Twisted PDX in Portland, Oregon

Two days before I taught at the Nordic Knitting conference, I drove down to Portland and taught at Twisted, PDX. What a great store! One owner, Emily, hails from Bloomington, Indiana.

I have been to Portland at least twice before, but it has been quite a long time. Never had I been to a knitting store there. Portland is an amazing fiber mecca.

It also is a great town for donuts. I am not what I would call a donut connoisseur, but I live with one and have come to appreciate a fine bit of fried bread. Portland has not one, but two famous donut establishments. 

Voodoo Donuts is one. For those familiar with the Seattle landmark of Archie McPhee's, Voodoo donuts is kind of a blend of that with a good bit of sugar, dough and sprinkles.

The magic is in the hole

Their signature donut is in the shape of a person, with a frosting face and belly button. It is filled with cherry glaze and served stabbed through the "heart" with a pretzel rod.

I got him with my 2.5 mm double points. And, if that didn't do it, Sarah, in whose house I was staying, finished him off with her teeth. In October, you can never be too sure about these Voodoo things.

Tomorrow, more about my Portland class, students, and the other bakery. Good night, all!

Nordic Knitting Conference

Last Wednesday I gathered my wool and headed up to South Bend to fly to Seattle and the Nordic Knitting Conference 2014. The Nordic Knitting Conference is a biennial gathering of a handful of knitting teachers and like minded students. It meets at the Nordic Museum in the Ballard suburb of Seattle.

Just in case you weren't sure… a Viking boat at the main entry to the Nordic Museum.

Good, old fashioned Ballard humility

Apparently, even the Viking statues knit here.

This year, the keynote speakers and teachers were Arne & Carlos -- super intelligent, talented and humorous knitting gurus from Norway. They have at least four books out that have been translated into 15 languages and range from small designs knitted into Easter eggs and Christmas balls to cutting edge sweaters. And, this is all after successful careers as clothing designers and teachers. A highlight of my time was meeting them, being in one of their classes, and just hanging out with them. They are such great guys!

Carlos, Laura and Arne

I was very honored to be one of the right teachers myself this year. I taught one class on my Sámi knitted mittens (Skolt class). To my surprise, my class and one of Arne & Carlos' sold out the first day of registration! Speaking to my students, the subject was of such interest that they drove from British Columbia, Northern Idaho and a variety of farflung areas. Several I recognized from previous NKCs.

So, with 20 students, we plunged right into the sordid history of the Skolt Sámi, explored the mitten motifs, and each student created her own cuff with a mix of Skolt Sámi border and main motifs.

hat fun is this! A big thank you to each of my students who came. Some came from far away -- British Columbia, and Northern Idaho were the homes of two students. I, of course, did not hear the stories of all of them, but that is the part of teaching I like the most: sharing the stories of the Sámi, and hearing the stories of the students who came. At least three had Sámi roots they had discovered in amazing ways.

I certainly hope each of you can come and share your stories with me.

Midwestern Knits!

I am so excited to have been one of the twelve designers chosen to be a part of Midwestern Knits! Midwestern Knits is the brainchild of Allyson Dykhuizen (Sweatshop of Love and Holla Knits!) and Carina Spencer. Both ladies have made a name for themselves here in the Midwest with their knitwear design and modern styling.

Part of realizing this dream is raising the funds with which to do it. When you give money to help us out, you receive a gift dependent on the level of donation. For example, if you pledge $25, you will get a paper and digital copy of the book upon release. And, you were going to buy that anyway, right?

If the goal of $10,000 is not met by September 24th, then no money will be collected.

Please, follow THIS LINK for more information.

Come help us realize this goal!

Classes and Mittens

Three weeks ago, I had a lovely time in Minneapolis, lecturing at Finnfest 2014, and teaching a Skolt Sámi Motif class at Ingebretsen's, a beautiful, Pan-Nordic store in the twin cities. At Finnfest, since I was up front talking, I, unfortunately, did not take pictures of the group. I did, however, get to meet people I've been Facebook friends with for the last year. What a great experience to meet and talk with, be it however brief. Thank you, Renee Joy, Tim Frandy, Evelyn Ashford and Nani Löfström!

Ingebretsen's was great fun! And, before I go on and describe the wonderful ladies who made up the class, I'd like to announce I will be teaching there again in November (more information below…).

Here are some of the ladies that made up the Ingebretsen's class

What a fun bunch

I had a short slide presentation on the history of the Skolt peoples and some images of the area. Before long, we were chatting about travel stories and knitting. They were all very accomplished, and excellent knitters. Here is what we completed in our three hours together:

From the Skolt Sámi Motifs class, Ingebretsen's

I love how each is different -- pattern wise or color. Each tells a story.

Here are some more pictures of the individuals in the class, and the work they did. I am trying something new here by making a gallery of photos. Click on the following photo, and hopefully you can page through about 8 of them. 

I will be back at Ingebretsen's November 12 and 13, repeating this Skolt Sámi Motif class, and doing another class on a specific Swedish Sámi Mitten that I call Jokkmokk Flowers. In that class, we will take a closer look at Jokkmokk, its legendary, annual outdoor February market, and some of the pressing environmental concerns in the region. The mitten itself has a flower motif with long floats. We will make a two-flower swatch, practice three different way to deal with long floats, and practice making the traditional braids and tassels for a Sámi mitten.

Give them a call at (612)729-9333 or toll free at (800)279-9333 and sign up for the class(es). I hope to see you there!