Mariana Shulstad, President of Textile Center’s Board of Directors, yarn enthusiast, and weaver
“Knitting is something I’ve done all my life,” says Mariana Shulstad, as she showcases a red wool sweater she made for her husband, Craig Shulstad. “I buy yarn almost everywhere I go, not having any idea what I’m going to do with it. I often store yarn and fabric for years before I actually use it.”
Nearly complete on her table this week is a no-pattern knitted blue sweater. “Usually, the fiber inspires what I create. This yarn inspired me to do a sideways design that I made up. It just needs to be buttoned and blocked.”
Besides knitting, Mariana is an avid weaver. She prominently displays her first weaving project in her kitchen. “I created this wall hanging out of old Japanese silk kimonos when I was a beginning weaver, almost 8 or 9 years ago,” she says, “and it got into a juried show at Minnetonka Center for the Arts, which I really did not expect.”
Currently, Mariana is experimenting with a new weave structure using a rigid heddle loom. “I’ve never tried this weave structure before; it’s very abstract and totally random because you invent it as you go. Now that I have the time, I put a warp on this week, and now I can focus on this new project.”
