BookWorm - SilkWorm

Summer Craft Festivals

2011-05-02T16:05:00.000-04:00

This is the time for summer craft festivals. Last week was Vine Grove Spring Fling. Next week is the Every Womens Festival at the Colvin Community Center.

We would love for you to come.

fiber prices

2010-06-19T22:54:00.002-04:00

Fiber orders over $50 get free shipping. All other orders pay exact shipping.

I sell fiber by the ounce or by the lb. I also trade. All large orders will be shipped directly from the company.

Superwash top for $1.50 ounce. I have this is several colors as well as lots of black. Is is fabulously soft, slick and spins like a dream. This make fantastic lace.

non-wool fibers to order	Price per 1/2 lb	Price per ounce
Dew or Water Retted Flax Sliver (1/2 lb)	$15.00	$1.88
Super Fine Water Retted Flax Top (1/2 lb)	$20.00	$2.50
Bleached Flax Sliver (1/2 lb)	$22.00	$2.75
Hemp Fiber (1/2 lb)	$16.00	$2.00
Ramie Top (1/2 lb)	$14.00	$1.75
Black Diamond Top (rayon) - Carbonized Fiber (1/2 lb)	$19.00	$2.38
Latte Top - 100% Milk Fiber (1/2 lb)	$45.00	$5.63
Corn Fiber - 100% Corn Fiber (1/2 lb)	$25.00	$3.13
Sparkling White Icicle Top (Nylon)1/2lb	$10.00	$1.25
Fake Cashmere (Nylon Top) 1/2 lb	$10.00	$1.25
Bright Viscose Top (1/2 lb)	$11.00	$1.38
White Tencel Top (1/2 lb)	$12.50	$1.56
SoySilk Top White - 100% SOYSILK Brand Fiber (1/2 lb)	$19.00	$2.38
SoySilk Top Natural - 100% SOYSILK Brand Fiber (1/2 lb)	$16.00	$2.00

Lt Brown Coopworth roving ($1.25/ounce)

off white Alpaca($2.25 /ounce)

Fine kid mohair ($2.25/ounce)

white Finn top ($1.88/ounce)

white Falkland top ($1.75/ounce)

white Tencel top($1.56/ounce)

fine White Shetland (1.57/ounce)

White BFL top (1.63/ounce)

Grey Icelandic top (1.18/ounce)

Dk Brown Coopworth roving ($1.35/ounce)

Natural soysilk top ($2.25/ounce)
Northern Lights pencil roving in white dyable ($2.00/ounce)

Summer Classes

2010-05-20T12:42:00.005-04:00

Gearing up for Summer Classes. Have some great new ones coming up

One of my new classes is One-Stroke Painting.

Bobby-Jo has been a good friend of mine since I was an instructor at Michaels. She is a fantastic artist and is contracted to a Gatlinburg TN gallery. She has agreed to do one class a month.

One-stroke painting is great for scrapbookers. They make great note-cards as you can see here. I have seen murals entirely completed with one-stroke. Fantastic work.

Classes are $25 and will be held exclusively on Saturdays. Supplies are available in store for a class discount.

Quality in Learning

2010-03-17T22:01:00.002-04:00

While it is not necessary to learn to spin on expensive fiber, it is advisable to learn on QUALITY fiber.

That is why I advise new spinners to stick with commercially prepared fiber, a dealer that has very good reviews or one that offers a small sample of fiber first. eBay...don't believe the feedback. If a "learn to kit" is sold, chances are, it is bought by someone who does not know anything about fiber.

Quality does not nessarily mean expensive either. White fiber is often less expensive than colored or dyed fiber. Mill ends, the small amount of fiber left over from big jobs, are cheaper than large amounts of fiber. Mill ends are often in 1 - 2 ounce pieces. The perfect size to learn on.

So when you are buying online, please communicate with the dealer. Ask for references - ask for a sample. Do not allow low quality materials to keep you from learning.

Personally, I like teaching on the medium to long wools. Coopworth is great - as is Romney and Border Leicester. I prefer teaching on roving over top. Top is often too slick for new spinners to control. Everyone will pick a favorite sooner or later. No matter the type of fiber, in the beginning, you need to make your job easier. Quality fiber will ensure you have a good chance of success.

Open Craft Night

2009-11-25T12:56:00.002-05:00

This Saturday is open craft night.

Saturday 4PM-7PM bring the craft of your choice. Knitting, Crochet, Spinning, Tatting or whatever.

New Coffee Maker and convection oven for your use. Just a walk down the sidewalk is a restaurant/bar for the rest of your needs.

At the Insubordiknit workshop

2009-10-06T14:40:00.002-04:00

DSC_1545.JPG
Originally uploaded by insubordiknit

This is me. What a picture - huh?
I do not take good photos. Not good at all.

The fall festival sucked. Poorly advertised. No one showed up.
But I bought a Romney fleece that day so it wasn't all bad.

The workshop was great! I learned a lot. I loved the core spinning and the fake boucle "little circles". I have already made some more core spinning and have ordered some supplies to do more little circles. She made everything look SO easy. But like all things, it will take lots and lots of practice.

So I need to do lots of practice. I have a whole fleece to process too. It looks golden but when the grease is washed out, it is bright white.

2009-09-19T21:01:00.002-04:00

I have a lot of new fiber in stock. Why! Addiction is such as ugly word don't you think. But I do have a motive. There is a Fall Festival Sept 26 that I will be spinning at. I will have the booth and the whole works out.

BUT, but the new fiber is fantastic. Each time I buy fiber, I try a a little something different. This time I couldnt' decide between Finn and Falkland. I used Falkland in a class I took in June and it was nice. But I had heard that Finn was even softer. So I got both. On my last order, I got BFL, so this time I got Dark BFL. :)

So..So far I have in stock

Off-White alpaca
BFL (Blue Faced Leicester)
Dark BFL
Finn
Falkland
Shetland
White Coopworth
Lt Brown Coopworth
Soy Silk Natural
Tencel

I still do not have a drum carder but I hope to get one by the end of summer.

The yarn you want VS the yarn you get

2009-07-31T01:52:00.000-04:00

When I was a young knitter, I was happy to knit with whatever I could get my hands on. At that time, it meant acrylic. Ohh ,but there was fuzzy acrylic and soft acrylic..and then there was the acrylic we all love to hate…red heart. As a young knitter, I knew no difference. Sure, I would hear my mother wax poetic on the perfect skein of sock yarn, the kind she could find before she moved to KY, but I was happy with whatever I could get.

When I was older, I was surprised to find that there was such a thing as an entire store devoted to nothing else but the joy of YARN; the colors, the texture, the choices, oh my! Not knowing what to choose that first time, I chose a single skein of brown wool. I took it home and starting knitting. I almost finished a small purse before I unraveled it to start over. I started a hat. That also was unraveled. That skein of wool is still at home 1/2 finished into something - I cannot even remember what. But the fun I have had with a single skein.

Now I am learning to spin. I am once again faced with knitting with what I can get. Only now it is not a choice of content. Ohh, I can get wool and Mohair and Silk and all varieties in between. Now, it is the ability to spin the yarn I want. As a new spinner, I can spin a good single, at what I jokingly refer to as "frog hair". You know the old saying "fine as frog hair"?

I am learning to spin everything else this summer, so hopefully by fall I can spin what I want VS what I can get; a even 3 ply bulky…or a nice 2 ply worsted. And by nice, I mean with no thin spots and no thick spots. THAT is much harder that is sounds, thank you very much. Lessons have helped, one from Beth Smith of the "Spinning Loft" and one from a gentleman from Claudia's Creations who showed me long draw spinning.

Now, it is sitting down everyday to spin. Practice makes perfect…right?

NEW from TNNA

2009-06-16T12:02:00.004-04:00

I attended TNNA this summer. What can I say. Great! Fantastic! These words simply do not cover it.

The classes I took.

How to teach spinning by Beth Smith of the Spinning Loft in Michigan.
How to alter existing patterns by Lily Chin
Crochet tips and tricks by Lily Chin
Meets in the middle chevron top by Lorna Miser - founder of Lornas Laces.

People I met along the way - that even you would know their names. Shay Pendray, Debbie Bliss and Cat Bordhi. I will have to get a complete list of author signings I attended and edit this post later - There were a lot of them.

Connections I made. I can now order Kraemer yarns and Shaefer yarns. I can also order Crystal Palace, Aurora yarns and later this summer, Cascade yarns.

On spinning wheels. I can now order Ashford Wheels and Schacht wheels and all the associated accessories. If you want a demo in shop - please ask. These are from my sister store in Louisville and it will take 24 hours to get them in store.

A sister store you ask? There is a small store in Louisville that I am now associated with called Design in Textiles. They are small- like me and was started in 1970. Over the years, they have made many many connections that I do not have - such as spinning wheel contracts. Since we are both small, we are pooling our resources and buying in together. This gets you more varieties of yarn and supplies.

During the next month, you will see more and more books and more and more yarns come in as a result of this buying trip.

Spinning wheels

2009-05-18T02:06:00.006-04:00

I have 2 store wheels that will be used for lessons and demostrations.

One is an Ashford Tradional and the second is a Louet S10 (with removable skein winder).

I also received a new set of Ashford student carders - slightly rusted, a 1/2 lb of Jacob sheep wool batts and a pound of raw fleece still in the grease. Later, I should get an Ashford niddy noddy - when she finds it.

Both wheels are in great shape. The Ashford is the oldest, upwards to 40 years old. The Louet is newer. It was bought originally in the mid 1990's.

So far, I am playing on both wheels. I find the pedal action of the Louet easier to use. I have had 2 right ankle surgeries and it never occurred to me that a spinning wheel would be difficult for my ankle to operate.

Spinning Lessons

2009-05-13T04:10:00.001-04:00

I had my first spinning lesson today. My first lesson on a wheel that is. Yes, I could have waited until I got my first wheel in the store, but the opportunity was too good to pass up.

Another reason I did not want to wait for my wheel was the opportunity to use a wheel that was not mine. And why you ask? As I dealer, I will be seeing a lot of wheels (hopefully). I want the opportunity to learn what wheels are out there - how they work, what they look like and which I would prefer.

When I get my wheels in, I plan to have them open to customers for just this reason. A wheel is like a car. A big investment for the average crafter. How can you buy one without trying it out?

So I had FUN all day today. It was hilarous. I had to ask someone to leave the store because their laugher (at my expense of course) was very distracting. I found that is STILL cannot spin much large than lace weight on a wheel. But like on a drop spindle, it will take practice- Lots and Lots of practice.

I will post picture soon of what I have completed.

Rovings and slivers - Oh My

2009-03-04T15:09:00.006-05:00

Well, My rovings have come in.

Well... Not exactly rovings. It is a mix of rovings and slivers and a bit of tops.

WOW, I had no idea it would be so fantastic. I thought it would be shorter pieces. But NO, it is longer pieces and some very fine wool.

I will update this later with the weights of these.

Trading Books and Buying Books

2009-02-28T15:59:00.005-05:00

It is getting to be spring and once again it is time to cover to to buy and trade books. Since I have already covered this is past posts, I will refer you to Trade in Policy and to Book Buying Policy.

These posts are updated regularly. You can also see a copy when you come in - to check to see if there have been any changes.

.

spinning supplies

2009-02-11T16:53:00.003-05:00

Spinning supplies. Yea, they are here. Slowly building up the stock. I just do not know what all of YOU want. So tell me what you are looking for.

I have a great book called Spindling: The Basics (A treatise on how to spin on a top-whorl spindle with advice for the avid spindler) by Amelia Garripoli This is $8.00 if you are interested. I is a GREAT book for beginners.

I have a few spindles, Louet and Babe brand. I have pencil roving that is a blend of blues and greens with a touch of yellow. I have some VERY nice cream Merino. I have many colors of superwash wool roving.

I can order just about anything Louet - including all of your spinning wheels and supplies and a nice discount.

Why spindles and spinning. Well, I got started because I wanted to learn. The cost of a spinning wheel is a lot for the average beginner. ESPECIALLY, if you do not know if you will be able to learn or even like it if you do. So I started with a drop spindle and some cheap roving. And I love it! I am present trying to get a used spinning wheel to start on before I move up to an expensive model and slowly building the store stash of rovings.

Call me if you have questions. And remember, if this is long distance for you, please use the call me button at the top of the website.
270-505-4869

Process VS Production

2009-01-17T03:18:00.002-05:00

I recently had a discussion with a new knitter about process knitting versus production knitting. If you have never heard of these terms, do not feel bad - neither had I until recently. Oh, we both know what they are in practice, but the terms are new.

Production knitting/crocheting is where a crafter feels best when they are completing items. The yarn does not matter, the pattern does not matter. It is the overall number of items produced that makes them feel good. Just his week, I had someone tell me "I have made about 300 scarves so far". That is classic production.

Process knitting/crocheting is where it doesn't matter if a crafter completes anything - ever. It is the process that calms and make a person feel good. So the yarn choice and the pattern choice are usually chosen with more care. The item may never get completed, but it is nice to work at a leasurly pace on something to calm the mind. Sometimes a process crafter will have 4 or 5 items OTN (on the needles), different yarns and patterns for different moods.

Most crafters fall somewhere in between the two extremes. They want to complete items, but they choose yarns and patterns that will mean make them feel good while being completed.

Personally, I am a process knitter and a production crocheter. When I knit, I have yarns that are nice to touch, easier patterns that I can work on while listening to a book or watching tv. I rarely make ane one item twice. It doesn't mattern when I complete the item, it is just there to knit on when needed.

When I crochet, it is usually because I need something or am trying a new pattern. I need to complete the pattern to see if it all works out right or I am obligated to make a new item for a class. I like crochet, but I do not enjoy it the way I enjoy knitting. I mostly crochet with threads, not yarns. Thread just do not have the same feel and sensuality that a good alpaca or silk blend yarn has. While this is my own preference, it does lessen my enjoyment of crochet.

Lace knitting

2008-12-07T18:32:00.015-05:00

I would love to preface this blog entry by stating that I am NOT a lace knitter.
Lace knitters are a breed that I am not related to. My mother could sit and
knit an entire sweater in lace. Angelika can knit shawls on tiny tiny needles
with an ever changing pattern. I on the other hand knit for 10 minutes here
and there and up forgetting the pattern in between knitting sessions. While
I own and have used a set of size 000 circular Abby Turbos, the thought of
knitting an entire garment on them gives me the hives. But can I knit lace. Yes! I, as well as many other knitters, forget that lace is simply a pattern like any
other. There are hard patterns and there are easy patterns. Take for example
a hat pattern. You can knit a hat on size 2 needles, using a complicated fair aisle pattern or
an Aran pattern with lots of traveling stitches OR you can knit a hat that fits
exactly the same, but it is knitted on size 7 needles in a solid color. The result is the same, a nice
warm hat that fits nice. So in designing a class for relatively new knitters who want to try lace, I went in
search of patterns. I had several qualifications for the pattern. A) It had to have a simple repeat. New knitters, like oh so forgetful me, may get lost
in 7 lines of pattern. New knitters will also have trouble recognizing mistakes in a complicated pattern. B) It had to use the most basic of lace knitting stitches. K2tog, YO and SSK. C) It had to look good in a variety of yarns. Many lace patterns looks good in
lace weight yarn, but when knit is a worsted weight yarn, it looks crowded. Patterns
that look good in a heavier yarn will often look plain. I came up with Turvid's one row scarf pattern. Lots of pictures proved that it
looks good in everything from lace weight to bulky. Simple to do, easy to remember and can easily be adjusted to any width from a small scarf to a wide wrap. After I finished to scarf, I wanted a wrap. So I took the basics of the Turvid
scarf and decided I wanted a change. I wanted a resting row. Every other row would be knit only. I also wanted fewer holes. After all, in a bulky yarn as a
wrap, fewer holes make for a warmer garment. So I tried knitting 4 stitches in
between the holes instead of 2 to make the holes less frequent. However, I didn't like the
look of horizontal holes going the length of the wrap. What was I to do. I wanted
an easy pattern. So I started graphing. I came up with a diagonal pattern that maintains the 5
stitch repeat but the beginning and the ending of each row changes by one stitch.
A little more complicated, but if a new knitter completed the Turvid scarf, they should be able
to handle the pattern easily enough. So I came up with 2 classes. One super easy for the new knitter, and a second is
great for someone who has more knitting experience or who wants a slightly harder project than the first scarf. Classes will begin in January. http://www.ravelry.com/shops/bookworm-silkworm

New yarns in - Just take a look at these colors!

2008-11-25T23:04:00.005-05:00

You have to check out my new yarns.

I have re-plenished the Brownsheep bulky and the Brownsheep worsted weights.

I have also got in some cotton blends.

These are Brownsheep Cotton Fleece- 80% cotton and 20% wool. This is a yarn light enough for summer with just a little warmth for spring and fall. It also has a little bit of give in it that 100% cotton does not.

Brown Sheep and Notions Market order and Sale

2008-11-01T03:12:00.001-04:00

I am preparing a Brown Sheep Wool and a Notions Marketing order.

If you would like to order anything from Brown Sheep, please let me know what colors you are interested in. All prepaid orders will be charged according to the spring price list. All of the yarn prices were raised by Brown Sheep in August and once the yarns are on the shelf, they will carry the August prices.

I am hoping to make a small Notions Marketing order next week. If you would like to order anything from my catalogs, you will receive a 20% discount on prepaid orders. While many of the yarns must be ordered in lots, there are many, many neat items that can be ordered singularly.

I will have the catalogs for both Brown Sheep and Notions Marketing on the tables in the knitting area is you are interested in ordering.

Cotton and Wool and Linen - on my!

2008-10-09T00:30:00.001-04:00

I have new yarns!

I have cottons in several bold and bright colors in worsted weight - a total of 79 skeins!
I have wools and wool/acrylics in fall colors.
I have a bag of baby wool/acrylic blend - 10 balls all together.
I have several new sock yarns - 2 skeins of sockotta and 2 skeins of 100% bamboo and several skeins of heart and sole.
I have several balls of fancy yarns. Blues and reds mostly. Only enough for a few scarves.

If you are interested, I can order in ball winders and yarn swifts at reasonable prices. I can also order Louet drop spindles and several fancy rovings such as soy silk and alpaca.

I have a complete list in store. I will soon have a page on the website with pictures of prices of what I can order.

Also planning for fall classes. If you are looking for a class, contact me at 270-351-6777.

In Her Words: 20 Quotes from Elizabeth Zimmermann | VogueKnitting.com

2008-08-13T14:23:00.000-04:00

In Her Words: 20 Quotes from Elizabeth Zimmermann | VogueKnitting.com

From A Knitter's Journal

“Really, all you need to become a good knitter are wool, needles, hands and slightly below-average intelligence. Of course, superior intelligence, such as yours and mine, is an advantage.” – Knitting Without Tears

“One un-vents something; one unearths it; one digs it up; one runs it down in whatever recesses of the eternal consciousness it has gone to ground. I very much doubt if anything is really new when one works in the prehistoric medium of wool and needles.”
– Knitter’s Almanac

“...there are few knitting problems that will not yield to a blend of common sense, ingenuity and resourcefulness...” – The Opinionated Knitter

“My kind of character enjoys work best when work is fun, and progress can be noted and gloated over. When I have a long plain piece of knitting ahead I put a safety-pin at each day’s beginning to show me how I am coming.” – Knitter’s Almanac

“In some quarters November is considered rather a dull month, but not at our house. It is a time of snugging down, of finding and foiling sources of draughts; of augmenting the woodpile, putting up the bird-feeders, starting in on some serious reading, and knitting—always knitting.” – Knitter’s Almanac

“One important admonition—carry yarn very loosely across the back of your work, otherwise your knitting will pucker, and be wasted and unloved.” – The Opinionated Knitter

“When times are tough I sit down to spin during the news-broadcasts, with therapeutic results. Knitting, as you well know, is therapy too.” – Knitter’s Almanac

“A swatch is not wasted labor by any means; it makes an excellent pocket...” – The Opinionated Knitter

“I deliberately keep my knitting notes vague, because tastes vary, and your brains are as good as mine anyway.” – The Opinionated Knitter

“I don’t like zippers in sweaters, but many recipients insist, so I give in...I sew them in neatly, by hand, on the right side, muttering to myself.” – The Opinionated Knitter

“To blend almost-matching yarns, work alternate rows of them for an inch or so.” – The Opinionated Knitter

“Did I say I am never inspired? Pay no attention to me; I’ll say anything. Inspiration is unsettling to a degree. If not pinned down immediately by being worked on—actually knitted up—it melts away like the morning dew and is lost forever.” – Knitter’s Almanac

“Now, have a good summer. Dabble your feet in the water, and fill the sock-drawer against next winter. I find this as satisfying as studying seed-catalogues by a roaring January fire.” – The Opinionated Knitter

“Last night, the moon—three-quarters full—reflected herself in the water behind the triple twisted cedar as in a Japanese print. This morning the print has changed; all the further shores have disappeared, the sun is seen only as a pale radiance, and sky and water have merged and mingled. Tall rushes mirror themselves unwaveringly in the glassy lake, making one perfect circle...” – Knitter’s Almanac

“Properly practiced, knitting soothes the troubled spirit, and it doesn’t hurt the untroubled spirit either.” – Knitting Without Tears

“...how comforting to be engaged in the creation of artifacts for which the demand is—as far as I can see—infinite.” – The Opinionated Knitter

“October: the month when knitting really starts coming into its own again... The sun is once more welcome to shine in at the south windows and as the sunshiny patch moves across the floor, the cats move with it, basking and stretching.” – Knitter’s Almanac

“For people allergic to wool, one’s heart can only bleed. Synthetics are a marvelous substitute, but a substitute is all they are.” – Knitting Without Tears

“Although babies rarely, if ever, express their pleasure at being dressed in wool, it is surely manifest when you dote on a small plump person soundly and contentedly asleep, swaddled in woollen sweater, woollen leggings and a soft wool bonnet, snugly tucked under a fine warm wool blanket.” – Knitter’s Almanac

“Now, let us all take a deep breath and forge on into the future; knitting at the ready.” – The Opinionated Knitter

For more information on Elizabeth Zimmermann and her legacy, please visit www.schoolhousepress.com.

By Shirley A. Scott (Shirl the Purl)

I venture to say that a huge number of readers of this magazine can date the flowering of their knitting lives from the day they discovered Schoolhouse Press. Before that decisive moment, we seemed to labor alone, isolated, each in our own private creative universe. Some of us felt ignorant and untaught, not knowing where to turn to improve the work that is the love of our lives.

Then came the turning point, the blinding flash, the bursting bud, the true exultation of first discovering Elizabeth Zimmermann. We were captivated by her engaging chitchat and intrigued by her opinionated notions of how to do things.No longer did we dare to knit our pullovers in flat pieces that had to be sewn together, or watch the backs of sweaters ride up the necks of our brawny menfolk. Why, this clever woman even had a remedy for men who ruined their lovingly knit socks because the brutes had augers where they should have had heels. Clearly, EZ: The Opinionated Knitter, as she came to be known, lived in the real world.

Perhaps there are even a few of you who knit that first Aran sweater, the one that kicked off the whole thing. It appeared in a 1957 issue of Vogue Patterns.* Elizabeth was told it was the first such sweater ever presented in a U.S. magazine. She knit it flat, from cryptic written instructions, and with no photo to guide her. What a mystery it must have been! And were you one who subsequently ordered the Sheepswool to make the sweater from Elizabeth herself? If so, you were present at the birthing of what would eventually become Schoolhouse Press, for Elizabeth’s payment for her work was encouragement to sell the wool for the sweater. And the pay turned out to be handsome indeed—more handsome than she could ever have imagined in those early days. Fifty years later we are still knitting her knits, her way. We are still buying her wool, and we are still singing the praises of Schoolhouse Press.

Enlightenment and Icons
When Elizabeth Zimmermann’s technical common sense and quirky charm first began to be known, a wild wind of freedom blew through the knitting world, and it blows there still. The blind following of written patterns was no longer the only way to knit effectively. EZ gave us tools to serve the artist within us.

Take Elizabeth’s Percentage System, or EPS, a quantitative method of sweater design whereby a knitter begins with a Key Number, based on gauge and the circumference of the garment. Every essential measurement thereafter is a specific percentage of this number. Surely every thinking knitter in this wide world has sensed, however dimly, that some sort of general theorem lurks behind the shape of our sweaters. To have Elizabeth tackle the proportions head-on, expounding on them in so many projects and articles, was as satisfying as fitting the last piece of a jigsaw puzzle in place. And EPS—frequently updated and refined to suit new garment types, changing silhouettes and current fashions—has been the gift that keeps on giving.

In addition to this deep sense of classic proportion, an understanding of the architecture of knitted garments is fundamental to all Schoolhouse Press projects. EZ’s spatial and sculptural sense took a quantum leap when she devised her Surprise Jacket. Was a lucky comet seen in the midwestern sky at its conception, flying over a certain schoolhouse? Did a bolt of lightning strike the ground nearby? The muse was definitely with Elizabeth that day, and knitters everywhere continue to marvel at the concept of this garment. We cast on, then seem to increase and decrease willy-nilly for a considerable, and sometimes distressing, number of rows. Are we doing the right thing? Why, nothing about it looks like a jacket in any way—until it is bound off and folded into place, that is. Then the surprise is intense indeed. Lovely proportions and gracious lines emerge from this unlikely chrysalis. The Adult Surprise and the Baby Surprise jackets are icons of American knitting. A very special brain dreamed them up.

Other famous Schoolhouse Press designs have also made history. The Tomten jacket, created originally for Arnold and Elizabeth’s firstborn child, young Tom, was later worn by little Lloie and little Meg before Elizabeth finally shared its secrets in her newsletter. EZ says it was based on something she had “once glimpsed” in Scandinavia. And again, who among us ever imagined that the concept of pi had anything whatsoever to do with knitting until Elizabeth and, later, Meg explored the Pie Are Square shawl and its offspring?

Signature Techniques
The development and promotion of signature techniques is another area in which the Schoolhouse Press star glows so brightly in the knitting firmament. Take the amusingly named Thumb Trick, for example, just one of several innovations that sprang from Elizabeth when she turned her mind to the construction of everyday mittens. And what about Nalgar shaping, that ingenious upside-down way of creating a raglan seam on a sweater? Or I-cord (short for the EZ-named Idiot Cord) in its dozens of manifestations? Meg, who shares her late mother’s technical genius, continues to build on these and to originate technique after technique. EZ, as fond of wordplay as she was of practical design, always insisted that the real reason knitters like to learn clever new tricks is “to foil friends.”

Did these signature techniques truly originate with Schoolhouse Press? The point is moot, but just for the record, let’s remember that it was Elizabeth herself who referred to the discovery of new techniques as “unventing,” not “inventing.” It was her contention that there is really nothing new under the knitting sun, and that a knitter is simply a medium for transferring the knowledge of the ages that is buried in our collective unconscious.

It is always delightful to remember too that Elizabeth is famous for alfresco unventing. The knitting muse might (and did) strike anywhere, whether in open rowboats on the shores of northern lakes, on a “no frills” family camping trip or in the front seat of a warm vehicle at a ski meet. The universally acclaimed One Row Buttonhole was developed on a European park bench when Elizabeth accompanied Arnold on a business trip. Sharing the context of every discovery has enriched our image of Schoolhouse Press forever. It has never been “just another company.”

The Business Story
Although Arnold and Elizabeth would undoubtedly have done well anywhere in the world, the history of Schoolhouse Press has elements of a classic American success story. After a blissful period of youthful romance in Europe, a carefree interval that deteriorated as war loomed, Arnold escaped from Germany, never to see many of his family members again. He married the British-born Betty Lloyd-Jones in England; they came to America in 1937. As Elizabeth wrote in Knitting Around, “There we were, pregnant, jobless and in debt ...” Not an auspicious beginning, but one shared by a great many young immigrant families.

Career prospects slowly improved for Arnold, who was a brewmaster. The family moved to Milwaukee, home of the Jos. Schlitz Brewing Company, in 1949. During this time Elizabeth’s energies were focused on providing love, support and the necessities of life for her growing family, including son Tom and daughters Meg and Lloie. This included beautiful, sturdy, warm clothing, so knitting was always in the picture.

“I knew from my English upbringing that the moment Tom was born, he should be well supplied with knitted woollen garments,” she wrote. Her absolute belief in wool for babies could never be shaken. EZ began her knitting life doing everything the English way, but because of her early experiences living in other countries, her concepts and methods became decidedly continental quite early on. After the move to Wisconsin, she became even more steeped in European knitting traditions, learning from friends and neighbors in the great melting pot of the Midwest. The Scandinavian technique of cutting the front of a cardigan from a tube of knitting, for example, would have been heretical in England. This, it seems, was a fertile period when the richness of Elizabeth’s knitting life truly began to deepen, and the Opinionated Knitter began confidently forging those famous Opinions. Sharing with other knitters, “helping them with some of their puzzles and troubles...taught me what a sad knitting life many knitters led, dependent on knitting instructions.”

In 1957, she submitted a Fair Isle Yoke sweater for a pattern-company booklet; the instructions were rewritten from circular to flat; in one of the photos, a seam line was drawn in. Alterations to her patterns continued, and in September 1958, a frustrated EZ published her own set of instructions for a Fair Isle Yoke pullover, offering it as a 25-cent single-sheet newsletter. She had begun selling wool a few years earlier, having found a big batch of it under the counter of a neighborhood shop, but the actual publishing business began with the planting of this small 25-cent acorn. In 1958, she published her first formal newsletter. After Issue 22, the Zimmermanns enlarged the format and renamed it Wool Gathering.

The “sad lives” of knitters dependent on written instructions was the catalyst for Elizabeth’s first foray into the world of writing books. She began work on Knitting Without Tears in 1970, and it was published by Scribner’s (now part of Simon & Schuster) in 1971—the publisher’s only crafts book published since then to never have gone out of print. Sales broke record after record for years and years. Knitters were more than ready for a book like this.

The move to television came in 1964. The response to The Busy Knitter, shown in ten half-hour episodes, was such that a second season followed shortly thereafter. Elizabeth and Meg both credit the growth in subscriptions to Wool Gathering to the fact that the show’s second season was aired nationally, and likely viewed enthusiastically by many reading this article today.

By this time, EZ’s innate pedagogical skills had become very fine indeed, and she was much in demand as a teacher and speaker. In 1974 the first “knitting camp” was held at Shell Lake, under the auspices of the University of Wisconsin. Elizabeth and Arnold always loved outdoor adventure and were never overly concerned with amenities, so early knitting camps were much more rugged than they are today. In the 1980s, camp moved to “town,” specifically to Marshfield, Wisconsin, where thanks to Meg and her devoted team, its popularity continues to grow and grow. Each year a family of bright, eager knitters gathers to share some of the most sophisticated designs and methods ever seen in hand-knitting circles.

It was Meg and her late husband Chris, remembered fondly as Camera Guy, who spotted the opportunity to diversify Schoolhouse Press by introducing video. The timing proved providential, as industry people had begun to realize that beginning knitters did not always have a knowledgeable family member nearby to teach them. Meg and Chris embraced video at a time when very few people had considered its possibilities. They set about learning all they could about this new medium, ultimately using clever over-the shoulder shots of Meg knitting so that viewers could see the stitches as if they were holding the needles themselves. (Until then it was common for non-knitting cameramen to use a head-on shot, possibly because they thought it was more conventionally artistic.) Later, after Chris’s untimely passing, the Swansens’ son Cully jumped in. He has been instrumental in expanding into digital technology (he produces all the DVDs) and in adding his own creative touches. Says Meg: “Our growth is largely due to Cully and [his wife] Michelle—bless them. It’s just what Chris envisioned, that one of his kids would come into the business with us.”

Doing Business in a Schoolhouse
A knitting newbie might be forgiven for thinking that the name Schoolhouse Press is simply a homey invention, a rustic front for a multinational empire, rather like Betty Crocker. Such is the company’s position in the knitting landscape that we may at first assume it is a huge concern. Not so. In fact, if this were not America, the notion of a schoolhouse in Wisconsin being an epicenter of hand knitting would be nonsensical.

The move to the schoolhouse came in the late 1950s. When EZ and Arnold first found it, it was a derelict building where the previous owner had “blown his brains out,” according to Elizabeth. Not superstitious, they were immediately charmed by its potential, but when they confirmed their notion of buying and restoring it, people feared for their sanity. The Zimmermanns nevertheless undertook the impossible project as a labor of love, and the schoolhouse eventually became the center of the family’s life and business.

And this is a family business indeed. We have come to know the Zimmermann/Swansen clan as well as we know our own. Through publications and photographs, we’ve studied how Meg learned to purl as a tiny tot at EZ’s knee. We saw how Meg and Lloie grew up wearing their authentic EZ ski sweaters as they traveled Europe. Husbands Chris and Stoo became models as familiar to us as Elizabeth and Arnold. Many of the original garments worn in these photos still exist.

And then “even unto the third generation,” as the Good Book would put it. We have admired Meg’s kids Cully and Liesl since they were young knitters in their Waldorf School, waiting to see who they would marry and how their lives would unfold. Their partners, Michelle and Lalo, are now our in-laws too, it seems. And we rejoiced with Meg at the arrival of her lovely grandchildren, Eli, Ceci and Renata, curious to see what new knitting fever their births would spark. All of these connections are made, and continue to be made by avid fans, through the pages of print, the DVDs, the telephone and knitting camp.

And who could overlook, for one moment, the stunning cats of Schoolhouse Press? Many kitty generations ago, Kline, the Siamese, was carried to the TV studio in a picnic basket, where he took an active part in the filming of The Busy Knitter. Later, others made cameo appearances, striding confidently across wet-blocked shawls with no discomfort whatsoever, thus proving indisputably that wool is warm when wet.

In the days before e-business became common, customers calling Schoolhouse Press to place an order were quickly disabused of the silly idea they were dealing with an uncaring multinational wool conglomerate. They received, in fact, the curious impression that whoever answered the phone simply leaned over a desk and eyeballed the shelves to see what was in stock. Ditto for sorting out postal imbroglios, because dear Eleanor, with whom we might choose to discuss the weather, could always remember what she had shipped.

Some of these impressions were actually quite true, until Meg made a big decision in 2005 to expand after realizing that the only real impediment to growing Schoolhouse Press was the lack of actual storage facilities for their burgeoning product line. A big new purpose-built facility was erected on the property, within sight of the schoolhouse, and now the product line can continue to expand, convivial events to be organized, and joy to be unconfined.

Schoolhouse Press Style
Today the vast majority of media events, entertainment programs and fashion spreads seem to occur in some unrecognizable America where the climate is always Mediterranean and summers always endless. But at Schoolhouse Press, the style is classic heartland, wearable in every season, indoors and out. Winter and warmth figure prominently in the inspiration of the garment line and in its commercial images. People who like to feel comfortable and to wear welcoming clothes adore Schoolhouse Press style. Designs are forever classic—warm socks, sweaters, jackets, shawls, hats and mittens. Garments are always knit to fit, shaped cleverly and intricately where they need to be shaped, and generously where real people with real figures desire generosity. Meg and Lloie once had a public chuckle in print about the “dreadful frontal droop” that can afflict certain cardigans. They were slim young women, and any sort of droop anywhere on the figures seemed like such a remote possibility. Gravity inevitably made itself known to even them, however, and Meg developed advanced technical measures to eliminate frontal droop in cardigans.

If attention to fit has always characterized a Schoolhouse Press design, so has the pleasure of wool. From the very beginning, wool was Elizabeth's one and only fiber of choice, and Meg has concurred. EZ’s preference most likely had its roots in prewar Britain, a country legendary for its chilliness. In Knitting Around she recollected that at her school, girls were not allowed to wear their blazers in the evenings unless the thermometer read below 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Later life in a Wisconsin schoolhouse could only have strengthened this devotion. In their writings, conversations and patterns, both Meg and Elizabeth refer to wool with the language of love.

The Schoolhouse Press fiber product line has remained relatively small and totally stable, a still point in the cyclonic world of yarn trends. It includes a small number of time-tested brands of pure wool that have a huge gauge and color range—and heaps of integrity. Less is indeed more, for these select yarns have given birth to hundreds of glowing creations.

The inspiring book, video and DVD catalog has grown and grown. The selection is large, varied and delicious. It includes a wide and very welcome selection of books on world knitting, for indeed no knitter is an island. We have Schoolhouse Press largely to thank for much current knowledge of Latvian, Armenian, Bavarian, Icelandic and Faroese knitting techniques, to mention but a few, and for reissuing Barbara Walker’s epic Treasury series.

It is doubtful whether either Meg or Elizabeth ever envisioned themselves as business tycoons. In fact, in the early days Elizabeth referred to her creation as “my little wool business.” But after fifty years, although EZ no longer bodily knits with us, Schoolhouse Press continues as a powerful force in the knitting world. Hand knitting continues to survive threats of extinction because of companies like this. Let’s knit on then, with hope and confidence, for another fifty years.

For more information on Elizabeth Zimmermann and her legacy, please visit www.schoolhousepress.com.

What to knit and crochet in summer

2008-07-16T21:50:00.002-04:00

OK, Summer is hot.So you need something cool to work on. Something small enough not to lay in you lap, something that is portable for taking to the movies or ball games or to the pool with the kids.

Socks are a great thing to knit in the summer. Small, portable, usually only needing one skein to carry and small needles to make portability easy.

Not quit up to socks yet? What about shawls? They range from easy enough for the bare beginner to do, to lace patterns that will interest the jaded crafter. They can be made with one skein to a dozen. Almost any yarn can eventually become a shawl. And they a GREAT for cool restaurants and theaters after the warm outside.

Starting in August is a Shawl workshop. Two hours of classes that cover the basic of shawl making for the beginner knitter and crocheter.

re-arranging ROMANCE

2008-07-01T15:15:00.003-04:00

Please forgive the messiness in the romance isle.

I have removed some of the older romances.

I have tried my best to remove all of the time travel, ghosts, psychic, werewolf and futuristic romances to the paranormal section.

What that means for you? It is more organized. There are more room for modern books. The authors are better spaced.

When you venture into the paranormal section - there are LOTS MORE over there. We have 3 complete shelves of paranormal. There are still one or two hanging out in the plain old romance section. After all, I have not read everything in the romance isle as yet. But I do try.

After the romance, I plan on re-arranging the sci-fi isle and religious section. I would love to rearrange the novel isle - but I am not that masochistic.

Do I buy books?

2008-05-20T16:56:00.004-04:00

I get asked all the time "Do I buy books".

That is hard to answer. Most of the time, it is no. Once in a rare while, it will be yes.

And why is that?

What most people have is mass market paperback books. For example. I get asked most often to buy sets of VC Andrews and Nora Roberts.

Well, I have about 3 of everything VC Andrews wrote. While it sells fine, I have plenty turned in for trade. So why buy? In fact, I have many of the VC Andrews on my clearance rack. The Nora Roberts are the same. I have most in either paperback or hardback....many in both. And while they sell, I get them turned in for trade. So why buy? Again, I even have those on my clearance rack.

Sets also do not sell well. So unless someone really, really must have the set, most people prefer to buy one at a time. And once set is broken up, it will sell slow and you are always left with that one or two that will just not go away.

And lets face it, if the bookstore at the college did not buy back your textbook, will anyone else? I have been to 3 colleges, been in college bookstores in about 8 cities and if a college bookstore doesn't want it back, no one will want it. Not meaning to be rude - just telling it like it is.

BUT.... BUT I take books in on commission. I put them out on the web. Either on Ebay or other places and sell them that way. I get a 20% commission of the overall selling price. I will also keep a list of books just in case someone comes in wanting to buy a certain author or a set.

There are a few books I will buy outright. Most often, the buying price for a softback book is $.25 and for hardback book is $.50. The same as yard sale prices for the most part. And that is only for books I either think I can sell or that I feel will sell. I have to see them first.

Some books the price is negotiable, most are not. I have to see the books first. Generally, if it is mass market paperback or mass market general fiction, I will not buy the book.

Fair? That is up for you to decide. Truth of the matter is, I am just a small bookseller. I don't have a lot of free cash laying around. The majority of my business is on trade. I do not deal in new books and people do not generally come to my store for new books or sets or collectors items. Those are the types of books that are bought outright.

If you wish to check around, there are two more bookstores in town. One is the Bookstore on Lincoln Trail. Their phone number is 270-351-1801 and the other is the Bookrack in Elizabethtown. Their phone number is 737-9500. The Bookrack also trade books so you can check there for their trading policy when you call.

Store Hours

2008-05-20T15:22:00.002-04:00

I get a lot of questions about the store hours. Truth of the matter is, I work 3rd shift and cannot keep the store open as long as I want. I cannot especially do the early hours of the day.

So for now, the store hours are as follows.

Sunday - CLOSED
Monday- CLOSED

Tuesday - Friday 2PM - 6:30PM EST
Saturday - 11AM - 7PM EST

There are times I will be in store on Sunday and Monday. Mainly dealing with inventory or ebay. If I am in the store, chances are you can knock and I can let you in to shop.

Yard Sale Books

2008-03-25T16:54:00.003-04:00

Spring is the time for yard sales. I am sure this year will be no different.

Do customers buy books at yard sales and then bring them in for credit? Of course they do.

One thing I can impose is that I do not take dirty books.

Yes, I accept books that are older where most bookstores do not. If they are too old, we may not give you full credit, but you will get something for them.

However, HOWEVER, If I see a bug, you will be asked to take the entire lot back you your car. Droppings in a box or on a book or spots on the sides of pages...it is all the same to me. Bugs do not belong in my store.

So please do yourself a favor. Clean and look through the books prior to bringing them into the store. If they are dirty, we reserve the right not to take them. The same with books suspected of having bugs. Keep them to yourself. This is not something to share.