Skein Lane Retreaters
Well, it’s been a week from hell and I have not had the chance to get back to tell you about the two fabulous workshops we had at the Skein Lane Retreat earlier this month. But there is a lull in the hubbub – at least until the phone rings again – and I’m gonna give it a shot.
On Saturday, the only full day of the retreat, we 40-some knitters split into two groups, and half of us went to Sally Melville‘s Knit to Flatter and Fit class and the other half went to Nancy Bush‘s Estonian lace class. I drew the Melville card first, so off I went.
I have taken two or three classes with Sally and I am always impressed by the very
In Sally's class
original way she thinks about knitting. Her approach is unlike that of any other instructor I have encountered – very contemporary, “fashion-forward” (as they say on Project Runway), and strongly influenced by current fashion lines and trends. She also thinks simple – basic shapes, structures, stitches and materials. What flash there is (and there is quite a lot) comes from the understated quality of most of her work. Now, I know that sounds like an oxymoron – flashy understatement – but it is true of Sally’s work. By focusing on knitting’s foundations – the shape of the garment, the way its pieces come together, the drape of the fabric created by the yarn – and simplifying those things, the end result is as impressive (if not more) than a complicated piece of lace, cable or color work because Sally’s garments FIT. They enhance, rather than obscure, what is underneath – our bodies. In her workshop, she set out to show us how she approaches the shape and fit of her designs and how we could incorporate that into our knitting.
Taking our measurements
And what fun it was to do this! Basically, Sally had us play paper dolls. Our homework was to have someone take a picture of our bodies from head to toe in a form-fitting outfit (like a leotard and tights). As you can imagine, this was excruciating. But she took pity on us by having us trace in bold marker the outline of our bodies before we came, so that we could leave the awful pictures at home. She then went through some basic garment shapes for both top and bottom and we cut them out from colored paper and laid them, in different combinations, on our outline. This way, we could see shapes in combinations that we otherwise might not think we could wear and would not otherwise try. Then, in the best part of the workshop, she taught us some formulas using out own measurements that we could use when knitting a garment that would ensure the sleeves, waist, length, etc. hit us in just the right places.
More measurements
Now, no words I write about this workshop here can possibly do justice to how great it was. I left that class feeling like my knitting had been revolutionized. It made me rethink my body shape, my propensity for “busy” knitting, and the clothes I like to wear. I am going to pull out all of Sally’s books and review some of her garments and rethink knitting them for myself. I cannot tell you how much I loved this class. Let me leave you with one of many things Sally said that just rang inside my head. “Knitting is not a bible you should follow. You have to work out each pattern just for you.” If you don’t she went on later, you don’t wear what you knit because you are unhappy with it. And she wants “to reconnect our knitting with our closets. Because to wear what you knit is to honor your craft.”
Paper dolls!
After Sally’s class, the whole group met for another great meal at the dining hall – I had some delicious, fresh salad and a great slice of homemade pizza. These Marconi Conference Center people really know how to fatten one up. Not that I am complaining! After lunch, we had an hour or so to sit and knit on our own, and then it was off to the afternoon session. In my case, this was Nancy Bush’s Estonian Lace knitting class.
Nancy with a map of Estonia and all those shawls!
While Sally’s class was all about innovation and style and contemporary lines, Nancy’s class was all about tradition, history and upholding the work of our forebears in the craft. I really dig this kind of stuff. While I love to knit what’s “new” – say, what’s in the latest Vogue Knitting – I really get off on carrying on the tradition of the craft. No one is a better spokesperson for this than Nancy, who has spent years traveling back and forth to Estonia, learning the history, loving the people and deciphering their knitting tradition for the rest of us who are not so lucky to get to go there.
Nancy taught us that Estonian lace knitting, which has about a 200-year history, has
Part of the lace sampler we made
certain telltale characteristics and stitches. First, it is always bound by a garter-stitch frame, second, it requires a knitted cast on, and third, it usually makes use of one or more of four basic stitch patterns. I could tell you more, but it’s all there in Nancy’s fabulous book, and she’s a better interpreter of this kind of lace than anyone.
In the class, Nancy showed us the four basic Estonian lace stitches – the lingonberry pattern, the leaf pattern, the twig, pattern and the lily of the valley pattern. This last one makes use of a distinctively Estonian stitch called the “nupp.” This last one is tricky – but so gorgeous when done – and requires making 5, 7 or 9 increases in a single stitch (!!!). Nancy had us make our own Estonian lace samplers and she showed us dozens – literally – of knitted shawls and scarves, some of which she brought from Estonia and some of which she made herself. Each one was more lovely than the last. Just fantastic. A great class – and I could not wait to start my own shawl!
Nancy knit most of the these!
After Nancy’s class, we headed back to our rooms for some adult beverages. I love adult beverages. I especially love adult beverages and knitting. Put the two together and you come up with some pretty whacky things. Over our beverages and cheese, we had a planning session for next year’s retreat – we knew we wanted to have Sally and Nancy back and they both wanted to return – calendars permitting – and we talked about the possibility of adding another full day. I sure hope that comes to pass. I felt like I learned more in that single day of workshops than I had in a long, long time. And more importantly, I was inspired.
Planning party
More about the fashion show and the last day of the retreat to come. I got a barking dog that I need to whallop. Knit on.
