The Bohus exhibit at the American Swedish Institute may have closed — it ran through April 5, 2009 —  but there is still time to create your own “poems of color” (to borrow the title of a popular Bohus book).  The Knitters’ Guild is paving the way with a special exhibit, for which entries are due June 16.

We invite members to share their Bohus knitting this spring, whether it's from a published Bohus pattern or your own design. (It could even be just a swatch!) In an exhibit we're calling “Emma’s Legacy: Studies in Bohus Knitting Tradition” (after Emma Jacobsson, the founder of the Bohus Stickning movement, 1939–1969), our members’ hats, sweaters, and other creations are to be displayed at the Textile Center Community Gallery from June 29 to August 7, 2009.

You can download a full-color brochure by member Ellen Silva that shows you books and Web sites to get you started. We have four different categories of exploration:

• Projects knitted from Bohus kits. Kits are available for purchase from the American Swedish Institute store and from Solveig Gustafsson's Web site. The knitter provides the name of the pattern (for example, “Wild Apple,” “Green Meadow”) and the source of the kit.
• Projects knitted using authentic Bohus patterns with knitter-chosen yarn. Again, you provide the name of the pattern, along with yarn information.
• Knitted pattern swatches from an existing Bohus pattern with knitter-chosen yarn. The knitter provides the name of the pattern, a color card template (we'll give you the template), and yarn information.
• Knitted pattern swatches or projects from knitter designed pattern with knitter-chosen yarn. The pattern should incorporate recognized elements of Bohus patterning — backgrounds should be stockinette with color patterning and purl accents, for instance. The knitter includes a statement about the pattern process, inspiration, the techniques used, yarn information, and anything else that seems relevant.

To have your work included in the Textile Center exhibit, it must meet these criteria:

• If you are using a kit or an existing pattern, your color choices and patterning must be consistent with the pattern.
• You can use up to five colors per row.
• Swatches should be 5 by 7 inches or larger.

Submit your finished projects for the exhibit at the May 19 or June 16 MKG meeting — or contact Vicki Olson to make other arrangements. Happy knitting!