Gwen W. Steege - The Knitters Life List: To Do, To Know, To Explore, To Make

The Knitters Life List

To Do To Know To Explore To Make

Gwen W. Steege

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Illustrations by Ann Field

Indexed by Carol Roberts

Profiles written by Nicole Cusano: pages

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Steege, Gwen W.

The knitters life list / Gwen W. Steege.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-1-60342-996-2 (pbk.)

1. KnittingEquipment and supplies. 2. Knitters (Persons)

I. Steege, Gwen W. II. Title.

TT820.S678 2011

46.432dc23

2011018086

To my husband, Dick, and to our
children and their families
Kristin, Jos, and Sara
Paul and Tina
Ben and Brigid

Do you ever stop to think what it is that keeps drawing you back to your needles and yarns? Do you screech to a halt whenever you see the sign Yarn Store? Do you drop whatever else youre doing to devour your favorite knitting magazine the minute it arrives in the mail?

For most of us its not just one thing that keeps us coming back for more. It could be the soothing rhythm of the knitting itself, the joy of knitting with friends, the pleasure of the colors and textures of the fibers, the ultimate reward of wearing, or of giving, that finished garment. The allure is most likely a combination of some or all of these. For whatever reason, the passion is real and a very important part of our lives. We always want more, and we dont want to miss a thing!

The seed for this book came out of a casual conversation about the way knitting finds a way into so many parts of our lives, sometimes when and where least expected. Wouldnt it be fun, we thought, to create a life list of things to do, patterns to try, techniques to explore, places to go, movies to see and much more all related in some way to knitting. The result is not in any way meant to be a rigid course syllabus with a dreaded exam at the end. Not every to do will be for you. In fact, you may be inspired to create your own life list with ideas that arent even in this book. I hope youll consider the book an exciting resource and a guide for your own knitting adventures. Use the suggestions in these pages merely as starting points and add to them to make this a truly personal journal that evolves as you discover the things about playing with sticks and string that you enjoy most.

As research for the book began, it quickly became apparent that no one book could possibly contain everything every knitter would want to try. New festivals, new books, new blogs, new yarn stores, even new techniques (or at least, new takes on old ones) are forever appearing, and thats all good news! Its also true that each knitter has different ideas of whats beautiful and useful, so rather than even attempt to include patterns for each of the styles and techniques discussed here, the book contains resource lists of books, magazines, and websites to help you tap into all thats available. Do refer frequently to the appendix for books, websites, and other resources to guide your journey. Use what strikes your fancy to create your own life list of places to go, things to learn, and patterns you hope to try some day. Its bound to be a long and tantalizing list, but how much fun it will be to add to, revise, and dream about!

To help you master new techniques and solve those pesky, persistent problems you never seem to conquer, youll find advice from the many talented and creative fiber experts and fiber artists who have so generously contributed their suggestions and support to this project. Many, many thanks to them all! (For descriptions of some of the special interests and accomplishments of the voices that youll encounter throughout the book, see Whos Who in This Community of Knitting Experts, page 290. For information about their books and Internet activities, see the resource lists.) For sources of patterns for designs shown in the book, see pages 309311.

Youll learn about the many different fibers that yarns are made of, as well as ethnic traditions or specific knitting techniques that youre likely to find useful for particular projects. For example, the sweater chapter gives some background about knitting traditions from different cultures, along with a bit of their history; the scarf and shawl chapter describes some lace traditions. In the final chapter, theres even a glimpse into the sister crafts, for when knittings not quite enough.

At the beginning of each chapter, youll find checklists for everything from stitch techniques to places to visit. If you find yourself becoming goal oriented, many projects offer the chance to accomplish several new techniques at a shot. For instance, if youve never tried stranded knitting using both your hands to manage the colors, working a Fair Isle sweater might mean learning to do that, as well as knitting from the top down on circular needles with multiple colors, and perhaps steeking. And you might do all of this while listening to an audio book that features some fellow knitters as part of the plot. (Madame Defarge, anyone? Havent you always intended to read or re-read A Tale of Two Cities?)

It might seem that one would need more than one lifetime to explore all the many intriguing patterns, luscious yarns, and various stitch combinations, to say nothing of going to all the yarn festivals and inviting yarn stores and knitting retreats that are so tempting. But wont it be an adventure to try!