Viva Subversive Knitting!

We are pleased and lucky to have an intern in the Berroco design studio this semester. A jack of all trades around the office, Becky Snow helps us with everything from swatching pattern stitches to sorting e-mail. For more about the toils of an intern see my blog entry on Becky. It's great to have someone newly enthusiastic about knitting to help keep us on the cutting edge. With that in mind, I asked Becky to write this KnitBits highlighting an exciting new book about knitting's new wave.

Becky writes, In Sabrina Gschwandtner's new book KnitKnit*, she takes the idea that "knitting isn't just for grandmas anymore" and runs with it. Showcasing the work of a new generation of knitters, this book goes beyond your usual ideas of knitting. KnitKnit profiles 27 sometimes subversive artist-crafters who, in the author's words, “use fiber in unexpected and unorthodox ways. Radical reformers in the world of knitting who have overthrown the status quo from the inside out.” The book explores the traditional craft of knitting and how these artists have created nontraditional pieces, such as tree cozies or an entirely knit room, using nontraditional materials such as fiberglass insulation or electrical wire. The artist Dave Cole used nontraditional tools, John Deere** excavators, to knit his sculptural piece The Knitting Machine, shown above.

One of the craft-artists profiled in KnitKnit is Berroco's own Norah Gaughan. With Norah's background in both science and art she was a logical choice for this book. Norah takes patterns and elements found in nature and science and incorporates them into ingeniously designed knit pieces. She has the ability to see forms found in the natural world and translate them into wearable knitwear designs as seen in her book Knitting Nature. Norah is often fascinated with knitting polygons in her pieces, for instance, the Missing Piece Hobo Bag in Suede™, which is featured in KnitKnit.

Tina Marrin is another craft-artist profiled in KnitKnit. An accountant by day and artist by training (she has a MFA from the California Institute of Arts), Tina's knitting story is an example of how the renegade and self taught knitter can successfully set their creativity free. She has generously offered today's free pattern, Tina's Skirt knit in Touché™. She is shown wearing it in the book and below.

Knit in Touché™
Skill level: Intermediate
FREE pattern instructions

Thank you, Becky and Sabrina for a peek into knitting's new wave. You can find KnitKnit in your local yarnshop or bookstore. To visit the KnitKnit online zine go to www.knitknit.net.

Happy knitting and reading!