Knitting to Savannah

Yesterday, Saturday, Feb 28th at 4am, for the first time in 20 years, we (my husband, Scott and I) were on our way to a southern destination where the weather was supposed to be better than what we left in Kingston.

After a 15 hour day of driving, which included a terrific breakfast of homemade corned beef hash at a diner near Syracuse, and leaving my purse in a gas station bathroom in Virginia (and retrieving it because some kind person turned it in) we arrived in Wilson N.C. in time for supper at Bill's Barbecue Buffet - pictured here. This barbecue experience is worth sharing with you. I must say that it was the first time that I've ever been to a buffet of so many things that looked kind of familiar but that I really didn't recognize.

Among these, I discovered were collard greens, hush puppies (finger sized doughnut type treats), banana pudding (with ladyfingers, banana slces, custard and meringue), sweet potatoes baked in apple juice, honey and topped with marshmallows, and yellow coleslaw. It was all great, including/especially the barbecue pulled pork from an entire pig displayed on a heated tray. (I felt like such a total carnivore.)

This morning we woke up to a violent rain storm and 40degrees F, and predictions of snow for the region. This was not a good omen so we figured that we'd better keep on our way. We had been planning on driving until we were warm enough to sit outside and read. At this rate is felt like we would have to drive to Central America to achieve that goal.

Before we left North Carolina this morning I had an audience of several very confused breakfast eaters watching me through the restaurant window as I took a picture in the pouring rain of the knitting that I got done in the car yesterday: 2 balls of Diamond Luxury's new SILK TWEED which I love. At least the picture shows that there were some green azalea leaves on the bushes to prove that we weren't still in cold Ontario.

I'm not sure exactly how this sweater that I'm working on will turn out, but you may get a chance to see it in progress as the week goes on. So far there is 13" of stocking stitch with a band of about 5" of cabling in the centre to provide some shaping, followed by a few short rows to give some extra room in the front. I have a pattern that I'm kind of following, but I keep changing the detailing. It's fun!

We have arrived in Savannah; it's still freezing cold but at least there are no expectations of snow for this area and they are predicting warmer weather later in the week and lots of sun too. I think that we'll tough it out here rather than moving on, as we're both pretty fed up with the inside of the truck.

Hoping to look into the knitting community in this area of Georgia while I'm here. Will keep you posted.

Knitters and readers

NOTE ADDED FEB 23RD - If anyone would like to read "A Sweetness in the Belly" for the March 17th get together, that is the one that we will be talkking about. Read on...

Last night the Kingston Knitting Circle met at Chapters as we do each month .(Although apparently we will be looking for a new venue in the near future. Any ideas??? I'll keep you posted.)


And it became apparent that the people who were there last night were not only avid knitters, some driving 1/2 hour from out of town to join us, but that we were also avid readers. My favourite books are Canadian literature by women, (although I am NOT a fan of Margaret Atwood) and so was delighted to stumble recently across Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. A couple of the others who were there last night had also read it and one of the knitters put it so well: "She paints beautiful pictures in her story." I say that the quote on the front of my copy by a writer for the Chicago Tribune should be considered a warning to be taken seriously: "So compelling, so detailed and vivid that I couldn't bear to be torn away from it for a single minute." The dust bunnies in my house are running wild since I began reading it. (Actually they're usually able to run wild around my place, no matter what I'm reading but it's even worse now.)



One of the other ladies suggested that it would be a fun to choose a book and try and read it before the next meeting, ad hocly making our meeting a knitting & reading get-together (next one is on St Patrick's day, by the way, at Chapters from 7-9). The book that she loved and was reading is called "Sweetness in the Belly". NPR's review describes it like this: "Sweetness in the Belly, the new novel by Camilla Gibb, is the story of what happens to a young Irish girl abandoned in Morocco when her parents are murdered." It does sound wonderfully intriguing.


Then as we were nattering away, a very nice young man came into the Community Room where we were sitting and put down 2 copies of "Ten Thousand Lovers" by Edeet Ravel on the table, saying that he had heard us talking, and that due to his insomnia he gets to read 4-5 novels each week ( I wish...) and that this one was one of the best he had read in a long time. The author was born in an Israeli kibbutz and was now living in Guelph ON. I love these serendipitous referrals, and as my degree in Jewish History offers me little advantage at this point in my carreer but an interest in certain times and places in history, I was sold. A few minutes later he returned with 4 hard cover copies that he had found on the sale table that were only $7.99 - It was meant to be!


The other thing that he mentioned is that he had been in touch with the author via her web site and was able to meet her in Westport not too long ago. Alana (our wonderful new worker at the store) and I had been talking about just this phenomenon earlier in the day in reference to her own exchange with Mags Kandis of Mission Falls: how the internet allows us to feel closer to people that we find interesting and would like to exchange ideas with much more easily than if we had to make an appointment to visit them. And the "celebrity" can choose to reply or not, and considering that a reply can take but a few moments, it's lovely opportunity for them to build exchanges with people whom they would never get a chance to be in contact with otherwise. I really am becoming such a fan of the wonderfully human aspects of the internet. After all it allows me to chat with you both here and in the newsletter, it puts me in touch with family and friends from away, it reconnects me with people that I haven't seen since High School yet with whom I'm interested in touching base, it allows me to find every knitting store in the universe (and anything else for that matter). We do live in marvelous times!

Recognizing Natural Fibres and tiny knits.

Look at this logo carefully, isn't it the most creative expression of our natural fleece world. (I particularly like the bunny up in Greenland).

2009 has been designated by the United Nations to be the International Year of Natural Fibres.

And this is the official logo of the effort and celebration. Now this designation is no small potatoes, not like national Kiss your Teddy day, or Regional Rompers' Regatta. This is a big deal that the United Nations has recognized the importance of the interconnectedness of our environment and the importance of the role that natural fibres play in our world.

Check out the website at http://www.keepthefleece.org/ . What a creative bunch these people are on the steering committee. They have set up a design competition with categories such as "Camelot" using fibre from camel, llama, alpaca, etc. Another category is "Inch by Inch" for designers using pure silk. Isn't that fun?

They are also aiming to create the world's longest scarf (which will later be divided into sensible lengths and donated charity.) The altruistic aim of the scarf exercise is to find knitter/sponsors who will contribute $1/row to participate in its growth. The funds will then go to Heifer International which supports the raising of flocks in developing countries.

I love this idea, and it's such a lovely gentle way of contributing to the world in this time when we feel that many small things can come together to create more permanent solutions to our larger problems. I'm sure you'll be hearing more about this from us in the future.

Now for another cool knitting story. Coraline, the new young adult fantasy horror 3D movie filmed in "stop motion" didn't really make a lot of sense to me as I wasn't quite sure what "stop motion" was. Isn't that what they used to do in the olden days and what my nephew does on You Tube with Lego? In fact it is exactly that. And one of the features of this beautifully dark movie is that the star (and several other characters) who are only a few inches tall wear hand knit sweaters that are created by Althea Chrome in size XXXS. Go to her site www.bugknits.com to see a video of her methods. You will never complain about knitting 4 ply socks again.

Coraline's sweater here is about 1 1/2 inches long.

I was thinking that this may be the way to go for people who are easily bored...knit a garment that is about an inch long until I realized that Althea gives a 12 hour workshop to knit a cardigan!!! That's a big commitment of time to knit 1".

Taking it to the streets.

I'm sure that most of you are so busy with your life and your knitting that you don't get a chance to read the newspaper but you may be interested in checking out this article from the Globe and Mail last week. This crafty bus is in Mexico and it is the work of urban "craftivist" Magda Sayeg who is the ringleader of a group called Knitta, one of a growing number of groups specializing in "yarn graffiti". Link to the full article below.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090130.wlyarn30/BNStory/lifeMain/home?cid=al_gam_mostemail

I had a customer in yesterday who mentioned that she seemed to be in a finishing mode, tidying up those UFO's (un-finished objects). I said that I too was working at finishing up several things that had been around for quite a while. Then I thought about it and realized that I can no longer say that. Having finished up a rug hooking piece, 2 pairs of socks and mended and defuzzed 5 sweaters since the weekend, I somehow also found the time to begin a bulky cardigan, a DK cotton bamboo sweater, a toe up sock for demonstration at the "advanced sock technique" class that I'm teaching at the end of the month, a cotton silk summer pullover, and a new small rug hooking project while stashing the canvas for the next one(not small) in my work basket.

As the siren of each of these new projects was calling me and putting the needles/hook in my hands, my more sensible self was asking: "What are you thinking/doing?" while my rationalizing self kept replying: "I'm not really committing to this one yet, I'm just going to see if I like it."

The rational self usually wins and I think that I'm down to 2 works in progress (the bulky cardi and the cotton/silk aran pullover pictured here, with the small rug hooking project waiting on the back burner - in fact it's so small that I'm about 3/4 finished already).

Which brings me to a discussion that we had at the supper table this week: why do most knitters need several projects on the go at once?

My personal answer would be a rather sarcastic and impolite "duh??!!" but to be fair to the males of the world who don't seem to get it, it's important to gently remind them that unlike a game of golf, or a large woodworking project, knitting lends itself well to our different moods and the demands of the moment. No, you can't put down your driver half way through a golf game and go throw a half game of horseshoes, and pick up the golf later on. Most crafters need projects that can fill small increments of our time, which is all we have; where as a large woodworking piece demands a big solid block of time, which restricts the number of projects that one would want to take on.

Notice I delicately haven't even mentioned that we seem to be good at multi-tasking: chatting with the other parents, while knitting, while watching the kids' hockey practice, while planning what to have for supper when we get home. I like the variety that small crafts let me indulge in. I know my limits though...3 serious projects at a time with a good week of "finish ups"every couple of months. That's what works for me. (Oh by the way, remind me to explain to my husband that once you get on to them socks aren't considered serious projects, they're more like hand warmers in the arena, or pocket stuffers for while your in a waiting room.)

Are you happy?

As I've mentioned before, I really enjoy reading magazines.

This week I was lucky enough to have a couple of days to go to a large trade show in Toronto, which would have been a shopaholic's greatest fantasy (except that it is strictly against the rules of the show to purchase and remove anything while on site.) There was everything from Royal Doulton china to the tackiest possible souvenirs; clothes to cradles; fudge to fine crystal and silver; anything that could be found in what is described as a "gift" store. I attended a seminar about identifying trends and being able to use this awareness to predict what colours, styles, options will make our customers comfortable...6 months to 2 years down the road! What a responsibility. The presenter did say something really interesting, which while being old wisdom seemed to fall on my ears with a new freshness: none of us actually needs any-THING, but we do need and want to feel good. And there in lies my job as the owner of a knitting store: to help my customers feel good...about the project that they choose, the yarn that they buy, about the support that we can offer if they need it, about their abilities and sometimes even about themselves.

And by coincidence, I had just purchased this month's copy of Psychology Today which featured a cover article about society's longing to feel happy. (You can link to the complete article on-line by clicking on the title of this post. It's very interesting.) This article got me thinking about what it is that makes the people that I see every day happy about being in the store (as most of them are, I hope.)

Many of our customers just come into the store for a colour/fibre fix...they need to replenish that feel-good quota within themselves with some hands on, eye absorbing experiences. But most need to commit by bringing something home to accomplish. I know, it's not every knitting project that brings us treasured bliss, some patterns can be an actual pain in the butt, for any of many reasons. But generally we look to any relaxing and/or creatively distracting occupation to take us away from concerns that we might be carrying around, to stimulate us if we're bored or tired, to comfort us if we're feeling sad. But there is no question that learning and perfecting any skill is a true path to what can be called happiness.

And of course, then I had to ask myself what it is that makes me happy, and I realized that just like all of you that I meet everyday, I love developing new skills...for me these are perfecting knitting techniques and pattern writing skills of course, but other skills that give me a real sense of having fun are writing this blog and putting together the newsletter, learning to kayak, learning more about meditation and yoga, learning how to be a good parent to young adults, learning how to run a profitable/sustainable business in difficult times, learning how to avoid being overwhelmed with trying to keep up with details, learning how to make the cardio and weight machines at the gym work for me, learning how to be a good wife in our empty-nester years, and being a caring adult daughter and sister, learning how to identify what I want to be when I grow up and working towards achieving those goals even if it means that I have to let go of some of the things that I've gotten into the habit of doing, or if it means getting up earlier, or going to bed later, or watching less TV, or having one of the staff work out a fun pattern that I'd like to do myself.

None of us can do it all, but we can choose what we really do want to do and hope that our family doesn't notice that they're getting leftovers or take-out dinners a bit more often while the afghan seems to be growing a bit faster than it had before.

Rugs and socks

Last Sunday we had a lovely get together.

I had asked the staff, regular volunteers, teachers and local suppliers to join me for a "Knit and Chat" lunch. The venue was booked months ago and the menu was set.

Then the venue went out of business and we had to throw something together at the last minute. And as these things usually happen, it turned out even better than the original plan.

The group ranged in age from early 30's to late 70's, all avid knitters except for our rug hooking teacher who is generally an all round fibre fan. And it was at this time that I was able to admit to her, and all the others at the table, that I've discovered that I LOVE rug hooking. I work with knitting and feel confident and secure in it; I really enjoy designing, writing and teaching; I run a business relatively well, but I LOVE rug hooking.

The piece pictured here (by the way, don't ever lose the usb cable for your camera. It's a major pain to work around or replace) is my first completed piece, which I literally drew freehand on a substandard piece of burlap that I had hanging around, and began working on just so that we would have a display to show customers what rug hooking was like. Well, it didn't progress very rapidly as I left the partially completed project hanging in the store for months on end, until I decided to take it home over the Holidays to give myself a different project to work on, and I got so into it that I finished it. Yesterday I bought some binding tape to sew on the back and I plan to use it as a table rug in our living room. The rust and gold are just regular Lopi yarn and the blue and aqua details are done of Briggs and Little "Super" 4ply wool.

Did I mention that I LOVE rug hooking. And it would appear that others are getting into it too. We are now carrying lovely designs on (fine quality) burlap which are becoming very popular and I'm having to reorder quite frequently. And the beginner's class in rug hooking, coming up on Feb. 14th, is already sold out and we're taking names for another proposed class later in the spring. I guess people just like the feeling of working with wool and playing with the fibres.

The other fun that I've been having lately is preparing the class in advanced sock knitting techniques using Cat Bordhi's book: "New Pathways for Sock Knitters." The lady is quite amazing: in an experience that was a lot like when Newton got beaned on the head with the apple, Cat discovered that it truly doesn't matter where you add stitches around the foot to accomodate the enlarged area around the heel and instep, and so has used this knowledge to play with possibilities that this discovery opens up.

This is my demo sock using the "Little sky sockitechture".

On a typical sock, the diagonal lines that return us to the original form of the foot begin at the ankle and work their way on either side to about the middle of the foot. Notice on this sock that that line begins at the top of the foot and goes down in a straight line towards the bottom of the heel. This gives some nice room for an interesting design on the top of the foot, or on the side of the heel.

There is still some room in this class that I'll be teaching on Feb 28th when we'll be covering toe-up techniques, different "expansions" to accomodate our 3 dimensional feet, custom fitting, knitting socks on (a) circular needle(s), and lots of other great features for sock knitters who want to go on to the open a whole new world of possibilities for themselves.

Faces of "Art"

"Not everything you do is going to be a
masterpiece, but you get art there and you try,
and sometimes it really happens. The other times
you're just stretching your soul."
by Maya Angelou

I love the wisdom of Maya Angelou.

This is a picture of a sock that I just started knitting one day with Cadenza from Estelle Designs. It's a wool and silk blend and I wanted to play with the colour spiral going opposite to the eyelets. My fingers just kinda took over and I really enjoyed the freedom of the whole experience. This was a sock design to play with, to see what would happen if...

Then about 3/4 of the way through the sock my disciplined self took over and I realized that in order to make this a practical exercise - timewise - that I should write out the pattern down and offer it on our free pattern website some month. So I finished the sock and loved it. Took pictures of it and began the 2nd one, dilligently writing out directions as I went along. I really didn't have any trouble until it came time to describe what to do at the gusset to incorporate the eyelet pattern, and then I was stumped.

I know that these are absolutely not difficult socks and writing the pattern really isn't rocket science, and I've certainly written more complicated patterns than this for myself, but I just simply ran out of time, energy, motivation, whatever else you want to add to this list to keep perfecting and reviewing the pattern so that I wouldn't be leading my lovely customers into a quagmire of knitting confusion.

This experience had me thinking about all the different levels of at which we can create and appreciate "art", and that each level has its value and each has its lessons to teach us. Writing a perfect pattern that is clear and rich in how it conveys the designer's intention is a work of art in itself, and one which I've always admired and I strive to work towards it. Needless to say, the spiral eyelet sock pattern was not one of my successes in this journey.

It is however in this way that I came to truly recognize the genius of Debbie New, one of the most truly awe inspiring knitting designers working today. Check out this website if you don't know her work: http://www.philosopherswool.com/Pages/DebbieNewCards.htm

Some of you may recognize her Madonna and Child, as we have a copy of the picture at the store. An amazing aspect of this piece is that it is life size, with Mary being about 5 feet tall. And from a knitter's perspective, an even more amazing thing is that the artist has woven in all of those ends (how many hundreds do you think that there are?) on the good side of the work, to amazing effect.
Very sensibly, I don't believe that Debbie ever published a "pattern" for this piece, but if you check out this site, you will see her award winning socks that defy the imagination of most knitters. http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0964639157/ref=sib_dp_pt#reader-link

Obviously, the challenges in creating these socks were many. Not only did she need to conceive and complete the design, which most of us can admit comes from another knitting galaxy, but by virtue of the fact that they would be published in a book the pattern needed to accompany the project. Debbie had to invent an entirely new system of knitting notation to explain how to "recreate" them for the bravehearts who would take on such a challenge.

Debbie is my hero, (along with Elizabeth Zimmerman, of course) for her commitment to her art, to the earth, to peace and to beauty - whether her work is comfortable for us to observe and reflect upon or not. (Please take a moment to look at her piece called "Dancing in Chains" from the 3rd set of cards on the Philosopher's Wool Site, linked above.)