Native Spotlight: Tsin Bikéé’ Knits
Of course I am featuring my Knitting best friend first! A little back story before we dive into the interview with Tressa W. Tressa and I have been friends since I was an 8th grader. She was my math teacher! Throughout the years, she became my volleyball coach, rock climbing buddy, knitting homie, and also stood in my wedding as a bridesmaid. We have grown so much together and it has been amazing seeing her pursue her knitting pattern designs and weavings. Our friendship has been treasured and it’s always so wonderful to have someone to bounce creative ideas off of as well as have a mama friend as our children grow up. I always love our time together and I am looking forward to hopefully a small knitting retreat away with her sometime soon-I’m thinking a cabin trip with zero kids sounds amazing! She’s my sister from another mother and such an inspiration.
NAME: Tressa Weidenaar
Craft or Art: Knitting
Pronouns: She/Her
Ways you can support her work:
Ravelry: Tsinbikeeknits
Payhip: TsinBikeeKnits
Instagram: @tsinbikee
Coupon Code for 10% off Tsin Bikee’s patterns Ends December 31st 2020: TURQUOISEROSE
Can you tell us what your craft is, and also describe your creative process? What are some of the steps you take when planning or beginning a work of art? I am about a year and a half into designing knitwear. I feel like I always have an idea rolling around in my head. Oftentimes it is fuzzy or unclear, and I have to allow it to gradually take shape. This can take several days or several months depending on what I’m looking to create. Once I have a better visual of my idea, I will sit down and start sketching it out. If I don’t like what is happening, I start over, and keep going until I feel like the idea is clear and put together.
How do you get unstuck creatively? We all have some type of burnout or get stuck, what do you do to get out of that? I have to be careful to pace myself when it comes to knitting. I like to work on several projects at once and sometimes get pretty wrapped up in something that can zap my energy. One way that I try to maintain my thinking and creating process is to knit and create other people’s designs. I find it to be exciting and helps me to learn more about how designs work. I also run and bike a lot. I started running cross country in middle school and developed an understanding of the discipline required to go the distance. I think that ties in well with my knitting as it requires discipline to finish a project or start a new one. Running also helps my mental health and relieves stress when I’m feeling overwhelmed.
What is one work of art that you are proud of? What about the piece of work brings you joy? The first hat I ever designed (the Turquoise Rose Hat). I had the idea in my head for years and was never brave enough to try knitting it. I finally bought some graph paper and colored pencils and sat down to draw it out. I knit it up and it came out too small. But I kept at it and eventually got it to work. I made several of them and sold them at a local craft sale. I was nervous to put my work out there, but the response was positive and I sold every hat that I made. After that I developed it into a pattern and love seeing how many people were able to recreate it.
Who inspires you when it comes to design? Or who influences you? Knitting magazines are often inspirational as they are so well put together and show off patterns in wonderful ways. Other designers like Jennifer Berg, Jessie Mae, Brienne Moody, Andrea Mowry, Jacqueline Cieslak, Francoise Danoy, and many more often drive me to keep working towards different and new things. I also find inspiration in yarn. I’ve been fortunate to work with several yarn companies (The Farmer’s Daughter Fibers, Knitted Wit, Serendipitous Wool, Brooklyn Tweed and others) that have sent me amazing yarn to help develop my ideas. I love holding yarn and seeing colors that help me to dream about what might be next on my needles. I’m also Navajo and live where I am surrounded by designs that represent Navajo art. Like many families, my grandmothers were weavers and some of my uncles and aunts make jewelry. These designs influence my patterns and I love being able to represent Navajo art in knitwear design.
Can you tell us about how you got started with your craft? Did you have a specific teacher? Are you self taught? What is your background with your craft? I am half Navajo and half Dutch. My Dutch grandparents immigrated after World War II and were very rooted in their Dutch heritage and language. My grandmother was always knitting things. I received many sweaters, mittens, and doll clothes from her as a child and remember watching her needles fly as she worked on memorized patterns. She taught me and my brother how to knit with a set of straight needles and cheap acrylic yarn. I remember being thrilled about feeling the yarn in my hands and finally getting the chance to create something like my grandmother. After that I would occasionally pick up a knitting project but never got beyond a scarf. When I finished college, a good friend of mine was expecting a baby and her aunt asked me to help knit a friendship blanket for her in which several people knit a panel which was then sewn together. I enjoyed this project immensely and found that I wanted to do more than just a panel. My mom helped me to knit a sweater after that and I was hooked.
How is your culture amplified in your work? I feel like knitting is part of cultures around the world. If you look at old pictures you will often find hand knit hats, mittens, and sweaters. Before machines were invented to create knitted fabric, hand knitting was important to make things for warmth. As machines made knitwear easier and faster, hand knitting became less necessary and so many people stopped doing it. Today, knitting has become a hobby for people around the world. I love that so many people are finding joy in knitting again and that it is no longer seen as an ancient craft. I think many people are rediscovering that knitting was embedded in their culture in the past and are finding ways to revive the craft and keep it alive. When I started to learn more about the design process I realized knitting was not well represented in the Native communities, and I wanted to find a way to blend both knitting and art that surrounds me. I love geometric patterns and symmetry which translates well into knitwear design.
Native Americans are very diverse people and often have multiple hobbies/jobs/ambitions. Apart from your craft, what other hobbies/jobs/ambitions do you have? I started to weave in the traditional Navajo style a few years ago. I wanted to understand and know every step of the process so I have also learned how to clean and card wool, and spin it with a hip (Navajo) spindle into weaving yarn. I accidentally brought raw wool into my house once and had a disaster with moths eating through lots of my wool knits. It was pretty awful. My very part time job is repairing Navajo rugs which has been amazing. I love being able to handle and touch old rugs that were made by weavers long ago. Restoring them and making them stable brings me joy to know they will continue to exist for many years to come. I also enjoy sewing when I can carve out time to do so. I have sewn clothes for myself and my kids. I have also sewn over 100 masks since the start of this pandemic. It is not the most exciting thing to make but there have been many people in my community who have needed them as the Navajo reservation was hit particularly hard.
What are your goals/dreams with your business, craft, or art form? My goal is to simply keep going. I try to focus on making things that are beautiful to me and hope others find them to be pleasing as well. I also love to see others find the joy of knitting and will often help fix mistakes or teach a technique they are struggling with. I helped my mom learn color work knitting and it sparked her love for knitting again which was really wonderful to see. I would love to see more people in my community learn about knitting and appreciate the wonder of making something with their own hands.
Fry bread or mutton if you had to eat one for the rest of your life? FRY BREAD hands down. I love having it salty or with honey.
