Feral Knitter

More Shetland Yarn Changes

Just a quick note to mention that Jamieson & Smith Woolbrokers, the mill that provides Shetland jumperweight yarns for Fair Isle knitting, will be discontinuing another 8 colors, in addition to the extensive list of colors they announced last year. I've updated my list of J&S colors to show the new deletions: colors 28, 32, 61, 83, 120, 1284, 1295, and FC7. This is a business decision on their part--there's no need to get angry or paranoid or attempt a petition.

J&S is having a sale on all discontinued colors, which begins February 1. See their website for details.

Luckily, at least for us in the US, our distributors have rather large stocks of yarn. (An aside: Schoolhouse Press has brought back the lovely color 55 warm burgundy--YEAH! Our US distributors are working with J&S to keep some of the colors alive.) And we are seeing new entries into the field: for example, Elemental Affects plans to expand their colorways in their American Shetland fingering-weight yarns (this yarn is spun from Shetland sheep raised in Montana).

The moral to this story is that the more we can learn to create our own designs, the more easily we can move with changes in the market. As Suzuki Roshi said, "Not always so" is the truth about life.

There and Back Again

I've been in Washington DC for the last week or so--I went "ether commando," which was very disorienting! I had been only dimly aware of the importance email, blogging and the web contribute to my day, and I felt rather lost without them. Work occupied three of my days, but John joined me there when I was done and we had a marvelous time exploring different aspects of the city. I spent four evenings by myself, so I cast on for the Nantucket Jacket by Norah Gaughan, which I made great progress on while watching Project Runway season 1 on DVD. I'm using Cascade 220, which I canibalized from a failed Ariann. Poor Ariann--I realized that I tend to knit my garments with way too much ease--Ariann needs a tighter fit to avoid looking dowdy and unstructured.

As usual, I made a pilgrimage to the Textile Museum. The current exhibits made a nice contrast with each other--one a set of early textiles and the other a collection of modern pieces. The museum will be opening a new, larger space in the area near the capitol later this year, which will make it more accessible to visitors.

Some statues of interest to fiberistas that I saw as I walked to the Textile Museum:

Gandhi

Bison at the Dunbarton Bridge

Knitter attempting to decipher poorly written pattern

The National Museum of the American Indian has an excellent exhibit on women's clothing: Identity by Design: Tradition, Change, and Celebration in Native Women's Dresses. If you are in town, don't miss this--the book that accompanies the exhibit is excellent, for those who cannot make the trip.

One special treat for us, being geeks of the highest order, involved the Library of Congress. John studies religious history, and he had hoped that the first book published in English in North America, the Bay Psalm Book, would be on exhibit. Only some 11 copies of this book, published in 1641, are known to exist, and the fact that the Puritans translated and laid out the psalms in metric verse was the basis for interesting theological debate at the time. Well, the book was not on display, but we were directed through the hallways under the streets from building to building, where we were checked and photographed and given our own Reader Cards. From there, more hallways to the Rare Book Room, where the librarian brought the book for us to look at. Unbelievable! John said that seeing this book was on his life list. Yeah, we are geeks who love our library cards.

 

We ate at some marvelous restaurants, browsed some great used bookstores, learned to use the Metro, wore our feet out in museums, and visited old Alexandria (the highlight was a private tour of Christ Church, where we sat in the Washington family box where George Washington worshipped). I also enjoyed walking through the Torpedo Factory artist studios there.

But enough travellogue! I have made progress on the Turkish Pillows: the three centers are done.

I'm happy to be back.

The Pleasure of Making Things

I love how being a knitter puts me in touch with centuries of human endeavor around the globe! By the very nature of the type of knitting that I enjoy most--stranded color knitting at a finer gauge--I feel very connected to other fiber traditions such as weaving and embroidery. For Christmas, Gingko gave me Weaving in the Peruvian Highlands: Dreaming Patterns, Weaving Memories by Nilda Callanaupa Alvarez, a book that I had been eagerly awaiting. Any pattern knitter could find inspiration in the colorful photos in this book. Abby Franquemont writes movingly about Nilda, weaving and spinning in Peru, and this book--I recommend her post highly.

John gave me two DVDs from Maiwa: In Search of Lost Colour and Indigo. Both are very interesting documentaries about dye traditions that are in danger of being lost for good.

The Maiwa website also offers a few short podcasts. I was particularly taken by the one entitled "Waiting for the Monsoon: Slow Clothes in India," exerpted from a talk given at a symposium held last autumn. I don't see that they are advertising another symposium, but if they do offer one I will make a point of getting to it!

Look what Gingko made for me for Christmas, a wonderful, sleek messenger bag with lots of zippered pockets and room for yarn:

I haven't been very inspired by my knitting recently. The Near Solstice Shawl crawls along in all its whiteness and the Habu sweater crawls along in all its Japanese textural goodness. So, rather than concentrate on these WIPs, I've begun some new projects:

First, a simple swatch cap in Armenian knitting. I've been trying to hold both yarns in my left hand, but I'm struggling. Using the two-handed method seems to be working just fine, so I might abandon innovation.

Second, I've begun a series of three mitered pillows with Turkish patterns:

I've charted three pillow centers, which will be cut apart when I'm done. Then I'll construct these just like the mitered Celtic Pillow (free pattern in the sidebar), layering all my favorite Turkish patterns around the borders

I do love working with Shetland yarn!

Fractured Thoughts of a Feral Knitter

"As we get older, our potential becomes greater. All our experiences in life and our dreams come into our work. Spirituality and creativity in the ultimate sense are the same. You open yourself up, and let go of the fear of mistakes, and you look at the mistakes as an opportunity learn, and, all of a sudden, where you were stuck, you get excited, and there are no more boundaries."

Carter Smith, fiber artist

One of my favorite magazines is Fiberarts. I've been a subscriber pretty much regularly since the early 1980s, and I find it a wonderful source of inspiration. Although I find joy in knitting simple, useful items, I also admire and strive for self-expression in my handwork. The best of folk knitting combines practicality with joyful expression. Fiberarts evokes the same sense of wonder that I feel when I go to a juried handwork show or a museum exhibit: human beings conceived of and actualized these objects as physical representations of, oh, blah blah blah. I don't have the words for it (and I get bored pretty quickly when others go on about it, to be honest).

At any rate, the January/February 2008 issue of Fiberarts contains a great interview with fiber artist Carter Smith; better yet, the Fiberarts website includes unpublished interviews as MP3 files. Check it out.

Tactile, a Fiber Arts Studio

My talented friends Maia and Brooke have started a new company, Tactile, a fiber arts studio. Naturally dyed sock yarn, anyone? They will be selling their naturally dyed yarns and rovings at Madrona Fiber Arts Retreat and at Stitches West.

Madrona Fiber Arts Retreat

Speaking of Madrona, many people were unable to get into classes during the original registration period. The organizer has worked through the problems and has re-opened registration. There are now a few spots in my class on color in Fair Isle knitting.

New Year's Resolution

The new year's ritual of neatening up to clear the decks in preparation for new things is well underway chez Feral. I don't have any resolutions as such--life has required nothing so much as flexibility and faith these last few years, so I've decided to knit and spin what I want when I want. I was going to say that my fiber world is the only thing I have any control over, but anyone who has read my blog knows that clearly that's not true!

But I have noticed that I have a large stack of books people have lent me, and it's time to start reading. I don't know about you, but I tend to hold off on books that have been recommended. So, my one resolution is to start reading. Here's what I've found so far:

• The Knitting Circle by Ann Hood
• A Circle of Quiet by Madeline l'Engle
• Angles of Reflection by Joan Richards
• The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho
• The Devil and Miss Prym by Paulo Coelho
• The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron

A Finished Item!

I finished another project: Lillie's Little Sweater, a very sweet pattern by Cottage Creations (they don't have a website as such, but here's a sampling of patterns). In fact, this would be a great beginner's project.

OK, enough! All the best wishes for a happy, healthy 2008! Thank you for reading my blog and encouraging me to keep going.