Feral Knitter

When It Feels Good to Say Goodbye

Huzzah! I finished the bulk of my annual job: I sent 520 pages off to the printer yesterday! There's the usual correction of bluelines and preparation of web files to follow, but that's nothing in comparison to the final push to finalize the book itself ("the book" is a collection of medical articles, in case you were wondering). Some free time again...

And to celebrate, I'm heading down to Portland, Oregon, tomorrow to give a talk at the Tigard Knitting Guild and then to teach for 2 days at their annual retreat. The guild has a yearly theme: this year it is Color, so my color class will fit right in. I've also developed a techniques class covering the jogless jog, changing colors without losing your mind, and crocheted steeks. I'm so looking forward to this weekend with other enthusiasts in the lovely state of Oregon!

Many years ago a young friend of mine showed an amazing facility with fiber when I led our Girl Scout Troop through one of their badges. Emily used my clunky old spindle easily, so I gave it to her. Fast forward 6 years to find her finishing her first knitted sweater--a beauty--and still spinning away.

Back in 1976 I was learning to spin, and my father helped me assemble an Ashford wheel kit. I kept the wheel in my dorm room and washed fleece in the dorm bathroom! (In this photo, I've brought the wheel to my parents' house for an evening--note the Fair Isle sweater.) Only two years later my father had died, and my life moved in directions that took me away from the spinning.

When we moved to Berkeley in 2004, I took up spinning again. This trusty wheel worked just fine after being trundled from here to there to there to there, stored in basements and attics. A trooper. But then I had the chance to buy a Lendrum from a friend; and another chance to buy a Schacht at a price I could afford. The Ashford wasn't lonely, though. First, Rachael learned to spin on her, and then she spent time with Jewel--an ambassador of spinning joy is what that Ashford was. She wanted more action than I could give her, though, and more space than our modest house could offer.

I was stuck. Because this wheel was so closely tied to memories of my father, I didn't want to sell it. But I was finally ready to let it go. Then I remembered Emily! I knew that she would understand what this wheel means to me and that she would love and care for and use the wheel.

   

It felt good to say goodbye.

A Community of Knitters

I am always amazed at the swatches that my students develop in the classes on color that I teach, but it's not often that I get to see a finished garment. I am just so in awe of this beautiful sweater that Lori Goodman designed for herself:

 

Lori was inspired by a painting by Paul Klee; she chose a pattern from the Latvian Mittens book. The colors in person are much lovelier (it is so hard to photograph the colors well, and obviously the sweater fits Lori to perfection. A true masterpiece! You can see more pictures in Lori's project page on Ravelry (see Lorijo). I'm grateful that she's allowing me to post these pictures.

On Saturday a talkative group of knitters came over to sew together Ryan's afghan. Those of you who sent squares might have despaired, thinking that they were lost or ignored or unappreciated. Far from it! Ryan was near tears the entire time, verklempt, seeing the love and support spread out before her.

 

   

 

 

You can see some of the wild seaming stitches we used--making this a real Victorian crazy quilt. It is absolutely wonderful! It's not quite done, just two more rows to finish....

The community of knitters is quite wonderful.

Frugal Fair Isle Knitting

John Muir walked away into the mountains,
in his old overcoat, a crust of bread in his pocket.
We have no knowledge and so we have stuff,
and stuff with no knowledge is never enough
to get you there.
It just won't get you there.
~Greg Brown, Two Little Feet

With the headlines and the pundits and the 401(k) quarterly statements all shouting the same thing--OMG! Depression/recession/lean times are upon us!--I thought it was time to talk about how to be a frugal feral knitter.

1. Learn how to design your own garments. This will allow you to make sweaters that fit your body and your lifestyle. Remember, a lovely pattern that can't be worn is a waste of time and money! I use Elizabeth Zimmermann's percentage system (EPS) to design my sweaters. Her basic concept can be fiddled with to change the details (waist shaping, for example, or amount of ease) for those who want fashion styling. The other money-saving aspect of designing your own is that you can develop a design that uses what you already have--no need to go on eBay to find that discontinued shade at 5 times the original cost.

Resources:
The Opinionated Knitter by Elizabeth Zimmermann contains updated EPS for yoke, raglan, and drop shouldered styles. $30.00

2. Gather some reference books. In this a Fair Isle knitter is extremely lucky: 3 inexpensive books provide a wealth of charts that will keep your brain and your needles clicking along happily without bidding for that $350 copy of an out-of-print Alice Starmore book:

Resources:
Traditional Fair Isle Knitting by Sheila McGregor $14.95
Traditional Scandinavian Knitting by Sheila McGregor $14.95
Celtic Charted Designs by Co Spinhoven $4.95 (yup, that's correct!)

3. Think carefully about the yarn you use. This is a tricky point--sometimes the cheaper yarn is not the best buy in the long run. I think about the following:

• Is the yarn company fairly stable in their offerings? I don't want to be invested in yarn offerings that change a lot every year.
• Can I purchase the yarn locally? Supporting a local yarn shop's decision to stock appropriate yarns keeps my personal cost low because I don't have to "carry the inventory" at home. In a manufacturing context, this is known as "just in time ordering." 
• Is the yarn suitable for stranded knitting? I need a "fuzzy" yarn, although not everyone feels this way.
• Will the yarn hold up to years of wear? I spend way too much time planning and knitting to use a low-quality yarn.
• Does the yarn fit with the yarn I have accumulated in stash? If the yarn cannot be used successfully with the yarns I already have, I don't invest in it no matter how well priced it may be. These days I routinely mix Jamieson Spindrift, Harrisville Shetland, Jamieson & Smith 2-ply jumperweight, and Elemental Affects Shetland fingering weight.

It's a bit of a joke, but true nonetheless, that Fair Isle knitting is inherently cheaper than other forms of knitting because it takes so long--when you calculate the cost per hour of knitting enjoyment, $90 for a stranded fingering-weight sweater that requires 2 months of work is a better buy than the $40 bulky acrylic yarn sweater that is done in 3 days. 

Resources:
Nanette at Knitting in Color complied a list of yarns that you might find useful (see the September 11th entry).

4. Develop your skills. Nothing gives me more pleasure that knowing that I have mastered something--put me in the woods with a pile of wool and two sticks and I can make a sweater: no experts needed, no row counters, no pattern books. Pure pleasure, and as Meg Swansen said, that kind of confidence can spill over into all areas of your life.

And now, more than ever, we need confidence, skill, and hope!

Response to "Sparky"

In a comment left on the last post, "Sparky" gave a spirited defense of Sarah Palin's qualifications for high office. I hardly know where to begin a response, but I know exactly where I can END my argument:

My nephew, a proud member of the U.S. Army, flew back to Afghanistan yesterday. Sarah Palin has not given any evidence of the kind of mature, logical, reality-based reasoning that would make me trust his safety to her decision-making skills. I will allow this: perhaps she has those skills. The press blackout gives me no way to make any assessment--I can only respond to the evidence provided, and that evidence is damning.

Get Er Sewn Up Party!

A few months ago, Mossy Cottage Ryan was going through a particularly rough patch. We put out the call for afghan squares, and now we've got them--a lovely, lively pile of squares!

A lovely, BIG, INTIMIDATING pile. Unfortunately, they won't just SNAP together. So, what's a knitter to do?

Have a party!

Saturday, October 11th. At my house in Seattle. From 1 to 5 in the afternoon--one hour or all four, your call!

Bring a nibblie or something to drink, your darning needle, and a good attitude. Leave a comment if you'd like to come--I'll email you the directions. You don't need to be "good at seaming" to take part--it's truly the thought that counts.