Carol's Experiments in Textiles-and Cats

nothing

2011-11-22T09:30:00.000-06:00

I'm still here. Back to sewing and quilting this month. Cats are good.

Tickled

2011-03-31T23:58:00.004-05:00

Last weekend I had a sudden flurry of orders for my Scallop Edge Beaded Necklace Pattern. Three in a row, all for women in the west and northwest suburbs. After the third order, I had to know what was going on. I e-mailed her, thinking maybe there was a class going on. She told me that a LYS in Glen Ellyn was doing a KAL, the second so far with this pattern.

I drove out there last night, Thursday being late night sit-and-knit, and me being kinda desperate for a place to do just that. And of course I had to see these people who were promoting my pattern so heartily. I found out from some of the other knitters that the place had been SRO on Sunday. They told me people had been knitting while sitting on the floor and there was a line out the door.

Well between that and the 425 completed necklaces on Ravelry to date, I am astounded. I feel like mini-EZ. I never was "popular," but my silly little pattern seems to be. Naches fun Moyekhkinder.

String Theory Yarn Company hosts a KAL/open knitting every Sunday. I hope to go back there soon.

UFOs*

2011-03-31T22:49:00.004-05:00

*Unidentified Fiber Objects

Some of them are so old, I can't even remember what they were going to be when they grew up.

For the last few weeks I have been on a rampage to unearth and complete as many knitted beginnings as I can. Also recovering the yarn from the ones that are not ever going to amount to anything.

Why now? Loopy Yarns had a UFO party last Friday night. I didn't go -- but for the eight or nine days before the event and ever since, I've been working through dozens of projects mouldering in the bottoms of bags and plastic bins.

Tonight I made progress on a thing conceived in the 'eighties that was so pretty I never could give up on it. A couple of days ago I was working on The Thing. See that purple tweed right inside the diagonal edge? I ran out on one edge, and cannot for the life of me find what was left of the 100 grams I had when I started. In panic mode, I ordered five skeins in four shades of purple (two vintage). One of them should be close enough. Of course it is a scratchy yarn that I hate and was hoping to use it up in this thing, and now I will have way too much of it, and it is costing me a small fortune, but what the hay. Maybe I can resell the skeins least like my old one.

Have to Brag

2011-03-28T16:27:00.001-05:00

435 Projects!! And each one more gorgeous than the last. Oh, Ravelers, you make me so happy!!!

Blizzard!

2011-02-02T13:47:00.004-06:00

Mia Becomes a House Cat

2011-01-30T17:46:00.004-06:00

Last summer Mia, my "baby Siamese," got locked in a garage for nine days. Very long story, but when she got out, I took her to my Dad's, in an attempt to keep her out of trouble. This displeased her. At the first opportunity, she was out the window, down the fire escape, and gone. (I did not know we had a window open with no screen.)

I have not written publicly about this because I was so ashamed of my tactical error and so worried about the cat.

On January 9, I spotted her in a vacant lot a few blocks from home. "Mia! You're NOT DEAD!" She remembered me and did not run away. After feeding her for a two weeks and receiving many happy purrs and cuddles, I was able to trap her last week and bring her home to my own apartment, the one with less traffic and more control of windows.

This time, Mia seems delighted to be indoors with a reliable food supply and cuddles on demand. What changed? Well, it's winter. And the other cats are nicer to her than the ones at Dad's. She is becoming good friends with Blackie. Rosebud hisses at her but is too old and fat to chase her. Pixel just ignores her.

I feel like a mountain has been removed from my shoulders.

The Saga of Mister Darcey

2010-10-01T13:31:00.007-05:00

Yet another lost pet showed up in front of our building last night. What had me all sad and furious is that we have rescued this fellow before! Yes, you heard me. Loooooong story.

Tuesday September 7 I arrived home about 10 pm to find a cat in the front walkway. Having just gone through this with Missy (another story altogether), I scooped him up and brought him in, put out the food, and took the pictures for the Found Cat flyer. He immediately inspected all rooms and pretty much took over, hence the naming after the handsome, arrogant, romantic stranger (yes I know I spelled it wrong). Emma and the other girls were not amused.

Meanwhile, he was ravenous, unruly, rude, and tended to bite anyone who tried to cuddle him. He had very stinky goopy poops. I decided to get him to the vet ASAP, which was Monday September 13 due to my overwhelming prior commitments. We tested him for everything, treated him for three kinds of parasites, vaccinated him, and on Tuesday he was neutered and I took him home to recover.

Unlike Missy, whose people found her right away and were overjoyed to have her back, Darcey's people were harder to find. Wednesday I got a call from a woman who thought he was her lost cat, but it turned out he was not.

Thursday I got another call, this time from a woman who was certain he was her cat who she had "put out for a week" because she could not afford food or litter. I was aghast. I did not want to let her have him back, ever.

She persisted in calling and said that things had changed and she could afford to feed him now. I reluctantly invited her over to confirm that it was the correct cat, get to know her better, and see how the two interacted. Since Darcey was still getting medication we agreed that he would stay with me until that was done. She was to call in five days.

Some number of days beyond five (my memory is fuzzy here) she knocks on the door, saying she lost my number. Eventually she comes over with her young niece and they take the cat home. This was about a week ago. Next thing I know, the cat is back in the driveway, and runs to me.

DH tells me that the "owner" had come over earlier to ask us to take him back because she is allergic. He did not agree, and I guess her solution was to dump the cat here again.

Today she rang the bell and returned the carrier. Not one word about the cat. Unbelievable.

Missy

Hers is a far less dramatic tale. She came, she was loved, she was reunited with a little boy and a litter mate, happy ending. But you get pictures.

A Hot Day in May

2010-05-26T00:48:00.006-05:00

Higgins

Watson

Guy: "Hurry up with that dinner, willya?"

Watson loves Guy

Tommie Girl

Mia

Feral Cats in Winter

2010-01-08T17:19:00.001-06:00

Three of my girls, in the snow.

Party!

2009-11-11T09:43:00.003-06:00

I had three guests, so there is a lot of wine left over. We just had some with our turkey dinner.

New Retail Venue

2009-10-26T23:50:00.002-05:00

Put some stuff on a wall in this new gallery in Wicker Park. It's only 2 x 8 feet, so it is a little crowded. Someday I hope to move to a larger space, but for now, I'm trying to take advantage of every molecule of my three-inch depth.

While I was setting up last week I met a few of the other artists. Everyone has been wonderful. I'll be hosting (or maybe co-hosting) an opening on one of my favorite dates, Friday the Thirteenth (of November), from 5-9 p.m. at

Galleria 1712

1712 W. North Avenue (between Damen and Ashland at Paulina), Chicago, Illinois

4-Harness Weaving

2009-10-08T19:01:00.003-05:00

My second cloth and my first on four harnesses. Today I added some twill. No new photo yet.

Emma Has Decided to Keep Her Sister

2009-08-07T14:02:00.004-05:00

Probably they are littermates. It only took a week for Emma to start washing Gaia and playing with her. So she stays. Gaia is a talker. She beeps a lot. Very sweet and gentle. What a little love.

Gaia Has a Home

2009-07-24T18:34:00.004-05:00

Gaia, one of my former alley cats, needed to be adopted. We kept her. Dad said, "It's up to Emma," and Emma loves her. Clearly she has been a pet before, and is very gentle and loving, even with strangers. She has chosen to cuddle up to Mom at every opportunity.

Painting Yarn

2009-07-08T10:39:00.002-05:00

I worked all day yesterday hand painting a pound of worsted weight wool. I'll post better pics when it is dry. I was so eager to show it off last night I forgot to rinse it first, and did that this morning. I learned of the technique in an article by Nancy Roberts in Spin-Off Fall 2006. http://www.machineknittingtodyefor.com/ Turns out SHE heard of it in an article in in Threads in 1995 by Rebekah Younger. (Turns out this is Becky Younger, my sister's childhood friend.) http://youngerknits.com/ Anyhoo, you knit up the undyed yarn on a machine, dye it, then reknit into whatever you want. It gives you long sections of color impossible to do with a 60 or 72-inch hank. I'm thinking this wants to be either a lace stole or a sideways sweater.

Mia Mysteriously Reappears

2009-03-22T14:55:00.003-05:00

You could knock me down with a feather.

Just got home from the alley. Who should come out to greet me but Miss Mia, as if she had never been gone. She looked healthy, but consumed two cans and some dry food. She did not comment on her last month's activities.

"Mia, where have you been?"

Bland complacent gaze. Silence.

I am guessing that someone took her in, and either let her out when they realized she was not eager to be domesticated, or, she escaped.

It may have taken her a day or two to get back to her old home territory.

I don't know what to expect tomorrow. But I am so relieved that she is not dead.

Mia is missing

2009-03-03T12:12:00.003-06:00

It has been over a week since I have seen my Baby Siamese. I even checked the pound (Animal Care and Control) on Saturday. She's microchipped, so they would have called PAWS Chicago if she had been picked up.

She did not like anyone, but everyone wanted her because she's so pretty. The local folks think she is valuable even tho her parents are NOT Siamese. Perhaps someone lured her in. I don't want to imagine other scenarios, but I can't stop. Hit by car. Trapped in a garage or basement. Killed by dog.

I truly hope someone took her in. Guess I'd better post some flyers with her picture.

Mia

2009-02-07T17:52:00.003-06:00

This is Mia, who was trapped on Monday, spayed on Tuesday, released on Thursday. She hesitated a bit in the trap, then went into her walkway, then turned right around and came back for the regular feeding.

I'm really surprised she did not hide for two days after her horrible ordeal in my kitchen.

Saturday Feeding Time

2009-02-01T23:12:00.006-06:00

Van Morrison, Emmett, Tommie Girl, Siamese, Evangeline, Ebony

Emmett

King of the Road

2009-01-27T08:17:00.002-06:00

This is Guy, the fellow who bit me because I was stupid enough to corner him while he was here recovering from his neutering. He is the happiest outside cat I have ever known. From the moment he was released, we were friends again, and he still is the first to greet me when he sees my car.

Cats

2009-01-23T10:29:00.017-06:00

Since my last post I have become the "caseworker" for a colony of alley cats. These photos are from 16 Nov 2008. We think these cats are two litters from Emma (formerly "Mama"), who is now the light of her new family's life.

Tommie Girl (we called her Tom until we found out she was a she)

Evangeline (formerly "Tom Too")

Siamese Kitten (will trap and name her next week), Big Black Kitten (Emmett), Small Black Kitten (Ebony), Baby Tom (Van Morrison)

knitting again at last

2008-11-11T21:33:00.002-06:00

Finally cleared away enough space to resume work on The Thing. Borrowed yarn organizer technique from Susanna Hansson's Mittens from Rovaniemi lecture.

What Not to Knit

2008-02-25T20:47:00.003-06:00

Today's stop on Donna Druchunas' Kitty Knits Blog Book Tour.

When Donna asked me to blog about cats and knitting, the first thing that came to mind was the saga of Pussywillow and the Sweater.

Pussywillow was a tiny Oriental Shorthair, named after her toes, which looked and felt exactly like pussywillow catkins. Willow was an affectionate cat, usually good-tempered and only a little shy with strangers. Typical Siamese/Oriental personality. She had a brief show career, earning a name longer than she was: Champion Tombar’s Pussywillow of Mrp.

She often got cold in the show halls, and I decided to knit her a sweater. This was in the Olden Days, when I had no money. Most of my yarn was from Harriet's, the local “dime store,” and from its sale bin at that. I had some cheap acrylic sport weight in a harvest gold color with multicolor tweedy flecks in it. Nice contrast with the lavender/cream tortie colors of her fur. So I measured her, and designed a little sweater in a moss stitch pattern, and knit it up.

She endured this thing for exactly minus two seconds. This tiny mellow cat bit me in her frenzy to get the thing off before I'd finished putting it on her. I unraveled it.

I do not know what became of the yarn, but I do know that it is no longer a part of my collection. If it were, I would take a picture of it just to show you how hideous it was.

Pay no attention to the blonde behind the curtain

2008-01-31T13:48:00.000-06:00

or, Why I Have Not Posted

On October 1, I found my father on the bathroom floor where he had fallen and was too weak to stand. The paramedics took him to the ER. He had internal bleeding that was not stopping. He was on warfarin therapy and had been taking an antibiotic that (unknown to me) potentiated its effects. His blood pressure was very low and he was dehydrated. I feared it was the end. Although he survived, this was the start of a series of adventures that took all my strength and then some.

Between my Dad's medical problems and my Mom's Alzheimer's, requiring 24/7 supervision, I did not touch a needle again until just before Christmas.

Things are more stable now, with the help of some wonderful folks from the Chicago Department on Aging's homemaking services and Vitas Hospice. I get some time to knit.

I started small -- some easy socks for myself, no brain strain. This soon escalated into adapting a simple sock pattern for part machine, part hand, and adjusting my ribber to meet the needs of the tight circle. I never did learn the KISS rule.

Oh, and I am not blonde any more. Photos soon.

C

Donna on Ethnic Knitting: Norwegian "Steek"

2007-10-21T10:36:00.000-05:00

Here it is -- Donna Druchunas has graciously provided a Guest Post while I am preoccupied with caring for my aging parents full time. This is for any of us who have suffered from Fear of Cutting our hand knit fabric.

Donna writes:

Carol, thanks for having me as a guest poster as part of my blog book tour for Ethnic Knitting Discovery.

A few people on the tour have mentioned their anxiety about working steeks and cutting their knitting open, so I'd like to take a few minutes to talk about cutting knitting. For those who might not have heard the term "steek", I'll start with some basics. When you knit an entire sweater in the round, the body is one big tube. To create openings for the armholes, and sometimes for the front of the neck, you can cut the knitting. Yes, you cut it with scissors. Please don't faint.

Wool yarn works best for knitting that will be cut open, but any animal fiber or wool-blend yarn is also appropriate. If you've never cut your knitting before, don't try working with cotton or any other slippery yarn. Years ago, knitters simply took scissors to their knitting with no precautions to prevent unraveling. When you work with sticky yarn like Shetland or Icelandic wool, you'll find that nothing happens at all, and after a few wearings, the cut edges start to felt. But today we have many softer yarns, washable yarns, and fibers that don't felt. Some of these might tend to run or unravel when cut, so it's best to secure the knitting with machine or hand sewing before getting out the scissors.

The simplest types of armhole and neck openings are made with no special consideration during knitting. To try this for yourself, here are some instructions for making a swatch that you can cut. Every time I teach a workshop about this, the students sigh with relief after they cut this piece open and at least one person says, "I'm not afraid to cut my knitting any more."

Test Swatch for Cutting

Made with worsted-weight yarn in 1 or 2 colors using US size 7needles at a gauge of approx 4-1/2 or 5 sts per inch.

CO 80 sts. Place marker to indicate start of round, and join being careful not to twist stitches.

On rnd 1, place a second marker of a different color after the first 40 stitches. The markers will indicate the placement of the armholes.

Work about 1 inch in K1, P1 ribbing or K1, P2 ribbing. If desired, add a second color. You can use any colorwork chart you like, or you can knit this in one color for practice.

Knit every round until the piece measures at least 6 inches, but if you feel like knitting more, knit until the piece looks to be about the right proportions to be the body on a doll sweater. About 8 or 10 inches should be about right, depending on your gauge.

BO, placing a removable marker at each armhole location.

Preparing to Cut

Ok, ready? See where your markers are? These are the spots where we'll cut the armholes.

Measure down about 3 inches from the bound off edge of the knitting, and put a pin to mark this as the bottom of the armhole opening. Now, with contrasting yarn and a darning needle, baste up the middle of the stitch marking the armhole so you can clearly see the straight column of stitches, then take out the pin.

Use a sewing machine with matching thread, and sew a row of stitches one-half stitch outside the basting, starting at the bound off edge, going down to the bottom of the armhole basting, then go across the stitch at the bottom of the armhole, and back up the other side. Repeat this again another half-stitch away from the first row of stitches. (If you don't have a sewing machine, you can use hand sewing and backstitch. Make small stitches and split the yarn strands as you sew, to catch all of the stitches securely.)

Cut

Remove the basting. Then take a deep breath. With a pair of sharp scissors, carefully snip the stitches in the center of the rows of machine sewing.

Congratulations! You've just cut your first armhole open. You can sew and cut in the same manner to open the front of a cardigan.

What we've just done is cut a sweater armhole open in the traditional Norwegian style. We haven't really worked a "steek" on this swatch. A steek is made up of extra stitches that you cast on specifically for the purpose of cutting later on. Steeks are traditionally used in Fair-Isle sweaters and garments from other European countries. I explain steeks in detail in Ethnic Knitting Discovery, but I think this simple Norwegian cutting exercise is enough practice for today. I hope you'll take the time to try it and overcome the anxiety that many knitters have about cutting open their knitting.

Drawing by Deborah Robson, Nomad Press

Donna Druchunas Blog Tour - Ethnic Knitting: Discovery

2007-08-31T17:04:00.000-05:00

Watch this space for Donna's October blog tour celebrating her latest book, Ethnic Knitting: Discovery: The Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, and The Andes . Donna will be here towards the end of this tour, on October 20th.

Here is a link to Donna's blog.

egoboo

2007-04-13T23:45:00.000-05:00

Egoboo is a term I learned in the science fiction community. I got some this evening. It started with a great lecture about mittens from Rovaniemi presented by Susanna Hansson. I give my horn the first toot because I was able to deduce the technique, mostly from the finished samples. The final piece of the puzzle fell into place when I saw the work in progress. And that is all I shall say. Take Susanna's class.

My second toot is for the lovely outcome of the long-awaited face to face informal conference between Susanna and myself. It seems likely that I will have the honor of drawing the illustrations for some of her class materials. Pleasant common ground was tread, with the promise of more to come. A new kindred spirit in my life. Glee. Hope. Excitement. Anticipation. I wish we'd had about six more hours to chat, but we had to go do our homework .

One-End Wonder

2007-01-28T15:45:00.000-06:00

Every ball of yarn has at least two ends, right?

I found the outside end of my center-pull ball. I dug inside for the inside end to start my swatch. No luck. Pulled out another bit. Still no luck. One more. Nope. The mess on the floor got more complicated. I thought about knitting the tangles into a piece of original fiber art, but kept looking. By the time I had that "inside" end the former ball was a tangled mess. While untangling, I contemplated the design I wanted to make with this skein.

Introducing: "Tangled Mess." It's adapted from Barbara Walker's "Wager Welt" or "All Fools' Welt" from the first Treasury, with a double loop stitch representing the tangle. I've hired a test knitter to proof the pattern, a first for me. When I have a completed sample, I'll post a photo.

No photo. The story proved more interesting than the object.

TOFUtsies Too

2006-12-12T19:21:00.000-06:00

The second sock pattern for SWTC. This one was easier and more fun. I could get to like sock making after all.

Branching out to teach more stuff to more knitters

2006-12-01T14:04:00.000-06:00

If you live in the Chicago area and are interested in expanding your knitting skills, I have developed a series of short classes around patterns in the new book One-Skein Wonders: 101 yarn shop favorites, edited by Judith Durant and Gwen Steege (Storey Publishing). See my October 27, 2006 post for more about my connection with this book.

Here is a link to a downloadable PDF of my proposed mini classes. http://cfmdesigns.net/One-Skein.pdf

The book is available at yarn stores, book stores, and online.
Knit Picks and Amazon show the same discount today.

If you or a small group of you and your friends want to set up a class, let me know.

Happy knitting,
Carol

TOFUtsies

2006-11-30T10:33:00.000-06:00

Here is the sock I designed for South West Trading Company's new sock yarn, TOFUtsies. I finished it last night. Now to neaten up the pattern and get it off to Jonelle at SWTC. I'm delighted to be among the designers who got a preview of this soft, pretty, comfortable yarn.

They are worked in typical Argyle fashion, with the cuff and leg done flat and the rest of the sock worked in the round like any other sock. You have a choice of knitting in the diagonal lines as you go or embroidering them on later in duplicate stitch. The pattern will be available exclusively from SWTC, with whom you may be familar as the makers of Soysilk® and many lovely natural fiber yarns.

Steeking at last

2006-11-25T04:08:00.000-06:00

For about the last 14 hours I've been working on my steeked cardigan top-down multi-gauge multi-yarn sweater. I've got about four inches done from the neck out and down and have used about 6 yarns, two of them my own hand painted ones. It's got purple, magenta, fuchsia, violet, navy, red, dark royal blue, and (in a very small accent dose) all of the colors in the hand painted yarn I got at stitches originally intended for the Sandy, which include olive, burnt orange, black, plum.

I've been working up from sport weight at 5 sts/in in garter stitch (mandarin collar) on a size 5 needle to worsteds and bulkys and am up to needle size 8. Heading for no larger than an 11 and no fatter gauge than 3.5.

Color and texture techniques include stranded, slipped, and "Bohus" style purled accent blips.

Despite all the color that is there, the mixes and contrasts are pretty subdued, and the overall color is dark and warm and dramatic.

I might actually finish this one, since the most complicated shaping, colorwork, and gauge changes are in the yoke. Most of the knitting after that will be relatively routine.

Oops

2006-11-09T19:39:00.000-06:00

Some of you may know the little jingle often used to teach children how to knit

"In through the front door,
around the back,
down throught the window,
and off jumps jack."

Well, I use that for grownups, too. I had a small class this evening. About an hour into the session, one student got distracted and needed help figuring out what step she was on. I took a look, saw that all had been done except taking the old stitch off, and said, "you just need to Jack off."

As they say in the Reader's Digest, was my face red!

My student is eager for her next class .

Fine Art of Fiber

2006-10-31T11:04:00.000-06:00

I have not finished "The Thing," but here are the pieces I entered in the exhibition:

Obi

The "Obi" was NFS, but the orange set, which I named "Strata," sold. It's an original incorporating some of my own polymer clay beads. Happy!

Arctic Lace Blog Book Tour

2006-10-29T00:01:00.000-05:00

Donna Druchunas, author of Arctic Lace, has graciously agreed to be interviewed here about her research for this fascinating new book. Like all of my very favorite knitting books, this one is not just about knitting.

cfm: I'm sure that others will be asking you all about the animals, the fiber, and the stitches. What I'd really like to know more about is the The Yup’ik and Inupiat people from an anthropological standpoint. What got you interested in this particular part of the world?

DD: I read an article about the Oomingmak Musk Ox Producers’ Co-operative in Piecework magazine a few years ago (Berlo, Janet Cahterine, “Oomingmak: Knitting Vision into Reality,” Piecework, Jan/Feb 1996, page 50). After I read that, I became obsessed with finding out everything I could about the women in this organization, the founders, the knitting techniques used, and the musk ox. Of course, I also fell in love with qiviut (kiv’-ee-yoot) yarn.

cfm: Have you learned any of the native languages?

DD: I’ve only learned a few Eskimo words during my research for Arctic Lace. Until you asked this question, I’d never seriously considered learning one of the Native languages. But now I’m thinking, “Maybe I could learn Yup’ik!” I’ve always wanted to speak at least five languages. I know English, some Spanish and German, and will be studying a bit of Lithuanian for a trip next year. Maybe Yup’ik can be my fifth language. Thanks for putting that seed in my mind!

Here are a few interesting words:

Qiviut means “down”. The original Inupiat word meant either the feather down from a bird or the fur undercoat of a mammal. There is no standard English spelling. Some variations I’ve seen include qiviuk qiveuk, and qiviuq. The “qiviut” spelling is trademarked by the Oomingmak Co-op in Alaska. Today that spelling is generally used to refer to musk ox down, while other spellings are still used to refer to feather down or fur down, depending on the context.

Oomingmak means “the bearded one” and is the Inupiat name for the musk ox. A very fitting and descriptive name, since the outer guard hairs of the musk ox continue to grow throughout the animal’s life and can reach up to two feet in length.

Igloo or iglu means “house”. In Alaska, the traditional dwellings of both Yup’ik and Inupiat people were sod homes. In the south western river delta’s of Alaska, the Yup’ik people used driftwood to build the frames of their winter houses. In the north, the Inupiat people used whale ribs. In the summer, most of the people in both areas traveled to fish camps and lived in various types of tents and temporary dwellings.

Akutuq is Eskimo ice cream. It is made from rendered fat, meat (usually salmon or other fish), and berries. I was very disappointed that I didn’t get to try this or any other Eskimo dishes when I was in Alaska. Even in Unalakleet, where I stayed in a lodge, the meals served were hamburgers and other American “delicacies”. Not! I did get to have a lot of great seafood during my travels, however. I’d like to go back to Alaska in the summer and catch and dry some wild salmon, and pick wild berries to make jam. I’d also like to have a chance to try some authentic Eskimo dishes.

For those who want to learn more, there is an Inupiat dictionary online here: http://www.alaskool.org/LANGUAGE/dictionaries/inupiaq/default.htm

I have not found an online Yup’ik dictionary, but I was able to borrow the Yup’ik Eskimo Dictionary by Steven A. Jacobson on interlibrary loan.

cfm: Aboriginal peoples everywhere tend to name themselves “The People,” as if they were the only ones. The word Inuit means “people.” Yup’ik-speaking peoples call themselves “Yup’ik,” meaning “real person.” Is there a similar meaning to “Inupiat”?

DD: Yes, Inupiat does have the same meaning. I think it is very interesting that so many Native American groups called themselves “the people” or “the real people”. I assume that shows how the Native peoples across the Americas are related, and yet at the same time by calling themselves the real people, each group excluded the others as outsiders.

By the way, before I went to Alaska, I thought it was rude to use the word “Eskimo”, but while I was there I discovered that this term is used by the Native people to describe themselves. There are several distinct groups of Eskimos in Alaska including Yup’ik, Cup’ik, St. Lawrence Island Yup’ik, and Inupiat, so having an umbrella term to include all of these groups is helpful. It also helps to differentiate these peoples from the Indian groups that live in other parts of Alaska.

cfm: Aside from the knitting co-operative, were you able to look into other native arts and crafts? Which are still practiced by native artisans?

DD: Yes, I’ve been writing a series of articles for Piecework magazine called “Needleworkers of the North.” For the first article, I did a lot of research into the skin and fur sewing that is done by Eskimo men and women across Alaska. The second article was about Athabascan beadwork, and the third covered Tlingit and Haida button blankets. I’m currently working on a fourth article about quillwork, and I don’t think I’ve begun to scratch the surface.

cfm: Do you see any similarities between the Oomingmak Musk Ox Producers’ Co-operative and Emma Jacobsson’s Bohus knitters?

DD: The main similarity between the Oomingmak knitters and the Bohus knitters is that of economic imperative. This is something we talked about quite a bit at the Boise Lace Knitting Retreat I attended earlier this month. I gave a presentation about the Oomingmak co-op and Myrnah Stahman gave a presentation about Shetland lace knitters. Both groups developed lace knitting patterns that were primarily meant to be sold. The knitters on the Aran Islands in the early 20th century had similar goals, and even some Shaker knitters in the United States made rugs and other home decor items to sell to the general public. All of these groups were founded to generate income for people in rural communities.

They also all created unique styles of knitting that began as local products and ended up being instantly recognizable around the world. In addition, the products that are created use techniques and styles that are generally designed for speed of knitting and easy sizing. Aran sweaters, for example, were originally made in the circular fashion using fine, dark blue yarn. Later the heavy weight, natural colored yarn was used to make raglan and drop shoulder sweaters that were knitted flat in pieces and sewn together. These sweaters could be made more quickly and patterns for multiple sizes were easier to write for flat knitting. In the Oomingmak co-op, the left leaning decrease used is knit two together through the back loops. This is by far the fastest left leaning decrease to knit. Although it is not quite as tidy looking as slip slip knit or slip 1, knit 1, psso, the difference is negligible when knitted in lace-weight qiviut yarn (the stitches are quite small, and the bloom helps disguise the twisted stitches). I’m sure the Bohus knitters had their own tricks for making commercial products quickly.

cfm: You have said (and I paraphrase) that spirituality arises naturally out of human consciousness. Clearly you have given this a great deal of thought. What can you tell us about the spirituality of the people you encountered in Alaska? Do elements of the traditional beliefs remain, albeit in a Christianized context?

DD: Christian missionaries tried to squash the Native culture in Alaska during the early 20th century just as they did in the lower 48 during the 19th. They were somewhat successful in prohibiting Native dances and many ceremonies and rituals at first, but today the people are starting to practice some of their traditions again. Fortunately in many areas there are still Elders who remember many of the rituals and celebrations that were forbidden by the missionaries. As with other Native American groups, traditional Yup’ik and Inupiat spirituality focuses on the unity of man and nature.

I really cannot understand why Native Alaskan person would adopt the religion of the Europeans. These strangers came and gave absolutely no respect to the cultures that they found, beat children who spoke Eskimo in school, destroyed beautiful dance masks, and did everything they could to make the “savages” conform to their view of “civilization”. (I am not a cultural relativist, but I don’t think the Europeans and Americans of the 19th century, or the earlier explorers, exhibited behavior that qualifies as “civilized.”)

I read one essay by an Inupiat woman who explained that her grandparents had been very happy to adopt the white man’s religion, because before they heard of Christianity they were afraid of many of the spirits they thought surrounded them. Christianity alleviated this fear and they raised their children and grandchildren in the Christian faith. Today it seems like the majority of Eskimos are devout Christians.

Personally, I find it sad that these people gave up their beautiful traditions in exchange for a new set of superstitions. Wouldn’t it have been better for them to keep their own cultural treasures as traditions, even if they abandoned the belief in spirits that was frightening them?

cfm: What is the question you most wish I would ask?

DD: That’s a hard one. There are so many topics to talk about! In fact, the book as it stands today includes less than half of what I had originally written. I’m sure my editor had a heart attack when she read through the manuscript I originally turned in. But she was very diplomatic and helpful in pointing out the portions she thought were most appropriate for a knitting book and helping me revise each chapter to make it more friendly. I’m quite sure my original version would have been completely overwhelming to the average reader. The part I was saddest about deleting was a section describing some of the traditional Yup’ik and Inupiat ceremonies.

I learned so much during my research, I’m sure I could continue writing about these topics for the rest of my life, but other book ideas are also chomping at my heels.

cfm: Optional question: Most of what I think I know about contemporary Alaska comes from the TV show, “Northern Exposure.” If you are familiar with that show, could you point out some ways in which the reality differs from the fiction?

DD: Sorry, but I’ve never seen Northern Exposure. I do have one interesting entertainment note, however. The 2002 movie, Insomnia, starring Robin Williams supposedly took place in Nightmute, Alaska. Several knitters from the Oomingmak Co-op live in Nightmute. The village’s population is over 90% Native, and yet in the movie, the town is predominantly white. I guess they just thought the name “Nightmute” sounded good, but they didn’t care to use the real village in the film. So much for authenticity!

cfm: Thank you so much for your insights and time.

DD: Thank you for asking such interesting and thought provoking questions!

Donna

"My" Book is Out!!!

2006-10-27T10:39:00.000-05:00

. . . and my Aran Tam is on the back cover!!!

Here is the correction to the Aran Tam pattern and chart as published in the book.

One-Skein Wonders: 101 yarn shop favorites / edited by Judith Durant
and Gwen Steege (Storey Publishing)

Two of my patterns, a traditional aran tam adapted for contemporary knitting, in the round, and charted, and a small beaded bag, are in this book scheduled for an October 30th launch date. My Sister's Knits recieved a bundle of 14 copies this week. Carol O let me take half of them to sell at HalloweeM. I sold one and brought the rest back to the store, where they sold out last week. It's a very pretty book with many appealing patterns.

I'm very excited and feel pleasantly famous.

Stay Tuned

2006-10-16T12:36:00.000-05:00

October 29th is a significant date in my personal history. It was on that day in 1967 that I met my first "true love" at a Love-In in Grant Park. Yes, the same Grant Park which, less than a year later, was the site of the infamous Democratic National Convention riots.

This year my personal October 29th will be somewhat tamer. Here on the blog, I will be interviewing author and designer Donna Druchunas about her experiences in Alaska while researching her latest book, _Arctic Lace. My physical body, however, will be hosting a Stitch 'n' Bitch at _HalloweeM, Chicago Area Mensa's annual three-day Halloween party.

Now I must get away from the keyboard and knit something.

Knitter's Soliloquy

2006-09-24T10:05:00.000-05:00

To think or not to think. That is the question.
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The tinks and errors of outrageous patterns,
Or to take arms against a sea of typos,
And by opposing end them? To dye? To steek
Once more; and by a steek to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That purling's heir to, 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To dye, to steek;
To steek: perchance no seam: ay, there's the rub;
For in that steek of yarn what dreams may come

The Thing

2006-09-13T14:58:00.000-05:00

I hope to finish this in time to enter it in the Fine Art of Fiber
November 2 - 5, 2006
Chicago Botanic Garden
1000 Lake Cook Rd
Glencoe, IL 60022

It is going to be about five feet wide and about three feet tall in the middle. Inspiration for the shape is primarily from the dancing blankets of the Northwest Coast Aboriginal peoples: The Chilkat Blanket
Inspiration for the colors, feel, and spirit of the piece is from Cheryl Oberle's "Butterfly Shawl." Hence the name I finally chose: Butterfly.

I'm using mostly stash wool, some new purchases, some hand dyed by me. It's heavy worsted to bulky weight on size 8 US needles. Some colors are plied up from thinner yarns.

Two Ample Sweaters

2006-08-16T20:09:00.000-05:00

Yarn and first bit of back panel for the Sandy cardigan from
Big Girl Knits.

Back of the sweater that may not have to die.

I hope to adapt the methodology of Sandy to re-fit the colorwork sweater, begun oh so many pounds ago, using shaped side panels.

Stitches Midwest . . .

2006-08-13T19:29:00.000-05:00

. . . has ended. The highlights of this year were the Ample Knitters' luncheon on Saturday, organized by Lynn from Wilmette, and the classes. Thanks to all the beautiful women who shared lunch, conversation, and white elephants, and to the generous folks who donted door prizes. Thanks also to the dedicated and talented instructors who braved airport hell to get here and back.

Joan Schrouder, you really are the thinking knitter's dream come true.

I made only one yarn purchase: a pound of hand-painted merino destined to be the center panels of the Sandy Cardigan from Big Girl Knits. There will someday be photos.

The Saurel Jean Memorial Frogging

2006-06-16T00:04:00.000-05:00

Saurel, our beloved friend and protector, died in his sleep Wednesday morning. No he was not a German Shepherd. He was our co-op's doorman, and part of this very odd family we have here in this building. Helpless and needing to take some action, I finally frogged that stupid never-ending Pi shawl.

I love you, Saurel. I hope you are somewhere where all the cars are clean and all the people are polite.

Happy Dance

2006-05-13T08:17:00.000-05:00

I'm ecstatic.

Beginning July 10, I will be teaching knitting at the Hyde Park Art Center, in the beautiful new facility. The new site has huge spaces with great light for galleries and studios. It was designed with a great deal of input from participating artists. I toured it yesterday after meeting with the Studio Manager. The studios are so inviting! I cannot wait to take a painting class, since my home studio was turned back into a living room after DH moved in.

Summer term at the Art Center is a ten week course. With two and a half hours per session, 25 hours instead of the usual four or six offered per class at retail shops, I hope to be able to inspire my students to find their individual voices in the language of knitting. The emphasis will be less on completing garments and accesories, and more on learning to use the tools and materials to create unique works of fiber art. Of course some students will want to complete useful items, and that is fine, but the emphasis is shifted, and I look forward to the experience with great joy.

Thank you and bless you, EZ and AZ.

Knit in Public

2006-05-13T08:05:00.000-05:00

You will find me knitting in public at DucKon, probably near the Art Show.

Midwest Masters

2006-05-05T05:46:00.000-05:00

My weekend in Wisconsin was wonderful. I took three classes from Anna Zilboorg: Lace edgings, exotic multicolor stitches, and twisted travelling stitches. I was brain dead by Sunday afternoon and went home, stopping at the Borders in Gurnee to pick up a copy of Big Girl Knits.

The lace edgings are just that -- and not hard to do. They would add a special touch to almost any project.

The "exotic" multicolor stitches are all variations on slip-stitch patterns, in which only one color is worked at a time, over two rows. In the round, colors could be changed every row for interesting variations.

The twisted travelling stitches are in the Bavarian tradition. These take a bit more patience to work, because you are twisting stitches on every row. Anna filled in a bit of history that I'd never heard before. It seems Irish cable stitch patterns are an elongated version of these Bavarian stitches. It happened when Irish and Bavarian knitters met in the US and brought samples home and tried to reproduce them.

I'm working on translating some of the Aran cables back to their denser forms, just for fun, while I wait for Stitches, where I will probably purchase the Bavarian pattern books.

Anna herself is a gentle and very smart person. Before teaching knitting, she taught at MIT.

Inspired!

Carol

This was a tagline on an old post to the Knitty lists:

"Remind them that they are the creatures who knit the wool, not the
creatures who grow it on their backs!"
-Barbara Walker to Elizabeth Zimmerman, 1971

Cheerleading

2006-03-02T13:23:00.000-06:00

The Devil did not make me post this pic. But I had to, just the same. Let's just call it free will with a vengance.

Goldie's Sweater

2006-02-20T23:55:00.000-06:00

Finished lace edging and chest strap and delivered on Valentine's Day. Goldie likes it. I'll need to make one more strap to withstand the Chicago wind -- but here are the pictures so far.

Apologies to Cody, who is still waiting.

Eleanor Roosevelt

2006-01-23T08:58:00.000-06:00

Last night Steve and I watched a lenghty biography of Eleanor Roosevelt on PBS. All the amazing and fascinating facts about this awesome woman's life aside, I noticed that in image after image, she was knitting. In one segment, I think it was a sock. There were at least three pointy DPs visible.

When the vote was finally taken to accept the text of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on Dec. 10, 1948, she is sitting in the US Delegate's seat, knitting.

Eleanor Roosevelt has long been a personal hero of mine, and of countless other women. Now I have one more reason to love her.

Knitting for Victory

Even if they win, they lose

2006-01-18T22:57:00.000-06:00

A sewing store in NYC has started a fight with thousands of knitters they have never met over a few words we've been enjoying for years. Many of us are "mad as Hell, and we're not gonna take it any more." Read the story here.

What follows is the e-mail I sent to the offending company. I copied it to knitty.com, Vogue Knitting, Knit n Style, and TKGA -- whoever had an e-dress I could find.

Dear Sewing Store,

I was stunned and angry to learn of your claim to the use of the words "Stitch 'n Bitch" as used by informal knitting groups across the country (possibly all over the knitting world).

Your shop has nothing to do with knitting. It appears that you added knitting to your descriptions after the term became popular. You don't sell yarn and you don't have any knitting classes listed on your Website. None of your team members are knitters. Your motives are suspect and your actions reprehensible.

There are more of us than there are of you, and we spell it differently, and we don't use the word "cafe," either with or without the accented "é."

Have you any idea how much bad press you are getting from this dispute? Even if you win, you have lost.

Just after I hit "send," I scared myself, because I bravely and/or stupidly signed my real name. Ah, well.

The Incomparable EZ

2006-01-03T10:22:00.000-06:00

Franklin Habit and Tricky Tricot have started a Knitters Almanac knit-along.

I probably will not knit all those things. But thank you, guys, for bringing me back to Elizabeth's delightful pages. Now I know that the person who perpetuated the falsehood about fisherman's pattterns as IDs for the dead was she. And the bit about the #8 needle -- ah, such wisdom.

Gone to the dogs

2005-12-31T10:33:00.000-06:00

The holiday frenzy is over and the January frenzy has not yet begun, so I am knitting sweaters for Cody and Goldie , the welcoming committee at my favorite LYS. My Sister's Knits is a new shop owned and operated by Carol Oprondek. Her Golden Retrievers were adopted from a _rescue shelter. Goldie is especially devoted to her, never letting her out of her sight, probably because her previous owner of many years passed away. Cody is anybody's baby. A few weeks ago, Carol's friend Diane and I decided that dogs who live in a yarn store should have sweaters, and Carol was too busy to ever do that. You know the expression: the shoemaker's children go barefoot. So I undertook the task of designing for these children.

Cody has a 38-inch chest. That's pretty large for a Golden. After researching many many dog sweater patterns, most notably _Knitting for Dogs_ by Kristi Porter, I settled on adapting some patterns for these special pups.

For Goldie, I will use the machine and an original fairisle pattern I call "Herring Bones Hounds Tooth." The yarn is Jaggerspun Maine Line 2/8 wool in colors celadon and buttercream. I've worked out the math for 8 sts and 10 rows per inch and am planning to cast on today.

Cody's sweater has to be in a much larger scale, and more butch. I needed to get out of the studio yesterday and went to MSK to visit and knit, and cast on in the shop. His sweater will be mostly Cascade 220 in solid green and Quatro greens (4 plies of 4 different shades), with lemon yellow cables down each side. I'm using intarsia. Glutton for punishment, I guess. So far no disasters. I rigged a few yarn ball holders out of cottage cheese tubs and have managed to keep the tangling under control. I'll post a few photos as things progress. Now I'd better gert back to work.

Carol

2005-09-30T18:54:00.000-05:00

Nothing here yet. Go back to youknitwhat.