Feral Knitter

Something new!

Do you love sock yarn? Is your secret collection of colorful balls growing at an alarming rate?

You are not alone! But there is help: Janel Laidman has just introduced a new project: The Sock Report, a twice-yearly print and online magazine filled with designs that use the wonderful, colorful, easy to handle sock yarn available to us knitters today. Socks (of course), shawls, mitts, little creatures, and a sweater! Well-known designers and some you may not have heard of before. Plus technical articles and a story by Rachael Herron. All beautifully photographed.

The magazine can be read for free online: the patterns can be downloaded for $6.50 each. Or you can purchase the entire issue, all patterns included, as a regular paper magazine at your local yarn shop. 

Check it out!

A Vivid Life

I would like to suggest that life is not about compartmentalization, it is about a myriad of experience and emotions that come together to form a vivid life. Our life is not about ‘what we do’, but how we experience the world.
    ~Andrew Wagner, Makeshift 2012, NYC

Experiences! I've had many wonderful ones the last few weeks: I met a person I admire, I learned a new technique, I saw actors unite in a play that continues to make me think (and participated, albeit very briefly, in a musical), I've eaten some marvelous food, and I read a book that helps me understand myself and others so much better.

The person: Natalie Chanin, the founder of Alabama Chanin, had a trunk show at a local boutique and a book signing at A Verb for Keeping Warm later that day. I have admired Natalie's work—Alabama Chanin is not just a clothing store, it is the centerpiece of Natalie's vision of a sane, humane, locally sourced, sustainable business that works for the good of everyone connected with it. Her three books (Alabama Chanin Stitch Book, Alabama Studio Sewing, and Alabama Studio Style) outline the steps to make your own Alabama Chanin–type clothing. 

It is difficult to summarize Natalie's work and influence in a few paragraphs. Her website and journal, her books, these are good introductions. Needless to say, I'm a big fan. When Kristine of Verb sat me down next to Natalie to get my book signed, I turned all silly fangirl, gushing about the sewing process but forgetting to talk about the deeper issues of society and creativity that she so clearly cares about. 

I'm working on an Alabama Chanin skirt (this one), which I ordered as a kit. I love the slow feeling of needle in, needle out.... Those of us who enjoy Fair Isle knitting embrace slow clothing!

The technique: Inspired by Natalie Chanin's visit, a small group met at A Verb for Keeping Warm to talk about exploring different ways to make clothes by hand. We learned from an experienced member how to create the perfect paint daubers from scraps of foam, how to make stencils, and how to position them on cloth. Kristine of Verb has started a new movement she calls Seam Allowance, hoping to encourage people to make 25% of their daily wardrobe by hand. You can find details on Ravelry.

The plays: Last week John and I went to Ashland, Oregon, to take in some plays at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Now, I'd never thought of myself as a theater-goer, but a few years ago that changed when we went to Ashland with some friends. (To be honest, watching the marvelous Canadian TV show Slings & Arrows, about a festival like Ashland helped me understand theater better, and when I understand something I appreciate it more—one of the wittiest shows I've ever seen.) This year OSF is putting on 11 plays: four by Shakespeare, a couple of musicals, a couple of modern plays, one by Chekhov, and three modern plays enjoying their world premieres. It's always a challenge, trying to decide which ones we want to see most and then figuring out which combination of days will work to see those particular ones (OSF puts on all of these pretty much at the same time—the don't-miss backstage tour of the three playhouses shows how the sets are designed to change out fully between matinee to evening shows).

Of the four plays we saw, two stand out in my memory: Animal Crackers was full of life and jokes, a fun fluff of a show—and I played a bit part, my short moment in the spotlight. Harpo came into the audience, down my row, and he sat on my lap! Then had me sit on his! And then, rather than sit back in my seat, I missed it and landed beside it on the floor while Harpo was reaching for his horn! Meanwhile, Groucho, on stage, said, "The entire second act is going on up there!" .... Laughter. My whole body became limp with it, like a child's. I'd forgotten what that feels like. (And I guess, in middle age, I no longer worried about how I looked to others—blessed freedom!)

The highlight of the trip, though, was Medea/MacBeth/Cinderella. This improbable meshing of a Greek tragedy, an Elizabethan tragedy, and an American musical comedy was surprisingly mesmerizing, emotional, and thought provoking. Ambition, power, motherhood, magic, murder, powerlessness, love, loss, revenge, hope. It had everything but the knitting. We liked it so much we plan to return to see it again later this summer—yes, that good! If you have a chance to see this, take it. It can be confusing—it helps to have a good sense of MacBeth beforehand.

The food: We found an excellent restaurant in Ashland: Smithfields. Although they describe themselves as a meat-centric restaurant, the menu was filled with excellent vegetable dishes. Perhaps my favorite dish was the fresh snap peas tossed with browned butter, lemon, and almonds. Although that bread pudding with caramelized pears was outstanding, and the hangar steak with bearnaise sauce... All the ingredients were locally sourced, and every meal we had was cooked with care. (In fact, we ate there three nights in a row, we liked it that  much!) The bar looked well-stocked as well.

The book: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain. I have often been confused about what defines an introvert—Susan Cain decided to find out what that means, and how introverts can fit into the modern world without doing damage to their psyches; in fact, how introverts can thrive. I am most certainly an introvert, but I never fully understood how I could enjoy teaching so much or feel pretty confident socially—this book explained how these seemingly contradictory traits fit together. If you are an introvert or love one, I recommend this book highly. [Edited to add this link to Brene Brown's interview with Susan Cain.]

I'm sure your life is filled with experiences, too! Make sure that you notice them on the way. [Edited to make something clear: your experiences, which add up to YOUR vivid life, will be different from mine. My recent experiences are not the sum total of my life, nor would these necessarily be the experiences that would be something that created a vivid life for you.]

Can't Seem to Learn

Nearly a year ago I posted about my stack of unfinished projects (UFOs as a Learning Experience). As I continue my decluttering process, I took a hard look at the current UFO pile. Funny, it seems even bigger than it was last year...

Key sentence from 2011: "I don't need the sort of low-grade constant nagging that having these sitting in the basket represent in my life." Despite all the lessons I learned, all the self-knowledge I gained, I seem to have repeated the behavior that gets me into trouble.

Let's take a look.

First, here's the old list, with updates:

1. Baby Bog Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmermann from Knitting Around. DONE!

 2. Helix Scarf by Stephenie Gaustad from Spin Off Magazine FROGGED!

3. Socks for John, no pattern. DONE! And already shrunk in the dryer... damn damn damn

5. Pi Shawl by Elizabeth Zimmermann FROGGED!

6.  Near Solstice Shawl by Bridget Rorem from Schoolhouse Press NO PROGRESS WHATSOEVER

 7. Mini-Fair Isle Yoke Cardigan by Janine Bajus (me!) DONE

8. Pair of striped socks, no pattern. DONE

9. Another pair of socks, no pattern DONE

10. Citron by Hilary Smith Callis DONE

11. Pressed Rib Muffler by Churchmouse Yarns DONE

12. Chickadee Mittens by Susan Anderson-Freed in Colorwork Creations FROGGED

13. Lillie's Little Sweaters by Carolyn Anderson (Cottage Creations) DONE

14. What's this? ANOTHER sock? FINISHED FIRST SOCK

Pretty impressive, right? Of 14 projects, only 2 are still hanging around. So why is that corner of the windowseat so cluttered? Well, let's see what else is in that basket:

1. Estonian Sheep Puppet by Anu Koti and Carol Rhodes from Spin Off Magazine
Spindrift 
Started about three months ago; 2" done
I fell victim to the small project fallacy—this will take much longer than one evening. Who could have guessed? 

2. Lida Scarf
Quince & Co Linen (Birch) 
Just started this last month, sucked in by my intellectual love of linen (I forgot how I don't actually enjoy knitting with it) and the color, which I thought worked well with the swatches I've been developing 
About one third done. 

3. Cotton Washcloths (washcloths? what???) by Churchmouse Yarns
One done (nice light green), one half-done  (ugly pea green), one hank of white
Sucked in by the photography and lure of a sweet-smelling baby. Time to pull the plug on the half finished one and put the white yarn in stash (DONE!)

4. Henslowe Shawl by Beth Kling
Lisa Souza merino sock yarn  
Am not happy with how the yarn looks in this design.
Frog this one (DONE already!) 

5. Personal Footprint Sock by Cat Bordhi
Imagination captured by seeing the process.
Up to the ankle of my first sock, but this is a fiddly process and I've stalled. 

6. February Baby Sweater by Elizabeth Zimmermann
Merino/Bamboo mix from Sweet Grass Yarns.
The false promised of a quick project. Started three months ago and stopped at 3 inches. I'm not sure the yarn choice was a good one. Frog?

7. White Socks
Yes, white socks. So lame. One is nearly done—I started these with donated yarn at the Visionary Retreat because I didn't have anything to knit. Boring boring boring, but you could have guessed that. I want to finish this pair, though, and dye them in indigo. 

8. Cerisara Sweater by Bonne Marie Burns
Handspun yarn
One month ago I had an urge to knit something light for the upcoming trip to Scandinavia. Crazy! 4" inches done but clearly this isn't the right yarn for the sweater. Frog this (DONE!) 

_________________

Please note that this list doesn't include the Fair Isle garments in process. I give myself permission to take my time with these. For the sake of this discussion, however, let's list the ones that are in progress as well:

Hillside Vest

Lingonberry Sweater
Body knit to underarms, but I suddenly worried about the colors... 

Helsinki Yoke Sweater
Moving forward quickly; sweater fully designed. 

Monet Sweater
Body done to the yoke; just need to design the yoke. 

Pacific Yoke Sweater
Body done to the yoke; just need to design the yoke.  

__________________________

You know, after going through this list, I have had a revelation:

    This accummulation of unfinished projects is not an aberration. 

    This is my life as a knitter and I just need to accept it.

 

California Revival Knits Blog Tour

California Revival Knits, a print and eBook by Stephannie Tallent.

The painted tiles and complex ironwork that are characteristic of the California Revival architectural style of the 1920s, such a strong part of our built landscape here in coastal California, inspired the 15 designs in Stephannie Tallent's new book, California Revival Knits.

Classic California Revival interior—that "rug" is actually tilework!

When Stephannie asked if I would like to review this book,* I agreed enthusiastically because I admire Stephannie's design ability, I love the California Revival style (that library across the street that I've blogged about is in this style), and I like to promote books that include patterns for those of us obessessed with color in knitting!

Stephannie used a wide range of techniques to create this collection—intarsia, stranded colorwork, twisted stitch, beadwork, lace—yet the designs clearly spring from the same inspiration. 

Here's a summary of what you will find in California Revival Knits:

Colorwork

The stunning Peacock Cowl (the cover design) and it's complementary Peacock Mitts use duplicate stitch on an intarsia base to bring colorful tile motifs to fiberwork. The intarsia base is worked in just a few colors and looks, to my uninformed eyes, relatively simple—the complexity comes from the cunning use of duplicate stitch and beading. Both designs are worked with Shetland: the cowl in Jamieson's Spindrift and the mitts in a slightly subdued Elemental Affects colorway.

Confession: This design might drag me into the intarsia world! My daughter happened by while I was looking at this design and she said, "Wow! That's beautiful!" I think that miniskeins from Feral Knitter could work for the duplicate stitch areas.... hmmm. 

Stephannie mixes seven California Revival colors with classic Fair Isle style to create the Stair Steps Tam and Fingerless Mitts.

For those who don't want to fuss with multiple colors, the Quatrefoil Fingerless Mitts and the Quatrefoil Full Mittens use the stranded technique with two contrasting colors to create a complex looking design that is simple to knit.

The Fringed Socks use a combination of stranded knitting plus travelling stitches to create a faux fringe effect in these two-color socks.

Intarsia is used to great effect in the Catalina Star Pillow (not pictured); the back of the pillow uses subtle texture to add interest.

Lace 

The lovely Peacock Shawl and the Undersea Cowl (in two weights of yarn) show how well the California Revival aesthetic translates into lace.

Beadwork

The Tiles Sweater looks like it could become a wardrobe basic: A neat, well-fitted and flattering V-neck pullover with beaded accents at the hem, neckline, and cuffs.

Texture

To my mind, the Wrought Cardi—a V-neck, shawl-collared, top-down, saddle-shouldered, slightly waist shaped, worsted weight, Bavarian twisted stitch tour de force—is the highlight of this collection! The pattern is written for 7 sizes (up to 3X!)—I've seen it worn by several people and it is beyond flattering to many figure types. I might have to make this one....

Three other garments use related twisted stitch patterning to good effect in different yarns: Wrought Mitts, Wrought Beret, and Wrought Socks. 

 

In summary, I think California Revival Knits is an excellent and cohesive collection of a quite varied group of designs. The schematics and charts are clear—none of that "reverse the design for the left mitt" stuff, the chart is there for each hand! Love it. The two sweaters come in a wide range of sizes. Love this, too! I also enjoyed the introductory section—Stephannie takes us on a tour of a decorative tile factory to see how tiles are made by hand.

See photos of all the designs in Ravelry.

Stephannie's book is available as a Ravelry pdf download for $16.95 and also in a print version for $26.95 (bundled with the pdf version). 109 pages, Cooperative Press. 

* I do not receive any affiliate pricing from the products I review, by the way, and do not review things that I don't think are of value.

 

The Allure of Brights!

I couldn't help myself—the colors of the lavender, sage, and roses in the back yard made me run to the yarn playpen to begin swatching:

 

Now, if you have taken any of my classes you will know that Rule #3 is You Have to Swatch! I get it, I don't resist, I accept the rules of the universe.

However....

Sometimes it's nice to have SOMETHING to show for it, you know? So I've been working on the design for this small swatch bag. 

Eventually this bag will be used in an online class I'm designing to teach the fine points of knitting a Fair Isle garment. It's not just about how you strand! Picking up for the band, stabilizing the steek (if you choose to do so), corrugated rib... 

With a cute little bag to show for it all.

P.S. You might notice my handy swatching tray: We purchase dog food by the case of 12 cans, and the cardboard used to package them is the perfect size for holding my yarns while I work.  

 

Latvian Inspired Sweater by Mary Germain

Mary Germain sent me a photo of her gorgeous Latvian-inspired sweater, which she designed at the 3-day Design Your Own Fair Isle workshop I taught in Wisconsin last July:

Her allover motif flows in the a mysterious way. I love the large flower detail at the hem and cuffs, and the small flowers at the top of the sleeve. 

Here's the photo she used for her inspiration:

Design in progress—Mary's first swatches:

Mary teaches regularly at Sievers School of Fiber Arts in Wisconsin as well as at venues around the country—she is a trove of information about traditional knitting (in particular Latvian and Estonian knitting), so if you have the opportunity to take a class from her, take it!

Thank you, Mary, for sharing photos of your stunning design.

If you are interested in taking the 3-day Design Your Own Fair Isle workshop, I'm offering it four times this year:

July 10-12  Madison, WI   FULL

August 17-19  Berkeley, CA   2 spots left

September 7-9  Berkeley, CA  3 spots left

September 14-16 Menlo Park, CA  3 spots left

If you want more information or would like to sign up, write me: janine AT feralknitter DOT com

 

Interweave Knitting Lab 2012 California!

The list of classes for Interweave Knitting Lab California (November 1-4, 2012 in San Mateo) is now up on the Interweave Knitting Lab site! I feel absolutely honored to be one of the instructors at this event—Interweave has lined up some marvelous classes and there is something for everyone.

Last year I attended Knitting Lab for one day. I took an interesting 1-hour class from Stefanie Japel, happily toured the well-curated market, and enjoyed the evening talk by Alice Starmore. I look forward to spending more time at this event.

I'll be teaching three classes:

• Color Outside the Lines Tam: learn how to use color in Fair Isle designs by filling in the tam pattern with a pre-chosen colorway.
• Mini–Fair Isle Yoke Sweater: learn how to construct a seamless yoke sweater the Elizabeth Zimmermann way by knitting a sweater to fit an 18" doll—including choosing colors for a simple Fair Isle yoke design. The emphasis in this class is on construction.
• Fair Isle Yoke Sweater: learn how to knit a seamless Fair Isle yoke sweater the Elizabeth Zimmermann way by discussing the steps involved. Choose colors from the 210 shades provided for one of three yoke designs and begin swatching. The emphasis in this class is on refining fit and color choices.

Registration opens on May 8th—I hope to see you there!

Weighing Me Down

Oh, I've had it bad. 

The spring cleaning urge.

After a few weeks of feeling out of sorts, of starting project after project, of being vaguely discontent I realized what the problem was: I have too much stuff.

I started with the books. Now, I love books! Each one of my craft books represents possibility. I've carried some of them around since 1974! 

But they were overflowing the shelves, putting pressure on my space and on my energy. Confusing me. Sometimes we need to clear out to make room for the new.

I remembered the time some 15 years ago when I made the decision to sell my loom. I realized that I was no longer a weaver, that I had to let go of that particular image of myself. And that opened the way for knitting to enter my life, and what a glorious time I've had with creating out of loops!

So I was ruthless. I was a woman who felt that her creative life was at stake. Time to cull. Each book was good but no longer useful to me. Now it's time for someone else, someone who needs this information and inspiration right now, to have them.

Every time I hesitated I reminded myself that there is enough in the world. If I need something I can find it. 

And so I cleared up the shelves. One well-labelled box to the attic (if it's not opened in 9 months, off to the used bookstore). Two boxes ready for friends who might want them.

Man, did that feel good! Lighter already. Next, on to the CDs and DVDs....

Amazing Fair Isle Cat!

Now and then I get an email from someone who has taken one of my workshops. It's always a pleasure to see photos of the work they have completed (remember my motto: Finished is Beautiful!). 

Well, talented knitter Karen Hust from Vashon Island, Washington, sent me a photo that blew me away! (And please note that I do not in any way claim credit for inspiring this work.)

"Sweater Girl" by Karen Hust, using motifs and colors from "Autumn Tam" by Sandy Blue

I knew that you would want details about this marvelous Fair Isle cat, so I asked Karen to describe her process. Here is what she generously shared:

"Sweater Girl" was my offering to an annual group effort at decorating fiberglass cats and dogs to sell at our local shelter's fundraiser. Some people paint theirs, some cover them in mosaic tile or other objects, but mine just *had* to be covered in yarn. This was our third year for these Art Pets. My first cat had handspun yarn fur hooked into a knitted body-stocking, and my second was a puppy "painted" with yarn.  

Fuzzy Kitty and Painted Pup—first art animal projects

The third year I thought, "Gee, hooking all that fur on the cat and laying down all those lines of yarn on the puppy was a lot of work. Why don't I just knit this cat a skin? It will be so easy!" Famous last words.

I had the leftover yarn from Sandy Blue's "Autumn Tam", and since I love Fair Isle, I decided to try adapting her patterns to the cat's shape.

Sandy Blue's Autumn Tam pattern (available at Feral Knitter)

I held my tam up to the cat form to judge where the different bands would look best. But what about the head?  Hmmm. Since the cat's face is basically round, with a nose sticking out of it, I put the middle of the crown on her nose to see what would happen. Lo and behold, I found that I could use the crown pattern there if I deleted 2 points, making it into a cone.

With reckless abandon, I just began improvising.

I started with the easy parts, casting on 3 stitches for the bottoms of the paws and increasing upwards to fit the legs as I went. How fun to discover that corrugated ribbing can look like kitty toes!  

Kitty toes

I made all 4 legs and the tail first, ending them where I thought they would meet up with the body, adding extra repeats of the peerie to get me there when necessary. I say this was the easy part, but in truth it was a challenge to knit such tiny tubes in a complex pattern. Such a lot of color-changing when the piece is only a few inches around! The body was comparatively calming. It began as a circle, with flaps knitted back and forth for under the belly and over the top. I mattress-stitched the body together on the cat and then stitched the legs and tail to the body.  

Cat Tummy

Cat butt

Not all that easy. But fortunately the really clumsy-looking bits are hidden "where the sun don't shine."

The face was tricky and had to be reknit at smaller gauge to fit properly, but I was delighted to see that the points of the crown matched up perfectly with the ears!  

Cat face in progress

I was puzzled as to how to do the back of the head, but ended up knitting a rectangle to stretch across, then extended the ears upwards. Every so often I clipped the pieces together over the form to test for fit.  

Back of the cat's head

I seamed the face to the back of the head (leaving enough open to fit it onto the form once I was done), then picked up stitches around the neck and knit a corrugated rib collar downwards. I did the seaming on the body as before, and embroidered eyes and a small mouth.

Finished cat face

There were moments when I almost despaired of figuring out a solution to fitting the odd shapes, but there was always a way -- tho not always the first way I tried. Sweater Girl showed me that if I observe carefully what a shape does, I can match it in knitting. I may even try it again sometime.

Karen, I can't thank you enough for sharing! (Plus: you win the award for Best Use of Leftovers EVAH!) By the way, Karen is the student whose swatches appeared in this post.

When anyone says that they hate Fair Isle garments because they are so shapeless, I will recommend that they study the radical shaping Karen achieved with Sweater Girl.

I think that I will make sharing student work a regular part of my blog from now on. If you have completed a project that you'd like me to include, please let me know. Seeing what others have done spurs the creative impulse in all of us.

 

Announcing Another Workshop

I'll be teaching the 3-day Design Your Own Fair Isle workshop in Menlo Park, California, September 14-16, 2012. Please contact me for details! janine AT feralknitter DOT com

By the way, there is still room left in the August and September Berkeley workshops (although August is down to 2 places). 

Oh, the photo? What does it have to do with the workshops? Well, nothing, actually. This was a lichen-covered fence we saw on the drive to Mendocino last weekend. Just a pretty dose of green....