Spinning A Yarn's Tale

This week I dove a little bit into the different types of darners out there and their Significance in history! I personally like the darning eggs with the short handles, but what are your favorite types of darners?

Our Instagram Page

Reference List

Gilday E. A Darn Good Egg: Darning Tools for Holey Socks. Piecework.

HABIT F. The Egg and I: Tools for Darning. Piecework.

 https://homethingspast.com/2012/06/07/darning-eggs-mushrooms/

I enjoy steeking, mostly because I hate knitting flat. Why go back and forth when I could go round and round? I know there are arguments that a flat knit garment fits better, but I kind of like the oversized look myself anyway.

Photos on our Instagram

Resources:

https://www.interweave.com/wp-content/uploads/Steeks-Cutting-the-Edge.pdf

https://kddandco.com/2012/04/29/steeks-1-introduction/

https://kddandco.com/2014/08/15/what-is-a-steek/

https://www.hazeltindall.com/steeks

https://icelandicknitter.com/traditional-icelandic-steek-on-my-gamaldags-lopi-sweater/

Hi all!

Blair checking in to see how all of you are doing, you're well I hope? I'm going to be putting out some mini episodes to bridge the gap between our last episode and when we start recording our longer episodes again. These are going to be coming out on a bi-weekly basis, just like our usual episodes. The only exception is that these are going to be about 10- 15 minutes in length and cover one small, particular, subject.

This weeks episode is about the history of circular needles! I found a few cool facts, and I hope you find them as interesting as I did!

Photos on our Instagram!

REFERENCES:

https://loopholes.blog/2020/02/circular-knitting-needles/

https://pieceworkmagazine.com/going-in-circles-a-history-of-knitting-in-the-round/

The Hazy History of Knitting Needles and article by Anne Berk 

Found in my colleges online library catalog. 

https://ezproxy.snhu.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aft&AN=71325962&site=eds-live&scope=site

Hi there! In the last episode of this season, we are going back in time to talk to you about a craft that we have mentioned several times over the past few episodes: Nalbinding. Nalbinding is one of the oldest needle-crafts and often coined as the predecessor to knitting. But what is nalbinding, how does it work, and is the craft still alive today? Find out in this episode! 

Resources: 

Picture of Nålbound sock:

https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/520143fde4b089a05854f6ac/bb2e9c82-e16b-4642-8b5a-cea1c2a66d6a/Schermafbeelding+2022-01-16+om+12.44.17.png?format=2500w

Nålbinding tutorial: 

https://youtu.be/FyiyRQ-1E8w

https://spinoffmagazine.com/nalbinding-a-short-history-of-an-ancient-craft/

https://www.studiomyr.com/blog/2022/1/14/the-history-of-knitwear

https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/nalbinding/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C3%A5lebinding 

Stitch explanation: 

http://vakerrysta.blogspot.com/2017/10/what-does-f2-mean-which-nalbinding.html

Hello there!

We are 2 weeks late with uploading this episode because Denise had her baby! Momma and baby are doing well, recovering and trying to get as much sleep as possible. (Knitting hasn't happened yet, but Denise's feeling her fingers itch for the needles a little bit!)

We talk about Sweden and its knitting history in this episode. We zoom in on Bohus Stickning and what knitting can mean for a society. In short: we talk about a lot of fascinating stuff, yet again!

Enjoy.

Blair's Yarn: Trilogy Yarns - Mustard 

Resources

Sweden: 

Bohus: 

Nargi, Lela. (2011). Knitting Around the World: A Multistranded History of a Time-Honored Tradition. Voyageur Press.

Welcome to another episode! Today, we talk about Estonian knitting. A rich history and culture exists that perhaps not everybody knows about. We'll cover how knitting played (and still plays, sometimes!) a role in Estonian society, as well as some different techniques and designs that are typical Estonian. 

We hope you enjoy! 

Resources: 

Welcome to this wonderful episode on Iceland! We dive into a bit of the history of knitting in Iceland, we talk about different weaving techniques found throughout the years, and of course we cannot mention Iceland without talking about Lopi! This is a really fun episode where both of us get to wonder about the magic of crafting as we explore Icelandic traditions. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Our resources:  

Patterns mentioned in today's episode: 

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/graminees

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/icelandic-handknits/patterns

- Carr, Toni & Cassidy, Kyle. (2022). The Lopapeysa Sweater: A Journey North in Search of Iceland's Iconic Knitwear. Stackpole Books. 

- Nargi, Lela. (2011). Knitting Around the World: A Multi-Stranded History of a Time-Honored Tradition. Voyageur Press. 

- Robson, Deborah & Ekarius, Carol. (2011). The Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook. Storey Publishing. 

Beautiful article about the weaving tradition in Iceland: https://thekindcraft.com/iceland-textile/  

- A little more information about the Varafeldur: 

https://littlelooms.com/weaving-history-the-varafeldur/ 

- Some good pictures of the warp-weighted loom: 

https://medium.com/@zoescope/looms-and-the-role-of-women-in-iceland-71566058c7e9 

- Picture of shoe inserts (and pattern!)

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/knitted-shoe-inserts-from-iceland 

- A wonderful interview with a traditional pattern maker who has made several shoe inserts! 

https://kddandco.com/2014/05/15/a-chat-with-helene-magnusson/

Hi there! This week, we talk about Germany and its knitting history and traditions. We go over some of the older knitting projects people used to make, the projects a man had to knit to be admitted to a guild, knitting during the Wars, and continental knitting. We also go over some of the sheep found in Germany. Thus: another good one! We hope you enjoy. 

Resources: 

Pattern talked about here: 

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/graminees

Books to check out:

World Knitting Patterns by James Norberry

The Ultimate Sock Book by Vogue Knitting

Pictures of the knitting Madonnas: https://annkingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/7C12A188-4C2E-40D7-8138-5F54A167C263-scaled.jpeg

German knitted rug:

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/217400

a, n. (2014, January 6). Knitting my (German) heritage. Feel Good Knitting. Retrieved April 9, 2023, from https://feelgoodknitting.wordpress.com/2013/01/24/knitting-my-german-heritage/

Annika. (2023, February 2). Merinolandschaf. Rosemary And Pines Fiber Arts. Retrieved April 9, 2023, from https://www.rosemaryandpinesfiberarts.de/merinolandschaf-german-sheep-breeds/

German whiteheaded mutton sheep - Oklahoma State University. German Whiteheaded Mutton Sheep | Oklahoma State University. (2021, April 19). Retrieved April 9, 2023, from https://breeds.okstate.edu/sheep/german-whiteheaded-mutton-sheep.html

Knitting&Death. (2022, June 16). Germany's "Knitting battalions" of the Great War. Medium. Retrieved April 9, 2023, from https://knittinganddeath.medium.com/germanys-knitting-battalions-of-the-great-war-13c1e68c20d1

Nargi, L. (2014). Knitting around the world: A multistranded history of a time-honored tradition. Voyageur.

Thomas, M. (n.d.). Mary Thomas ́knitting Book. Hodder & Stoughton.

Viennese art nouveau lace. Viennese Art Nouveau Lace. (n.d.). Retrieved April 9, 2023, from http://wakges.blogspot.com/2012/01/viennese-art-nouveau-lace.html

Weightman, J. (2012, October 10). More knitting history: World War II. Judy Weightman. Retrieved April 9, 2023, from https://judyweightman.wordpress.com/2012/10/09/more-knitting-history-world-war-ii/

Welcome to Portugal! Today, we speak all about the history of Portuguese knitting and different traditional garments to be found in Portugal. Turns out they knit quite a bit differently in Portugal, using a knitting pin! Enjoy this insightful episode and check out the links below for extra inspiration or to try out this knitting technique for yourself!

Resources

Patterns mentioned throughout this episode: 

For the PNW Yarn Crawl, Ewe and I Yarns is focusing on Turkey as their theme! Therefore, we talk about Turkish fiber traditions today, so you have some extra background information when you look at all the fiber goodness at Ewe and I! We cover Turkish color-knitting and we highlight Turkish rugs. We hope to see you soon at the PNW Yarn Crawl at Ewe and I!

Patterns Talked about today: 

The Bonnie Cardigan: 

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/bonnie-27

Pictures of Turkish Socks as well as a lovely article: https://pieceworkmagazine.com/sock-monday-turkish-socks/

RESOURCES: