Mandy Moore's Blog, page 116

Obsession Thursday: Audio Books

I listen to a lot of audio books. I still love being read to. I listen when I knit and spin —  it helps to focus me on my work. I listen when I do laundry or clean the house – it's my version of Calgon, Take Me Away. I listen when I can't sleep or wake up restless;  it's a great way to have company at 3 am.

I know a lot of other knitters and spinners listen to audio books too, so Amy and I decided to share what we're listening to and like. Every few weeks one of us will post our thoughts on an audio book or two.

A story set in early New York

Clara and Mr Tiffany by Susan Vreeland, $45

Clara Driscoll heads up the women's department at Tiffany and Co., she is a talented artist and a champion of her staff. She's also the person who came up with the idea for the iconic Tiffany leaded lampshades. She spends most of her working life striving and growing in her artistic expression while fighting for the right to be recognized as a designer. She has a close circle of Bohemian friends at the boarding house where she lives who support her in her creative and political endeavors, and she in theirs. For me, Clara's story was interesting particularly the passages about  her design process, but especially fascinating was the story of the unfolding history of New York and women in the workplace and the turn of the century.

Actress Kimberly Farr portraying Clara and her circle of acquaintances and co-workers with a deft hand. She reads Clara in a flatish Midwestern accent, slow and steady, while her cadre of immigrant co-workers get accents soft and believable.  This book doesn't feel performed. Every time I started up the story again it felt like picking up the phone to a good friend, familiar and comforting.

WWW: Knitters Doing Good; Men's Knitting Retreats

A few weeks ago, Amy retweeted a link to a story on the XRX company blog about a fundraiser.  One of their employees,  Sue Nelson, has been suffering for a few years with a particularly nasty cancer, and XRX had decided to help Sue by raffling off the original sample of the Great American Afghan.  All funds raised were to go to Sue's medical costs.

Last week, Benjamin Levisay, CEO of XRX, announced that $11,000 had been raised, and the winner of the afghan was Angela Tennant, of Florida. Upon being notified of her win, Angela told Benjamin that she didn't want the prize – she wanted the afghan to go to Sue, to comfort her and keep her warm through her recovery. A wonderful gesture to cap off an excellent show of love, generosity and support from the broader knitting community.

We join everyone at XRX in wishing Sue the very best for her treatments and recovery.

Hundreds of prosthetics, lovingly made, ready to be fitted.

Judy, Knitty reader and breast cancer survivor, has written to us from her winter home in Mexico, telling us about an initiative she and her friends have launched to knit and donate Tit bits to a local breast cancer clinic. The Cancer de Mama Clinic in La Penita runs programs to provide support and services to breast cancer sufferers and their families from all over Mexico. The knitters have made nearly 400 tit bits, and they have been gratefully received by patients of the clinic, many of whom are from the poorest regions of Mexico and couldn't otherwise afford to purchase any kind of prosthetic. In their most recent clinic event this past February, 348 women were outfitted with prosthetics, and donated wigs, bras and other supplies were distributed.

The 2011 schedule for the US Men's Knitting Retreats has been announced.  The East Coast event takes place May 19-22 in Greenwich, New York, and there is a Colorado retreat in July, and a Michigan event in November.  These retreats have been taking place since 2008, and always attract a great group of male knitters looking to learn, share and show off their work. More details here.

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Soon to be a movie.

News has broken that Katherine Heigl — actress and knitter — will be producing and starring in a movie adaptation of The Knitting Circle, made for HBO. An adaptation of the Ann Hood novel, the movie stars Heigl as a mother who seeks solace after the death of her 5-year-old daughter by joining a knitting circle.

Update: The US Special Olympics program tells us that they have received more 26,000 scarves, donated by knitters and crocheters, to distribute to participants in the 35 Special Olympics events around the US this year. The scarves were created and donated by thousands of participants including school children and community centers, knitting and church groups, school bus drivers, a 102-year old woman from Wisconsin, and a woman's correctional facility who adopted the project.

A travel feature in the Guardian newspaper about the Yorkshire Dales points us to The Dales Countryside Museum, which is hosting a series of events and exhibitions this year exploring and celebrating the Dales traditions of textile arts, including knitting and spinning. Museum Manager Fiona Rosher said "The Dales Countryside Museum has a wonderful collection of knitting sticks, knitted gloves, rugs, quilts and crocheted pieces and, this year, these pieces have been the inspiration for our events programme."

Spinning Tuesday: Wow, that's a lot of fiber to spin

I gathered together most of the fibers I want to spin for my Deb Robson Top Fibers project and well

A whole lot of fiber and my two liferafts, Deb's book and DVD set

that's a lot of fiber. I was feeling a bit panicky as I lay it all on the floor to shoot a picture, but as a started really touching the fibers, and yes smelling them, I got excited all over again. That's a big pile of learning.

I got the raw fibers on both lists (just one selection where there were multiples) from The Spinning Loft and the prepped fibers from Spirit Trail Fiberworks. I feel it's important to spin some of both, fiber that I prep myself always spins just a little smoother for me than commercially prepped fiber.

Thanks to the wonderfully generous folks at Interweave, Storey Publishing and The Spinning Loft we'll have few prizes as I spin along. Not saying what just yet, but  I will say they are mmmmm,mmm, good.

If you missed the initial Deb Robson Top Fibers lists they are in this post.

I'm thinking about starting a Knittyspin Ravelry group, so we can have a spot to chat about this project and other spinny things. What do you think, would you stop by and chat?

 

One of Galia's lovely spindles

In our new issue of Knitty I reviewed a spindle by Galia. She dropped me a note yesterday to let me know she has a fresh batch of spindles in her shop, and a discount code on her Facebook page.

Next week you'll see the first yarns from my Deb Robson Top Fibers project!

The Cooperative Press & The Kickstarter Program

an independent publishing company

As we mentioned last Wednesday, friend of Knitty, knitter, designer and author Shannon Okey, has launched a Kickstarter Campaign for her publishing company, Cooperative Press.

Shannon's doing some innovative and wonderful work with Cooperative Press, and we wanted to tell you a bit more about it.

(Full disclosure: I'm working on a book right now to be published by Cooperative Press this summer.)

The goal of the Kickstarter campaign is to raise funds to allow Shannon to more quickly launch the next books in her pipeline. She's got over 20 in various states of readiness, including the Fresh Designs series.

Whether you become a backer or not, at Knitty we think you should be excited about what Shannon is doing.

We spoke to Shannon about the company and her Kickstarter campaign.

Knitty: Tell us about Cooperative Press. What's your vision?

Shannon: Cooperative Press is a fully independent publishing company dedicated to books of all kinds – not just knitting! – doing physical and digital publishing. The vision comes from years working on the fringes of the publishing business. Although working with traditional, large publishers can be very rewarding, there are some books that fly under their radar. I was tired of seeing marketing departments making editorial decisions, and I wanted to publish books that I knew would have an audience without watering them down to make them more popular.  That just doesn't work!

Knitty: What books can we expect to see from Cooperative Press in the near future?

Shannon:

What Would Madame Defarge Knit?, edited by Heather Ordover
Extreme Double Knitting, by Alasdair Post-Quinn
Shaping Shawls, by Anna Dalvi
[title still undecided, but if you like knitting, history and knitting history, well...], by Penelope Hemingway
Big Foot Knits — world exclusive, friends! you heard it here first — by Andi Smith. If you're plus-sized or have big feet (and I'm both!), you are going to love this one.
Hot Color (solar dyeing), by Kelley Dean Crowley
and a book of techniques, advice and designs for newer knitters by Knitty's own Kate Atherley.

Knitty: Why have you launched the Kickstarter Program?

Shannon: Book publishing is a slightly different creature from single-pattern publishing (with which the Knittyblog's readers might be more familiar). There are some similar costs that both share: tech editing, photography, etc, but there are also print-related costs that individual designers wouldn't necessarily run up against and we do. We've done our level best with every single project we've worked on thus far (and have going now!) to keep costs down as far as we can by doing the majority of the work in-house. (For in-house, read "by me.") If we have more cash on hand, we can slash some of these other costs by a ridiculous amount, and kick off a multiplier effect that will ripple through ALL the books we're working on. I keep bringing up the old saying "takes money to make money," but it really is true.

Knitty: How does the Kickstarter program work?

Shannon: This is a really neat program. Kickstarter (the company) has to approve all projects for inclusion on the site, and they do need to be very specific and meet certain criteria before they're approved. By using Amazon Payments instead of PayPal or another payment system, they can essentially hold payments in limbo until you reach your goal and deadline. If you've met your goal, the funds are disbursed, minus credit card processing charges and a small percentage to Kickstarter. While your payment is in limbo, you can change it if you like (many of our wonderful backers have raised theirs already!), it doesn't go through until the deadline. If the project doesn't meet its goal, backers' accounts are never charged.

Contrast this to a bank. Our bank wouldn't give us a standard business loan, despite being completely in the black. They're just not interested in doing business with someone who isn't asking for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Say "knitting" at any time, and their eyebrows just ARCH, despite crafts being a billion-plus dollar industry. In short, they really don't get it. You, dear readers, do. Thank you for that.

Knitty: One of the great benefits of supporting Cooperative Press is knowing that many new and wonderful knitting books will be published. What other benefits do backers receive?

Shannon: There are rewards – thank you gifts – for backers, at various contribution levels. You don't have to contribute a lot – the minimum is $1, and the rewards start at the $10 level. There are already many great rewards, and I'm hoping we'll have some additional ones to offer before the end of the month, too. But more importantly, you're getting the chance to not only help 70+ emerging designers, not to mention the other Cooperative Press authors who will benefit from the multiplier effect I referenced above. Even a dollar helps. Seriously. This isn't about me. It's about facilitating an entirely new kind of publishing process that benefits designers and authors in the way it should. Every day I'm hearing from people who aren't happy with the status quo for one reason or another. Maybe a big publisher cancelled their upcoming book. Maybe they don't like the fact that size ranges in standard books are limited. Whatever it is — I'm here listening! Well, I am Cooperative Press and it is me. There's no marketing department telling mewhat they think is hot this year. I do use "we" and "our" a lot because I believe that all the authors and freelancers who work with us are part of the CP family, but when it comes down to getting things done, there's one layer. Me. By supporting CP, you are supporting the changes in publishing that you and your fellow creators want to see!

If you'd like to learn more about the Cooperative Press Kickstarter campaign, click here.

WWW: Art, craft and running.

Absolutely incredible.

A knitting group from the UK, The Materialistics, known for "extreme knitting" – including a boat cozy – has unveiled their latest project: yarny versions of 50 great masterworks of art. The works are faithfully recreated with knitting, crochet, embroidery and some applique.  They were exhibited at the recent Stitch and Craft show in London, and will be touring around the UK. Absolutely stunning.

An article on the Huffington Post, although starting badly (just rush past the bit where the author claims knitting is boring) discusses the National Women's Hall of Fame, which is housed in a knitting mill in Seneca, New York, features a great interview with Debbie Stoller about craft and feminism, and takes a side-trip into profiles of key knitters in history.

Genius solution alert! The world's easiest and best way to insert a zipper into a knitted garment.

A whole-body exercise.

A different sort of extreme knitting is being practiced by Susie Hewer.  She's a marathon runner, who knits while she runs.   She currently holds the Guinness World Record for knitting the longest scarf while running a marathon, and is looking to beat that record in one of the four marathons she will be running this year.

Cooperative Press, run by friend of Knitty Shannon Okey has launched a Kickstarter campaign for the month of April. The indie publishing company is seeking funds to help the company grow to allow them to publish more books. Excellent rewards are available for backers. Watch the KnittyBlog for more on Cooperative Press in the next week.

Annie Modesitt has announced her fall retreat. A weekend of classes on colorwork and Entrelac, taught by the goddess-heretic herself, September 23-25, in Minnesota.

 

Spinning Tuesday: Inspired by Deborah Robson

I have been inspired by Deborah Robson.

First, I took a Rare Breeds class from her at The Spinning Loft.

Then, I watched her DVD set Handspinning Rare Wools.

 

38 rare and endangered sheep

Then, I read an advance of her soon to be published book with Carol Ekarius, The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook: More than 200 Fibers, from Animal to Spun Yarn.

Official publication date is June 1, 2011

With every encounter, in person or virtually, I was uplifted and nearly overwhelmed by her expertise and passion for her subject, particularly rare and endangered sheep.

I became inspired, obsessed really, with the idea of spinning a wider variety of fiber. Exposing my spinning and brain to breeds beyond BFL and Merino.

Then I tried not to freak out.

There was so much I didn't know, where should I start- the book has 200 fibers to spin, the DVD set 38 rare and endangered breeds of sheep? What was I really going to spin? And where would I find the fiber?

So I did what any 21st century fan girl would do – I emailed Deb. I asked the expert how to narrow down the enormous list of fibers to a manageable list. She helped me out. I have lists. I'll share them in a second.

Then I had to find the fiber. There are two women I know, both owners of spinning shops who feel as strongly about the survival and variety of sheep breeds and animals fibers as Deb. Beth Smith of The Spinning Loft and Jennifer Heverly of Spirit Trail Fiberworks. I contacted them about fiber. For each fiber listed below I am getting raw and prepped fiber too, when it's available.

I asked Deb to give me a  list, up to ten fibers that every spinner should try to spin. She asked, "just animal fiber or rare breed wools?" I said yes. She graciously sent two lists. Here's what she sent, and what I'm going to spin over the next 10 weeks:

Deborah Robson's Must-Spin Lists 2011

Animal fibers that every spinner should know and try:

wool, one of the following: Cotswold, Lincoln, Leicester Longwool
wool, one of the following: Shropshire, Southdown, Oxford
wool, Merino
mohair, adult
mohair, kid
alpaca, huacaya (most is huacaya)
angora rabbit
cashmere
qiviut

Rare and endangered wools

Black Welsh
Clun Forest
Navajo Churro
American Tunis
American Jacob
Southdown
Romeldale/CVM
Cotswold
Lincoln or Leicester Longwool*
Wensleydale or Teeswater*

*These are not totally interchangeable, but giving alternatives means that it'll be more possible to locate supplies.

I'm ready to spin outside of my comfort zone, and to learn about new fibers. I have my fiber and I have my lists. I have Deb's book and DVDs to keep me from getting lost.

Who wants to spin along on my fiber adventure?

Lanesplitter update

Such fun to knit!  Noro is my favouritest yarn in the whole world, and I'm a wearer of skirts, so Lanesplitter seems like a natural fit.  Lynne and Jillian convinced me.  (I'll be honest, I'm also secretly hoping that if I knit a wool skirt, it will hurry the warm weather along.)

I'm making excellent progress – I cast on Thursday, and I'm nearly finished the straight section already.  The key questions is the fit – the pattern itself suggests between 0 and 6 inches of negative ease, depending on desired fit.  I'm at 7 inches of negative ease now, but it will stretch somewhat with blocking.  I think three more inches and I'll start the decreases.

Good knitting requires both coffee and tea.

Using Kureyon color 242.

 

Obsession: Sunshine

Oh, how I love the sunshine. It feels like we haven't had a lot of it over the past few months, and I'm craving it. Sunshine makes everything better.

It improves photographs

Natural light and shadow - gorgeous!

allows for easy outdoor knitting

Good light is important for knitting.

and it gives us warmth.

Enough warmth to go outside without a coat. Or a shirt, even.

Roll on, spring! We're ready.

 

WWW: Fundraising updates; attracting a Prince with knitting?

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Even cuter than chickens in sweaters.

Knitters in Australia are knitting little sweaters for injured penguins.

The Coventry Knitathon for Red Nose Day in the UK has raised over £6000 for Comic Relief. Although they failed in their objective to break the Guinness record for most knitters at the same time and the same place, a good time was had by all.

A great slide show of the event here.

Fundraising Update: Kay of Mason -Dixon Knitting reports that she has raised over $5000 for relief efforts in Japan with her Mitered Crosses blanket pattern.

Wendy Johnson has raised over $2500 with her Japanese Garden shawl pattern.

Janel Laidman has raised over $3000 with her Eiki shawl pattern.

The diaphanous dress worn by Kate Middleton in a university fashion show… the dress that is purported to have captured Prince William's attention…. Did you know it was hand-knitted?

A great summary of the inaugural lecture given by the Chair of Knitting in the School of Art & Design at Nottingham Trent University. Although the focus is more machine knitting, it doesn't mean I don't want the job – or at least the title!

Not so much call for sweaters in their home town...

Do you mark Earth Hour in your city? While many knitters around the globe were spending an hour without electricity last weekend, knitting by candlelight, some friends of Knitty in the US Virgin Islands were using the wonderful natural light there to craft themselves a set of Everlasting Bagstoppers. These reusable shopping bags are a different but just as important way to save energy and think of the environment.

And just because we love it: an embroidered portrait with its own knitted scarf, created by mummysan, brought to our attention by KnitHacker.

Now that's multimedia we can get behind.

Spinning Tuesday: More Marled Swatches

Last week I got my spin on with multi colored fibers plied with naturals, creating a variety of marled yarns. This week I knit them. Come take a peek:

First up Spunky Eclectic colorway Diesel. Here are the yarns:

Diesel with naturals

And the swatches:

Spunky Eclectic Diesel swatches

I love all four of these – each natural brings out something different in the original fiber. I would be happy spinning and knitting a whole sweater out of any one of them. Yum.

Now Fiberstory. The yarns:

Fiber Story skeins

The swatches:

Fiberstory swatches

I feel exactly the opposite about these swatches. None of them do it for me, the yarns didn't either. I think the brown is ok, but the rest seem to take away from the original colorway.

Last we have Abstract Fibers. The yarns:

Abstract Fibers plied with naturals

The swaches:

Abstract Fiber swatches

I like the two darker swatches here. The lighter swatches are too contrasty for me. I especially like the mid brown (upper right), all of the colors in the original colorway get highlighted, while in the dark brown only the green really shows.

Fun isn't it?

What's next? Before I start playing with mixing 2 or more variegated colorways, I want to show you a type of marling I've always liked.

Texture. Up until now I haven't said what types of fibers I've been using because I wanted to focus on blending colored fibers with natural colored fibers. But what about the same colorway but different fiber types? I love that type of blending.

Here's what I'll be working with from cjkoho Designs:

cjkoho Designs colorway: Henry

Closer:

cjkoho Designs oranges and gold

Left to right: Merino/tencel, silk, Merino and BFL.

Tune in next week for the fun.