Feral Knitter

Color: Never Too Much

It seems like only yesterday that we were lamenting the loss of so many Jamieson & Smith jumperweight Shetland colors--some 60 colors were discontinued (see the link in my sidebar for details), and many of us worried about the future of Fair Isle handknitting.

But as the trite, saccharine, and irritating saying goes: God never closes one door without opening another. (As one friend of mine said, "I can accept that, but why the hell does the hallway between the two have to be so long?") At any rate, the good news is that some 32 colors have been ADDED to the Jamieson's Shetland Spindrift line in the last year!

Yes, 32 colors! I blogged about 4 of them a few months ago, but the big surprise was in February, when Karen of Two Swans Yarns generously sent me 25 new colors (pictured above) for people in my workshops to use. A beautiful collection: many shades of yellows, a lovely clear blue, a wonderful deep purple, soft greens, and more. And she has them all in stock. To top it off, I learned today that she is expecting 3 more colors within weeks!

I've written frequently about the concept of "enough," usually some Puritanal rant about losing our understanding of the word in our endless search for meaning through consumption. However, I must say that, as far as I'm concerned, there is no such thing as enough when we're talking about colors!

By the way, I've photographed the yarns wound on plastic embroidery or crewel bobbins--I store samples of each color this way because I find them easier to use than a color card.

The Abandoned T-Shirt Project Update

I've created a new blog for the abandoned t-shirt project: www.feralknitter.typepad.com/abandonedtshirt. I'll be blogging regularly about my progress--and adding short essays on cotton production, t-shirt history, global trade, wet t-shirt competitions, and anything else I find of interest over the year. I've found 3 t-shirts so far!

Upcoming Workshops

In addition to the 3-day Design Your Own Fair Isle workshop June 5-7, I will be teaching my 1-day Color in Fair Isle Knitting class at Village Yarn & Tea in Shoreline, Washington (just north of Seattle) on May 31th. (This is the same class that was cancelled due to my illness last February.) I hope to see some of you there!

Abandoned T-Shirt Project

While walking Shadow every day, I have noticed that Berkeley residents love to place things out on the curb that they think someone else could use: chairs, monitors, dishes, shoes, books, clothing.... This abundance of goods made me think about the material things in our lives, where they come from and where they end up. The more I thought about global trade, sweatshops, resource depletion, overabundance, and the related horsemen of environmental and cultural despair, the more I wanted to use textiles and knitting to make some sort of artistic statement.

In particular, the humble t-shirt has an interesting and somewhat alarming global impact, yet is treated rather cavalierly, appearing frequently on the parking strips. (You might be interested in The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy by Pietra Rivoli.)

I've decided to attempt an art project based on abandoned t-shirts. From this Earth Day to the next I will be gathering up t-shirts, washing them, cutting them into strips, and knitting with them. I'm not entirely sure what direction this knitting will take! I'm going to keep track of where the t-shirts were found, taking photos if possible and preparing a map.

[Edited to add: I'm looking for the Wild Castoff T-Shirt (as my friend Linda calls it, "the single shirt on a lonely road or in an environment that tells a story"), not thrift shop finds or marathon race leftovers, for example. Wild Castoffs can be found anywhere: in parks, on the sidewalk, on the beach, anywhere.]

And I'd love your help. If you happen upon a t-shirt in the wild, please send it to me along with information about where you found it--and a photo if you are the kind of person who knows how to use her/his cell phone. Just leave a comment and I'll send you my contact information. Wouldn't it be a kick if I were able to incorporate shirts from every state? Or even from other countries?

This might be silly or it might be emotionally meaningful--I confess that I am unsure where my conviction that this is worth doing comes from, but I feel a need to forge ahead. (And please, if you think this idea is stupid, keep your opinions to yourself!)

I'll keep you posted.

Upcoming 3-Day Workshop

Have you been harboring the secret desire to design your own Fair Isle sweater? I will be teaching a 3-day design workshop in Preston, Washington (20 minutes outside of Seattle), on June 5, 6, and 7th that should get you started.

The workshop will be held at Suzanne Pedersen's lodge-type home--you can even spend the night there for free! (It's like Girl Scout camp for adults.) 

We will cover color in Fair Isle, choosing motifs, and putting them together into a garment. I will walk through the construction of a basic sweater knit in the round with steeks, spending time on shoulder fitting issues.

It takes time to develop a design, but by the end of the weekend you will be on your way.

You don't need to be a knitting wizard to take this class--if you have knit a sweater before, are familiar with two-color stranded knitting, and are willing to experiment, then you are ready for this workshop. We have a lot of fun--here are some photos from past workshops:

 

 

 

 

 

  

Please contact Suzanne at 425-222-3554 (West coast time) or suzanne@madronafiberarts.com for more details about the workshop and lodging. And of course you can ask me anything about the course content!

 

A Must See

Well, darlings, I'm not one to do this, as you know, but you've got to watch this YouTube video of Susan Boyle singing on Britain's Got Talent 2009:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

Nothing more to say, really, except that I cry with joy every time I watch this. Dreams and expression and unexpected brilliance.

What Obsession Looks Like

I'm working on a new design that involves lots of increasing, so I decided to check out several different methods to determine which would be least noticeable. Montse Stanley's Knitter's Handbook and Meg Swansen's DVD Knitting Glossary were my go-to sources for techniques. Sadly, until I invest in a camera that can zoom in closer, I won't be able to show you more detail--but I can reveal that, in my hands, the simple e-wrap make one shows least, with the knit-into-the-back-of-the-stitch-below method being my second favorite. Of course, knitting being the intensely personal endeavor that it is, your results might differ.

Details: All swatches demonstrate K2 M1 halfway up the swatch; Jamieson & Smith Shetland jumperweight yarn in a discontinued but not lamented shade of lemon yellow; size 3 needles.
From top to bottom:

1. e-wrap (Stanley #2.132)

2. twist the running thread (not recommended at this rate of increase because it takes up too much of the yarn and tightens the row) (Stanley #2.130)

3. a two-row increase--short yarn-over in the row before the increase and then use that extra  yarn to make the twisted running thread increase (thus avoiding the problem in the previous increase). If you are careful to spread this increased yarn into the surrounding stitches, this is a lovely increase (see the Rainey Sisters for a good discussion) (Stanley #2.131).

4. knit into the back of the stitch of the row below (Meg Swansen Knitting Glossary or Sweaters from Camp) [this is also known as a lifted increase, apparently--thanks to those who have written about this]

5. knit into the stitch of the row below and then knit into the regular stitch (Stanley #2.133)

[Although I am thankful to all who have written about paired increases, I do not want them when I am increasing 33% in one round--paired increases are perfect on sleeves, for example.]

This level of obsession might surprise those of you who have heard my Knitting Libertarian rants, so let me make myself clear: I believe in freewheeling knitting based on a strong technical foundation.

Plus, I am obsessed with Fair Isle knitting.

For those of you obsessed with color, the latest Weavecast podcast features an interview with Kaffe Fassett (#37: Color Matters). Kaffe's use of color is masterful; although he doesn't work in the Fair Isle mode, his knitting, needlepoint, and quilting books are very instructive to those of us who do. While you are there, check out the full list of Syne's podcasts--even though I'm no longer a weaver (not counting the tapestry weaving I've recently studied), I enjoy listening to these interviews each month.

Knitting Community

This has been a most wonderful evening. Gertrude has things tonight that it'll take her ten years to understand.
~Alice B. Toklas

Sunday was a lovely day--several knitters came over to visit for the afternoon. As usual, the conversation ranged over many topics (I don't know why knitters have a reputation as sweet old ladies with no interests beyond what is on our needles, because we hardly fit the stereotype) and the food was great. I feel so happy to have the start of a community in Berkeley! In Seattle the active knitting guild introduced me to other fiber fanatics, but the Bay Area is not blessed with a guild, so it is up to individuals to make and nurture connections.

 

 

 

 

 

Shadow was alternately fascinated and repelled by Brooke's darling baby (held by Rachael)--here Shadow has just finished sniffing his diapers.....

I've started an odds-and-ends project: Meg Swansen's Garter-Striped Cardigan from Vogue Knitting Kids 2001. This is a variation of the February Baby Sweater, recently popularized for adults as the February Lady sweater. At the end of every one of my workshops I have a bag full of Shetland oddments--the yarn is too short to use for much, but too good to throw out. This project is perfect!

 

The lettuce in our garden tastes as luscious as it looks!

The roses just look luscious.