This is a collection of posts that have to do with wonderful contacts I’ve made with people and places here and abroad. It seems, somehow, appropriate to keep them together.
Fox and Friends (July 19, 2020)
NOT POLITICAL!! This beastie was out on the back deck this morning. Last year he/she was lounging on top of the shed by the boat dock (at least I think it’s the same one). Perhaps a little thinner, but clearly perky and with bright, inquisitive eyes. Unlike the squirrels and birds, this guy will not be fed. As much as I like visits, I don’t want him to move in.
Meanwhile, the deck garden is doing well, with lots of fresh herbs, and the one tomato plant is loaded with green globes waiting for a few more days of sun. Today’s harvest of herbs, sorrel and rainbow chard has been paired with pattypan squash, fresh corn and tomato/parmesan focaccia for dinner. SUMMER!
Over the past couple of weeks I’ve had the good fortune to get to spend some time with Ashley Flagg; spinner, weaver, and sometimes knitter and crocheter. One of her great assets is her unending curiosity — an advantage that often keeps her from giving up in disgust when fiber gets out of control. Instead she wonders “why?” Having made most of the mistakes suffered by novice spinners, she is able to talk many of her students off the ledge, providing them with alternatives that not only improve their work, but give them joy. I’ve benefitted from a number of those suggestions. The drop-spindle class I took from her was punctuated by, “Pinch!” “Pinch harder!” “That looks great!” and “Breathe!” At the end of the class my pinching fingers were stiff, but I had a mini-skein of yarn. It also was much more yarn-like than my first spinning class on the wheel that resulted in thick and thin over-spun rope. That success gave me the confidence to go back to the wheel with a greater understanding of fiber…just another of the many steps on the spinning journey.
Ashley crocheted her way through college, and then a friend put a spindle in her hands about 15 years ago. For some reason, that spindle already seemed to know what to do. She said that the spindle felt like it was a natural extension of her — as though she’d been born with spinning in her genes. The first time she stumbled on an antique wheel she put 2 and 2 together.
This plaster maquette has always been in her family home. She is a descendent of John and Priscilla Alden (English colonists who arrived in Massachusetts in 1620 on the Mayflower), and the antique wheel she had discovered was the same type as she had seen every day growing up. That wheel is part of her expansive collection of wheels and spindles, each with its own story; each able to produce a specific kind of yarn if you are able to unlock its secrets.
In addition to teaching (these days on her back deck under the trees and with a mask) Ashley has become known for her custom work. Two big projects right now are a variety of yarns for a tapestry, and the fleece of a llama blended with lambs wool for knitting yarn. That second one has a lovely story attached to it. The llama fleece came from a shepherdess who passed away, and the yarn will be used by her sisters to knit shawls in her remembrance.
It’s also time for the annual Tour de Fleece. While the bicycle race has been postponed, spinners often plan for this two-week spin-along well in advance, so the spinning is going ahead without the bikers. The goal is to spin each day of the tour, resting on the official “rest days,” and see what you can do. Unlike the bike tour, there is no “winner.” Some spinners go for the maximum output; others work on their technique, or use the opportunity to sample new fibers. To the left are a few of Ashley’s projects on supported spindles for the Tour.
Many of the spindle spinners I’ve met are spindle collectors, and Ashley is no exception. I spent a morning trying out many styles from her collection — sleek phangs, Tibetans that seemed to spin forever, dainty tahklis, and more. A particularly beautiful spindle is this one by Stephen Willette. Stephen is a wood turner who makes a variety of spinning and weaving tools. This spindle features a glass seascape bead tip from the glass artist Aaron Slater. I had to hold my breath when I spun with it — fearful I would lose control and it would dance right off my lap and onto the floor!
Another amazing and special spindle came from Jonathan and Sheila Bosworth. When the sloop Clearwater was restored, some of the white oak ribs that needed to be replaced found their way to the Bosworth studio to be repurposed as spindles and weaving shuttles. The Clearwater had belonged to activist/folk-singer Pete Seeger who sailed the Hudson River to bring attention to the importance of the river, its wetlands and waterways. The Clearwater Foundation helped raise funding for that effort, and established the Great Hudson River Revival (an annual music and environmental festival — held virtually this year in June).
I truly appreciate those teachers who are willing to share their “mistakes” with their students, along with the process of finding a creative way out of the dilemma. This shawl is an ode to gauge. This is what happens when you change to a larger needle size, run out of yarn (twice) and end up with a very large shawl rather than a neckerchief.
The result is stunning, and a lucky save. This is one that might very well have ended up in a heap at the back of the closet instead of looking like it was planned.
Like so many of us, Ashley finds herself needing to do some retooling in the face of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Her explorations, no doubt, will continue to include spinning commissions and production of luxury hand spun yarns. She also will continue to maintain a strong link to her students — a link that we all treasure.
To the left is a skein of wool cashmere blend for an awesome sweater.
You can find Ashley at http://artemisiaink.com and on Ravelry at Artemis42
About an Engineer (August 26, 2019)
I often mention Bruce in passing in my posts and pages, as though any of you know him or anything about him. I should say that he is the most wonderful guy in the world, and has many exceedingly special qualities. The fact that he is an engineer, and interested in everything I do in the knitting and spinning arena is more than an added bonus. Every time I mention that I “need” some tool or another, his first reaction is to see if he can build it for me. It actually started on our first real date, when he brought me an envelope addressed to him from Specialty Knitting. It’s a company I’d never heard of before, and he had ordered samples from them.
zipper packages of very unusual fibers I hadn’t seen before from a knitting company. One looked like strips cut from bubble wrap; another like steel wool, and yet another like telephone wire. It took me a minute, but I realized that this was a very elaborate joke, and these “fibers,” were bits from his workshop that he had packaged to look like very fancy samples. Each had a number that matched to the catalog pages and the price list. It was very extensive and clearly had taken a great deal of time to make.
Of course he had no idea that I’d take this as a challenge, but I couldn’t help myself. By our next date, I had knitted (yes, this was done mainly on knitting needles) this small decoration (a cockade) that I attached to my hat.
A cockade is a knot of ribbons, or other circular-or oval-shaped symbol of distinctive colours which is usually worn on a hat. (18th/19th century)
There have been special watering buckets for the garden, funnels of every size (cut from plastic bottles) in the kitchen, a magnificent roll-out pantry that fits into a closet that was oddly shaped and otherwise not good for much, shelves for a cupboard that turned a corner, a shelter for the squirrels and birds in the winter, and on an on. The next big knitting project accessory he made for me was my yarn tree. I use this for planning color-work projects because the “branches,” made from old metal knitting needles, actually rotate around the center pole so that I can line up different selections of color during the design process. [Note: the plans for this DIY tree are available from my Etsy Shop]
I’ve recently gotten to spend more time spinning, and realized that I needed a Lazy Kate. I ordered one, and when it came, it proved to be the wrong size for my bobbins. In a slightly disappointed voice, Bruce questioned why I hadn’t asked him to build me one. Chagrined, I said I hadn’t thought of it. He looked at a few online, went down to his workshop, and 10 minutes later presented me with a perfect solution, consisting of a scrap of wood, several pieces of dowels left over from another project, a piece of string and a rubber band (for the tensioner), an eye screw to tighten the string, and a curl of copper wire for a yarn guide.
Above is my lovely Kate, as well as the two-ply I spun from Caroline Henkelias’ Nutiden. It still needs to be washed, but I’m pretty pleased with the outcome.
Yesterday I was scrolling through Ebay looking for deals on a bobbin winder. I was trying to find a vintage crank Mattson Mora that would sell for under $20 (good luck with that!), and suddenly at my side appeared an electric drill with a pencil in the chuck.
Bruce pulled off the eraser and metal ferrule, wrapped one layer of sticky tape around the end, and the bobbins fit perfectly and snugly. He also fixed an annoying noise on my wheel with a small piece of tape in the little bolt in the center of the whorl — turns out it was not perfectly circular, and that caused a wobble that in turn caused a small thumping noise.
His first “job” today was fixing the seal on the fuel filler on my car, saving me a most likely costly trip to the auto shop. He actually likes doing these things, and I fervently hope that I show enough appreciation, because it actually fills me with joy that he wants to make things for me, and comes up with absolutely brilliant ideas at the drop of a hat. I do admit to actually rolling on the floor laughing when he refills the ink cartridges on the printer, as he often dresses in hazmat clothing for that job. While I do appreciate that this is less expensive and more eco-friendly than buying new, it often leads to more time spent cleaning up than actually filling the cartridges themselves. I’ll also admit to falling down laughing after he worked for several days on his little sailboat, took off into the wind, and promptly sunk…he missed a hole.
I am, quite obviously, infatuated! And I wanted you to know a little more about him (oh yes, he really is a rocket scientist, writer and climate activist), because he is part of everything I do. We are a team.
August 13, 2019
In June Bruce and I made a visit to the Öströö sheep farm to speak to Jeanette Carlsson about how the once small farm run by her and her husband, has become a thriving multi-faceted enterprise that not only provides meat and wool to the community, but also serves as a conference center and tourist destination.
The first thing that you notice on the way to the farm (located about 1 hour south of Göteborg) is that the countryside is breathtaking. You travel up and down country lanes with pristine fields on both sides of the road, bordered by expansive groves of beech trees. Before you even reach the entrance to the farm, you see the sheep, raising their heads briefly from munching at the grass to watch you go by. Nearly all have the characteristic dark grey/black face of Gotland breed, with curly grey coats. They keep a few Leicester for white wool, but the 500+ Gotland ewes (and their some 900 lambs/year) are the stars of the show.
It was always the Carlsson’s intention to produce an excess from their flock for sale, but after the nearby slaughterhouse closed, they took on that side of the business as well. Now they market everything the sheep produce from meat, to other delicatessen products like sausage, as well as soap, fleece, souvenirs made from or about sheep (mostly designed by Jeanette), roving and yarn. In their web boutique and craft shop you can find many well-made items to take home, along with lamb and other goodies.
While at the farm, you should take advantage of lunch or fika (the well-known Swedish coffee break with wonderful sweets and pastries) at their café. Bruce and I spent the rest of our trip trying to duplicate the incredible chocolate balls, and failed. They are an absolute indulgence, and not to be missed.
During lambing season, guests are able to watch the mothers and their lambs, and as they get a little older, you can even help to bottle feed those who don’t have mothers. In the later spring and summer, you can take a “lamb safari” through the farm to see the flocks up close and enjoy the countryside. There also are opportunities for hiking and fishing in the surrounding neighborhood.
Öströö is only able to market a small amount of yarn, which now is available both onsite and through their online boutique. The Öströö wool is all natural; light and dark grey and white (all undyed), in both 2- and 3-ply. Öströö yarns are processed by nearby Karlsbergsgården Spinneri. The shop also stocks Kampes yarns in a full range of colors, as well as Ullcentrum roving.
Knitting with Öströö yarns: I knit a swatch from the darker grey 3-ply Gotland yarn and loved the fabric it produces. It is a rustic yarn and the dense, long fibers in the mix give it a nice halo. Most people wouldn’t want to wear this yarn next to the skin, but its springy texture and strength would make it an excellent choice for jackets or sweaters worn over another garment. The yarn has a lovely sheen, and the tight spin is the basis for excellent stitch definition. It also is recommended for felting, and felts quite easily.
Something other than yarn:
Having failed to find the perfect Chokladbollar while still in Sweden, I have now started on my own quest to make them at home (with mixed results). Here is one that is almost as good as Jeanette’s version. I love the fact that this recipe doesn’t require baking!
Chokladbollar
Ingredients
- 4 c rolled oats
- 1 1/4 c sugar
- 1 c softened butter
- 2 T strong coffee
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 oz unsweetened chocolate (melted)
- 1/3 c coconut flakes
Instructions
- Mix together oats, sugar and cocoa.
- Add butter. Mix with your hands to blend ingredients and form a thick dough.
- Add in coffee, vanilla and melted chocolate, and mix until well blended.
- Form balls from the dough about 1″ in diameter, and roll in the coconut flakes.
- Eat at room temperature, or chill for an hour or two to make the balls firmer.
Meet Ivar Asplund (July 18, 2019)
I ended up meeting quite a few people in Sweden almost by accident. I had been given names of several designers by the Sticka! organization (they are sort of like the Swedish knitting guild, and I’ll get back to them in another post). In one instance, the person I contacted wasn’t going to be in the country when I was in Stockholm, but she gave me the name of someone she said I absolutely needed to meet — Ivar Asplund. He was described as a really interesting designer, and that was certainly an understatement. His recent book of knitting patterns Sticka Flätor features scarves, hats, shawls and sweaters that showcase gorgeous cables and textures, but what I really appreciate about his design are the relaxed and comfortable lines of his garments. Each of his sweaters immediately looks like it is about to be your next favorite “live in” garment, and while the patterns are anything but ordinary, they are not difficult to knit. And good news for those of you who don’t read Swedish (including me), the book is currently in translation, and will be issued in English this fall.
Here Ivar is wearing a sweater of his own design worked in two-end knitting technique (tvåändstickning)
Photo by Johanne Ländin
Ivar’s book reminds me of some of the cookbooks I’ve bought just because they were so beautiful and were bound to give me inspiration. I find myself sitting down and savoring the pages one-by-one without any particular plan to pick up my needles. It’s a lush publication, with wonderful photographs, meticulous illustrations and precise drawings of his cable construction techniques. In my opinion, it will be a classic that you’ll want not only on your shelf for reference, but will turn to again and again for its well-crafted patterns.
As a child, Ivar learned to knit when his Grandmother began to teach his sister. He asked to be taught as well, and in the end, it was he, rather than his sister, who became a knitter. He credits his grandmother not only for the teaching, but her guidance that pushed him to explore and grow as a knitter.
While patterns in two-end knitting (tvåändstickning) do not appear in Sticka Flätor, they were the examples he brought to show me when we met. His designs draw strongly on historic examples, and are beautifully made.
The sweater he is wearing (above) is a very special example of the tvåändstickning technique that would be nearly impossible to turn into a commercial pattern. If you look closely, while the raised patterns have similarities, they do not repeat. Beyond that, this sweater tells an eloquent story of its maker. It has the elegance and perfection that Ivar brings to all of his designs. It blends art, craft and a deep understanding of the mechanics of knitting that are all of the hallmarks of a master.
In addition to knitting and design, Ivar also works at a local yarn store — Litet Nystan (in the Stockholm neighborhood of Mariatorget, and a quick walk from the subway stop) where he also teaches classes. You’ll also find him as a regular instructor at Handarbetets Vänner — a school of advanced textile craft, as well as craft festivals and knitting venues around Sweden.
Part of our discussion was talking about teaching, since that is important to both of us. Like me, Ivar is very interested in giving his students a strong grounding in knitting technique. Once a beginning knitter understands and internalizes the basics, they are off and running on their own adventure. The fact that they also get to make something beautiful, warm, and from their own hands is all added benefit.
Don’t Throw that Away! (July 25, 2019)
One of my most fun days interviewing designers in Sweden was in Uppsala, where Bruce and I dropped in for coffee with Kristin Blohm. She is located in a wonderful historic building with huge windows and high ceilings, in a lively part of the old city that is filled with (almost) as much energy as she has. Like most of the people I met, she has been knitting since childhood, but only recently begin designing knitwear herself when she hooked up with British designer Anna Maltz to produce Anna’s book, Penguin: A Knit Collection. Kristin is a graphics designer for her “day job,” and the book project provided her a new avenue when Anna asked that Kristin include one of her designs in the manuscript.
This cross-over sweater is that design, and was the beginning of some very interesting and innovative work. Her designs, seen mainly on Ravelry can be found in her Ravelry Store, and you’ll find out more about her under her Ravatar LadyRowena.
Some of Kristin’s most charming designs are those that initially were designed for her son, Gabriel. This carousel pullover is an adorable piece, worked in the invisible stranding technique…her preference for working multiple colors in both small patterns (to eliminate floats) and large (rather than intarsia). Several methods for this technique can be found on the blog site TECHknitting as well as in Kristin’s pattern.
Kristin is another of the knitters I met with allergy issues. Hers is to the lanolin in wool, and as a consequence, the items she knits for herself tend to be made from alpaca, linen and cotton. This is an important niche market, and we can always use more interesting patterns in those fibers. I’m a big fan of linen, and Kristin pointed out that she not only came from the area of Sweden (Jämtland) which traditionally produced linen thread and yarn, but that her local yarn store YlloTyll markets their own brand of linen yarn. The photos of their yarn do not do the colors justice, nor could I capture the gorgeous sheen. I made an exception for the purchase of this yarn and bought enough for a sweater rather than a single skein to swatch and review.
But that’s not all! One day as she was cleaning up the kitchen and looking at the left-overs of a box of wine that had soured, Kristin became frustrated with the idea of so much food waste, and made the fateful decision to dunk a skein into the wine to see what would happen. She like the result, and started adjusting the pH of the wine to see how the colors would change. She had been bitten by the compost dyeing bug. So now, rather than throwing onion skins, carrot tops, beets and sour wine away, they go into the dye pot to produce the soft colors you see on the right above. While she is aware that not all of these yarns will be colorfast, that doesn’t concern her, particularly in her plans to use them for “kid knits” that likely will be worn hard and worn out — they won’t be destined for heirloom status. She doesn’t see a market for this kind of yarn either. It’s a fun sideline that makes her feel better about her own status as a consumer on the planet, and produces something interesting to work with.
Caroline Henkelius and Zäta Spinneri (Skaraborg, Sweden) (July 25, 2019)
Caroline Henkelius and Zäta Spinneri (Skaraborg, Sweden) (July 25, 2019)
Caroline is an artist, a superb photographer, knitter, and entrepreneur. She appears to be one of
the most calm and serene people you could possibly meet, but behind that, it
seems to me that she must be running a mile a minute to accomplish everything
she has going on.
She has a nearly daily blog devoted to fiber and lifestyle, her spinnery, Höner och Eir (her online
shop), and a family. She also is living a in a manner that endeavors to
be sustainable and low impact on the planet. Her book, Hönshuset
features gorgeous photos of her chickens and their eggs, and much more. I will
be slowly trying to translate it over the next months to tell you more about
Caroline and her approach to life. What I can tell you right now is that she is
the kind of open, warm, and honest person you would immediately want as a
friend. She also is living a in a manner that endeavors to be sustainable
and low impact on the planet. Her book, Hönshuset features gorgeous
photos of her chickens and their eggs, and much more. I will be slowly trying
to translate it over the next months to tell you more about Caroline and her
approach to life. What I can tell you right now is that she is the kind of
open, warm, and honest person you would immediately want as a friend.
Interestingly, she is one of several people I talked with in Sweden who
began their fiber careers due to allergies or dissatisfaction with commercially
available products. Caroline has delicate skin that reacted badly to
chemicals of many types, and actually found that she needed to wear wool
underwear to avoid certain allergy issues. But just saying “wool” is not
enough. She actually has an allergy to the spin oil that most manufacturers
use, and consequently, her own yarn uses none, and she relies solely on the
natural lanolin from the sheep to lubricate the wool during processing and
spinning.
The dream she and her husband Knut had to buy a small spinning mill and
produce a line of 100% Swedish wools came true recently, but not without
difficulties. The machinery was uncooperative, and she had to develop a
very labor-intensive process of hand-feeding the fleece into the carders to
avoid the use of spin oil. This actually makes for a wonderfully unique blend,
with random color and subtle variation that makes the finished product
completely special. The wool also is subtly colored with eco-friendly dyes.
In fact, this business almost didn’t happen. With yet another of the
machines having issues, she and Knut were ready to throw in the towel. She did,
however, put up her first run of un-spun fiber online to see what would happen.
Called nutiden, it almost immediately sold out; just what they needed
to persuade them to keep going. And it happened with the next run as well.
Together with her Patreon site, she and Knut now are moving forward.
Caroline calls her product “pre-yarn.” That is to say that the cakes of fiber are not put through a final spinning and plying process, but are un-spun, much like the Icelandic Plöutulopi. That makes it a little challenging to work with, but it’s worth the effort. The swatch I made has some thick and thin spots, and was a bit slow to knit up since I used only 1 strand (Caroline was knitting with 4 strands when we met, and that was going much more quickly). I really like the feel of the swatch with 1 strand. The variation in stitches was due to the strand coming apart a couple of times because I didn’t handle it carefully enough, and it had to be spliced back together.
Zäta Spinneri pre-yarn in colorway Pip’s Eggs (26 rows 19 stitches/4″ knit on 3.5mm needles)
After blocking, the fabric retains much of its fibery halo, and softens
significantly with the addition of a little wool wash. It also softens as you
work it through your hands. Be aware that Swedish wool has a little bit of a
“bite” initially (it resembles Shetland wool in that way). It can be
scratchy or rough before it’s worked, but my observation so far is that the
texture changes quickly with blocking, and only improves with wearing. It
appears to have good softness while remaining very durable. I have some questions
about its wear and abrasion resistance…time will tell.
None of the Swedish wools I’ve test knitted are inexpensive, but all of them
are coming from small mills where there is considerable labor involved, and the
quality of the production is extremely high. Comparing them to more commercial
yarns isn’t very productive. With a few exceptions, the run of fiber you see is
not repeatable, so if you have a project in mind, get all that you need at
once. You won’t see exactly the same thing again. In my opinion, that also
makes the fiber/yarn special.
I’d liken knitting with Zäta fiber to handling a baby bird. You have
to slow down, pay attention, and handle gently.