and knitting

One World, One Knitting Dream

The Opening Ceremonies started just a few minutes ago (photo above is from a dress rehearsal) and around the world, knitters are casting on for this year's Knitting Olympics, hosted by Ravelry.

I really enjoyed participating in the 2006 Knitting Olympics, but as with the real games, I'll be watching from the sidelines this year. We won't talk about my miserable last place finish on Team First Sweater. It will be so fun to sit back and watch people compete. There had better be some exciting montage sequences with stirring scores!

Knitting News: Alien knitting patterns undo Dr Who fan

More than a wee bit late on this one, but I thought it was interesting...

Alien knitting patterns undo Dr Who fan The Times - May 14 2008

A Doctor Who fan who created knitting patterns for the programme’s monsters and gave them away online has been told by the BBC to stop or face the threat of court action. The action against the licence fee-payer who had produced patterns of the squid-faced Ood and the short, fat, white Adipose for members of her knitting circle has rapidly become a cause célèbre on the internet. The 26-year-old woman, who uses the name Mazzmatazz because she does not want to be identified, said that she was “just an ordinary person who likes knitting” who had been caught up in “a bit of whirlwind”. Lawyers argue that her case shows that trademark and copyright law should be changed.

Knitting News Links - June 11 2007

Top prize for knitting Nick
BBC - June 11 2007

A Kingswood student has won a major fashion prize for his designer knitwear. Nick Thomas, who studied at the University of the West of England, has won the top prize at River Island Graduate Fashion Week.

...Nick’s collection is aimed at the high-end market. “My inspiration comes from all things British like hounds tooth patterns, wool, paisley and Fairisle. A visit to Tyntesfield this year also informed my palette choice of Farrow and Ball looking colours,” said Nick.

Nick's collection includes tailored wool trousers with unusual sock extensions and knitwear designs featuring floral patterns based on agapanthus, circles, stripes and an adaptation of tradition paisley and Fairisle patterns decorated with accessories including fabric buttons. [more]

Talk of the book town Fans flock to Yarn Harlot
The Oregonian - June 11 2007

By 6:45 p.m., seats were in such short supply for the 7:30 p.m. reading that the Powell's City of Books staff asked whether anyone could give up a folding chair for a couple of people with medical conditions who needed to sit.

...But no matter the close quarters and heat that had built up in the room: The Yarn Harlot did not disappoint. Pearl-McPhee, author of four books of knitting humor and a popular blog (www.yarnharlot.ca), has a comedic shtick that entertains while also giving attention to knitters, a group whose members often feel undervalued.

She started out taking a photo of the crowd. "I take those photos for my mother," she said. "She didn't think this knitting thing could really work out."

Wrong. Pearl-McPhee's books are hugely popular, and she's been drawing crowds of hundreds on the stops for her new book, "Casts Off: The Yarn Harlot's Guide to the Land of Knitting." [more]

Paying their penance with piecework
StarTribune - June 10 2007

As a 17-year-old, Isiah Thomas of St. Paul has had to make his way in the hard world of St. Cloud prison. How's he managing?

By quilting, among other things.

"Me, personally, I never did nothing like it," he said from behind the gray concrete walls where he's serving 33 months for witness tampering, auto theft and attempted burglary.

"But I enjoy it. It's quiet, it's mellow, and the stuff is donated to some people who need it."

Thomas is one of dozens of inmates in at least three Minnesota men's prisons who are passing time quilting and knitting. [more]

Knitting News Link - June 10 2007

The life-size fairy tale house made of millions of stitches
Daily Mail - June 8 2007

A unique knitted wonder-house will go on show for the first time with the aim of raising thousands of pounds for charity.

The millions of stitches in the multi-coloured woollen 140 square foot dwelling have been knitted by hundreds of women across the world over thousands of hours. [more]

March of the Emperor

I missed an opportunity to make some sort of March of the Penguins/Happy Feet reference in my last post. Luckily, Chanel presented more than one intarsia penguin sweater for Fall 2007, giving me another excuse to post, and an opportunity to link to this hilarious promo bit for March of the Penguins.

Knitting News - March 8 2007

- pureknits is offering a yarntini sock club membership! The first allotment of memberships sold out quickly, but a few more were added late yesterday. If you missed your chance, console yourself with something else from Yahaira's exquisitely curated shop. Perhaps the yummy looking kashmir dk ?

- You can now register for this year's Split Rock Arts Summer Workshops. A few highlights:
Natural Dyes: Techniques for Wool
A Feltmaker's Bag of Tricks: Exploring Hand-Felting Processes
Knitting: A Different Slant

- Dame Helen Mirren plans to knit a football kit for her Oscar.
The Daily Record - March 6 2007

The 61-year-old star, who last month won the best actress Academy Award for her role in The Queen, said she would do it "to keep him warm". [more]

- Knitting women unite to keep Navy dolphins warm
KOMO-TV - March 2 2007

A group of women gathered Friday at the Bainbridge Island Senior Center.

They are part of a knitting group growing across the United States.

It only It looks like a knitting club.

This is much more than knit one, purl two. This is politics.

"The whole problem of putting them on the dolphins is one of the things we have to consider in the future. It's an interesting thought," said Jan Bailey, one of the knitters.

The women are knitting sweaters for warm-water bottlenose dolphins. The Navy wants to put them on Homeland Security patrol here.

One of the knitters Karin Beran says that's cruel, but says the dolphins will know what to do with the sweaters.

"Well, I guess the dolphins are so smart, so they can figure it out, if and how and when. I'm just happy to knit for them," Beran said. [more]

pureknits!

It's difficult to keep a secret, so I'm happy that Yahaira has finally announced the opening of her new online knitting store, pureknits. I'm thrilled for her, and now I can blab about it all I want.

Her shop was the source of the Fable Handknit Pure Baby Alpaca that I used for the Aspen Neck Cowl. The baby alpaca was so wonderful that I recently placed another order for that yarn (in a lovely blue this time around).

In addition to Fable Handknit, she's currently carrying yarn from Habu and Tilli Tomas. She also has recycled silk and a house line of hand dyed bamboo. Make sure you buy lots of Amy, my namesake colorway!

Of course there are also cool patterns, knitting bags and more. Go check it out (and no, she isn't giving me a kickback for posting this)!

Stitch and Bitch

I know a few of you are sick of the kvetching about the stitch and bitch trademark fight, but I wanted to point the rest of you to this list of fun examples of Intellectual Property Run Amok that I found via Lawrence Lessig's blog.

HUEY NEWTON’S widow is trademarking the phrase “Burn, Baby, Burn” for use as a BBQ sauce slogan.

FOR INCLUDING a 60-second piece of silence on their album, the Planets were threatened with a lawsuit by the estate of composer John Cage, which said they’d ripped off his silent work 4’33”. The Planets countered that the estate failed to specify which 60 of the 273 seconds in Cage’s piece had been pilfered.

THE PUBLISHER of Super Hero Happy Hour removed “Super” from the comic book title after Marvel and DC Comics stated they own the phrase “super heroes and variations thereof.”

Sew Fast Sew Easy's efforts to control all usage of the age old phrase stitch and bitch should make them a strong candidate for inclusion in this hall of lame.

Technorati tags: trademark stitch and bitch

Knitting Pretty

The March 2006 W has an interesting article about the women who knit and crochet for knitwear designers. As far as I can tell it's not available online, so pick up a copy at your local bookstore.

When you're looking for a fashion tip: Grandma knows best. Just ask a new generation of cutting-edge European knitwear designers who are employing a far-flung network of grannies. Equipped with skillful fingers and age-old knitting know-how, these venerable ladies are tackling designs that exude more contemporary cool than tea-cozy appeal.

Take actress-cum-novice crochet designer Anat Fritz, 32, from Berlin. She used to sell so many of her handmade "Oliver Twist-meets-hip hop" hats to strangers right off her own head that she decided to go into production – of a sort. "I put ads in the paper and found a bunch of old ladies who had been crocheting all of their lives," says the Romanian-born Fritz.

It's nice to see these artisans get a bit of recognition, though I must admit to a bit of discomfort with one part of the article.

But if there's one common thread linking today's knitwear pioneers, it's an ethical, or as Fritz says, "fair trade," relationship with their employees. Fritz says she pays her knitters anywhere from $7 to $12 to make a hat that retails for about $110 in wool and $280 in cashmere. They receive $120 for more involved items like a swimsuit, which can take up to 15 hours to knit, and which retails for about $365.

$120 for 15 hours of knitting comes to $8/hour. This seems a little low for hand knitting.

The issue also features an article about TSE designer Tess Giberson. I wish the line would come out with a hand knitting kit designed by Giberson (rather like Paco Rabanne's disc dress kits).

technorati tag: fashion

nitpicks

I read this morning that knitpixie was changing their name to kpixie. Here's an excerpt from the explanation on their site.

We were approached by a large craft corporation who felt that our store name sounded too similar to theirs and they threatened legal action. We decided to change our store name in order to avoid a lawsuit.

I read elsewhere that the corporation in question was Crafts Americana, owner of KnitPicks.

As I posted in the thread about this on Knitter's Review, I understand that trademark law is such that you have to vigorously defend your trademark. However, I would think that would apply only when there is a legitimate concern about confusion. Sure, spoken aloud, the names sound similar, but I would imagine most people find out about their stores via the web or a printed advertisement. This just seems like bullying to me and I won't be purchasing yarn or knitting patterns from knitpicks again.

news about knitting news

The knitting news posts here on this blog were becoming a bit unwieldly, so I've decided to spin them off into a separate site, named oh so creatively, Knitting News.

It's not all articles about knitting as the new yoga; there have been some interesting stories lately, like one from the Asahi Shimbun on the Tokyo Stitch n Bitch which quotes Kat of pinku fame, or a knitted homage to Dawn of the Dead.

The posts on the new site will contain links and excerpts from knitting news stories, just as they have here, and I hope to add additional content in the future. I'll also be able to have a bit more fun with the categories. Please head on over and add the new site to your feeds if you are so inclined.