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It is that time of year, where the drifts are piling up against the side of the house, and I want to dig deeper into the knits. Like everyone else, I’m in love with Bernie’s mittens, and do have the pattern if the mood strikes. I love the fact that they nearly overshadowed every other bit of news for a few days. Imagine! Most of all I love that he was sensibly dressed for a cold day in DC. No fashion required!

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Meanwhile, the fur babies have settled into their craft preferences. Sofi likes to help with knitting, and Lyla finds bags of roving make a perfect place for a nap. At the moment they both are in my lap assisting with this post. They are now almost too big to sit there together, but somehow they manage. Given all of the continuing strife outside our walls, it’s nice to have them as a distraction.

On the Needles

The white piece above is the front for a sweater using Gansey knit/purl motifs for the only decoration. Simple and plain. The front uses the Norwegian star rather than the one usually seen in the British gansey. The lattice design on the right will extend up the sleeve and across the shoulder. My plan is a regular set-in sleeve rather than the traditional saddle shoulder. The motif is essentially the same size as the top bind offs, so I believe it will fit in reasonably easily.

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Other things in the works include some card weaving and inkle pickup workshops that will be held via Zoom on two upcoming weekends.

The child’s sweater from the last post (still unfinished) has turned into something interesting. I have so many left-overs from my book that never ended up in finished patterns, so I’ve turned to my friend and designer Katarina Segerbrand to see about putting together a collaborative effort of a book of patterns inspired by knits in museum collections. The provisional title is “From the Closet.” My contribution will be either reproduction patterns or adaptations. Hers will be “inspirations.” Katarina does very avant garde pieces, many of her recent ideas worked on knitting machines rather than hand knitting needles. In fact, she teaches machine knitting and design at The Swedish School of Textiles,University of Borås (south east of Gothenburg). We are still working out what we will use and whether we both will work from all of the same examples. It is apt to be a long-term project for both of us. Here are a few of the pieces that particularly speak to me.

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I really like the mittens on the lower right as a sweater with the corrugated ribbing as the hem, and the ladder design without the zig zags for the sleeves. Too many ideas, too few days!

Finally, my book on knitting and spinning in Sweden is making its way onto shelves here and there. It’s now even available through Amazon! For my readers overseas, I apologize that it will take a little longer to arrive. The printer is in the UK, and they are still shut down with Covid, so haven’t been able to get those out. Thank you so much for your patience.

This upcoming weekend also is Wintermarket in Jokkmokk. Like many other events, it is virtual this year. You can find some information on the on-line offerings here.