Knitting and Spirit - Stories in Stitches

STORIES
IN
STITCHES
™
DONNA DRUCHUNAS & AVA COLEMAN
Around the World: Knitting and Spirit
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DESTINATIONS
FEATURES
KNIT PATTERNS
Arizona, USA
Switzerland
Iran
Nepal
Spiritual Stitches
Knitting the World
Together
My Jungian Mandala
Kachina Legwarmers
Mandala Blanket
Gur-e-Amir
Hat and Stole
and more….
No.
4
STORIES
IN
STITCHES
™
AROUND THE WORLD:
KNITTING AND SPIRIT
DONNA DRUCHUNAS & AVA COLEMAN
Copyright © 2014 Ava Coleman and Donna Druchunas. All rights reserved.
You may make copies of charts and patterns for personal use. Inquire about workshops and using Stories in Stitches for teaching.
Printed in USA by Versa Press, Inc., East Peoria IL
Editor’s Letter
2
Knitting has a rich and deep meaning
Ava uses texture patterns as a medi-
that goes well beyond the mere act of
tation on Bible verses in Spiritual Stitches,
making something pretty. For many of us,
and provides motifs and general instruc-
knitting is spiritual.
tions for knitting your own Prayer Pillow.
Whether it’s the act of making stitch
Susan Santos explores the secrets of
after stitch that serves as a form of medi-
the mandala in My Jungian Mandala, and
tation, the love and caring that we put into
accompanies her essay with a beautiful
each piece we make for a gift or to give to
blanket that you can make as is or adapt to
charity, or simply the fact that we are mak-
your own mandala meditation with motifs
ing an object from scratch, there’s some-
from your favorite stitch library.
thing undeniably compelling about knitting.
In this volume of Stories In Stitches, we
explore the spiritual practice of knitting in
many different flavors.
I share some thoughts about my own
spiritual journey in Knitting the Spirit, and
in a fairy tale called Knitting the World
Together, I explore how making things by
hand might be the glue that keeps society from falling apart. My projects include
repetitive, meditative colorwork stitches
adapted from Islamic mosaic patterns.
That’s just part of what’s in Stories In
Stitches 4. The words, projects, and images
are all meant to inspire you to make your
own journey of spirt through your knitting.
We hope you enjoy our thoughts and ideas.
Yours in words and stitches,
Donna
Contents
3
W HAT ’S I NSI DE ?
Editor’s Letter 2
PAT T E R N S
Our Creative Team 4
ART I CL E S
« DE ST I NAT I ON: PE RSONAL GROW T H »
Spiritual Stitches 6
Ava Coleman
Knitting the Spirit 14
Donna Druchunas
My Jungian Mandala 20
Susan Santos
A Knitter’s Tale 30
Knitting the World Together 40
« DE ST I NAT I ON: T HE PUE BL O AND IR A N »
Through the Exhibit Glass Darkly 42
Pueblo Kachinas and Impersonators 44
Ava Coleman
Praying with Our Hands 50
Donna Druchunas
A Few Words.... 53
Kathleen O’Brien
« T OOL S OF T HE T RADE »
Modeknit Yarn 66
Abbreviations 70
Bibliography and Credits 71
W HAT ’S NE XT
Knitting in American History 72
Prayer Pillow 11
My Jungian Mandala Blanket 24
Kachina Legwarmers:
Traditional and Modern 46
Gur-e-Amir Hat 54
Gur-e-Amir Stole 58
Tehran Slipper Socks 62
6
S P I R I T UA L ST I TC H E S
The Order of
the Daughters of the King. It is composed of women who are members of the Roman Catholic,
Lutheran, and Episcopal faiths. The Daughters assist their clergy, help the members of their
congregations in time of need, and support their communities. Like most religious orders, they live
by a Rule of Life, which is centered around study, meditation, and prayer. BY AVA COLEMAN
NEARLY A DECADE AGO I BECAME A MEMBER OF A VERY SPECIAL GROUP,
14
Knitting
the
Spirit
I am an atheist, a person with a naturalistic
worldview, free of supernatural, metaphysical, and
paranormal forces. Can I understand what it means
to be spiritual? Can I write about spirituality? Can I
claim to be a spiritual person? Creating this volume
of Stories In Stitches has challenged me to think about
these questions, just as I have at many different times
in my past.
For many people, the word spiritual is closely tied
to the concept of religion and the belief in a personified God, a father figure looking out for his children
as he reigns in heaven. For others, it brings up images
of the New Age movement, séances, auras, Tarot
BY DONNA DRUCHUNAS
««««« »»»»»
There are many sources of spirituality; religion
may be the most common, but it is by no means
the only. Anything that generates a sense
of awe may be a source of spirituality.
Science does this in spades.
—Michael Shermer, “The Soul of Science”
What I found in writing [The Knitting Sutra]
was that the practice of handcraft, and
the journey toward the mystery of craft,
had provided women with profound spiritual
nourishment that had for the most part remained
a secret part of their inner lives.
—Susan Gordon-Lydon,
Knitting Heaven and Earth
««««« »»»»»
cards, and crystal energy. Still others think of Zen
Buddhism, meditation, yoga, the Tao Te Ching, and
other Eastern practices. Yes, people following all these
paths consider themselves to be spiritual. But that
My Jungian
Mandala Blanket
» SUSAN SANTOS
24
FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Approx diameter: 90" / 229 cm,
blocked
YARN
Chunky weight superwash wool:
approximately 1200 yd / 1100 m
Sample shown in Cascade 128 (chunky
weight; 100% superwash Merino;
128 yd / 117 m per 100 g ball):
Carl Jung wanted us to knit mandalas.
Okay, maybe not specifically knit, but Jung believed that mandalas could reveal a lot
A: 5 in #821 Daffodil
about our inner selves and that we should sketch (or knit) them to learn what makes us
B: 3 in #822 Pumpkin
tick. Spontaneity is important when creating a mandala, so don’t overthink the process. At
C: 2 in #1960 Pacific
least, that’s what Jung and I would advise.
NEEDLES
INSTRUCTIONS
US Size 10 / 6.0 mm circular needle,
I am giving you a general idea of how
60" / 152 cm long or size to obtain
I created my mandala. Feel free to use
gauge
other motifs from stitch dictionaries such
as Barbara Walker’s A Second Treasury of
NOTIONS
Knitting Patterns. Or, sketch your own and
Stitch markers, tapestry needle,
improvise.
blocking wires
Begin with A yellow (Daffodil) for joy.
Next rnd: (Yo, k1) around—32 sts.
Knit 6 rnds.
Next rnd: (Yo, k2) around—48 sts.
Knit 5 rnds.
Next rnd: (Yo, k3) around—64 sts.
Knit 4 rnds.
Next rnd: (Yo, k2) around—96 sts.
GAUGE
CO 8 using your preferred method for a cir-
Approx 14 sts = 4" / 10 cm in St st,
cular cast-on. I am partial to Emily Ocker’s
Knit 4 rnds.
blocked
Circular Cast-on, but I also like the “Easy
Next rnd: (Yo, k3) around—128 sts.
Gauge will vary in different rounds due
to varying sizes in the stitch patterns.
Circular Cast-on” from Daniel Yuhas’ book
Knitting from the Center Out.
You will now increase á la a pi shawl.
EXPERIENCE LEVEL
(See Stories in Stitches 2 for an excellent
Intermediate
primer on the math of pi shawls, from
Wendy Milner.)
Knit 1 rnd.
Knit 3 rnds.
The center of the mandala, which for me
represents the Sun, is now complete. This
is where I begin incorporating my chosen
motifs. If you choose different motifs, do
your math and keep in mind the number of
motifs that you can place in your mandala
Next rnd: (Yo, k1) around—16 sts.
at this point and the number of increases
Knit 3 rnds.
you will need to make over the course of
,
A Knitter s Tale
30
by
Ava
Coleman
C
What happens when we have a treasured knitted piece that will tell us only the basics of its origins? That is the case with
the relic purse housed at the Chur Cathedral in Switzerland. We know the approximate date it was constructed, the materials
from which it was made, and its contemporary history (1850–2014) consisting primarily of storage at its present home.
Knitting historian Irena Turnau mentions Swiss hand knitting in general in her 1991 treatise, History of Knitting
Before Mass Production, but she cites no individual European examples. She does document heraldic patterned knitting
techniques executed in silk by including a photograph and description of the Spanish Las Huelgas pillows.
The published documentation presented by Richard Rutt in his Batsford LTD (UK) and two Interweave Press (U.S.)
editions of A History of Hand Knitting in the late 1990s give a bit more information. Bishop Rutt’s first-hand examination comments, along with the color photograph included in both the Batsford and Interweave first editions, have
allowed another generation of knitting scholars a brief glimpse at an entire collection of heraldic purses. Rutt speculates
that the Chur purse and the five purses housed at the cathedral at Sion were knitted by the same person. This he has
deduced from the similarity in their heraldic designs, consistency of stitch tension in all six bags, and use of the tassels as
ornamentation. He further speculates that there is a Zurich connection, but offers no explanation of why he thinks this.
This information certainly does not tell the story of the beautiful Chur purse. However, a story needs to be told. Entwined with what I know about medieval life, wool processing, and knitting, but purely from my imagination, I offer
you a novella envisioning how the purse might have been created.
1
Today did not begin like others. Our steward
not stop for rest or food here at the manor house, it
arrived before we could break our fast with
must be an important message. My father will un-
news for my father. A herald, bearing a safe
doubtedly learn soon enough what this is about. Our
passage token from the Archbishop at the Cathedral
bishop, here at the Cathedral Notre Dame de Valère,
of the Assumption in Coire, wished to cross our land.
will probably be requesting his presence sometime
Of course he was allowed to pass unhindered, but the
steward knew that Father would want to know of this
immediately.
We have seen little traffic on the roads this entire
winter. Now that the thaw has come, we expected to
soon know of travelers. It is not unusual that the first
would be a herald with a formal token. Since he did
today. They were childhood friends, who still see each
other frequently. Father’s men helped build the Bishop’s Chateau and the cloisters for the abby at Sitton.
His Excellency joins us monthly, weather permitting,
for a family meal here at our manor.
Although I am a widow, hence a free woman, now
living again in my father’s home, I’ll probably be one
In 1067,
the Norman lord Urse de Abito,
to it as “Alchester the town of
Urse de Abitot. The township
and his followers, among whom
smiths” as early as 1000 CE.
of Redditch, located outside the
In 1136, the Cistercian monks
abby walls, was established
established an abby in the
in 1190. Encouraged by their
Historically, this forested area in
marshes at Bordesley on land
nobility and the abby clergy,
central England had an iron-
donated by King Stephen and
these local citizens are credited
works dating back to Roman
the first Earl of Worchester, Wal-
with beginning British cottage
settlement. The Saxons referred
eran de Beaumont, grandson of
needlemaking as an industry.
were accomplished needlemakers, settled at the confluence
of the Arrow and Alne Rivers.
39
There once were three sisters who made things.
The eldest sister worked with metals and stones, and wore a crown of gold as bright as the sun in the sky. Her
name was Ruda.
The middle sister worked with trees and plants, and wore a crown of branches as fresh as the forest in spring.
Her name was Lina.
The youngest sister worked with animals and fiber, and wore a crown of wool as soft and warm as a new-born
lamb. Her name was Vilna.
40
These three sisters kept the world spinning and in orbit. Without their magic the planet would have flown off
into space. In the days before cities and towns and machines had been invented, the sisters gathered all of the
people together and taught them the magic of making things.
After a time, there came a group of people—it’s true, they were mostly men—who found making things by
hand to be boring and arduous. These people lured the people away from their crafts. “Let our machines make
things for you,” they said. “Then you will not have to work. Then you will be free.”
First the labor-savers stole the craft of the eldest sister: pottery, masonry, and smelting. They built cities and
towns and called everyone to come and live in them.
Knitting
A fairy tale,
of sorts,
by Donna Druchunas
Illustrations
by June Druchunas
d
l
r
o
W
e
th
Together
44
Pueblo Kachinas and Impersonators
by Ava Coleman
Kachina
Legwarmers:
Traditional and
Modern
» AVA COLEMAN
46
FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Circumference at calf: 10" / 25.5 cm,
blocked
Length: 12" / 38 cm, blocked
YARN
Traditional: Brown Sheep Nature
Spun Worsted (worsted weight;
100% wool; 245 yd / 224 m per 100 g
skein): 2 skeins #147 True Blue Navy
PATTERN STITCHES
Modern: Brown Sheep Nature Spun
Seed stitch in the round
Sport (sport weight; 100% wool; 184
Rnd 1: K1, (p1, k1) around.
Continue knitting in the round until the
yd / 168 m per 50 g skein); 3 skeins in
Rnd 2: P1, (k1, p1) around.
piece measures 14 ¼" / 36.25 cm from
#147 True Blue Navy
Rep Rnds 1 and 2 for patt.
Work in seed stitch in the round until piece
measures 1 ¼" / 3.25 cm from CO edge.
CO edge.
Work in seed stitch in the round for ¾" /
NEEDLES
2 cm.
Traditional: US Size 6 / 4.0 mm dpns,
INSTRUCTIONS
or 2 circulars, or 1 long circular for
Instructions are given for traditional (mod-
Magic Loop, or size to obtain gauge
ern). When only one number is given, it
Modern: US Size 3 / 3.25 mm dpns,
applies to both versions.
or 2 circulars, or 1 long circular for
Leaving a tail of 4" / 10 cm, CO 49 (79)
Attach two 4" / 10 cm strands of yarn in
Magic Loop, or size to obtain gauge
stitches. Join to work in the round, being
the first cast-on and last bound-off stitch.
careful not to twist sts, and place marker
Braid tail and strands together for 1 ¼" /
to mark beg of rnd.
3.25 cm. Knot and trim the yarn ends even.
NOTIONS
Tapestry needle, stitch marker
GAUGE
Traditional: 20 sts and 26 rnds = 4" /
10 cm in St st, blocked
Modern: 32 sts and 40 rnds = 4" /
10 cm in St st, blocked
EXPERIENCE LEVEL
Easy
BO, leaving a 4" / 10 cm tail.
FINISHING
57
Gur-e-Amir Stole
» DONNA DRUCHUNAS
58
FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Width: 20" / 41 cm, cut and finished
Length: 60" / 152 cm, without fringe
YARN
Blue Sky Alpacas Melange (sport
weight; 100% baby alpaca, 110 yd /
100m per 50g skein), 5 skeins each:
A: #818 Blue Earth
B: #800 Cornflower
C: #817 Saffron
NEEDLES
This stole is worked in the round and then steeked and cut open. The cut edges are fin-
US Size 4 / 3.5 mm circular needle
ished with Kate Davies’s invention of the “steek sandwich,” and the cast-on and bind-off
approx 20" long
edges are finished with fringe.
US Size 6 / 4.0 mm circular needle ap-
SPECIAL TECHNIQUES
2012/04/30/steeks-3-the-sandwich/ for
prox 20" long, or size to obtain gauge
Color Knitting on Chart C
Kate’s tutorial.
NOTIONS
On chart C, do not open up the stitches
Three-needle Bind Off
on the right needle as you knit, but rather
Tapestry needle, sewing machine and
Hold the two sets of stitches to be joined
let them smush together as if you were
matching thread for preparing steek
together on separate needles with RS fac-
knitting in a single color. The idea is to
ing. *Knit one stitch from the front needle
draw the unused yarn across the back
together with one stitch from the back
more tightly than is normally suggested
needle. Repeat from * once more, then
in stranded knitting, so the float pulls the
over chart D in the round with larger
pass the second stitch on the right needle
knit sections into a puffy appearance that
over the first. Continue in this fashion until
needles
replicates the texture of the dome on the
all stitches have been bound off.
GAUGE
23 sts and 25 rnds = 4" / 10 cm
EXPERIENCE LEVEL
Intermediate
Mausoleum.
Make 1 (m1)
INSTRUCTIONS
Insert the left needle under the bar be-
With smaller needle and A, CO 118 sts.
tween the stitches from front to back. Knit
this loop through the back to twist it.
Steek Sandwich
This is a technique invented by Kate
Davies to enclose the cut edges of knitting. See http://katedaviesdesigns.com/
Knit 1 rnd.
Next rnd: Pm, k5 for steek, pm, k113 for
patt.
Change to larger needle.
NOTE: Whenever you have 2 colors in
a rnd, work steek sts (5 sts between
Rotate the piece so the original 4 sts with
Rep last 2 rows until heel section measures
the working yarn are on top. K2. This will
2 ¾ (3 ¼)" / 7 (8) cm or slipper is desired
be the beg of the rnd.
length. End after working a WS row.
Setup rnd: Following row 1 of top of foot
Divide sts onto 2 ndls with half of the sts
chart and sole chart for color changes,
on the left ndl and half on the right ndl,
*K2, following top of foot chart row 1, pick
placing the odd stitch on the right ndl.
up and knit 3 sts on side edge of band
for top of foot; rep from * on other side
following sole chart row 1 for bottom of
foot, k2—14 sts.
Arrange stitches onto 3 or 4 dpns, or leave
them in 2 sections for working on 2 circulars or magic loop.
Increase rnd: *Following top of foot chart
row 2, k2, pick up and k1, k3, pick up and
k1, k2, following sole chart row 2, k2, pick
up and k1, k3, pick up and k1, k2—18 sts.
Continue in this fashion, following charts
and picking up sts until you have 58 (66) sts.
Knit even in patts until slipper measures
Join heel with MC and Russian join as
follows, or use 3-needle bind-off:
*Insert the tip of the right ndl into the first
st on the left ndl purlwise and into the
next st on the left ndl knitwise. Slip the
knitwise st onto the right ndl, drawing it
through the first st, and drop the first st.
Insert the tip of the left ndl through the
first st on the right ndl and into the back
of the next st on the right ndl from right
to left, drawing it through the first st, and
BEGINNING T HE SOC K T OE
After you work the cast-on and the
first tiny rows, you are ready to start
knitting from the chart. To increase
you will pick up and knit stitches.
The 2 stitches in the center of the
cast-on strip will become the solid
bands that go up the sides of the sock,
separating the top and bottom of the
foot. These stitches are highlighted
in the pictures below. The stitch on
either side of the strip will be hidden
when you pick up and knit stitches to
increase for the toe and will become
part of the top and bottom of the foot.
To work the setup round, which adds
the stitches for the top of the foot and
the sole, pick up and knit a stitch at
points 1, 2, and 3 on each side of the
cast on section as shown here.
drop the first st.
Rep from * until all sts are joined. Draw tail
of yarn through the last loop to fasten off.
6 ½ (8)" / 16.5 (20) cm or is desired length
to opening.
Change to smaller needles.
FINISHING
If desired, duplicate stitch contrasting
Next rnd: Knit to center stitch of top of
colors inside the triangle motifs on the top
foot chart. BO 1. Knit around to bound-off
of the foot.
st. Turn.
Begin working back and forth on rem 57
(65) sts as foll:
Weave in ends.
Wash and dry on sock blockers or allow to
dry flat.
Rows 1 and 2: With MC, knit.
Rows 3 and 4: With CC, knit.
To work the increase rounds, pick up
and knit stitches at points X and Y on
both the top of the foot and the sole
as shown here.
63
What’s Next?
72
KNI T T I N G I N A M E R I C A N H I S T O RY
A year of knitting along the route of President Lincoln’s Funeral Anniversary Train.
Whether for fashion or necessity, join us for a tour of knitting during one
of the most tumultuous times in US History. Patterns will include shawls,
sleeves, collars, socks, bedspreads, and more!
« DID YOU KNOW »
During the Civil War, Canadian women
sent knitted items across the Vermont border
to support Union troops.
The first recorded use of tea cozies was in 1867.
By the second half of the 19th century,
written patterns were plentiful. For various reasons,
they were not always correct. Samplers offered
a visual way to easily document stitches.
And more.
« PRAISE FO R STO R I ES I N STI T C H ES B O O K S »
Wow!! Stories in Stitches is fantastic!!! The mail on Monday brought
my copies of Stories in Stitches. I have already read them cover to cover.
What a great publication. The main reason I buy books and magazines
is for the articles and stories; the designs are secondary. Stories in Stitches
captures exactly what I like in knitting publications.
— Myrna A. Stahman, Stahman’s Shawls and Scarves
Stories In Stitches are by Donna Druchunas and Ava Coleman, two women
passionate about the art, craft, and history of knitting. From the moment
I opened the first volume, I was entranced. The writing is skilful;
the art of the book is appealing; the designs are at once modern
and steeped in the past. These books belong in the library of anyone
similarly entranced with past and present of our craft.
— Gayle Clow, Patternfish
Thank you so much for your beautiful new book. I am really enjoying
reading about Dorothy Reade and Anna Marie Jensen and their lives
and lace work. The layout and photographs are wonderful,
and the patterns inspiring. The little pence jug is a nice surprise.
— Susanna E. Lewis, Knitting Lace
www.storiesinstitches.net