Anarchist Knitting
I've lately been reading a knitting book with a delightful title -- Knitting for Anarchists, by Anna Zilboorg. Now, it's not about knitting for anarchists -- not a book of patterns for sweaters useful for friends and family members getting dragged off to jail, no, no -- it's a book for anarchists to knit by.
The main point of the book is that you don't need to knit out of a book, and indeed, if we would all get more familiar with our knitting fabrics we could free ourselves up and be more flexible and improve the general tone and tenor of our knitting lives. Zilboorg provides clear pictures and instructions for alternate methods of knitting, showing exactly how the two great families of knitting techniques -- English and Continental -- differ, and how they operate, and showing also why one style favors the counter-clockwise wrap, whilst the other favors the clockwise wrap.
Well, who cares, if your knitting is working for you? And besides, isn't this all complicated and boring?
One of the most useful blocks of time I've spent in my knitting career consisted of a few days teaching myself, out of a book, different methods of knitting. Now I've got a way I like best, but I can use others when I need them. I think that a block of time spent in that way would be very useful for anybody who loves their knitting but worries about making mistakes, or finds it hard to branch out into new techniques. Zilboorg's nice and chatty and clear, and her book has the advantage of being in print and inexpensive. (Well, inexpensive in relation to the $180 Hiatt's Principles of Knitting is going for these days.)
And she manages to keep from making too many pronouncements, a difficult task for a knitter -- in general, she thinks (quite rightly) that knitters should try to get away from reading their patterns as quickly as possible, memorizing them and understanding the fabric instead, but she does agree that patterns are sometimes useful. Her own pattern, a method for making variations on a strip-knit sweater, is to my mind, not very attractive, but it has the advantage of showing her method, and providing lots of flexibility. She does diss U-shaped cable needles quite unnecessarily,* but it's a short lapse into bossiness, and easily forgiven.
Her tone reminds me of Zimmerman's -- the knitting's all about the process, and only secondarily about the product. I think this shows up, for both of them, in the designs they create -- you can't get really fancy if you're going to eschew patterns and writing things down. No "Margaret Tudors" for you, anarchists! I myself enjoy both process and product, and I like patterns easy to memorize AND those I have to follow line by line -- so I've got, always, at least two on the needles, as different designs feed different pieces of my heart and brain. But I do consider the focus on process extremely valuable, especially for new knitters who aren't feeling confident yet. Zimmerman and Zilboorg are both knitting writers who are gifted at instilling ease and hope into their readers.
A usable and useful book. Small. Easy to carry around and read.
****************
* What IS this new fangled-fashion for dissing knitting needles one does not wish to use? I've been seeing all sorts of mean remarks about various knitting needles lately. Zilboorg herself has a great broadmindedness about all things knitting EXCEPT U-shaped cable needles, which she believes to be "pandering to the horror of dropping stitches" (p.70). Oh, please. Like I'm scared of dropping stitches. I like U-Shaped cable needles because they're easy for me to use, and I find them less clumsy than those little straight or wing-shaped ones. And while I'm thinking of it, I HATE them in plastic, and apparently metal's no longer fashionable, and since I lose them regularly, I'm going to run out. So if you've come to believe that metal U-shaped cable needles are an abomination, let me know, and we can make a deal. You can send me your metal ones, and I'll send you the plastic ones that, it turns out, I don't enjoy. As part of the deal, we won't diss each other's choice.
Also. I have been reading more and more about the silliness of straight needles, now that apparently the whole world has figured out that you can knit back-and-forth on circular needles and take up less space. True, so true. However. If, like me, you've got your left-hand needle tucked under your arm, held steady while you knit against it, much as if you were using a knitting sheath, only you didn't have to buy one, and are used, therefore, to knitting like a bat out of hell, you can also, when you need to, such as if you're doing stranded knitting, knit around and around on circular needles, but you're never going to pick up circular needles to knit back and forth unless for some reason you absolutely have to, and it won't be because you're a knitting idiot.
Experiment. Try different methods of knitting. Use different needles. See what you like best, and don't let anybody give you any guff.
Alternatively, do the same thing you've always done, and don't try anything else -- but STILL, don't let anybody give you any guff.
The main point of the book is that you don't need to knit out of a book, and indeed, if we would all get more familiar with our knitting fabrics we could free ourselves up and be more flexible and improve the general tone and tenor of our knitting lives. Zilboorg provides clear pictures and instructions for alternate methods of knitting, showing exactly how the two great families of knitting techniques -- English and Continental -- differ, and how they operate, and showing also why one style favors the counter-clockwise wrap, whilst the other favors the clockwise wrap.
Well, who cares, if your knitting is working for you? And besides, isn't this all complicated and boring?
One of the most useful blocks of time I've spent in my knitting career consisted of a few days teaching myself, out of a book, different methods of knitting. Now I've got a way I like best, but I can use others when I need them. I think that a block of time spent in that way would be very useful for anybody who loves their knitting but worries about making mistakes, or finds it hard to branch out into new techniques. Zilboorg's nice and chatty and clear, and her book has the advantage of being in print and inexpensive. (Well, inexpensive in relation to the $180 Hiatt's Principles of Knitting is going for these days.)
And she manages to keep from making too many pronouncements, a difficult task for a knitter -- in general, she thinks (quite rightly) that knitters should try to get away from reading their patterns as quickly as possible, memorizing them and understanding the fabric instead, but she does agree that patterns are sometimes useful. Her own pattern, a method for making variations on a strip-knit sweater, is to my mind, not very attractive, but it has the advantage of showing her method, and providing lots of flexibility. She does diss U-shaped cable needles quite unnecessarily,* but it's a short lapse into bossiness, and easily forgiven.
Her tone reminds me of Zimmerman's -- the knitting's all about the process, and only secondarily about the product. I think this shows up, for both of them, in the designs they create -- you can't get really fancy if you're going to eschew patterns and writing things down. No "Margaret Tudors" for you, anarchists! I myself enjoy both process and product, and I like patterns easy to memorize AND those I have to follow line by line -- so I've got, always, at least two on the needles, as different designs feed different pieces of my heart and brain. But I do consider the focus on process extremely valuable, especially for new knitters who aren't feeling confident yet. Zimmerman and Zilboorg are both knitting writers who are gifted at instilling ease and hope into their readers.
A usable and useful book. Small. Easy to carry around and read.
****************
* What IS this new fangled-fashion for dissing knitting needles one does not wish to use? I've been seeing all sorts of mean remarks about various knitting needles lately. Zilboorg herself has a great broadmindedness about all things knitting EXCEPT U-shaped cable needles, which she believes to be "pandering to the horror of dropping stitches" (p.70). Oh, please. Like I'm scared of dropping stitches. I like U-Shaped cable needles because they're easy for me to use, and I find them less clumsy than those little straight or wing-shaped ones. And while I'm thinking of it, I HATE them in plastic, and apparently metal's no longer fashionable, and since I lose them regularly, I'm going to run out. So if you've come to believe that metal U-shaped cable needles are an abomination, let me know, and we can make a deal. You can send me your metal ones, and I'll send you the plastic ones that, it turns out, I don't enjoy. As part of the deal, we won't diss each other's choice.
Also. I have been reading more and more about the silliness of straight needles, now that apparently the whole world has figured out that you can knit back-and-forth on circular needles and take up less space. True, so true. However. If, like me, you've got your left-hand needle tucked under your arm, held steady while you knit against it, much as if you were using a knitting sheath, only you didn't have to buy one, and are used, therefore, to knitting like a bat out of hell, you can also, when you need to, such as if you're doing stranded knitting, knit around and around on circular needles, but you're never going to pick up circular needles to knit back and forth unless for some reason you absolutely have to, and it won't be because you're a knitting idiot.
Experiment. Try different methods of knitting. Use different needles. See what you like best, and don't let anybody give you any guff.
Alternatively, do the same thing you've always done, and don't try anything else -- but STILL, don't let anybody give you any guff.
<< Home