painting, drawing, he also makes silhouettes.
Theresa is proud of her thrift. She takes leftover ends from other craftsmen, hunts for vintage yarns, buttons, beads and various other objects. She loves using them in her work, particularly the accessories. She also uses commercial yarns. She knits in the European style, likes to embellish patters that please her and invents her own when needed.
Think Long Island First carries her scarves, hats, blankets, flower pins, cute pumpkin hats for kids, etc. She will be one of the guest knitters at the Long Island knits event on Saturday, November 13th, between 11 am and 3 pm.
