Arctic Lace Book Launch

Day 4

Day 4 was my Arctic Lace workshop. Before I left Colorado, 12 people had signed up for the class and one was on a waiting list. Apparently at some point we'd set the maximum number of students to 12. I decided that I could handle the class with up to 20 students, and on Friday (while I was teaching the Amish Oval Rug class), 4 more people signed up for the lace workshop. It was the perfect number for the classroom, and we filled every chair around the tables.

It was a really fantastic group of students. I wish I could list every one here, but I met so many people, I can't remember all of their names! This was one of the most fun workshops I've taught anywhere. All of the students were very excited about learning new lace techniques (even the few students who really know more about lace knitting than I do!). The group included brand new lace knitters, those who had done a little bit of lace knitting but wanted to learn more, and those who were expert lace knitters but who enjoy taking classes and picking up new tips along the way.

In this workshop we went over the properties of different types of yarns that can be used for knitting lace (almost anything goes), what types of knitting needles are best for new lace knitters (the less slippery the needle, the fewer dropped sts), basic stitches used in knitting lace, and an overview of reading and knitting lace from charts. Then we knitted a small swatch. Well, the chart was small, but some of the swatches came out to be over 9 inches tall, because we were working with worsted-weight yarn. I find that using heavier yarn and large needles makes it easier for new lace knitters to practice the stitches without worrying, at the same time, about getting used to working with fine yarn and tiny needles. After you make a couple of lace swatches on worsted- or sport-weight yarn, you'll be comfortable enough with the stitches to do a practice swatch with lace-weight yarn.

After lunch, which was served in the classroom, we all blocked our swatches. The students were quite impatient about waiting to see the results. They kept asking me to feel their swatches to see if they were dry. In general, I suggest leaving blocked pieces pinned out over night, even in a dry climate, to make sure the blocking is set. It's very difficult to tell if wool is dry by feel, because the fiber can hold up to 30% of its weight in water and still feel dry. However, if your piece feels cool to the touch, it is most likely because it is damp.

I learned a few things from the students, too. I passed around several of the qiviut projects from Arctic Lace for the students to look at and touch (every knitter knows you have to touch the yarn and knitting to really understand the fiber and the stitching!). The moebius scarf that I had made out of "mystery yarn" purchased at Knitting Frenzy in 2004 (the shop is not around any more), was apparently one of the early versions of the yarn line developed by Dianne Nash of Windy Valley Musk Ox Farm. Dianne didn't like the dark purple color or the texture of this yarn, which is a shame because this was my favorite yarn! One student in the class had some of Dianne's original purple yarn with her. The color was very close to the yarn that I had, but her yarn seemed to have less twist than mine, so I wasn't 100% sure it was the same. I meant to show my scarf and the leftover yarn to Dianne on Sunday at the Expo market to confirm the source of my mystery yarn, but I completely forgot.

One of the students sitting at the head of the table was Irene, who also was a volunteer at the registration desk for the market on Sunday. I had a great time talking to her because, just like me, she is half Lithuanian and half Russian. She speaks Russian, as did several other students in the class. I never learned any second languages when I was a child. My grandparents spoke Lithuanian, Russian, and Yiddish, but my parents only spoke English so the languages from the old countries didn't trickle down to my generation.

As a side note, while I was here I heard from June Hall (who lives in England but is currently visiting Lithuania) to confirm that I will be teaching at Woolfest in the UK at the end of next June. After that, I plan to go to Lithuania for a week or so and meet with a knitters' and spinners' guild there. June goes to Lithuania frequently to work with the knitters and spinners there, and has featured Lithuanian knitting at the Woolfest in previous years. She is in Lithuania right now and is working on getting me some hand knitted mittens and gloves to sell at my workshops and online. (You can read a little about June and her work with Lithuanian textile artists here (scroll down) and here.) She's also getting some photos of antique Lithuanian knitting from a museum for me to use in an upcoming article for Piecework. I'd like to someday write a book similar to Arctic Lace about the knitters in Lithuania.

Speaking of new book ideas, another student in my lace class was Alice Scherp, a lace knitter and designer who has had her pieces published in SpinOff magazine in the past. She does amazing work and could easily have taught my workshop! It turns out that Alice used to live in Eugene, Oregon, and knew Dorothy Reade, who helped the Oomingmak Co-op develop their charting system, design their first harpooon pattern, and decide what type of yarn to spin from the raw qiviut they got from the musk ox farm. Dorothy wrote and self published a book called "25 Original Knitting Designs" in 1968, that includes all original charted lace stitch patterns. Alice also knows Dorothy Reade's daughter, and told me that I needed to write a book about Dorothy Read and republish her lace patterns. After the class, Alice contacted Dorothy's daughter and got her permission for me to use the stitches in a new book. I'll be getting in touch myself when I go home, but I could hardly believe the generosity, excitement, and initiative that Alice took on my behalf!

Well, as you can see, it was a full day. There was a lot more going on than just my class, however! Deb played hooky and took a 22 mile bike trip, and many other classes were conducted during the day. Debbie Radtke taught a needle felting class, and several of the employees of the Oomingmak shop attended. They plan to make needle felted musk oxen to sell in the shop.

Other classes included felting knitted projects, weaving, spindle spinning, crocheting rag rugs and baskets, making your own knitting needles, crocheting with beads, and knitting cast off techniques. If you attended all of the classes, you would have a virtual PhD in fiber arts. I can't imagine that Stitches or any of the other "big" knitting shows could be more exciting and jam-packed than this event. All of the students left with big smiles on their faces, and the instructors were beaming too. In my book, these two days of workshops were a HUGE success, and the Alaska Yarn Council board should be proud of their accomplishments. The Yarn Council was only formed in May, 2006, and in just four months they pulled together this amazing event. And some of the best parts are yet to come, on day 5 of my trip... which will follow shortly.

This morning I'm just sitting in the Whale's Tail cafe and enjoying the fact that I have nothing to do.