Crocheting Weather: A Unique Chronicle of Field Seasons in the Northwoods
In the serene backdrop of the Northwoods, Candice Everett weaves stories into blankets, each piece a vivid reminder of her experiences at the University of Michigan Biological Station (UMBS). Every stitch in her crochet projects holds a piece of the past, capturing the essence of her field seasons in a tangible form.
Nestled by Douglas Lake in Pellston, Everett’s evenings are often spent crocheting with yarn and data. Her creations are not just artistic endeavors but are infused with daily temperature data, making each blanket a unique tapestry of her journey. “The end result is phenomenal. It’s peaceful and beautiful. You actually get that feeling of when you’re here,” Everett shares.
Everett, the academic program manager at UMBS, oversees the research and teaching operations on this sprawling 10,000-acre campus, located about 20 miles south of the Mackinac Bridge. While her role involves coordinating field-based courses, her crochet work has become a personal chronicle of the climate data collected by Adam Schubel, UMBS’s resident biologist.
The blankets Everett creates are “temperature blankets,” with each yarn color representing a different temperature range. This project began in 2023 with a full-sized blanket documenting the high temperatures during her field season. She selected a color palette that visually narrates each day’s weather, with shades like whipped cream, hazelwood, and sepia rose marking different temperature ranges.
In her second year, Everett expanded her project to include both high and low temperatures, doubling the color palette and incorporating granny squares into her design. This ambitious undertaking stretched over three semesters, each square a testament to the daily climate. A particularly memorable square marked the only day that hit 94 degrees, blending burgundy with a teal “ocean” color.
Beyond blankets, Everett’s creativity has led her to crochet wearable items, such as a temperature shawl designed for her office environment. As she continues to plan future projects, she is considering a gender-neutral design for an upcoming temperature blanket, possibly as a prize for the UMBS staff’s annual ice-out competition at Douglas Lake.
“It brings me joy,” Everett expresses about her craft. “Most of the time I’d rather be doing that than anything else. I love all the parts of it. I love planning it. I also love the doing. I feel like I’ve been doing it long enough that I can mostly anticipate some of the problems that I’m going to have before they happen.”
To learn more about Candice Everett’s unique integration of data and crochet, visit the U-M Biological Station website.
NOMINATE A SPOTLIGHT
- The weekly Spotlight features faculty and staff members at the university. To nominate a candidate, email the Record staff at urecord@umich.edu.
