Post and Brag: I Felt A Leap of Knitterly Faith

Hello friends and knitters. Take a break with me. A little tea time for the soul. Below are the kanji symbols for gratitutde. And, today, I'm grateful for the finished object I'm posting and bragging about.

(from: http://www.kanjisymbol.net/mean/gratitude.html)

Have you considered a felting project? If not, maybe this post will tempt you.

This year I resolved to report on just a few of the great craft projects that I witness. I wish I had more time to celebrate all the wonderful crafting achievements of crafters I know personally and those who give me a glimpse of their craft through blogs, Flickr etc. There is so much creativity around us. Today, I'm focused on stopping to smell the roses in the wide world's craft garden.

My life is wonderfully busy right now (caring for my children, work, studying, writing, knitting, etc) so my craft time is a little cramped and I'm glorying in the finished objects of my crafting family.

This week I feature a beautiful felted bag by Evie, my friend and Ravelry buddy. While she was working on it I saw yards of shapeless and formless stockinette. Then one day she was toting this gorgeous, functional, and (quite) sturdy bag. It struck me that felting requries good patterns, measurements, and a leap of faith. It wouldn't hurt if the spirit of faith had a good agitating washer with super-hot water as an accomplice.

So go out and appreciate the wide world of crafting. Go and visit Knitty.com and search "felt." There is a great "Felt This!" article. Send me your pics and I'll be glad to post and brag about your project. Be inspired to take a leap of faith and try a new project. Maybe felting. Whatever it is, enjoy!

Happy New Year 2009: A Fresh Start with Finishing

Happy New Year 2009 Knitters!

Yes, 2009 is almost three weeks old but greetings are still in order. I rang in the New Year finishing up old business. Really old business. I looked back at my posts and realized it took me over a year to knit the Artful Yarns Mohair and Ribbon cardigan. The cardigan from Post # 5 The sweater from my January 18, 2008 post is now complete and it was worth the wait!


What took me so long? I decided I was going to learn to finish the garment myself. I decided that I would not continue in my knitting life until I learned how to finish a garment properly. This from the woman who had trouble binding off her first scarf.

Artful Yarns pattern 92082 for a cardigan was suggested to me by my teacher (see Dedication) and was a good start in "good" yarn for me. The pattern is easy to read and uses two Artful Yarns: Cinema (cotton/nylon ribbon yarn) and Portrait (mohair, viscose, and polyester).

I did not want to ruin a perfectly knitted sweater (I can hear you snickering) with a bad finish. So, I learned my Sensei's technique of the flat-seam finish. The book from Japan, Ondori's Basic Knit book proved invaluable.

It took me so long that my knitting buddies who would see me slaving away at my sample swatch (see post"What is Wabi Sabi" from October 8, 2008) from at the yarn shop would say, "Are you still working on that same sweater?" For months (literally) the answer was yes.

What kept me going for the miles of stitches? The following list gave me inspiration to keep at a repetitive task, and multiple unravelings (yes, my own neologism) of incorrectly joined seams:

• Listening to the Yarn Harlot's audiobook of At Knit's End: Meditations for Women who Knit Too Much
• Target's Archer Farms Label Dark Hot Chocolate
• The Joy of learning a new task (the process not always so joyful, the result? Pure joy!)
• The knowledge that I would always treasure the sweater as the first I finished
  

OK, regarding the last item on the list: technically, I didn't finish the whole garment. Sensei set in the sleeves. You'd be waiting another six months (minimum) if I had attempted that myself. That's a task for another day.

I urge you to learn a finishing technique or two in 2009; It'll make you feel smart, powerful! Go knitters, no matter how long it takes, I know you can do it.

Welcome to My Stash Jamerichards.blogspot.com

Peak over those sticks for a moment for and check out this site by my friend Jame:

jamerichards.blogspot.com

One of the many things that made me happy about her recent posts is the idea that art in its many forms can feed the knitters soul. Art observed can wend its way into knits and purls.

Good writing, great historical locations, arts and crafts of all kinds can inspire the attentive knitter.

Back to your knitting; be sure you didn't drop a stitch!

(and if you did, check out eHow for technical help)

What is Wabi Sabi?

Wabi Sabi Alert everyone!

Homemade Simple, a lovely newsletter with homekeeping and decorating ideas has discovered the joys of Wabi Sabi living. To quote:

Wabi-sabi is a set of ancient Japanese principles that center on celebrating and finding beauty in the imperfect and unconventional. Wabi is new,
fresh and unfinished, while sabi is beauty that comes with age, wisdom and use.
(quoted from Homemadesimple.com)

I've been focusing on finishing lately. My next post will cover the fine art of sewing up the pieces of a sweater to produce a splendid FO. Since I've been working on this particular sweater (the purple mohair and ribbon shown in one of my first posts) it can certainly claim a beauty that comes with age!

Shown here is a practice swatch for this flat-seamed finishing technique. Above is the soon-to-be finished object. Stay tuned!

Notes From the Summer Crochet Guild Conference: Thank you Lily Chin, Mary Beth Temple and Myra Wood

The Crochet Guild of America (CGOA) hosted a Professional Day in New Hampshire and I made the good decision to attend. I was hesitant since I do not consider myself a professional knitter or crocheter (I crocheted when I was younger but have not done so lately) but I'm so glad I did not let this self-imposed definition stop me. The conference was designed to inform crafters about publishing options; the writer in me could not resist. The conference delivered on its promise and then some.

I attended the panel discussion moderated by Jean Leinhauser and Rita Weiss titled, "The Dollars and Sense of Being a Published Author." That session made my writer's heart glad. Ms. Leinhauser and Ms. Weiss gave great advice on everything from developing an idea to marketing, sales, and self-publishing. They also gave out an invaluable handout: a survey of craft publishers.

After the panel discussion, attendees chose three small discussion groups to attend. I attended groups led by Lily Chin, Mary Beth Temple, and Myra Wood. Excellent groups! Lily Chin is simply amazing. She gave the best advice about promoting a business. I cannot say enough good things about Ms. Chin. She is dynamic and inspiring. Mary Beth Temple gave helpful advice when she spoke to her group about the skills needed to submit manuscripts and market a published book. Myra Wood gave a dynamic and eye-opening presentation on self-publishing. Check out her site to see some of her beautiful designs: www.myrawood.com.

Now, you might be saying, "I'm a solitary knitter." "Gas is expensive." "Traveling is expensive, I'd rather buy cashmere." All true enough. Yet I highly recommend going to a conference. In fact, I'm officially declaring it part of the wabi sabi way of life. There's beauty in what we don't know; there's always something new to learn -- a new skill to perfect, a new technique to practice. One of the things I absolutely love about knitting and the needle arts is that there's always something new on the horizon. Always a new skill to have fun with.

Back to my original thoughts about the conference: I was hesitant about going to the conference because I wasn't a "good enough" crafter. But no one threw me out for not knowing enough. I found acceptance and heard story after story of folks who learned as they went along, improved their skills, turned a knack with needle and yarn into a thriving design business.

My teacher (see Dedication post) always encourages her students, "You can do it. Sure. Try it." And right she is. Be bold. Learn something new. Besides your LYS, guilds and groups are fun ways to add to your repertoire and to pass on your skills. Yes, fun! Try it. You'll be glad you did.

Keep knitting! Keep learning!

I like Ike

One sure way to unravel (pun intended) from knots in our yarn is to seek out a feline or canine friend. Knitters and crocheters can reward our furry soul mates for the solace they provide with the gift of hand-knit sweaters and accessories. Some non-knitters might find this odd. Why spend hours and hundreds of stitches on an animal? Why not? We knit for our human friends so why not put our sticks together for our four-legged companions? I daresay it was more gratifying to give my old dog a bone than to present some (and only some, most people are appreciative) persnickety humans with a hand-knit item. Here's a (somewhat) less subjective reply: In 2005 US New and World Report published an article titled, "The Pet Prescription." Its subtitle was, "See Spot run. Then see Spot lower your blood pressure and boost your immunity. Really."

Really indeed. Isn't a handknit item worth the rejuvenation of body and spirit these creatures provide?

If a knitter has the time and inclination to show her love with a knitted doggy sweater, I say more power to her. My friend Erika did just that. She crocheted the dog coat shown in the picture for her "grand-dog" Ike. Ike shares his home with his human companions Toby and Amy. Erika said she enjoyed the sweater and it was easy to finish. Ike seems perfectly pleased!

Knitters and crocheters what say you? Are projects intended for four-leggeds now in your queue?

Knot Theory: Part I

..my mother, licks her fingers,
and twirls the severed tip around, and then
creates a darkness: hiding the thread
within itself, she ties a tiny knot...
"The Knot"
by Irving Feldman


The darkness in thread and fiber holds many mysteries. Knitters expect to pull out perfect, pristine yarn when we tug at the skein but sometimes that is not what we get. To say that one, small knot can derail a project is, perhaps, an understatement. What is done must be undone and that undoing interrupts precious needle and knitter time.

Knots have long been objects of magic and power. According to the Encyclopedia of Traditional Symbols by J.C. Cooper knots represent the, "powers of binding and also imply those of loosing...Loosening knots is freedom; salvation; the solving of problems." If knots hold such old and deep mythic significance, shouldn't we appreciate them more?

When I tried to tackle my very first tangle and wanted to take a scissors to it, my Knitting Sensei explained that Japanese children were given knotted yarn in grade schools to teach patience. Is it possible that I, contemporary knitter eagerly (and sometimes desperately) squeezing knitting time into my overly busy schedule can re-imagine knots as part of the path to enlightenment instead of a frustrating speed bump on the road to completed project? Welcome to the beginning of my personal knot theory.

In science, knot theory helps," scientists think about concepts like the shape of the universe or four-dimensional space-time. That's important for physics. Knot theory also helps scientists understand how enzymes in our cells help DNA untangle before cell reproduction. That knowledge helped lead to a new cancer drug." (Kowalski, Odyssey, Nov2007, Vol. 16 Issue 8, p29, 3p)
If Science (yes, with a capital "S") and Humanity (ditto with "H") can benefit from knots so can the contemporary knitter.

Knitters, think twice before sneering at the next snarl. Re-imagine it as an invitation to connection, skill building, and contemplation. Knots connect us to a power inscrutable but one entwined with our fates since they also represent, "continuity, connection, covenant, a link." (Cooper) When you are knotted up over a knitting problem think of the link you have with your knitting ancestors. There is a comforting continuity with other crafters that will teach you patience and perseverance. They encountered and conquered knitting glitches and so can you. I never did cut that first knot; I untangled it and felt unexpectedly triumphant. My wish for you is that same feeling of overcoming the (seemingly) impossible; if you knitted your way into a problem you can knit your way out.