A Variety of Knitted Samples:
These are samples from 3D Fibers course, in which the exploration of materials, processes, and new creations of knitted and crocheted patterns. After sampling, we were encouraged to use our new found skills in order to produce our final.
Saudi Step in the Rights Direction
Blanket Samples/Prototypes for Hospice:
Concept: We are born screaming into the world. The only thing that seems to comfort us at this time is a good, tight wrapping of a blanket. This offers us a sense of stability and security into this new world. As we continue to grow, we demand to be tucked in and sung a lullaby or else we won’t go to sleep. This tucking in wards off nightmares and this comfort allows us to have a better night’s sleep. During our school days, our moms tell us to bundle up when it’s cold outside. She’s not just saying this so that we won’t be able to put our arms by our sides, but she is telling us this because layers create warmth. Although we are not at home being tucked in, this warmth and comfort can be felt throughout our days. As we leave the comfort, warmth, security, and stability found at our parents’ house, we tend to awaken with the blanket wrapped around us although we may not have started out in that manner. Although we try to resist, all we want is to be comforted.
This idea of a blanket allowing us comfort is not a new one, but one that is strengthened throughout our lives—even as we approach the end stages of life. As a volunteer for hospice patients for over two years now, our main job is to comfort our patients. This is achieved by making their day warmer by listening to their stories, offering a soft hand to hold through their bad days, bathing them or cleaning up their space, keeping the conversation light without troubling them, avoiding the items they are allergic to, and staying healthy so as not to make them more sick. Similarly, a layered blanket can perform all these tasks: it can be warm, soft, easy to clean, lightweight, hypoallergenic, and anti-bacterial. Just as a blanket was there to comfort us after birth, there will be a blanket there to comfort us as we pass into the next life.
All photographed by Kyle Mathews
