Knot Knecessarily Known Knitting

Sometimes I start a blog post but, for whatever reason, fail to publish it. This is one of those. But now seems like the time.   The Echo I started by writing this in the autumn 2019: Sometimes the universe is just . . . strange. That's what makes it interesting. I am coming out of one of the most tumultuous periods of my life. A quick run-down of what has happened in 2018-2019. September: the passing of my knitting mentor, Jan Stephens. October: both cats sick November: the passing of Brûlée December: father-in-law ill January: the passing of my father-in-law as well as members of knitting guilds; Cuddly Hubby moves back to Maryland February: The Whole Nine Yarns closes June: return of STITCHES to Atlanta after a long hiatus October through June: intense care giving for Vincent, followed by his passing June: arrival of new cats, Ozymandias and Ramses August: arrival of expensive piece of fiber arts equipment, an Ashford 16-shaft table loom . There was also a lot of expens...

You never know where you are going to find something worthy of your attention. Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I shopped at the JoAnn's in California, Maryland. Yes, this is a big box store. This particular JoAnn's is not large. It is maybe half the size of the typical grocery store? The aisles are narrow and the store is packed with craft materials. I was shopping for a roll of plain paper so I could draft a sewing pattern. They didn't have it because, as the nice clerk explained, they are a small store relative to other JoAnn's locations. Quilters and sewists must compromise much of their clientele, if the shelves of beautiful cotton print fabrics are any indication. As long as I was there, I figured I might as well browse the craft books. There was a cute Star Wars -themed recipe book. There was a crochet book with adorable animal blankets. And there was a copy of Adventure Cables by Meghan Jones. I didn't buy the book ini...

As we approach Thanksgiving in only a week, it seems a good time to reflect on the power of gathering and gratitude. One thing the pandemic taught us was not to take in-person contact for granted. Talking to people over the phone or Internet is not the same as being there. Yes, some things can be done via video chat. But humans are fundamentally social creatures. So much of knitting is about making for others and connecting with others. While that can be done over distance, it is much easier in person. Kathy Zimmerman's Fall Fling retreat 2021 Since July I've taught at Fiberworld (virtual), Pittsburgh Creative Arts Festival, Kathy Zimmerman's Fall Fling retreat, Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair, STITCHES Expo at Home (virtual), and Unwind retreat. Consistently, the best thing is not the shopping or the presentations, but connecting to other knitters. Seeing what people have been making is a special joy. Much of walking around the market at SAFF was for me simply greeting peop...

Recently I've been trying to focus on the half-worked projects lying around. One of those was a repair — a very difficult repair. Back in 2011 I reworked the Serpent of Eternity socks in a way that involved double-knitting. And then at some point, I wore them and put them in the wash. There was a weak spot in the yarn at the top of the sock. The movement in the wash broke the yarn. I ended up with a hole in the double-knitting. I had tried previously to mend this, but failed. Finally, I found a day when I thought the stars might be aligned. I started by putting pins in the hole to prevent further raveling. The pink is a cable needle in the interior of the i-cord edge. Then I spent a lot of time looking at the sock. I knit this a decade ago. Did I even remember what I did? The technique I used was a monochromatic double-knit. There was no purling in the sock. When I wanted a purl, I knit from the other side of the work. The result is the yarn ju...

The alternative title of this post could be "I Do Not Need a Rigid Heddle Loom, Right?" If you are paying keen attention to this website, you may have noticed the STITCHES Expo at home button. I'm teaching three of my most popular classes online the weekend of 8-10 August 2021. Last week there was a special Zoom meeting preview for previous attendees of STITCHES online. It was a chance to run down the class offerings. For those of us who are teachers, it was a chance to show class samples and answer any questions potential students might have. I've done this sort of thing before for other online classes. No worry. And then Myra Wood shows up with her Crazyshot class. I have an 8-shaft and a 16-shaft loom. I do not need a rigid heddle loom. I do not. I do not. I do not. Shortly after the preview ended, I went over to Myra's website and bought her book. I love Myra's sense of design, geometry, and color. Her work is jubilant, which is why I find it charismatic....

There's a transition from new knitter to experienced knitter to advanced knitter. And there's a transition from person who knits or person who is learning to knit to knitter as an identity. And then there's old knitter. If you have a knitted sweater old enough to have faded from wear and love, you might be an old knitter. This is not a bad thing. Maybe not an old knitter so much as a wise knitter or a sage knitter? I have been knitting long enough to have reached that milestone. I have dear hand knit items that have faded. They are still good, but they look worn. What is a knitter to do? Overdye! I've taken classes to learn how to use Jacquard acid dyes. But they only work on protein fiber. They are great on wool and silk. Not so great on linen or cotton. I live in Atlanta. While I do have plenty of animal fiber in my stash, it isn't uncommon for me to knit with mixed fibers. I have a red gansey I knit back in 2004. It was my fi...

I'm delighted to have several in-person shows on my schedule for the latter part of 2021. One of them is Fall Fling for Kathy's Kreations . I'll be teaching reversible cables and knitting faster. Since it is a weekend-long retreat, there is extra time. I'm developing a module on hat design. I started out with Casquecade (see brown hat, above). This is an easy ribbles hat. This was also my attempt to create a simple but interesting pattern that might sell on Ravelry. Fail! I thought the most popular patterns on Ravelry tended to be easy and quick? I thought they tended to be more conservative in style? I thought this hat would be appealing, especially since it is top-down. Wrong! I admit I do not understand what other people want to knit. The pattern was not a waste of time. The overall approach is a useful template. Cast on with a center-out reversible cast-on at top of hat. Increase using Y-increase or W-increase until hat fits...