Okay this seems too easy, so it can’t be right--and what does that say about something being easy!--but I always thought Fair Isle knitting started on Fair Isle in Shetland.
I knit when I can, which now is with morning coffee and about an hour before bed. Any amount of knitting time is good. And I’m a slow knitter, too. My friend reminds me it’s not about speed.
Thank you for the pictures of the yarn shops. I’m not in Australia and probably will never get there, but I love seeing all the beautiful yarn and enjoy that yarn and knitting thrive in the world.
Thanks so much Jane for your answer to the question - Where did Fair Isle Knitting originate? I'll let you know if you are correct in my Fiber Friday letter next week :)
Have you tried Fair Isle patterns? My dream is to knit the "Yell" pattern by Marie Wallin.
So good you knit when you can and the morning coffee is something I too appreciate. Like you I knit slowly and your friend is absolutely right that knitting is not about speed.
So glad you enjoyed the pics of the yarn shops. I agree, it's wonderful to know that knitting and yarn thrives all over the world.
Are you near a yarn shop in your part of the world? I'd love to hear about it. :)
I’ll be here next Friday, Jodie, to check the answers. I don’t have a guess about the quote except Elizabeth Zimmerman.
I tried Fair Isle probably 15 years ago in a class at a LYS. The instructor didn’t approve of the way I knitted--I throw (not even wrapped around my index finger--and she made me feel like I could never knit colorwork.
Lately I’ve seen knitters do stranded knitting all sorts of ways--two hands, only right, only left, even throwing with the left hand--and I’ve realIzed there is no wrong way to knit. I can hold the yarn however is good for me and I get the results I want.
I plan to practice Fair Isle on some wrist warmers with some wool I have in my stash. Then I have all sorts of dream knits, including Latvian mittens.
There are some lovely LYS in Chicago-- about an hour and half away from me. I don’t do well driving in Chicago though! I adopted a few during Covid to support them, and I still order from them. They have great websites but there’s nothing like petting all the yarn. I order a skein of yarn I like, swatch it up, and if I like it, I order for a project. My own version of yarn tasting!!
Okay this got long! But I do enjoy you and am happy to be here.
Great Jane! Thanks also for having a go at the other mystery quote. It's so good that you are being true to your own way of knitting. It saddens me when I hear stories of instructors who don't embrace the option "knit however is most comfortable for you". I'm amazed at how many ways people tackle stranded colorwork knitting!
Oooh Latvian mittens, now there's a project I'd love to do one day.
I hear you about "petting all the yarn" it's one of the delights of shopping in store. That's an excellent idea - "yarn tasting" to test whether you like a particular yarn bought online and want to make a project from it.
I love "long" comments, I learn so much from my readers and I'm smiling wide at knowing you are happy to be here. You've made my day Jane!
Your blue top looks and fits so well. I’m sure your new project will be the same. My question is, how do you find that cotton tops wear? I recently found that they grow on wearing and only a run through the dryer after washing brings them back to size and shape. It’s sort of put me off cotton knitting.
I terms of fitting knitting into my day, I cannot just sit with idle hands so my knitting is always at my side
Thank you Sue. I've found my Tara Top (green tee) which is 100% milk cotton is wearing well. Milk cotton from the research I've done is a semi synthetic fiber derived from casein protein in milk. In the production of milk cotton, acrylonitrile (also used in Acrylic fiber production) among other components is used to turn the casein proteins into fibers. That would account for the fact my Tara Top is not behaving as a 100% cotton fiber from cotton plants would. It hasn't stretched very much at all. I pop it in the washing machine on cold wash inside out, with no ill affect and then dry it in shade. The milk cotton fiber of the Tara Top feels very different and the twist of the yarn is different to my current project yarn, which is 100% organic cotton. The Alma cotton has no elasticity whereas the green cotton fiber did. I;ll be interested to see how this new project once finished wears.
I predict the bamboo/cotton blend for the blue top I will grow. There is quite a bit of drape.
I can understand why you're put off cotton knitting with the extra steps involved in gettting the garments back to original size and shape.
So lovely to hear knitting is always at your side :)
Dec 16, 2023·edited Dec 16, 2023Liked by Jodie Morgan
I admire those who are able to apply Pomodoro technique successfully. You have great discipline to be able to repeat it multiple times over a single day. I work in sporadic chunks of time mostly. :) Incidentally, I am trying to restart knitting + walking though. I had been doing it for years and then lost touch. That's a lovely skein of Fabulous Sock yarn!
Lately I’ve found knitting to be addictive. I have to do it every day now, even if just for a few minutes, to feel complete and I’m okay with that. I rest when my hands are overworked but the benefits of knitting (focus, calm, entertainment, joy) are such that I want to do it as often as I can.
How’s my crafting going? I’m currently working on a gift knit that I intend to gift for Christmas and I’m so excited about it. The recipient is so knit worthy
That's so wonderful you are experiencing all those benefits from your daily knitting Tashay! I'm sure your gift will be gorgeous. :) Thanks so much for sharing.
Nobody really knows where stranded knitting started. Possibly Latvia? Before that maybe the Middle East?Maybe but actual Fair Isle with the traditional Shetland wool and pallet, no more than 2 colours in a row, peeries, groonds and muckle flooers and other patterns probably does come from Fair Isle. The other Scottish islands have strong colour work knitting traditions too, as do Norway and the rest of Scandinavia. It’s probably wrong to think of it as something with one place of origin. Those were sea going communities with lots of cross fertilisation. Knitters then were just as likely to backward engineer something they saw as we are!
The quote sounds like Elizabeth Zimmerman. Maybe from Knitting Without Tears?
I love your blue tee! I quite fancy trying some linen from a local producer here next spring.
Okay this seems too easy, so it can’t be right--and what does that say about something being easy!--but I always thought Fair Isle knitting started on Fair Isle in Shetland.
I knit when I can, which now is with morning coffee and about an hour before bed. Any amount of knitting time is good. And I’m a slow knitter, too. My friend reminds me it’s not about speed.
Thank you for the pictures of the yarn shops. I’m not in Australia and probably will never get there, but I love seeing all the beautiful yarn and enjoy that yarn and knitting thrive in the world.
Thanks so much Jane for your answer to the question - Where did Fair Isle Knitting originate? I'll let you know if you are correct in my Fiber Friday letter next week :)
Have you tried Fair Isle patterns? My dream is to knit the "Yell" pattern by Marie Wallin.
So good you knit when you can and the morning coffee is something I too appreciate. Like you I knit slowly and your friend is absolutely right that knitting is not about speed.
So glad you enjoyed the pics of the yarn shops. I agree, it's wonderful to know that knitting and yarn thrives all over the world.
Are you near a yarn shop in your part of the world? I'd love to hear about it. :)
I’ll be here next Friday, Jodie, to check the answers. I don’t have a guess about the quote except Elizabeth Zimmerman.
I tried Fair Isle probably 15 years ago in a class at a LYS. The instructor didn’t approve of the way I knitted--I throw (not even wrapped around my index finger--and she made me feel like I could never knit colorwork.
Lately I’ve seen knitters do stranded knitting all sorts of ways--two hands, only right, only left, even throwing with the left hand--and I’ve realIzed there is no wrong way to knit. I can hold the yarn however is good for me and I get the results I want.
I plan to practice Fair Isle on some wrist warmers with some wool I have in my stash. Then I have all sorts of dream knits, including Latvian mittens.
There are some lovely LYS in Chicago-- about an hour and half away from me. I don’t do well driving in Chicago though! I adopted a few during Covid to support them, and I still order from them. They have great websites but there’s nothing like petting all the yarn. I order a skein of yarn I like, swatch it up, and if I like it, I order for a project. My own version of yarn tasting!!
Okay this got long! But I do enjoy you and am happy to be here.
Great Jane! Thanks also for having a go at the other mystery quote. It's so good that you are being true to your own way of knitting. It saddens me when I hear stories of instructors who don't embrace the option "knit however is most comfortable for you". I'm amazed at how many ways people tackle stranded colorwork knitting!
Oooh Latvian mittens, now there's a project I'd love to do one day.
I hear you about "petting all the yarn" it's one of the delights of shopping in store. That's an excellent idea - "yarn tasting" to test whether you like a particular yarn bought online and want to make a project from it.
I love "long" comments, I learn so much from my readers and I'm smiling wide at knowing you are happy to be here. You've made my day Jane!
Your blue top looks and fits so well. I’m sure your new project will be the same. My question is, how do you find that cotton tops wear? I recently found that they grow on wearing and only a run through the dryer after washing brings them back to size and shape. It’s sort of put me off cotton knitting.
I terms of fitting knitting into my day, I cannot just sit with idle hands so my knitting is always at my side
Thank you Sue. I've found my Tara Top (green tee) which is 100% milk cotton is wearing well. Milk cotton from the research I've done is a semi synthetic fiber derived from casein protein in milk. In the production of milk cotton, acrylonitrile (also used in Acrylic fiber production) among other components is used to turn the casein proteins into fibers. That would account for the fact my Tara Top is not behaving as a 100% cotton fiber from cotton plants would. It hasn't stretched very much at all. I pop it in the washing machine on cold wash inside out, with no ill affect and then dry it in shade. The milk cotton fiber of the Tara Top feels very different and the twist of the yarn is different to my current project yarn, which is 100% organic cotton. The Alma cotton has no elasticity whereas the green cotton fiber did. I;ll be interested to see how this new project once finished wears.
I predict the bamboo/cotton blend for the blue top I will grow. There is quite a bit of drape.
I can understand why you're put off cotton knitting with the extra steps involved in gettting the garments back to original size and shape.
So lovely to hear knitting is always at your side :)
I admire those who are able to apply Pomodoro technique successfully. You have great discipline to be able to repeat it multiple times over a single day. I work in sporadic chunks of time mostly. :) Incidentally, I am trying to restart knitting + walking though. I had been doing it for years and then lost touch. That's a lovely skein of Fabulous Sock yarn!
Thanks so much for sharing Kavitha. So cool you are restarting knitting & walking again! :)
Lately I’ve found knitting to be addictive. I have to do it every day now, even if just for a few minutes, to feel complete and I’m okay with that. I rest when my hands are overworked but the benefits of knitting (focus, calm, entertainment, joy) are such that I want to do it as often as I can.
How’s my crafting going? I’m currently working on a gift knit that I intend to gift for Christmas and I’m so excited about it. The recipient is so knit worthy
That's so wonderful you are experiencing all those benefits from your daily knitting Tashay! I'm sure your gift will be gorgeous. :) Thanks so much for sharing.
Nobody really knows where stranded knitting started. Possibly Latvia? Before that maybe the Middle East?Maybe but actual Fair Isle with the traditional Shetland wool and pallet, no more than 2 colours in a row, peeries, groonds and muckle flooers and other patterns probably does come from Fair Isle. The other Scottish islands have strong colour work knitting traditions too, as do Norway and the rest of Scandinavia. It’s probably wrong to think of it as something with one place of origin. Those were sea going communities with lots of cross fertilisation. Knitters then were just as likely to backward engineer something they saw as we are!
The quote sounds like Elizabeth Zimmerman. Maybe from Knitting Without Tears?
I love your blue tee! I quite fancy trying some linen from a local producer here next spring.
Did fair isle originate in Scandinavia? I'm thinking maybe Norway or Sweden.