Virginia Eubanks has knitted throughout her adult life, a commitment culminating in her recent mastering of felting. Introduced to knitting in 1961 by her French landlady,
Madame Toussaint, she took advantage of a year in Poitiers to explore the European traditions of knitting and the culinary arts. In France she naturally gravitated to the store windows stacked high with brilliantly colored yarns; there she fell in love with their hues, their textures, and their feel. She benefited from a devoted teacher who taught her the magic of turning a piece of string into an item of lasting beauty.

In recent months Virginia has specialized in handbags, an accessory needed and used by all women (whether for evening wear or market shopping). The utilitarian (even lowly) nature of the handbag continues to fascinate and inspire her. Virginia shapes her work without patterns–she simply begins knitting and lets each piece travel its own path. This approach allows each bag or container to take on a life of its own, with the result that no two pieces are alike. Each evolves with its own feel and spirit.

Virginia’s three decades of professional life as a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst allowed her to practice stillness and patience while quietly sitting and listening to her patients. Knitting is similar in that each piece has its own voice, its own life, its own story waiting to be told. The knitter must be respectful (even protective) of that existence, and only cautiously intervene–not interfere—in its development. Imagine Virginia’s surprise when asked, “Do you listen to books on tape or watch television while you knit?” The knitting process is absorbing on its own, and tolerates distraction poorly.

Virginia recently formed her own design company, “Zany Lady.” She chose “zany” (or the word chose her) in hopes of capturing the wonder, magic, and unexpected beauty found in knitting and felting. “Lady” speaks for everything womanly and feminine within us all. Virginia lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband, Ted, two cats, and rooms awash in yarns, needles, and pieces of knitted and felted art in varying stages of inspiration.