Ethnic Knitting

The Talmud tells us, "You are not obligated to complete the work but neither are you free to abandon it."

What, you ask, does this have to do with anything?

The answer...everything! We're all but steps in a path leading from Eve, or Lucy if you will, and going into infinity. Every day, we, all of us, choose to be helpful or hurtful, kind or unkind, a giver or a taker, a friend or a foe. I tell people all the time that fiber folkes are the Best People in the world and I mean it. I can count on one hand the fiber people I've met who were surly or contentious or just ill tempered. To a person, most are gracious to a fault, willing to share their expertise and experiences, willing to take the time to be kind.

Donna Druchunas is no exception.

She has a new book entitled Discovery - Ethnic Knitting from the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, and The Andes from Nomad Press. She has two previous books, including one of my all time favorites, The Knitted Rug: 21 Fantastic Designs and her most recent Arctic Lace: Knitted projects and Stories Inspired by Alaska's Native Knitters.

Donnas has long been, since The Knitted Rug, one of my favorite designers and bloggers. I enjoy reading about her travels, her patterns are clear and well designed and I always end up learning something...if not a lot of somethings!

The current back cover photo shows Donna, seated, with what looks to be size 50 knitting needles in hand, busily working on another project. She looks like a person who, while not taking herself very seriously, takes her work Very Seriously. IOW, my kind of Fiber Femme.

Ethnic Knitting has eight master patterns for drop-shoulder pullover sweaters but begins with four simply projects to build the skills necessary to accomplish the master patterns. She uses quick notes, a visual plan or detailed guidelines in worksheets designed to assist knitters to not only knit a sweater but learn how to craft one in the process.

For the sample sweaters she explains how the same designed 40-inch sweater will fit (very close) as opposed to a 34-36 inch sweater (loose fit). I find this quite helpful, ever more so than leaving out the additional guidelines.

All this to say...Donna is a guest blogger for Fiber Femmes on Monday, October 22 and Leslie and I are excited! I've long enjoyed Donna's work as well as "meeting" her the last time she was a Fiber Femme guest blogger.

Donna is a continuing thread in the life line of knitting. She realizes she's yet another knitter to continue, or assist in continuing, the age old craft of knitting. There are as many ways to knit as there are cultures in the world and I'm grateful to Donna for bringing more of them to light.

I hope you enjoy her as well and, after buying her book, discover for yourself the pleasures of Ethnic Knitting.