Feral Knitter

Extreme Catch-Up

This is turning into the Moby-Dick of blog posts! I feel like I ought to include a Table of Contents:

I. Meg Swansen's Knitting Camp 2.75
    a. Camp itself
    b. Miscellaneous notes on food 
II. Workshop in Egg Harbor
    c. Whitefish Bay B&B with Corriedale sheep
    a. Spin yarn store in Sturgeon Bay
    b. workshop itself 
    d. Miscellaneous notes on food
III. Surgery

I had planned, of course, to post as each event occurred, but I find transitions throw me off my game. So, enough: On with the extreme catch-up!

I. Meg Swansen's Knitting Camp 2.75

This picture says it all:

I just love Meg! "Meeting" her in print changed my life; not just the knitting, but the approach. I had, as usual, a marvelous time at Camp. It is amazing the bonds you form with people after a decade—even people I don't spend much time with at Camp become dear. We cried together and we laughed together during our four days together. 

I came away with some additions to my "to-knit" list and a new cast on from Bridget Rorem (the Faggotted Cast On). I thought this was a pretty cool new idea, until Maggie R. mentioned that Bridget had taught this cast on at least 3 times in the last 10 years. Man o man, my memory.... no wonder I stick to plain old long-tail cast on.

I didn't take many photos, but luckily Al takes photos galore and I can post them when I get the CD!

So, food notes: Excellent fare at the Kitchen Table Restaurant in Marshfield (owned by Meg's sister Lloie): eggs benedict is my breakfast standard; for lunch I'm more adventurous. The Rhubarb Custard Pie is excellent (and in the cookbook). Culver's for butterburgers and Concrete Mixers (mine a Cheesecake Raspberry cup of tasty butterfat). The Japanese restaurant for a fun communal-table experience; six of us went, and the poor couple out on the town for the eighth wedding anniversary coped with us gamely. No fish fry this year and no fried cheese curds!

II. Design Your Own Fair Isle Workshop in Egg Harbor

I went directly from Knitting Camp to teach the 3-day workshop in lovely Door County, Wisconsin. This county sticks out into Lake Michigan like the thumb on a mitten—beautiful agricultural scenery coupled with scenic coastline. The weather was killer, though—heat coupled with humidity like nothing I've ever experienced before. 

I stayed at the charming Whitefish Bay Farm B&B, operated by shepherds Gretchen and Dick Regnery. They raise Corriedales for the handspinning market—the jacketed sheep have cooshy fleeces in different colors. Yummm! Gretchen says that they breed for the "friendly" gene—these sheep came right up to us to be scratched and petted. I really enjoy Dick's blog about life on the farm. They make farming look effortless, but it is obvious that the outward serenity requires lots of hard work. 

The fleeces are for sale each year; Gretchen also has roving and yarns for sale as well. (I came home with some skooshy sport weight in natural light gray-brown to make a vest.) Gretchen is a great cook, so breakfast each day was an experience. My favorite part: one morning breakfast began with pear sorbet sprinkled with fresh blueberries.

Terri, the owner of Spin in Sturgeon Bay, kindly offered up her classroom space for the workshop. This exceptional yarn shop is well worth a detour if you are in the area—a well-curated and large selection of yarn and books in a light-filled space.

Twelve students worked through a series of swatches based on their inspiration pieces. Here are a few swatches (sadly, not all the photos I took were in focus):

 

I am so grateful to Sandy De Master and Mary Germain (a dynamic pair who teach many traditional knitting classes at Sievers School of Fiberarts and other venues) for organizing this workshop! They made me feel so welcome—the day I arrived we had a fantastic and memorable tapas meal at Parador in Egg Harbor. Sandy opened her house for a potluck the next day and these Wisconsin gals sure know how to do a potluck! EIleen and Cindy drove me back to Green Bay on Thursday night, where they introduced me to the quintessential GB restaurant, Kroll's, where butterburgers, fries, and milkshakes have been a tradition for at least 500 years, judging by the interior design. I enjoyed it immensely, especially the crisp burger buns.

There's just something about Wisconsin that I love.....

II. Surgery

I had been anxious to get the hernia surgery over with because the painful achiness was getting intrusive. Sadly, a bout with food poisoning (we think) made it impossible for me to go under the mini-knife yesterday morning. Saga to be continued..... No photos.

Additions to the Bookshelf

The knitting and fiber books are just cascading off the presses these days! It's a glorious time to work with yarn. Two recent books have really impressed me as being useful to the feral knitters out there: 

Little Red in the City by Ysolda Teague. 264-page paperback.

I'm in the middle of knitting a yoke sweater I call the Monet Sweater. I inserted the waist shaping under the bust, hoping to create a nice fit that way. But I'll confess that I spent a lot of time trying to figure out where to place the bust darts. Too bad Ysolda's book hadn't come out then: She is brilliant at walking through fit issues and placement of shaping elements! She writes: "There are three elements to successful fitting: the desired dimensions should be achieved, the shaping must occur in the right place on the body, and the shaping should be visually flattering."

What happens next is a detailed explanation (with math!) about how to go about placing bust darts, placing waist shaping, and adding fabric to the upper arm (I've never seen another design resource discuss this overlooked area). Teague's emphasis is on fitting the larger body, but the discussions can be used for any fitting issues. Most patterns are written as if our fronts and backs were the same size—Teague walks through the calculations needed to adjust for "the girls."

Seven charming and well-constructed sweater patterns are included in the book. Each has extensive fitting notes and instructions for sizes 28" or 30" to 58" or 60". Teague uses an elegant pattern-writing method to make the patterns nearly mistake proof.

In addition, there is an excellent section on short row techniques, buttonhole, and tubular cast-on. The book itself is well-illustrated and -photographed (and well laid out as well, something that I really appreciate).

I think that this book deserves a place in every library. When you order through Ravelry you get a digital copy along with your hard copy.

10 Secrets of the Laidback Knitters by Vicki Stieffel and Lisa Souza. 166-page paperback.

I was prepared to like this one because I love Lisa's approach to spinning, knitting, and life in general. The book did not disappoint in any way! I'm not going to reveal the 10 secrets, but I will reveal that they don't have anything to do with, say, "the perfect way to hold the needles." The book's subtitle is "A Guide to Holistic Knitting, Yarn, and Life," and the authors cut to the core of what knitting and crochet and spinning mean to us, or what they can mean. 

Twenty eight patterns, from beginner to advanced, fill the book (I love the Solvang Weekend Vest!), along with profiles and essays and interesting sidebar tidbits—and great photographs! "10 Secrets of Laidback Knitters gives knitters permission to relax and have fun with their knitting; to see that knitting as as much about process as product; and to know that the stitches they knit can express the inner joy they feel," the authors write in the introduction. This book is filled with the joy of knitting, not solutions to complex arcane problems. There's a need for both in our libraries.

You know what? This would make the perfect present for the person who has recently caught the fiber bug. There—I've just solved half your Christmas list for you!

 °°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Well, tomorrow morning bright and early I'm catching the plane to Wisconsin. Meg Swansen's Knitting Camp!!! It's been a rough summer so far and I'm looking forward to seeing my friends, meeting new ones, and having this time away. My camera is packed and I'll keep in touch!

P.S. The 3-day Design Your Own Fair Isle workshop in Wisconsin is full, but there are still 2 places available in the Berkeley workshop August 26-28. Drop me a line!

August Fair Isle Workshop

I realized that most people have a personal sense of colour and form which is released with a little confidence. There are many things that erode this confidence—over-analyzing, for instance. It is best to plunge in and surprise yourself at the beauty, wit and harmony you can produce.
        ~Kaffe Fassett 

Just a note to let you know that two spaces remain in the 3-day Design Your Own Fair Isle workshop being held August 26-28 at my home in Berkeley, California! Full details can be found here. 

I'm packing up workshop supplies to teach this class in Wisconsin, and I noticed how energized I get just planning for the class! Students tell me they leave the workshop equally energized—and, more importantly, with the confidence to move forward.