It’s all Nordic
All the time in Seattle knitting land right now. :D I’m not saying that’s a bad thing! In fact, I think it’s fantastic with a side of awesomesauce, because I love the knitting of the northern lands.
Last month’s guild guest was Terri Shea. This month, Anemor Sundbo was the featured speaker. She was in town thanks to the Nordic Knitting Conference (which I didn’t get to go to, but it’s not like I’m BITTER or anything), and I really enjoyed her talk.
I truly do find it fascinating that knitting transcends language. I did find it somewhat amusing that so many people were surprised that people knit messages into the garments using symbols instead of letters. Maybe it’s that I’ve been studying various topics that are ALL symbols (tarot, astrology, some aspects of paganism) for a little while, but it didn’t seem at all out of the ordinary to me.
Ms. Sundbo was a charming speaker, and she had a lot of wonderful info to share. I love the fact that she took a proactive stance on saving bits and pieces of her country’s knitting heritage from her ragpile. The fastest way to get me to buy a book (which really isn’t at all hard…I’m kind of easy that way) is to say, “going out of print”. I bought a copy of all three of her books, which cost a bit, but I think it was worth it.
I’m really looking forward to reading the books, and I thoroughly enjoyed the meeting (aside from nearly roasting to death in that room). The best part, though, was going to the Black Pearl again with PinkPurlGrrl and her fairly new co-worker, who is a knitter. PPG had some amazing FO’s, as did her friend J, and I was so glad I had a chance to have a wonderful meal with some fantastic friends to begin the evening.
If this entry doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, it’s because I’m watching the Red Sox totally implode at the top of the 11th. OMG what are they DOING?!
Anyway. Summary = PPG awesome. Guild = cool. Books = YAY! Knitting? Need to do that a little more often.
PS - I think the Nordic Heritage Museum has copies of the conference pattern book for sale for $10. I think it’s totally worth it, but that’s me.
What was with the heat in that room? It’s always a bit warm in there for a meeting where you want to show off knitted sweaters, but last week was worse than usual.
I got out of there with just the one OOP book.
Comment by KarenJoSeattle — Monday, 15 October, 2007 @ 7:31 pm
Someone at my knitting group last week introduced me to this book, which I now must also order direct from Germany, which is apparently the only place it’s available:
http://www.bastelundhobbykiste.de/kunststricken/buecher-buh/pitsilised-koekirjad.html
Okay, I just realized that’s Estonian and not Nordic. Where the heck is Estonia? But it’s still cool!
Comment by Andrea — Thursday, 1 November, 2007 @ 7:57 am