Episode 70 Postcard from Elizabeth

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Quince & Co

If you are looking to support American goods, then you can start with Quince & Co with their beautiful and reasonably priced wools sourced in the US.  Check out Finch, their new fingering weight in colors inspired by nature. www.quinceandco.com

Ewe-nique Yarns is a full-service yarn shop located at The Field Shopping Center in Morton IL.  Among the items they carry are a full line of Addi needles, Chiagoo, and Knit Picks.  They also stock Malabrigo, Madelinetosh, Frog Tree. Elsabeth Lavod, Debbie Bliss, Claudia Handpainted, Louisa Harding, Rown, Sublime and dozens more.  

Debbie and Jenny are happy to ship to Pipeliners.

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Pipeliner Notes

There was a lot of mail this week and notes on the board in support of reading the letters from Elizabeth Zimmermann.  Thank you so much for your support.  I am overwhelmed. 

I won’t throw away all the knitted baby things.  It was a rash statement.  Wool blankets that cannot be machine washed are not so practical for today’s mothers although they do seem to have superhuman strength when I see them carrying those car safety seats. 

Nature Notes 

At dawn on Saturday December 10 I saw the lunar eclipse and then a terrible house fire.  I forgot to say on the show that no one died in the fire.  Even the pets were saved. 

After visiting with Charr and Bronwyn on Tuesday morning I saw a very sad event with squirrels.  I will never look at a squirrel in quite the same way again. 

Nature Poem

I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December
A magical thing
And sweet to remember.

'We are nearer to Spring
Than we were in September,'
I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December. - Oliver Herford, I Heard a Bird Sing

Needle Notes

 
My nephew Eric, turning a bowl in my dad's shop.

EZ Saddle Shoulder Sweater from Knitting Workshop by Elizabeth Zimmermann  Schoolhouse Press

My project notes are here.  Woodturner Pulley

Elizabeth percentage system=EPS

The spirals were inspired by woodturning.

Spiral Ribbing came from Knitting on the Edge by Nicki Epstein

 Microsoft excel is useful when planning cables and ribbing

In the Pipeline

We are currently watching: 

The Grand (watch instantly on Netflix)

Doc Martin   the movies

The Blethering Room

Finch from Quince & Co

100% American Wool
221 yd [202 m] / 50g  $7.25
9 sts /inch on size US 1 needles
7 sts / inch on size US 3 needles

Finch is a little sprite, a fingering-weight with the slightest of halos. It's soft to the touch, yet its neatly twisted plies give it a smooth, tailored finish that’s sturdy and hardwearing. It's perfectly balanced for an even stockinette stitch, and you’ll love how it shows off texture and lace patterns—perfect for Fair Isle, too.

 When blocking a piece with cables and texture do not block the cables. 

The Piping Circle 

Celtic Cross Pipes and Drums had a Christmas Party last Thursday night

Ben and Donna's home was featured in Country Sampler Magazine November 2011

Isn't this the most cozy corner?

Celtic Cross Friends

 I’ve been revamping my pipes.

Note from Elizabeth

 I read a postcard from Elizabeth Zimmermann that was written to me in February 1980.

Music

Coventry Carol  Magnatune Christmas.  www.magnatune.com

Haste ye back!

Episode 33 Of Lice and Men

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Quince & Co is a sponsor of Knitting Pipeline.  Visit them to find beautiful, natural fiber yarns from American sheep and responsible non-domestic sources.
Thank you for your prayers and greetings for my mom and her recovery.  Her arm is healing and it looks as if she will not need surgery. 

Imagine!  An entire podcast episode revolving around the lowly and despised louse.  Crazy as it sounds  I will link Traditional Norwegian Knitting, a Scottish Poet, and an American Poet.

I give a short background on the Norwegian Setesdal Sweater, also known as Luskofte, literally "Lice Jacket".  The sweater tradition started about 1860 in Setesdal, a region in southern Norway.  The Luskofte is somewhat of a Norwegian national costume and the hallmark of Norwegian knitting.

To a Louse by Robert Burns is read by Alan Wood, friend of Louise Hunt of the Caithness Craft Collective Podcast.  You can find Louise's delightful podcast on iTunes or Podbean.  Thank you, Louise and Alan.

If you want to read more about the poem, check it out here.
To a Louse Interpretation

Robert Frost (1874-1963) was an American Poet with Scottish and English ancestry.  This is one of his lesser known poems.

A Considerable Speck by Robert Frost

My Book Recommendations for Norwegian Knitting

If you want to knit a Norwegian Drop Shoulder Sweater you can get the design information and charts from Elizabeth's Zimmermann's Knitting Without Tears, Knitting Workshop, or Knitting Around.  All are available from Schoolhouse Press and other booksellers.  Any one of these books will give you all the information you need.

For more background in Scandinavian Knitting I recommend Sheila McGregor's The Complete Book of Scandinavian Knitting.  The reprint by Dover is called Traditional Scandinavian Knitting.

Norwegian Knitting Designs by Annichen Sibbern Bohn is no longer in print.  If you can get your hands  on a copy, it is a little gem of a book.

The newest addition to my Scandinavian knitting book library is, Setesdal Sweaters: The History of the Norwegian Lice Pattern by Annemor Sundbo.  Torridal Tweed.  2001.  Available from Schoolhouse Press.

I found some photos of my first Norwegian Drop Shoulder Sweaters and other Elizabeth Zimmermann designs.

Our Family at home in 1984 with everyone wearing my handknits.  Bob is wearing EZ's Hand to Hand.  I am wearing a Norwegian Luskofte.  Torben is wearing an Aran Vest.  Nils and Peter are wearing raglan sweaters with a texture pattern in the yoke, made using the EPS. (Elizabeth Zimmermann Percentage System.)

In front of our old house where we lived for 25 years.  (Sniff.)

Torben age 9 in his Norwegian Lus Vest. 1987



Torben age 10 in another Norwegian Style Drop Shoulder Sweater. 1988



Stranded Knitting Tutorial

Needle Notes

My finished project turned out lousy (groan).  These are the felted Baby Slippers from Knitting at Home by Leanne Prouse, a book that was reviewed in Episode 29.  Bronwyn helped me with the Bickford method of sewing the pieces together.  They should probably go through the washing machine again but nothing is really going to help that colorwork. Felting is really not my thing but I'm going to attempt the French Press Slippers before throwing in the towel.

After Mom fell my Norwegian Sweater went into hibernation for a week.  I started on a new project (shawl) which I will share next week.  I also picked up a pair of socks that had been in hibernation since June.

In the Piping Circle

Bruce Gandy, World Champion Piper, plays a set from his album My Father's Son.  Order the CD from Bruce's website.  Thank you, Bruce Gandy!

Thank you for listening to the podcast and for visiting the blog!

Episode 22 Norwegian Knitting Book Reviews and A Finished Norwegian Cap

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Norwegian Patterns for Knitting
Classic Sweaters, Hats, Vests, and Mittens by Mette Handberg
Trafalger Press 2010  $24.95

Purpose:  To reawaken interest in Norwegian knittting and push the boundaries of these traditional designs.
Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in colorwork and traditional Nordic knitting.
Favorites patterns in this book:  Wilderness (p 38), Women's Long Jacket (p 69), Man's Jacket (p 72)

Norwegian Handknits:  Heirloom Designs from Vesterheim Museum
Sue Flanders and Janine Kosel
Voyageur Press, 2009

Purpose:  Make the historical pieces in the Vesterheim Museum available for knitters today.
One of my best knitting purchases in the past 10 20 years.  Beautiful layout with bits about Norwegian culture and the immigrant experience in the U.S.  A whopping 34 patterns with large charts and plenty of white space on the page so not to make me crazy.  Many new and interesting techniques explained clearly.  Charming vintage photos from late 19th century to early 20th century of Norwegian people both in Norway and in the U.S.

Ruth's Cap.  Pompom, tassel, or leave as it is?

I knitted Ruth's Cap and found an error.  The sample cap shows a picot edge on the hem but the pattern will produce a straight purled edge.  Beware because the instructions for Ruth's Blanket will produce the same effect.  The pattern instructions should produce the sample.  Hopefully this type of error will be corrected in future printings.  And yes, I have notified the publisher.  Erratta are here but this is not yet listed.  The publisher wrote that corrections are being made to the second edition.

Our Honeymoon Backpacking Trip

After camping through Norway (mostly in the rain) we were happy to arrive in Kjelbotn to cousin Elisabeth and her husband Magnus. 

Elisabeth Ingebritsen (cousin to my MIL), Paula, and Bob.  Our honeymoon is the only time Bob has had a beard.  Although it was late June, the weather was chilly so Elisabeth loaned me one of her handknit sweaters.  This photo was taken about 10:00 PM.  We were way above the Arctic Circle so it never got dark while we were there.  They didn't sleep much either.

Voss, Norway.  June 1975

Looking grave in the Ursin family graveyard at Lille Grosnaes, north or Tromsoe in northern Norway.

Elisabeth and sheep.

Leaving Elisabeth and Magnus at the train station in Narvik.  On our way to northern Sweden!  One more month of traveling to go before we travel home to the U.S.

See that little red dot way up high on the map where it says "Hammerfest"?  Below that is Tromso.  We were just north of Tromso.  From Trondheim on up the traveling was pretty slow because the train ended in Bodo (not shown) so we had to travel by bus and ferry.