bitchin knits
Medium: Fibre Arts
Location: Vancouver, BC
Member Since: 1995
Patricia (Trish) Delaney, born in Vancouver, learned how to knit when she was just 8 years old in order to complete the requirements for a Brownie badge. Her first design, when she was 16, was a shortie pullover inspired by a sweater she saw in Mademoiselle magazine. Made out of a ball of cream Sayelle (acrylic) bought at Safeway, the neckline was embroidered with a red running stitch.
Today, most of Trish’s designs are inspired by things she’s loved and the people who’ve worn them. The year-round toque was inspired by a toque worn on a road trip on the Alaska Highway to the Yukon in August, 1973. The bobble toque was inspired by a pair of lime green tights and a hot pink hoodie that Trish’s niece wore as a baby.
Trish loves the fashions of the late 1960s and early 70s for the combinations of pattern, texture, and style. She loves the timelessness of the toque and long knitted scarf and, of course, the possibilities of the cardigan and the pullover. Trish sells many of her designs in knitting kits.
ARTIST STATEMENT
“I am in awe of the Latvian mathematician, Daina Taimina who replicated the coral reef (hyperbolic curve) through crochet (knitting took too long). I am also in awe of my feisty grandmothers Kathleen, who owned and operated a hat shop on South Granville in Vancouver, and Neshka who owned and operated a fruit stand in Osoyoos in the Okanagan Valley.”