Stumbling around at Slater Mill

Today ends the Slater Mill Knitting Guild Knitting Weekend and I was damned if I was going to miss it, especially since I'd signed up for Helen Bingham's simultaneous socks workshop on Saturday. Small detail:  I've had a grotesque cold for the past week....Nonetheless I turned on the Stoic Resolve, swallowed a whole lot of OTC cold-nuking drugs, and I can tell you that for me, the entire five hours I spent there, was a total blur. Possibly the drug cocktail had something to do with this? The drive home was equally loopy. I seemed to be in the thrall of Solar Slowdowns, and expected to see ETs among the space alien corn as I reached the top of every hill with its reward of instantaneous blindness from glaring rays of the setting sun.

Helen Bingham teaches simultaneous socks.

After two hours of intense concentration whilst my brain moved in slow motion and enjoyed minor hallucinations, I determined it was time to press Reset --> Delay [48 hours] --> Start; so I packed up my sad attempt at two simultaneous socks

and wandered around the yarn artisans' marketplace for a while, running into my friends from North Light Fibers,

my neighbor, Linda Perry, the dynamo behind Thistledown Knitting,

Linda's beauteous hand-dyed worsteds

and discovered the fabulous sock yarn of Play at Life Fiber Arts, located on Etsy and in Fall River, MA.

Here the yarn stands in for H, who will wear sox knitted therefrom.

Was the jaunt worth it, given my subpar health?  What kind of question is that???

Welcoming the new

Just before the entrance of 2013, Mother Nature brought us nine inches of snow. The next few days were pleasant to spend indoors, knitting by the wood-stove.

Sunrise over the Wood River, Woodville RI, 12/30/12

This is the kind of weather that, like the end result of labor, obliterates the memory of pain and suffering--all those torrid days in July, those wild hurricanes in the fall, the endless slush and mush of early spring.  Gentle knitters, it is really beautiful here in New England right now. That is all I know.

As per usual, I polled an array of friends on their New Year's knitting resolutions. The minority who replied (my friends are very busy people) seemed both sensible and creative. Here are their thoughts to share with you, and perhaps inspire.

Neuroknitter and Oogyknitter annually choose a knitting theme and spend the rest of the year working it out. This year's is entitled "Thing a Month," and as Oogy explains, "We have selected 12 items, techniques, or project categories, and have designed one for each month of the year.  For example - our January project is collaborative and will be based upon the BFF Scarf from knitty.com, but with a few alterations.  Our February project is New Sock Technique, when I will attempt Magic Loop, and Neuro will attempt Toe-Up.  And so forth.  We'll both blog these and all subsequent months, favorable and not.  It should be a fairly eventful yarn year from that perspective!" You can bet that I'll be tracking their fascinating progress, and you can, too, as the links are both on my blogroll and above.

Irene DeVerna, of Eneri Knits, says "my resolution is to sort through and organize my stash, sell or donate what I no longer want, and prioritize all my UFOs!"  (Isn't that every knitter's dream? More power to you, Irene!)

Sven and Laura Risom of North Light Fibers have set themselves great goals to achieve--see my post prior to this--and Deborah Newton, the Knitting Goddess, says her plan is "less Internet, more productivity!" (By the way, you can catch her at VK Live in NYC, January 18-20!)

As for me, I really need a vest and I want to use up stash yarn and I crave a break from dpns...so I'm going to start the Anastasiya vest in the very near future. It's on straight 2s and 3s, but on the plus side, it's only two pieces to knit (if I don't go chart-blind). Let's hope I get it done before summer....

Shameless plugs

As you know, gentle knitters, occasionally I mention opportunities that seem worthwhile. Recently the following events caught my eye, and I'll pass the info on for your consideration.

The first to occur, on January 17th of 2013, is the Second Annual Knit-In, sponsored by Main Street Art, an arts community center in Newfields, New Hampshire.  It runs from 8 to 8, and is to benefit New Horizons of New Hampshire, a social services program that includes a food pantry, homeless shelter, and soup kitchen in Manchester. "Knitters are welcome to join us for the day or just for an hour...Yarn and patterns provided, but everyone should bring their own needles (7-9).  We'll be knitting up as many hats as we can and would love everyone's company."  So, for further info go to www.newfieldsart.org, or contact Kelley Corson at 603-321-7305/kacorson@yahoo.com.

The second is a Debbie Stoller weekend retreat, February 15-18th, at the Rowe Camp and Conference Center in Rowe, Massachusetts (in the Berkshires, very pretty).  It's called "Raging Wool," and it promises to be amusing, though I hope not overly enraged.  Click here for more info.

Now, on to the last shameless plug. When I queried Sven and Laura Risom, the dynamic couple behind North Light Fibers on Block Island, about their New Year's knitting resolutions, I seem to have unleashed a force of nature.

As you may recall, if you read some of my earlier posts, the Risoms have embraced yarn as a way of life, and to spend any time in their company is a fiber immersion experience. Now they're asking willing knitters to collaborate with them on specific projects, all of which sound quite interesting.

I'll leave you with the Risoms' resolutions and forecasts in their own words. (In a day or two I'll be posting the New Year's resolutions of other knitters who responded to my request--and if you have some you want to share, email me asap!)

So...here's the skinny from North Light Fibers:

As many of you know, North Light Fibers is a small yarn mill and store located on Block Island, RI focused on producing quality blended yarns from exotic fibers such as qiviut, yak, camel, alpaca, bamboo, silk, etc. We clean, dehair, dye, card, and spin all of our yarns and we are starting to work with other exotics including Paco Vicuna and other beautiful fibers. We are located in the middle of an animal farm on a beautiful island and welcome everyone to visit us. In addition to planning a great retreat for the weekend of May 3rd with instructors including Deborah Newton, Melissa Leapman and more (http://northlightfibers.com/knittingretreat2013) and introducing a new line of Forever Lace yarn (80% baby alpaca, 20% bamboo in 16+ colors as pictured below), we are really wanting to work with more knitters and expand the use of our yarns – and this gets us to our resolutions for 2013:

• Work with knitters to develop new patterns and applications for our yarns. Laura is knitting a pillow with a prototype new super chunky yarn (80% Fine Alpaca/20%Fine Bamboo) in the picture below. But we need new ideas and we want to work with knitters to help develop and introduce the ideas to the knitting community.

Credit:  S. Risom

• Develop and market more patterns and kits using our yarns. If any of you design patterns or have recommendations of patterns for us to carry, we would love to hear from you. Many knitters want help in planning their project and we need your help in developing the kits and project plans.
• Create many more knit samples of patterns we market. We produce a lot of yarn but we need assistance making samples of the patterns. We would love to hang your knit sample in our booth at shows (Stitches, Vogue Live, New York Sheep and Wool Festival, New England Fiber Festival, etc). We look forward to forming partnerships with knitters to work with us.
• Expand retreats in the spring and fall that are dedicated to yarn shops, clubs, guilds or groups. We have had many "small" knitting retreats that have all been very successful (i.e. The RI Hook and Needle Guild) and we would enjoy talking with more people about a weekend retreat on Block Island.
• Identify a select set of stores to sell our yarns wholesale. We plan to start selling our yarns wholesale in 2013 starting in 2-3 stores in the Northeast. Do you have any ideas? We would love input and advice as to what stores can best carry our yarns.

As the saying goes, you put out your call to the universe, and you get what you want.  Let's hope the universe is listening in 2013!

Neighborhood alpacas inspect North Light Fibers yarn.  Credit:  S. Risom.

Friend and FO

The wheels of change grind slowly, but gradually I'm reaching the bottom of the UFO pile. This latest FO, called the "Petite Popover" and modeled by Ted and the owls, is one of those delicious free patterns to which I'm heavily addicted. It came to me via the Purl Bee newsletter from Purl Soho, and if you don't know about the amazing stuff this shop sells, I invite you to click on their link.

The garment knits up fast and is a clever way to keep a small child warm, since it combines a hat and generous scarf, thus preventing the dreaded Chilly Neck Syndrome. (Size is adjustable from baby to toddler to child.) Pop it over the kid's head, stuff the ends into the snowsuit/jacket/bunting, and you're ready to roll. I forced myself to knit this in acrylic because I don't trust the parents of Caiden (beneficiary, age 6 months) to hand-wash anything. And much as I detest synthetic yarn, I have to admit that what I used--SMC Northern Worsted--is nice. (Purl Soho shows the popover gorgeously done-up in cashmere and a top-of-the-line merino from Swans Island.)

Speaking of Swans Island yarns, catch my latest article in Knitscene's Winter 2012 issue about Coastal New England Yarns, from Block Island (North Light Fibers) to Swans Island!

Wilted

Imagine the steamiest shower you've ever taken, the hottest wettest laundry room, the alligator pond in full sun at a suburban zoo--scummy water with a cloudy overlay of mosquitoes and midges, mainly but not quite obscuring the rarely-blinking eyeballs of the mostly-submerged, sludge-colored reptiles. Humidity, heat, stasis, torpor.

That is today's weather in New England. It was also yesterday's and that of the day before, and it will be tomorrow's as well.

O divine goddess of the conditioned air, I thank thee for thy cooling breath that refresheth my listless, depleted, heat-enervated soul, and for thy wise, judicious thermostat that gloweth in the dark and maintaineth my dwelling in shady comfort. 

Of course, I am knitting socks. I mean, why not? Inspired by a recent post on the Knitting Daily blog, I did a heel in the Eye of Partridge stitch.

I like this! It looks kind of Byzantine, and it also seems cushier and is possibly more durable than conventional heel stitches. I'm thinking about how Eye of Partridge can be adapted to toes, which usually bear more stress than do the heels.

Meanwhile, I finished the buttercup yellow socks of North Light Fibers' lofty and light alpaca/mohair sock yarn called Island Meadow Blend, but it is simply too hot hot hot to wear them, so they obligingly struck a footless pose for me amongst drooping greenery:

Please note the fine stitch definition of this yarn.

Gentle knitters, if you have additional interesting suggestions about coping with sticky, horrible, horrendously humid heat, I should be ever so pleased to share them with the readership. Do let me know.

Bad yarn, great yarn

Gentle knitters, it's been a frantic few weeks, hence the silence. During this blackout period, I've crammed in as much knitting as possible to remind myself that actually some things do come to a good end, even if the process is a struggle. For instance, these socks, lying peacefully next to Molly:

You'd never suspect, to look at them, that this is Yarn from Hell. To explain briefly: it's served up in a pull-skein, theoretically an efficient way to dispense yarn. Pull the string from deep inside and the yarn neatly flows onto needles. Except in this case, what came out from the depths was a huge, seemingly endless tangle, and it was maddeningly difficult to unknot. In fact, I had to cut the yarn several times to continue. The manufacturer is some German company whose name I repressed after I tore the ball-band into a million bits.

Compare this to the delightful unskeining today of North Light Fibers's Island Meadow Blend (60% baby alpaca, 40% kid mohair).

The skein is neatly tied, and the tie opens cleanly. Nothing to cut, no knots to untangle.

This ball-winding process was smooth as could be. Tweak the tie, it drifts gently apart, yarn (sitting cleanly on yarn swift) rolls into a perfect ball:  voila! the Platonic Ideal of Yarn Readiness.

How could any knitter not love this already, even before casting on? I was a goner from the get-go.

Yarn as a way of life...

Some loyal readers may recall my post last June about North Light Fibers, the first yarn mill on Block Island and, I believe, the only small business in the state of Rhode Island that produces and maintains an inventory of unique luxury yarns.

After my visit in June, I had hoped to return soon to check on the progress of Sven and Laura Risom's enterprise, but breaking my leg in August effectively put the kibosh on that. However, I was able to realize my hope earlier this week, now that I'm hale, and was happily amazed to note growth in many directions, including not only a refinement of NLF's yarn products, but a measurable commitment to sustainability and the economic well-being of the Block Island community.

What most of us mainlanders don't realize is that seasonal communities, dependent on short-term income, undergo long periods of dearth during off-times. In isolated places like islands, unemployment and attendant social problems may become extreme after the high season ends. A solid business like North Light Fibers not only provides year-round employment security to several locals, it also becomes a destination during the spring and fall margins when the weather is in general pretty nice but tourism has abated. Recently some of my friends in the Hook and Needle Knitting Guild that meets at the Slater Mill in Pawtucket, RI, spent a weekend exploring the knitting scene and beauty of Block Island, and returned with overwhelming praise for the workshop that North Light Fibers had created especially for them. This included a partnership with the charming Hotel Manisses, practically adjacent to the mill, so that not only were the accommodations lovely, they were also convenient.

H and I were lucky to stay in a similarly beautiful spot, The 1661 Inn, run by the same management as the Manisses. Here's a photo of the view from our room, and like the Manisses, the hotel is easy walking distance from North Light Fiber.

An added bonus of the walk from either place to the mill is that one passes by a number of exotic beasts, some of which produce fiber (alpacas, a yak), who hang out on the surrounding grounds.

***

As for the mill itself, there's much to say and I will do so over time, including a forthcoming article. For now I'll leave you with some images of the mill (second floor of the building) and the retail store (ground floor). If these inspire a visit, I promise you'll have a great time. To come to Block Island for a day from the mainland is easy by the ferry from Point Judith, RI, and NLF, restaurants, beaches, shops, bike rentals and beautiful scenery are close by to the harbor. But if you can, staying over is even nicer. Check the North Light Fibers website for info about knitting retreats, too.

Upstairs at the mill.

Downstairs in the shop.

Yarn!

Hand-knitted hats for sale, by resident knitter Renate Fitzgerald.

The North Light by Sachem Pond.

An idyll, with yarn

Because I suffer from mal de mer, we earlier this week ditched the idea of the ferry and flew to Block Island in a plane that felt like a minivan (minus children and soccer mom).  It takes twelve minutes, and besides being efficient, offers excellent views.

Stayed two nights, ate mostly at great restaurants, hiked, read, slept, etc.  From the lawn of the Atlantic Inn where we stopped for drinks and tapas

I espied this peaceable kingdom,

a hobby farm of esoteric animals behind the Manisses Hotel. Some of these critters, it turns out, provide fiber for the island's first and only yarn mill, North Light Fibers. The world being a small place, and Rhode Island an even smaller place, it turns out that Sven Risom, the co-owner of the mill with his wife Laura, is a former student of H's.

I am happy to report that North Light Fibers produces some amazing yarns, and a detailed account will be forthcoming in the pages of this blog. Dear Knitters, if you find yourself on Block Island in the near future, do please find your way to North Light Fibers to tour the mill and see for yourself the many fascinating and meticulous steps involved in the small scale processing of fiber into yarn, from the raw ingredients to the spinning and dyeing and skeining--all in the most environmentally-correct ways possible.

Short and sweet was this vacation--actually, a wedding-anniversary celebration. We shall happily return in the fall, just because.