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About Knitalongs

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 17:00:24 -0400

The book that got me thinking about knitalongs, Knitalong: Celebrating the Tradition of Knitting Together by Larissa & Martin John Brown, is a great find. Each chapter includes patterns for several projects along with diary entries Larissa wrote about a knitalong event that she hosted for many of the featured projects. Inspired by how knitting brings people together, the Browns designed this book to develop a concept birthed by internet knitting culture. Here’s a brief excerpt from their introduction.
“The term knitalong emerged out of the Internet knitting culture of blogs and discussion groups around 2003 and 2004, when it was used most often to describe the practice of knitters in different places working on the same project during the same period of time. While they didn’t all turn on their computers and knit at the same moment, they did pledge to make the same scarf, socks, or sweater pretty much simultaneously.
In this book …[we] expand the meaning of the word knitalong a bit. We define a knitalong as any organized event where people knit together for a common purpose or goal. There are thousands of such events going on every day.”

Art Deco Quilt Knitalong

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 16:00:51 -0400

The keepsake quilt project that I am incorporating into my Spiritual Writings of Women course this spring is called “1940: Art Deco Quilt.” Designed by Judith McLeod-Odell whose grandmother taught her to knit in World War II Britain, this quilt is “pieced” from blocks using garter and stockinette stitches. It is one of 20 patterns featured in McLeod-Odell’s book Heirloom Knits.
Apart from realizing the pedagogical value of this knitalong, this project has two goals:
to create, in the form of a patchwork quilt, a vibrant, dynamic, and unique keepsake for me to cherish and remind me of these three years I’ve been part of the GC learning community as visiting scholar and dissertation fellow; and
to create a second quilt as an act of service that we will donate to the Women’s Shelter of Elkhart County through the Warm Up America! Foundation.
We welcome anyone connected to the GC learning community as a student, employee, alum, friend, or neighbor to join us as we work to meet our goals. There are two ways you can get involved.
Option 1 • Knit with us!
We will be knitting from April 29 to May 20, so pick up your needles and yarn and put together a square or two or three during that same time. Please send me an e-mail if you’d like to be counted among our knitters. I’ll post pattern instructions soon.
We’ll occasionally gather to knit in the afternoons and evenings. If you’re in Goshen, check back here to find out when and where, and you can knitalong with us physically.
If you’re knitting from a distance, simply send us your squares when you’re done with a note about yourself and what inspired you to participate in our project.
Option 2 • Gift me with yarn!
Because the impetus for this knitalong has been my desire to create a keepsake, I welcome gifts of yarn from colleagues, students, and others who have made my time here so meaningful. If you can’t knit with us, give us yarn! Here are a few guidelines to help you select a skein.
This project calls for worsted weight yarn (If this is Greek to you, just write it down on scrap paper, and show it to the clerk where you’re shopping for yarn; they should be able to assist you.)
When it comes to selecting a color, think vibrant, multicolored, and choose a colorway that captures something of what you value about GC.
Consider visiting Goshen’s local yarn shop, Ewe-Nique Knits on Washington Street between Main & 5th Streets. Jot down a few of the yarns below that you can ask for by name. If they don’t carry these precise brands, they’ll help you find something similar.
Stonehedge Farm & Fiber Mill’s “Shepherd’s Wool”
Schaefer Yarn Compnay “Helene” “Miss Priss” or “Laurel”
There are also a multitude of online sources for yarn — a Google search can get you started.
Yarn gifts can be left in the basket outside my office (Wyse 313).
Photo available on Flickr through MaryMTB’s photostream.

Dishcloths for Relief

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 15:00:48 -0400

A favorite introductory knitting project is the practical and versatile dishcloth! For knitters looking for an easy project with far-reaching impact, I invite you to stitch up some dishcloths to donate to Mennonite Relief Sales, the proceeds of which go to help fund Mennonite Central Committee’s peace-, justice-, and reconciliation-building projects in the United States and beyond.
Need some patterns? Here are a few of my favorites:
Basic Dishcloth knit diagonally using a Yarn-Over increase (but use size 7 or 8 needles)
Waffle Dishcloth.pdf from Homespun Living
Peaches & Creme Ballband Dishcloth.pdf from Mason-Dixon Knitting
Photo available on Flickr through anna banana’s photostream, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license.

Knitting & Wombs

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 14:00:22 -0400

I ran across this whimsical knitting project on Knitty.com, designed by knitter MK Carroll. This cuddly bubble-gum pink uterus doll made me realize that while it’s unique to female physiology, no matter what our gender or sex, we’ve all spent time living in a womb. What a thought!
Even though we’re not used to having representations of a woman’s “indoor plumbing” hanging around our work and living spaces, I find these dolls to be a fun reminder of the numerous references to wombs in the Bible. (A search for “womb” in an NRSV Bible yields 92 results.) One of the best-known references to our mother’s womb also includes a reference to God as a knitter:
For it was you who formed my inward parts;  you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
— Psalm 139:13
So here’s your chance to turn the tables a bit and together knit wombs. And you could even give it to your mother for Mother’s Day on May 10, 2009. Below are links to two sources for the pattern:
MK Carroll’s blog with physiology musings
formatted as a portable document file from Knitty.com: Womb.pdf