Knitting Comfortably
No doubt you’ve heard of Carson Demers’ new book, Knitting Comfortably: The Ergonomics of Handknitting.
Clara Parkes gave it a big thumbs-up. Edie Eckman posted a detailed interview on the book’s subject matter, and Jill Wolcott posted a revealing interview on the process of birthing the book.
What more can I say?
Carson’s guide to identifying and mitigating ergonomic risk factors is pretty darn amazing – thorough, clear, and gentle. Countless illustrations, metaphors, and “Swatchortunity” exercises make it easy to understand, both intellectually and kinesthetically, the habits that might harm us. And while the suggestions in the book aren’t meant to replace that advice of a medical professional, they are well-grounded in current ergonomic practice and in commonsense.
For myself, I’m sure I’ll refer often to the section on gentle stretching exercises. (Who knew I needed the Finkelstein Stretch to prevent de Quervain’s tenosynovitis?) And it’s no surprise – given my fondness for teaching Disaster Recovery techniques – that my favorite quote in the book is, “Good knitters are also good fixers.” Why? Because faith in your fix-it skills lets you work closer to the tips of your needles, where you’ll use less force, incur less cumulative trauma, and distort your fabric less.
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Last month I talked about swatching the Starflower pattern, to find the right yarn for a sweater project. Well, I’ve managed to cast on:
Doesn’t look much like a sweater yet, does it? That’s because I’m toying with an unusual construction. The Starflower medallion shown above will appear at the center of the upper back. Once the medallion is large enough, I’ll switch from Starflower to a simpler stitch pattern composed of columns of eyelets. The front will be much the same, except the Starflower portion at the center will start with three wedges knit flat, rather than four wedges knit in the round – as shown in this mock-up:
Stay tuned! And wish me luck!
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Like many knitters, I like having at least one “mindless” project on my needles at all times. You know, something you can grab and go, something you can work on while in a waiting room or while watching TV. My current mindless project certainly fits the bill: I’m knitting a simple top-down shawl in two wedges, starting with garter stitch and ending with Feather and Fan. Even unblocked, the start looks promising:
Ah, but when to switch from garter to Feather and Fan? Arbitrarily, I decided to switch when I’d used up half the yarn. (One skein of Valley Yarns Franklin, if you must know.) So I hand-wound two connected balls, using my kitchen scale to ensure they were of the same size. I also noted the midpoint by clipping a stitch marker to a slip knot. The plan: reach the midpoint, then switch.
Again... stay tuned!
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The Fjords and Highlands Knitting Cruise is still over 6 months away, but I’m already getting ready! I want to make the most of this cruise, so I’m reading up on each of its port cities in advance – starting with Copenhagen, where the cruise starts and ends. From what I’ve read so far, it’s a fascinating, pedestrian- and bike-friendly city.
Bonus: knitters on the cruise can opt to take a guided walking tour of Copenhagen the day before the cruise begins. This two-and-a-half-hour tour will include visits to two yarn shops, Sommerfuglen and Rasmilla. Ooh, I better start saving my pennies... |
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My last teaching gig of the year is at Cozy in Eugene, OR, on November 18. After that, it’s Stitches West in Santa Clara, CA, February 22-25.
Some of my classes at Stitches West have already filled – including both sessions of Beginning Brioche. (Wow! Who knew that brioche was going to be so popular?) But several classes still have openings, include some relatively new 90-minute classes. Not Your Grandma’s Long-tail Cast-on and Stretchy Bind-offs ought to be fun, though I think I’m most looking forward to Loving Your Lace Edgings. What can I say? I’m in the middle of a multi-year lace kick.
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...to using stitch maps to solve puzzles.
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