Book Review: Pictures in Patchwork

 Title: Pictures in Patchwork (Le Patchwork)

Author: Marie-Janine Solvit

Translator: Walter A. Simson

Date: 1976 (French), 1977 (English)

Publisher: Dessain et Tolra (French), Sterling (English)

ISBN: 0-8069-5380-2 (Englsih)

Length: 112 pages

Illustrations: many color photos and drawings

Quote: “Patchwork as we know it is basically an American craft.”

On page 7 of Pictures in Patchwork, the quote above is surrounded by three photos of antique quilts from France. However, patchwork and quilting are actually two different techniques. Patchwork is joining patches of fabric into a single flat seamed surface; quilting is stitching two or more layers of fabric with lining between them into a thick, textured, insulated material. Quilting was not new when it appeared in French fashions of the seventeenth century, nor was patchwork new when it became a fad throughout Europe and North America in the eighteenth century.

In France, however, the fashion for patchwork didn’t last. Even in England it was a rather short-lived fad. In the United States, patchwork became a Folk Art Tradition and continued to be practiced after the fashion for patchwork clothing had passed.

Solvit provides some examples of traditional patchwork patterns (examples in French museums are older than those in American museums), but her book is mainly about pictorial patchwork and appliqué, sometimes enhanced with embroidery, as shown on the covers of the book. She also briefly considers knitted and crocheted patchwork.

Pictures in Patchwork is less of an instructional guide than Creative Patchwork, less of a reference work than American Quilts. Published under the auspices of Elle magazine, it’s a perky, whimsical guide to what the author clearly regards as a “creative” fad hobby. For those who want inspiration to patch together their own semi-abstract landscapes, this book should be inspiring. 

Book Review for 12.13: Blocked (Issue 6)

Title: Blocked (e-magazine)

Editor: Neil of Uknitted Kingdom

What is Blocked, and does it interest you? You've not seen this magazine in bookstores or wool shops, so I probably need to introduce the whole zine...

Right. Once upon a time, Ravelry.com was the knitting site. I visited a few times, downloaded a few free patterns, appreciated that favorite patterns from some favorite designers' books were there, and then made little time to visit Ravelry. I don't usually knit while online, unless the connection is down. And I've never felt a need to join a knitting circle, either. Many knitters do; knitting can be done as meditation to help give the verbal part of the brain a rest, or as an anchor to keep us awake while the verbal brain is reading or listening or watching something else, and some knitters prefer that that "something else" be someone who can help them figure out when they've made mistakes. I never formed the habit of talking about my knitting and have to prod myself even to mention it online, having figured out that, without good quality photos, it's unlikely to sell online.

But I was not pleased by recent news from that site. Knitting is one of the things that can serve the purpose, for women, that spectator sports serve for men: giving almost any two women a common interest they can discuss, regardless of age, background, politics, religion, nationality, even language.  Well, it can. We all know how men can be sitting around, commuting, waiting for things, not very happy about being where they are, and a "good," clean, close game comes on the radio or TV. Instantly they forget that they're not friends and not happy about being where they are, and start cheering, joking, slapping fives. If they do happen to favor the same team, and that team wins, a whole train lights up like a fireplace! How'bout them Dawgs! Women could use knitting to fill that same social need...

...But at Ravelry they didn't. Someone whose knitting was acceptable was blocked for posting pro-Trump comments. Well, a lot of knitters did really like Hillary Rodham Clinton. I liked her, myself--not enough actually to vote for her, because no matter how iconic she is her politics do not represent mine, but enough not to pick fights with her fanatical fans; enough to respect the fact that many knitting circles are Hillary fan clubs. But of course I don't hate Trump either. I dislike him, as most Washingtonians did when he was a Democrat and was merely a tacky new neighbor spoiling favorite views with ugly new buildings, but I do recognize that he's a human being who's done bad things and good things like everyone else. Some knitters appear to be unable to break out of that mindset of judging and hating other women who are different from themselves. I find that very sad. 

So the pro-Trump knitters stormed away from Ravelry and swirled around various social media sites during the more-than-a-year when "reliable Internet access" was an oxymoron in my town. When I came back, most of those sites were dead or dying. There was a handcrafts site devoted specifically to craft items with Religious Right motifs, as having been down-rated at Etsy, and there was a social forum for knitters. I joined the forum. One of its active members was Cezanne Pellett, who tipped me off to Blocked.com, an edgy knitting zine that's for all sorts of people who have been treated like outsiders, at Ravelry or wherever else. 

Compared with Knitty, Blocked is...new. Raw. It reminded me, first, of some of those pulp-paper crafts magazines that lasted a year or less. On closer consideration, and in view of the fact that Blocked has already outlasted the pulp-paper mags, it reminds me more of those rare collectible early issues of Knitter's Magazine. Knitter's would soon become the leader of its field, but it too went through a raw, new, obscure stage when, although each project was professionally photographed, it still printed rather too high a proportion of articles to projects. 

It's a zine not a mag. Projects are credited by screen names rather than real names. Despite several nice, normal ads for yarns and shops, which make it free to read if you print it yourself, there are still appeals for donations. Content is on the edges of several people's boundaries--not so much pro-Religious-Right as anti-censorship, generally, with awareness that the people being censored these days often are Religious Right. 

Issue #6 is Christmasy, with the crocheted Santa Claus hat on the cover and a half-dozen Christmas-themed coasters to knit inside. Projects are small and simple. If you download it today, you can knit or crochet something cute before Christmas morning. In addition to the hat and coasters, other projects are also easy to knit, in Christmas colors, all-winter-long colors, or whatever colors you like. There's a bulky cowl, a pair of long slouchy socks to knit in thicker than usual sock yarn, a scarf and two shawls to crochet, an historic hat design (as easy to knit as crochet, but it may work better in crochet), and stash-busting coffee mug holders (I would only ever knit a coffee mug holder in brown). One article offers the helpful suggestion that knitting or crocheting super-bulky projects will help make the stash of leftover yarn disappear faster. Another rants about a less than satisfactory online store; another rants about COVID vaccines. Another article discusses the "Brexit" controversy and the current state of British import and export taxes. There are helpful directories of pattern testers and craft videos, and an obnoxious cartoon featuring bare navels and decapitation. There is NOT ONE SINGLE SWEATER PATTERN IN THE MAGAZINE! That's the way today's young and cheeky knitters knit. Only cute little accessories! They're still moving too fast to feel cold!

There's a claim that someone has whined that Blocked is racist. That one invites a whole paragraph of elaboration on the general theme of "Bah humbug." Knitting is not racist, exactly--it has North African roots, and is practiced on every continent--but the revival of knitting as a craft and fashion, in the 1980s, was indeed a rich White arty liberal baby-boomer thing. Diversity meant that an occasional older or younger knitter (Elizabeth Zimmerman, Lily Chin) or a man ("gay" like Fassett or Xenakis, or knitting in solidarity with a wife and/or daughters like Huber, Jones, Rutt, Bourgeois, et al.) slipped in, and er um yes "Chin" is a Chinese name and, oh, er, wait, the Bourgeois were Canadian weren't they? So knitting was international, right? The knitting universe wanted diversity, but it was well into the 1990s when Melanie Falick's Knitting in America irked me by featuring exactly two older women in the crowd of rich White arty liberal baby-boomer women. "I want to write a big glossy coffee-table book," I growled, "about Shirley Paden and the Hubers and Elaine Rowley and all the other knitters who do not fit into Falick's little mold!" But at Stitches Fair we just didn't meet enough of them. Knitter's was actively working to help the knitting universe diversify, bringing in visiting knitters from different countries...but they were all fairly rich, even if some of them had quaint exotic accents, and the ones who really became known in the US and UK had to stay, at least no further away than Canada. Too bad. But let's be very clear: Nobody discriminated against Shirley Paden, or Lily Chin, or Kaffe Fassett. Far from it. The knitting universe saw their first few brilliant designs and bowed at their feet. Most knitters are still rich White arty liberal baby-boomer women but they love the fact that knitting, itself, is global and cross-pollinates itself continually by bringing in fresh influences from faraway places. When African or South American knitters have brought in their wares, what happens is that they tend to sell out fast and go home, rather than stay and try to sell another big glossy coffee-table book of knitting patterns that will probably lose money.  

Oh, well. Nobody bought Knitter's for the articles, clever and informative though some of those were. What made Knitter's were the patterns, and Blocked offers some good patterns for the whimsical little projects the young are knitting and crocheting today. If you want to be a trendy knitter, read it. If you want to be a Real Liberal, send the Free Speech Union some money. 

Book Review: Afghan Stitch Sampler

A Fair Trade Book

Title: Afghan Stitch Sampler

        
Author: Dolores Franks

        
Date: 1993

        
Publisher: Leisure Arts

        
ISBN: none, but click here to see the cover on Amazon

        
Length: 34 pages

        
Quote: “Tunisian Crochet has been used for centuries to produce a material offering the intricacy of knit with the stability of crochet.”

        
“Afghan stitch” is one rather vague name for crocheting done on an “Afghan hook,” a long hook with a knob at one end. “Tunisian Crochet” is probably a better name for the technique, since it is crochet and it is associated with cultures where rugs and slippers, not clothing, were hand-stitched. It is, of course, a good technique for making afghans.

        
From a distance the 48 patches used in the afghan, the 4 used in the matching pillow, and the scalloped borders around both, look like knitting. From a distance an Afghan hook looks like a knitting needle.

        
The Afghan hook can, of course, be used for ordinary crocheting, but its length allows it to be used to make these 53 decorative stitch patterns, which are worked in rows like knitting. Rows are worked in pairs; first you leave all the loops on the hook, then you work off all but one loop.

        
To make the single afghan and pillow shown, you will need about 66 ounces of what U.S. manufacturers confusingly call “worsted weight” yarn (blanket yarn, the kind sold in discount department stores everywhere, knits up to 4-5 stitches per inch) and a 16x16” square pillow form. Each stitch will be used to make one square. You will then be familiar with a wide variety of techniques and will be able to make all sorts of rugs, blankets, pillows, cushions, slippers...even caps, if you want a stiff heavy cap.

Originally a cheap little paperback, this book has soared into the collector's price range. To buy it as a Fair Trade Book, send salolianigodagewi @ yahoo $40 for the book + $5 for shipping. (That's $5 per package; you can get at least two more books into the package with Afghan Stitch Sampler.) We will then send Franks or a charity of her choice $4.50.  

Book Review with Lots of Links: Today's Woman Knit & Crochet Book

Book Review: Today’s Woman Knit & Crochet Book

        
Author: Fawcett Publications staff

        
Date: 1966, 1975

        
Publisher: Fawcett

        
ISBN: none (but it's listed on Amazon here)

        
Length: 112 pages including index

        
Illustrations: many photos and charts, some diagrams

        
Quote: “Beautifully detailed sweaters are yours for the making.”

        
After a short review of techniques (showing which of several alternative knitting techniques is recommended, and which set of crocheting terms are used), the first few chapters of this book consist of sweater patterns. The book also contains patterns for accessories and household items.

        
One thing Today’s Woman Knit & Crochet book proves is that knitting and crocheting are independent of fashion. Some patterns in this book do look dated. Some would require extensive editing to be used...not so much because they’re out of fashion as because they were fashionable bad ideas when they were in fashion. Most are still usable.

        
The sweaters do need some editing. You might still wear a T-shirt-shaped sweater with bands of embroidered flowers, but now that we’ve all had the opportunity to wear petrochemical fibres, nobody would want an acrylic T-shirt...even if Coats Patons were to restore the traditional quality standard that made Red Heart a premium-grade acrylic blanket yarn. If today’s woman wants a knitted T-shirt, she’d skip over the first pattern in this book and go to the third, which uses lightweight cotton to make a lacy-textured T-shirt with an optional scalloped collar.

        
Many of the yarns specified in this book are no longer made. This is not a problem for experienced knitters. As a courtesy to anyone who might buy this book from me, I've suggested substitute yarns, and since most yarn manufacturers now have web pages where you can order yarn online (usually for higher prices than you'd pay at a store), I've linked each brand name to the appropriate web page. Wal-Mart won't use its bulk-purchase discount deal to order the brand or color you want, but most yarn or craft stores will. 

I’ve tried to suggest yarns that are fairly cheap, easy to find, and “classic” from year to year. Your local wool shop has more fashionable yarns that will also work, but since it’s hard to predict when and where you’ll find these yarns, it’s probably best to let the shop staff make the recommendations. (Upscale yarns that have been around a while, e.g. Brown Sheep Lambs Pride or Cotton Fleece, Rowan DK, Alafoss Lopi (formerly Reynolds Lopi), Tahki CottonClassic, Classic Elite La Gran, or Jamieson & Smith Shetland, won’t disappoint you...if you can find and afford them.)

        
For Red Heart yarn in the “Posy Pullover,” page 14: Red Heart is still available and would still work, but who wants a T-shirt that feels like a blanket? Sugar & Cream, Peaches & Creme, Lion Cotton, etc., would work too. I’d start with 24 ounces. I would use acrylic scraps for the embroidery, if I did the embroidery, because the different brilliant colors won’t fade into each other.

        
For Knit-Cro-Sheen yarn in the “Feather & Fan Blouse,” page 18: Accept no substitutes. Because this all-purpose cotton yarn is thicker than the “threads” crocheters usually use for doilies and thinner than the blanket yarns they use for afghans, not all stores stock Knit-Cro-Sheen. Don’t give up! If you don’t find this yarn in the store, contact the manufacturer here.

        
For Red Heart Wintuk Sock & Sweater Yarn in the “Lacy Cardigan,” page 22: For a very lacy effect, the designer used yarn that would normally knit up to a finer gauge than this sweater requires. Red Heart's current super-fine sock yarn, Heart & Sole, comes in white and multicolor only. If you want a solid color, you could knit the sweater in Luster-Sheen...it’s heavier, glossier, and more prone to retain odors (the sweater would require lots of airing). I’d buy 16 to 20 ounces of Luster-Sheen to substitute for 8 to 10 ounces of the lighter-weight yarn. Alternatively, Jamieson & Smith Shetland wool would work beautifully in this sweater.

        
For Unger Les Bouquets in the “Tapestry Tops,” page 28, and the “Man’s Striped Pullover,” page 48: Sugar & Cream or similar cottons would work: 800 to 1000 grams in the main color, 400 grams in the contrast color. If knitting the man’s sweater, first find a man who is willing to wear it, and unless you can fix that boat neck you probably won’t find one.

        
For Columbia-Minerva Nantuk in the “Shortee” T-shirt, page 30: I’d buy 40 ounces of Sugar & Cream or a similar cotton...possibly 20 ounces in each of two colors, since the pattern calls for knitting two strands together. This would be more than enough to knit the sweater as shown. I wouldn’t knit it as shown. I’d lengthen the sleeves, and consider making it as either a cardigan with a front opening, or a tabard open at the sides. If it were knitted with some ventilation, as a cardigan or tabard, it could be knitted in one of the interesting chunky yarns on the market—say 30 ounces Homespun acrylic, or 24 ounces Lopi wool. I’d also knit at least two sizes bigger than the intended wearer normally buys her dresses, because dress sizes given in the book follow the old system, where “Size 10” meant a 34” bust not a 39” bust. In knitting it’s generally a good idea to ignore either dress sizes or “small/medium/large.” Take a sweater or jacket that fits the way the intended wearer wants your creation to fit. Measure this garment. It will probably be two to twelve inches wider than the wearer’s chest measurement. Make the size closest to this measurement. Also measure the length of waist and sleeves, and adjust the pattern to get that length.

        
For Aunt Lydia’s Rug Yarn in the “Knot Sweater” on page 31, “Cluster Shell” on page 33, and anywhere else: Lion Brand Jiffy or Homespun acrylic are softer (which sweater wearers will probably appreciate!) but work up to the same gauge.

        
For Dawn Sayelle in the “Miss’s and Dog’s Sweaters and Tams” on page 34: Red Heart would be a near-perfect ounce-for-ounce substitute, but the garment might be enjoyed more if you used Sugar & Cream or a similar cotton. 42 ounces would probably suffice.

        
For Dawn Worsted in the “Striped Pullovers” on page 36: Red Heart would have the same period-appropriate look. The only reason why I’d knit these sweaters would be as historical costumes. Because the yarn was heavy and was knitted loosely, this kind of sweater didn’t hold its shape, and those “boat necks” were soon sinking down off the wearer’s shoulders. Her sweaty shoulders. If you do want stripes but don’t want a sinking boat neckline, try copying the neckline from “Miss’s and Dog’s Sweaters and Tams.” If you’re knitting for someone who reacts normally to temperatures, use Sugar & Cream or a similar cotton.

        
For Reynolds Classique in the “Girl’s Pullover or Cardigan” and “Boys’ Pullovers” on page 39, Red Heart Sport would probably work, but watch the row gauge. I’d estimate 3 ounces of Red Heart Sport (or "Comfort Sport") for each skein of Classique to get the size indicated.

        
For Spinnerin Marvel Twist in the “Deer and Doves Sweaters” on page 42, shown in color on the front cover: Lion Brand Wool-Ease would probably be a close match.

        
For Brunswick Germantown in the “Norwegian Yoke Pullover” on page 46: There will never be a real substitute for Brunswick Germantown. It was 100% wool spun in such a way as to yield wearable fabric when knitted at anything from 4 to 6 stitches per inch. Philosophers Wool comes in two weights, neither of which “normally” knits up to 4 stitches per inch; knitting the lighter yarn loosely would probably feel more like the original version; knitting the heavier yarn tightly would make a snowproof garment. Knitting Wool-Ease loosely would give a similar effect with cheaper, easier-care yarn, as would knitting Sugar & Cream or similar cottons loosely. Red Heart normally knits up to 4 stitches per inch, and stranding two colors of it on every row would make a Canadian-type, double-thick-blanket, snowproof fabric...not what most of us want to wear as an indoor pullover. Red Heart Sport normally knits up to 5.5 stitches per inch, as did Germantown, and could possibly be knitted loosely at 4 stitches per inch, but the body of the yarn wouldn’t “rise to the occasion” the way Germantown did, so the sweater would look loose and lacy. You decide.

        
For “fisherman’s yarn” in the “Man’s Irish Pullover” on page 50: Lion Brand has actually brought out a natural wool “Fishermen's” yarn that would work in this design. It’s minimally processed, comes in creamy natural white and sometimes in shades of tan and gray, and meant to shrink and felt easily. Allow 800 to 1000 grams (depending on size wanted). Most people who have had allergic reactions to wool garments are actually allergic to chemicals used in processing wool; some could safely wear Fishermen's Wool, but you could substitute 40 to 48 ounces of Sugar & Cream or a similar cotton if you wanted to.

        
For “knitting worsted” in the “Boy’s Knit Cap” on page 52, they really meant that any of the dimestore yarns sold as “worsted weight” in the U.S. at the time could be used. “Worsted” actually refers to the way yarn is spun; in the U.K. at this time “knitting worsted” meant a much finer yarn. Three or four ounces of any yarn that knits up to 3.75 or 4 stitches per inch would be enough for the cap.

        
For Spinnerin Wintuk Featherlon in the “Boy’s Side-Striped Set” on page 52: Red Heart Sport knitted loosely would give a period-appropriate effect, and 20 ounces of the main color would probably be about right. However, if you want to make something an 8-to-12-year-old will like, why not buy undyed Philosophers Wool (the lighter weight) and let your nephew or niece dye the contrast colors with Kool-Aid mix? If interested, the child could do much of the knitting, as well...on needles, or on the hand-operated Sweater Machine.

        
For Bucilla Angora, Melody, and Supra Mohair in the accessories section beginning on page 54: Your local yarn shop has some fluffy yarn that will work. Fluffy yarns tend to be season-specific (although La Gran mohair and Lamb's Pride mohair blend have been consistently available in different colors for years), and yardage and textures vary—not because fluffy shawls and caps go out of style (they don’t) but because the supply of naturally fluffy animal hair varies. If you have fluffy pets who like to be brushed and combed in spring, you can actually save their hair and have it spun to make a fluffy wool blend that would also be a pet souvenir. (You would smell like your pet to humans only if the garment got wet, but your pet would notice, and be pleased. Part of what pets do when they snuggle up to their humans is tag the humans with their scent so other animals know to whom the humans belong.) You can always use a lighter weight of fluffy yarn, knitted loosely, to substitute for a heavier yarn; the yarn will fluff out and fill in the holes.

        
For Columbia-Minerva Knitting Worsted in the “Patterned Rib Stockings” on page 62: Wool-Ease would be a period-appropriate, stiff and clumpy match. Wool-Ease Sport was an excellent idea that would have worked well in these socks, and should not have been discontinued.

        
For Columbia-Minerva Precious Nantuk in the baby patterns beginning on page 66: For the jacket, Caron Simply Soft, knitted tightly, or Red Heart Sport, knitted loosely, or Lion Brand Jamie, knitted loosely, would do. Do you really want to wrap a baby’s head in plastic, even spun plastic? I’d try Knit-Cro-Sheen, knitted very loosely. Tahki Cotton Classic would be a better gauge match, if you can find it. An alternative way to use these patterns would be to knit Sugar & Cream or a similar cotton tightly. The cotton would stretch a bit, giving a slightly larger garment. Babies tend to keep the same proportions as they grow for the first year or two, so the sweater could grow with the baby for a few months.

For the crocheted patterns in the rest of the book: These projects were designed for the lace-weight crochet cotton and blanket-weight acrylic yarns that dominate the yarn displays in discount department stores everywhere. If brands or colors aren’t available, substitutes will be. I don't crochet, but I'd expect that crocheters will be able to use any of these patterns as written.

Today's Woman magazine no longer exists, and since the patterns aren't credited to individual designers there's no way this collection could be considered a Fair Trade Book. Online, I'd still have to charge $10 for the book + $5 for shipping. 

Elizabeth Barrette's Winterfaire

Is this cool, or is this cool? Elizabeth Barrette is linking as many crafters (and independent writers) as possible to her Live Journal:

http://ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com/3483161.html

If you scroll down through the comments you'll find lots of other cute stuff (note that LJ is global, so some of it's not made in the U.S.A.) as well as links to my knitting posts and Theresa Wiza's crocheting ( al lcraftc onnecti on.org ).

I wish I had good news to report from https://www.facebook.com/TreeAndTraFashions , but I've not seen or heard of any more jewelry being available through this site.

Granny Squares Liberal and Conservative

Hand Crocheted by Anonymous

Photo by Victoria Cooley

In real life, the yellow squares in this pet blanket are a bright crayon yellow, and the blanket is a square rather than a trapezoid.

Size: About 2' x 2'

Material: Acrylic

Care: Machine wash and dry

Credits: This pet blanket consists of granny-square patches crocheted by what might be described as a liberal and a conservative approach to crocheting. (The outer squares have smaller, tighter stitches.)

Click here to buy it for $20 + $5 shipping.