Hi Anthony - welcome! I'm fairly new here and have found the group very warm and welcoming. I got started knitting along with many other needlecrafts when I was a child. My mother and grandmother taught us knitting, machine sewing, embroidery, tatting, and latch hook. When I was in college I accidentally purchased a counted cross stitch kit instead of a stamped kit and fell in love. I did primarily CCS until a couple years ago when I sort of burned out on that, and I've been knitting with a passion since (so much that I have a nagging tendonitis problem in my elbow now).
This post came through a couple days ago on the blind craft email list, in response to a comment I had made - a few times I've been questioned whether I was gay because I crochet (no):
David
Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2006 06:03:12 -0700 (PDT) Subject: RE: [blindcraft]Crochet and some history (fwd)
---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Chris Parkington Subject: RE: [blindcraft]Crochet and some history
Hi David, Welcome to the group. I too am a crocheter, though most of my crocheting was done while I was still sighted. It is only since I joined this group that I have started to crochet again properly, and I too, tend not to use patterns, though I do now use Braille, so could follow a pattern if I found one I particularly liked. Today I have just finished one side of a cushion cover, done in single row stripes, repeating after every eight rows, and with a surface textural pattern formed by working a treble on the front of the work by picking up the front loop of the stitch three rows down. The body of the piece is worked in single crochet, through the back of each stitch, and the trebles are arranged so that they form zigzags, placed 19 stitches apart at their points, and worked in 11 row repeats. Sorry I can't describe it any better. I discovered among my partlly finished items a piece of canvas work I did about four years ago, and by chance the two pieces are the same size, so I shall make an inner pad stuffed with toy filling, then attach the canvas to one side, and the crochet to the other. Rather than sew in the ends, I left about 4 inches at either end of each row, and have knotted these together in groups of three to make a fringe. When the cushion is fully sewn together, I shall hook in extra strands on the other two sides, and knot these in a similar way.
I know what you mean about the sort of comments that some people make about male yarn workers, but several of my married friends have husbands who knit
- a friend when I was at school had a father who was an ambulance driver, and who knitted the very finest of baby shawls in Shetland wool - so fine that they would pass through a wedding ring. I would just point out that in the Middle Ages, it was the men of the Guilds who did the knitting, and who had to knit such things as a pair of fine stockings and a carpet, before they could enter the Guild. Have never been able to find out what size this carppet was, and whether it meant the same as it does today. I have seen some of the knitted items produced by members of the Guilds, in museums when I was younger, yet even then I could not have produced work of such delicacy and skill. So you are just keeping up a fine tradition from Europe.
On Wed, 7 Jun 2006 13:08:28 -0700, David R. Sky spun a fine yarn
While some male knitters / crocheters *are* gay, many are not, in my experience, and for-the-record, I don't care one way or the other, people are people, knitters are knitters, etc! Hugs to all men, whether straight or gay, hugs to all the women, whether straight or gay! Heck, just hugs to ALL of us! Noreen
Hi Anthony, Welcome to the group. I can't help with the question about special newsgroups but I can say that this group is usually pretty good about answering questions that people have about knitting or crocheting. I hope you will stick around here even if you do also find another specifically targeted group. I have found the men and women here to be friendly and helpful.
I learned to knit a long time ago when I was in grade school. I did some knitting in college for my nieces and nephews when they were little and then later did some for my own children. Now that I am retired, I am able to do a lot more. I am now also learning how to crochet. I am teaching myself that with help from various websites.
I started about 25 years ago. I was laid off from work in the winter one time. My one year old son and I were pestering my Mother-in- Law, who was knitting cotton dish clothes. She to be quiet a while and see if I could help here knit the dish cloths. Really she said if I mentioned politics one more time she would throw me out. I tried and and 4 weeks later I knitted my first seater vest, I was hooked.
According to the paper published in _Textile History_ by K.G. Ponting and Irena Turnau (volume 7, 1976, pp.7-59) and reprinted in her book, _History of Knitting Before Mass Production_ (now out of print):
The first written reference still available about a guild requirement for a knitted carpet was around 1605. The requirement continued into the late 18th century. The carpets were the size of afghans today and bigger; the smallest now known was about four feet by six feet, the largest were more like six feet by nine feet. They were required to have a colorful design such as flowers in bloom. The surviving ones usually have either a mythological theme or the names and coats of arms of a town or group of members of an organization, and often an elaborately knitted-in motto. The carpets were not used on the floor; instead, they were made to pass the guild exam, and later may have been used either as wall hangings or table covers. A few may have been used as bedspreads. They were knitted of wool, often as thick as modern American knitting worsted, and slightly fulled so that ends didn't have to be worked in, though the better carpets did have the yarn-ends hidden.
What I should have written was: According to the paper titled "Knitting Masterpieces" by K.G. Ponting and Irena Turnau, published in _Textile History_, vol.7, 1976, pp.7-59) and reprinted (et cetera).
The problem that we have with knitting history is that men wrote it.
Note that the date of the guild requirement mentioned below, is only a few years after the invention of the knitting frame which was based on someone watching his wife knit. I.e., women *were* knitting in that period of time.
This begs the questions: "Why was the knitting frame not based on someone watching a 'master knitter', knitting?" Why wasn't the knitting frame invented by a "master knitter" based on his own knitting motions? Perhaps because women were doing more a greater total volume of actual knitting than master knitters? Maybe knitting was like today's soccer, with a few talented professionals going to the world cup, while millions of competent armatures play soccer around the world? How much is written about the "pickup games" played on empty lots around the world. And, yet there is a lot of good soccer played in those games. No! Our history records the World Cup. Perhaps then, there were a few talented professional knitters, while every household had competent knitters? And, all that are noted in our surviving history are the few superstars -- the "Armanis" and "Oscar de Laurents" that knit for kings and popes?
It is well worth considering that in the late 1600's, master knitters were brought into the Massachusetts colony (home of an expanding cod fishing industry : ) by textile factory owners. The assigned job of those master knitters was to maintain and repair knitting frames imported from England. That is, by 1700, the job of some American master knitters was that of fixing knitting machines!
Thank you Tamar, for that interesting bit of Textile history, Thank you Aaron for all your "what ifs" If for instance we could just peek around a corner and see how it al was done. I just bought a knitting book, from our local library that was discarded. My thought went out to Aaron and the Fair Isle knitters in RCTY and our Guild. Would you believe it, that one of the first pictures I saw in this book was a woman using a sheath, while knitting. The caption states..."Shetland knitter with long wires and knitting belt. I thought that Aaron would get a kick out of that one. There is also a picture showing the ancient sheep breeds we talked about recently. Shetland is not spelled as I know it, but like a Dutch person would spell it "Zetland". I find that also amazing. See nothing stays the same, things change along the historical paths. The title of this book is The complete book of Traditional Fair Isle Knitting by Sheila Mcgregor. I was thinking of trying to knit a cap. One that you do not shape, but just pull all the stitches together to form the top. I can't see myself coping with knitting with two colours at the time, creating fancy patterns as well as maintaining that pattern while degreasing.
I keep you posted on this upcoming knitting adventure. I think it will not be until the end of August before I start on it, with the grand daughters and daughter being here for the summer, I just heard that Michelle's mother in law may come along as well. Busy summer
The account says that "Master Knitters" did the knitting. I merely point out that we know others also knit, therefore that particular account is not trust worthy. We can honor John Nash by using some of the statistical and game theory techniques he developed for understanding what was going on inside the USSR during the cold war to the history of knitting. The is, JN's work provides tools for interpreting deceptive or incomplete accounts. Too bad nobody at the White House can spell Nash! If they could, they would known about the lack of WMDs in Iraqi! Do we believe an account that we have proven to be untrustworthy? Or, do we trust statistics and game theory that have proven to be trustworthy? At least with statistics we can estimate a confidence level for our inferences. (So how is it that I trust John Nash more than I trust Bill Grey, when Bill Grey is far and away the better statistician?) Grey is using sampling modes developed for simple linear systems on non-linear feedback systems. That is it! RCTY gets the scope.
Over memorial day, I had to go way North to some friends of DW. So, for the first time in 6 months I got out the short sock needles (can't use the long steel needles in the car or around fine furniture). After a pair of socks my hands/wrists were sore.
Those long DPN with a knitting sheath really are easier on the hands and wrists. In the old days, they had to knit, they knew how to knit, and they knit well!
I strongly encourage everyone (without kids in the house) to try knitting with a sheath or pouch. Long steel needles in particular are wonderful. (Let the spring do the work!) It will save your wrists. But watch your eyes. Several times my eye glasses have kept long sharp steel needles out of my eyes! I would never knit with long DPN if there were kids running around.
When I was in high school I took notes for the blind students in the class. While I was busy writing (later typed into Braille) they were all busy knitting. I know I am not helping as to how they learned, but they were all better knitters than I am 30 years later!
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