musings of a male knitter

Josh and Harry at Rowan Booth at TNNA

Okay, so I am a bit star struck!  One mega highlight of attending the yarn tradeshow (Winter TNNA show)  last week was meeting Josh Bennett in person and chatting with him.  As my daughter put it, “Yeah Dad, you were cool on the outside, but inside you were saying ‘OMG, OMG, OMG!!!!!’ ”  Yup, that about sums it up.  Got my signed copy of Rowan Magazine 51 which has Josh as featured designer as well.  He seems genuinely happy and stoked, and was a hit strutting his stuff on the fashion show runway!  He looked like he was having fun at the show meeting and greeting, and I wish him every success in the future.  Check out this short video Josh Bennett Interview where Josh discusses the inspiration behind the Rowan sweater collection.  And you can download the six Rowan patterns for free!

Also at the show, I got to meet Jennifer Burt in person (Managing Editor, Love of Knitting), and she told me that my “fabulous vest” (her words!) was going for its photo shoot in a couple of weeks! I’m very excited about this men’s summer vest design, and can’t wait to see how it looks on the model and in the magazine. The summer issue is due out on May 1st, but Jennifer said that I could mention that a sneak peek preview of the vest should be on the Love of Knitting website around April 25.

I’m also working on a hat and scarf set for the Fall issue of Love of Knitting.  Of course, I can’t share the design or any swatch photos at this point, but be sure to stay tuned for future updates.  I design with men in mind, but so far, my accessory designs are as popular with women as men.  I suspect this hat and scarf will appeal to both as well.

Although I have several intentions in regard to my handknitting, handspinning, working with my circular sock machine, and managing my stash, I have decided to have only one knitting resolution for this coming year.  I resolve to have no more than five knitting projects on the needles at any given time. Of course, to honor that resolution, I first have to get down to five knitting projects on the needles.  Okay….I resolve to work down to five knitting projects on the needles and then not to go beyond that once I reach that number. Humm, does that include both personal projects and shop projects?  After all, it’s not always my fault that more and more projects get started, right?  New yarn comes into the shop, we need a sample knit up, so some things just get put on “hold” for a bit.  Alright…so two of the three sweaters presently on the needles are personal…oh, and the vest…and the towels…oh yeah, the socks, and hat…oh, and that other hat and other pair of socks as well.  Then at the shop there’s the Qiviut scarf awaiting finishing, and the fingerless gloves in the Hacho yarn that needs starting, and I need to start the gloves in Merino Superfein for the gloves class and pick the yarn and start the project for the Mosaic knitting class.  Okay, let’s make that New Year’s resolution “I resolve to have no more than four personal items on needles and three shop items at any given time  (once I get down to that number from the present situation.).”

But WAIT, I just got some beautiful Italian yarn as a Christmas present from my friend Lynn who picked it up while visiting  Italy this summer.   I already know what I’m going to make with it!  The blue yarn will be a beanie with matching fingerless gloves for me and the silvery black sparkly yarn is going to be the trim on a black ruffles scarf (obviously not for me).  I’m going to cast on tonight! Rats!  If I do, I will already have broken my resolution, since I’ve first got to work down to below four personal projects before starting even one of these!  OH, the anguish!

Hummm….technically, this yarn came just prior to the beginning of the New Year, which means I could say it was already in the cast-on queue, and so can be knit on now.  No!  Must stay firm and resolute!  It wasn’t on the needles, so I can’t say it was started (DARN!).  I’ll just have to stick by the rules.  Hey, wait!  Is that a knitting needle I see stuck through one of the blue balls of yarn?  Maybe if I just bump the needle a little…Yep, that is definitely a needle with yarn sort of wrapped around it.  So it was cast on already after all!  Well, I guess I’ll just have to include that blue hat and gloves (since they are a set!) in my “in progress” projects that don’t yet have to count under the resolution rule!   Okay, Okay….fine!  I hear you all saying that’s cheating.  GEEZ!  I can see you’re going to keep me honest in the New Year, and I’ll give you some updates as to what comes off the needles and then goes on…within the four personal/three shop projects rule as soon as I get down to that number!

Here’s two projects that came off the needles recently.

Windschief Hat (Designer: Stephen West)

Top of Windschief Hat

Vine and Leaf Beret (Vogue Knitting, Fall 2009)

And a vest I finally sewed together. The pattern is Fitted Tank Top by Shiri Mor.

For all those persons knitting from a book or magazine pattern, a word of caution:  Before starting your pattern, check online at the publisher’s website to see if there are any corrections to the pattern.

Here’s my sad story.  I’m working on a cropped sweater (women’s) that has an elongated garter stitch (wrap the yarn on the needle, and let it drop on the next round.)  It’s the Year ‘Round Jacket in Issue 166, April 2010 of Knit ‘n Style. Because I think it would be a huge pain to try to seam sweater sections of elongated garter stitch, I worked the back, left front and right front back and forth on one very long circular needle.  No problem.  After that section, the pattern said to increase 10 stitches on each side and 10 stitches on back.  I did so ( still on the long needle), and knit the required several inches across the entire sweater width  to the length needed before the armhole shaping.   I then did each section separately. Having completed  the full fashion decreases on the back and knitted to the shoulder,  I moved to the left front side.  Hummm…the decreases and remaining total stitches didn’t jibe.  The pattern cited the same number of decreases and total stitches as for the back.  No way.  OH, I reasoned, a cut and paste mistake in editing.  So I added the number of shaping reductions to get down to the number of stitches to be reached, and knit on up to the shoulder.  Hummm….the armhole shapings definitely did not mirror each other as they should…normally.  Must be a design element, I thought.  I knit the other side.   I set it aside to await a chance to start the sleeves.

Next day I’m at work at the Northcoast Knittery, and a women calls about the pattern “Louisa” in French Girl Knits. She asks if we have the Louisa Harding yarn Thalia and is tickled that we do.  I look at the pattern, and look at the Thalia yarn, and realize  that the wrong yarn is listed in the pattern.  The photo shows a chunky weight wool yarn…nothing like Thalia.

Louisa Harding Yarn, Thalia (Image Credit: Knitting Fever)

I checked Interweave’s website, and no correction is listed.  But it’s clearly not the right yarn listed.

AHA moment!  I wonder  if the sweater pattern I’m working on  has a correction listed online?  I go to the Knit n Style  website, and sure enough, the pattern has a correction  listed.  AND it’s a big one…rather than increasing 10 stitches on each front side, only five stitches are to be increased, meaning the number of decreases later in the pattern was accurate (if one had the correct fewer stitches.)   That meant, of course, that I had twice the number of decreases needed for the left and right front sections.  RIPPPPPPP.   I had to rip out almost the entire sweater–back, and both sides and all stockinette down to the elongated stitch section.  Sigh.  I have now increased the proper amount, and begun again.

Lesson Learned, Dear Reader:  ALWAYS check for errata first before knitting a published pattern.    Check online at the publisher’s website, but also check the pattern discussion on Ravelry.  Often mistakes in patterns are mentioned there before publishers post or print a correction.

Hello Everybody!

I’ve finally entered the world of blogging.  I decided to do so in order to participate more actively in the burgeoning movement of male knitters, and to provide another space where we can discuss men designers,  designs, favorite patterns, trends, and share our stories and experiences as male knitters.  I particularly want you to share some of the latter with me at any time, including the story of how you got started knitting.  Contact me at harry@goodforaboy.com. At a retreat of male knitters in the Spring, it was striking to hear each man’s journey into knitting…some were more recent and some were start and stop for a much longer time, some involved some very painful episodes, and some were smooth sailing.  What was interesting is that all of us were so passionately involved with this amazing creative activity.

As of June 16, I retired from Humboldt State University as Associate Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences to begin a second career centered on knitting.   I have the very good fortune to be working as manager of the Northcoast Knittery (in Eureka, CA).  It opened two years ago, has beautiful yarns, a wonderful atmosphere, and a very welcoming space for knitters to gather, socialize, and knit.  I am very happy  to be there and am committed to the vision of a unique gathering place which is the shop’s by-line and ongoing intention.  Come by for a visit if you are ever in Eureka (in Humboldt County, CA).  Join us for Sip and Knit if you are in town on Thursday night!  Friend us on Facebook and join our group on Ravelry!

Another impetus for this blog is the experience of having attended the Men’s Fall Knitting Retreats (West Coast) for the last two years.  I am eagerly awaiting the upcoming one occurring September 16-18 at Dumas Bay Center near Seattle.     These retreats are amazing…the camaraderie, the humor, the fiber field trips, the class sessions…and the knitting is non-stop.  Some of the most amazing moments occur when everybody is so comfortable being together that all you hear are knitting sounds…all guys in a room knitting.  Not that these quiet moments last long, given the string of activities going on, but the mix of it all creates a very special experience.  For some present at the retreats, it was the first time to be knitting with other guys, and certainly with so many other guys. If you want a taste of the first retreat, held at Point Bonita, CA, listen to this great Y-Knit podcast episode.

Now for the story of how I started knitting…and how this blog got its name.  I have done handwork of some kind for about as long as I can remember.  My mother taught me to embroider at a young age.  Around eight or so, I taught myself how to knit from the craft volume of Childcraft, a set of books geared toward children.  I loved it…I remember knitting in the car even for short rides, like to church on Sunday morning.   I saved my money and bought a ripple afghan set at Woolworths.  I can still see the four greenish shades and four brownish shades of yarn wrapped along a piece of long cardboard in the kit up on the highest shelf of the store.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t figure out the fan and feather pattern by myself—yarn overs were confusing—but Mom asked a friend who knitted to show me the stitches.  I got two panels done and half of the third finished, and then I put it away in a small suitcase and attempted to forget it.  Boys weren’t supposed to knit.  But I couldn’t keep from doing needlework.  I learned needlepoint from my sister-in-law when I was in junior high, and entered two pieces in the county fair.  One was a Mickey Mouse image—done with poor quality yarn—and another was a pillow kit with quality yarn and a design with birds circling around it.  The pillow won first prize, along with a big tri-color “Best of Category” Award.  The Mickey Mouse won a 3rd place ribbon, and a comment from the the judge which read “good for a boy.”

Good.for.a.boy.  I was stunned.  So boys weren’t supposed to do needlework…okay, I got that message (though I couldn’t ever heed it)…but nobody had ever told me that boys were incapable of doing needlework well.  And the irony that the same boy had just taken “best in category” was not lost on me either.

Initially, going to have my photo taken with my awarding winning needlepoint pillow for the local newspaper felt embarassing as a teenage male.  Now it became a point of pride…hell yeah, I got a blue ribbon and a best of category, and I’m a guy and screw you if you can’t deal with it!

Many decades later, with three college degrees (that’s Dr. Wells), a successful university career, president of the local spinning and weaving guild for five years, organizer of lunch-hour knitting groups on campus, and now manager of a knitting store,  a women says to me in the shop “Uhh, do you knit?   I mean, I guess…of course you knit (nervous chuckle), you wouldn’t be here if you didn’t?  Right?”  I smile and say, “Oh yes,  I knit.  I’m absolutely passionate about knitting.  There’s a lot of men who knit.  In fact, it’s cool to be a guy who knits.”

It really is good for a boy…and boys are really good at it.

Stay tuned.