In 2009 Nickle Galleries at the University of Calgary in Calgary, Alberta Canada hosted Reeds and Wool: Patterned Screens of Central Asia, a travelling exhibition organized by the Kaufman Museum at Bethel College in Kansas, USA. The exhibition featured rare examples of Kyrgyz textiles collected by Dr. John Sommer and donated to the Kaufman for the purposes of an international tour. With the tour completed, the collection—together with a collection of Sommer’s notes and photographs—were recently donated to Nickle Galleries. The John L. Sommer Collection includes important examples of felt and carpets as well as a series of spectacular chiy, or reed screens.
Kyrgyz Textiles: Introducing the John L. Sommer Collection, (installation view). Photo: Andy Nichols, LCR PhotoServices.
Traditionally nomadic herders, the Kyrgyz kept sheep, horses and yaks, practices that shape their unique cultural traditions. Kyrgyz women use wool to weave, felt, embroider, and stitch their garments and household goods, as well as to make yurts, their domed, tent-like homes. Constructed of collapsible wooden lattices, yurts are covered on the outside with large panels of felted wool and on the inside with decorated felt wall rugs, embroidered panels, and boldly patterned reed screens.
Ashkana Chiy (detail), Kyrgyz, late 19th century, Collection of Nickle Galleries, gift of John L. Sommer and the Kauffman Museum, Photo: Andy Nichols, LCR PhotoServices.
Although similar textiles are made in India, Iran, Turkey, and Japan—Kyrgyz reed screens are uniquely embellished. The chiy maker (chyrmakchy) begins by collecting and processing Lasiagrostis splendens (chiy) an indigenous grass. Designs are made by wrapping each stem with different colours of wool. The wrapped stems are put together with warp twinning on a simple frame “loom.” Each stem must be added in the right order for the design to emerge. Designs draw on a repertoire of motifs, patterns and color preferences shared with other Kyrgyz textiles and are influenced by surrounding cultures. They often emphasize balance, reciprocity, and the natural world. Common named motifs include rams’ horns, (kaikalak), combs (tarak), partridge eyebrows (kekilik kash), and amulets (tumarcha).
Chiy are used for a variety of purposes—from small covers, containers, door covers and suspended shelves, to walls and screens. Ashkana chiy, are used to partition areas within the yurt. The largest examples, kanat chiy, are wrapped around the lattice frames of Kyrgyz yurts. They provide insulation during the colder months and, with the outer felt covers rolled up, privacy and air circulation during the warmer months. Eshik chiy are special door screens that hung behind a felt or wooden door.
Ashkana Chiy, Kyrgyz, mid 20th century, Collection of Nickle Galleries, gift of John L. Sommer and the Kauffman Museum, Photo: Andy Nichols, LCR PhotoServices.
Kanat Chiy, Kyrgyz, mid 20th century. Collection of Nickle Galleries, gift of John L. Sommer and the Kauffman Museum. Photo: Andy Nichols, LCR PhotoServices.
Eshik Tysh (door rug), Kyrgyz, 19th century, Collection of Nickle Galleries, gift of John L. Sommer and the Kauffman Museum, Photo: Andy Nichols, LCR PhotoServices.
Chiy were largely unknown in the West until the breakup of the Soviet Union. Whether simply used up, ravaged by moths or time, few exist in public collections outside of Russia or Kyrgyzstan. The Sommer’s collction significantly expands Nickle Galleries’ holdings of Central Asian textiles, a collection actively used for teaching, learning and enjoyment. We welcome visitors from near and far. The exhibition, Kyrgyz Textiles: Introducing the John L. Sommer Collection continues to March 28, 2024. For information visit Nickle Galleries.
Michele Hardy, PhD is Curator, Nickle Galleries, University of Calgary and can be reached at mhardy@ucalgary.ca
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]]>Credit for all photos: Erica Manning
Bread has been around for at least 11,000 years according to the discovery of charred flatbread crumbs found in excavations in Jordan, Western Asia.¹ Leavened bread is thought to originate from Sumer culture (modern Iraq region), a process later refined by the Egyptians.² Flat bread - the topic of this post - is often known to Westerners as Naan or Tandoor Naan and is most commonly associated with our experiences eating Indian cuisine.
Tandyr Nan is, however, known to all of Central Asia as a round, leavened flat bread baked in a clay (tandoor or tandyr) oven. The oven itself is believed to come out of the Indus region (modern Pakistan) over 5000 years ago. ³•⁴
In other words, bread is ancient and has its roots in Central Asia. It's no wonder, then, that bread is a significant part of Kyrgyzstan's culture. In fact, the Kyrgyz have a saying, "We eat bread with bread!" Bread is a part of every meal and an important offering to guests, often served with tea.
The Kyrgyz shepherd women follow traditional methods in baking their daily bread. At its most basic, flour, water and yeast are mixed together and allowed to rise. Historically, a bit of dough was saved for its fermented yeast to add to the next batch of bread, something we in the West would call sourdough.
Whether it's fresh brewer's yeast or 'sourdough' that's added, the dough is kneaded, formed into circular shapes, and given a flattened center.
The flattened centers are then pricked with a tool called a chekkich and possibly stamped with decorative patterns. The pressing and pricking are done to prevent excessive expansion in the oven.⁴•⁵
Now it's time for the oven. The tandyr is a vertical clay oven of a cylindrical-type shape. When used vertically, the tandyr is small and essential for nomadic life as it is easily transportable. The tandyr can be more permanently installed, as is the case in these photos, in which case the oven is positioned horizontally. Whichever way the tandyr is oriented, the bread is placed on the oven wall and baked for 6-7 minutes.
I entitled this blog, "Bread. . . and wool?" What on earth does bread baking have to do with animal fiber? It turns out that to make the tandyr, a task historically engaged by women, clay is kneaded with goat's hair! or sheep's wool!, salt, and straw using a spiral technique. Oh the goat. Did you know that our founder, Sy Belohlavek, named our company June Cashmere because the English word 'June' sounds like the Kyrgyz word for animal fiber? Sy talks about how animal fiber and textiles literally form the walls above and floor beneath the nomadic shepherd's yurt dwelling, highlighting the fact that animal fiber and textiles have been integral to the Kyrgyz way of life for centuries. Now to understand that animal fiber even has a role in baking Kyrgyz bread, the representation of food itself, it's even more profound to me to be part of June Cashmere.
Until next time, enjoy making with our cashmere! --Amy
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⁴Pasqualone, Antonella (2018-03-01). "Traditional flat breads spread from the Fertile Crescent: Production process and history of baking systems". Journal of Ethnic Foods. 5 (1): 10–19. doi:10.1016/j.jef.2018.02.002. hdl:11586/217814. ISSN 2352-6181.
⁵ Radio Free Europe: Early To Rise: Making Bread The Traditional Way At A Bishkek Bakery
]]>I get excited every time we get an order for our cashmere fiber for spinning. It means I get to put my hands in its soft deliciousness and admire once again the qualities of the fiber, the same fiber that we send to the mill to have spun into our yarn.
Length, fineness, crimp - they are qualities to look for in cashmere. Cashmere is by nature a short staple length so we want to ensure that the length of our fiber is not only as long as it can be, but also as uniform in length as possible before we send it to the mill. Uniformity in fiber length results in an evenness in the yarn, which impacts the finished fabric in its appearance and performance.
The appearance of our knitted fabric after it is hand washed the first time is amazing. You see your stitches even out and the softness of the cashmere bloom. It's so satisfying.
For performance, think pilling - or rather, a lack of pilling. We have been wearing some of our knit garments for six or seven years now and not only are they not pilling, they look as beautiful as when we first put them on.
Crimp adds to the liveliness of the fiber, creating amazing stitch definition and drape for the finished fabric. The fineness of fiber equates to its softness. You can certainly feel how soft our cashmere fiber for spinning is. In our finished fabric, that softness and the fact that cashmere fibers are smooth mean you can wear your cashmere garments against the skin without irritation. The softness just gets better with age. It's a beautiful thing.
I absolutely love it when I received photos from customers showing me what they've made from our products. One such customer, Maureen, was kind to allow me to share her photos with you of the spinning and knitting project she sent to her friend in Denmark.
Maureen spun her fiber into a 2-ply yarn roughly the weight of our 3-ply fingering. It took 3 ounces of fiber for her to yield enough yarn to make our Embrace Cowl pattern, designed by Romi Hill.
Here's Maureen's in-progress knitting with her handspun cashmere.
And here's Maureen's finished cowl, washed and blocked. Look how even and beautiful her stitches are. I can just imagine the softness of the cowl on my neck.
Here's a close-up after washing.
Well, Maureen, I hope we hear what your friend in Denmark thinks of her gift. Last we talked, your gift had arrived in Denmark but was sitting in customs jail. You said it cost a small fortune to ship - albeit worth it. I know if it were me receiving this exquisite gift, I'd be over the moon and likely cry. Well done, Maureen. Well done, indeed.
You can get your own cashmere fiber here: Cashmere Spinning Fiber
Want to make our embrace cowl without spinning? We have a kit here: Embrace Cowl Kit
-Until next time, happy spinning with our cashmere! --Amy
We'd love to have you join our community. Receive a weekly email with features, specials, news of shepherd life in Kyrgyzstan, news for makers - and get $5 off your first order with us. Click the 'join now' pop-up button at the bottom of the page.
]]>This fall, I received an email from Cassandra Harada wondering if we could collaborate. Through a Zoom conversation, Cassie and I quickly realized that we have much in common, sharing beliefs about making and the clothing we wear. Ways in which we could collaborate quickly emerged.
First off, let me tell you about Cassie. Cassie grew up in Illinois and right after university, went to Japan to teach English. The way of life in Japan resonated with Cassie and she never left. She lives in the Tokyo area with her husband and family. In her working life, textiles have led the way.
Cassies owned a yarn shop from 2012-2018, has worked for Japanese knitting magazines, and is the founder of the Tokyo Yarn Crawl. When her parents bought a hobby farm back in Illinois in 2015, Cassie helped them choose a Cormo sheep breed and became trained as a shearer. She created Harada Wool from the flock, producing yarn for knitting, as well as woven shawls and fabric in Scotland. Sadly, Harada Wool is likely ending because last year, the US processing mill that made her yarn shut its doors, an all too familiar story of the textile industry in the US. (In the knitting community alone this past year, we've seen many companies and magazines shut down, a topic that warrants its own blog post.)
Cassie's textile loves also include sewing. She is currently an apprentice in tailoring men's clothing, having completed her apprenticeship in trouser construction and now training in jacket construction.
Shawl made from Harada Wool. Photo: Cassandra Harada
The coat Cassie made from her fabric. Photo: Cassandra Harada
On the knitting front, Cassie established Made To Atelier through which she designs and hand knits hats for Bryceland's in England, as well as makes custom items for individuals. This is where our interests mesh.
Cassie's hand knit cashmere hat available at Bryceland's & Co.
Cassie's beliefs about making mirror my own and that of June Cashmere. Cassie wants to take fibers or yarns with a purpose-filled story and make garments that you can wear and wear, cherish, mend, pass down. She (and we) subscribe to a slower fashion movement - opposite of our non-compostable synthetic, wear-one-season-and-throw-away fast fashion culture that makes up clothing manufacturing today. Cassie believes in owning a bit of luxury that is also practical and hard wearing, that you can play in the snow or walk the dog in, yet still wear when you go out on the town.
Cassie reached out to us because in 2016 when our founder, Sy Belohlavek, first launched June Cashmere yarn, he was able to stock a couple of Japanese yarn shops. Cassie saw our cashmere yarn and made herself a hat using our scarlet and natural DK weight yarn. Here's a clip about that hat from a recent interview with Cassie:
The short of it is that Cassie found in June Cashmere's cashmere yarn not just cashmere luxury. She found that important story of doing good along with the long-lasting quality she seeks in the fibers and yarns she uses in her making. She found that with her 7-year old hat that is still her hard wearing, luxurious friend, our yarn is one that works with her company's soul: it's "Made To" be lived in.
Cassie wanted all of us to know what it is to have a long lasting hat made from June Cashmere's cashmere yarn and generously designed a free hat pattern. You can access the pattern and learn more about it plus get our DK weight cashmere yarn here:
Enjoy making your hat! And until next time, find joy in making with our yarn. -Amy
]]>Here are my three samples - shown in Pumpkin (Design 2), Moss (Design 1), and Aegean (Design 3). I took this photo before I ripped out Design 1 to re-use the yarn for something else (which is an amazing aspect of this yarn - you can knit with it, unknit, reknit, and it still holds its integrity. . . when we say it's made to last, we mean it!). If you look closely, you can see that the lace motif is positioned differently on the Moss sample than on the Pumpkin and Aegean samples. I took the photo, though, to show different color samples on our product page.
Another aspect of our cashmere yarn is what happens when you wash and block it. We say that your project is not complete until you have washed and blocked it the first time. That is when the stitches even out, the yarn blooms, and you get the full impact of the knit design. See what I mean comparing these two photos:
All-day Cowl finished but unwashed and unblocked.
All-day Cowl washed and blocked.
Wow, what a difference! The result shows us why swatching is important - and washing and blocking our swatch is absolutely necessary to give us accurate gauge. Some knitters skip this step but I can't figure out how anything ever fits correctly if one jumps into knitting the project without truly checking gauge. I admit, I love to swatch. For design work, it's creative magic to me. When swatching for gauge, it's a chance to learn the pattern stitches, work out the bugs, and center myself into the project. I keep a notebook of those swatches, a thing of beauty in its own right in my opinion.
So there you have it - the making of a cowl and the encouragement to embrace Cashmere Cowl Season from now til spring. I'm pretty sure you won't be sorry.
Find our kit here: All-day Cowl kit.
Have you joined our community? We would love to have you. We send a newsletter about once a week to include promotions, specials, and news on Kyrgyzstan, making, and our community. Receive $5 off your yarn order when you sign up via the 'Join now' pop-up button at the bottom of each page.
Until next time, find joy in making with our yarn. -- Amy
]]>Meet Steppingstones - shown in our new limited edition color, pine. It's my new pattern whose name has a twofold meaning. Peppered with random-looking yet planned squares of stockinette stitch, these little squares invoke for me the notion of steppingstones scattered along 'rivers' of lace. The intent of the pattern is also a steppingstone - a 1-skein introduction to our fingering weight cashmere yarn with basic stitches opened up on a US size 5 knitting needle so that the result would be ephemeral and beautiful, simple enough for new knitters yet interesting enough for seasoned ones.
Often, I design from stitch patterns. I love to knit swatches of various knitting stitches and then imagine what garment or accessory would best compliment the stitch pattern. In this case, I was inspired by a scarf my friend Janet wove from one cone of our weaving and fine knitting 2-ply cashmere.
I was so taken in by how light, airy, and simply beautiful Janet's woven scarf is that I wanted to try to transfer its feel to knitting.
Here is how my design process progressed:
Swatching for Steppingstones in our new, limited edition color Terracotta.
Starting from the bottom: I couldn't see the lace openings with purl stitches - the two competed; I didn't get the feel I was after with larger lace squares and stockinette; I hit the jackpot with smaller strips (Is this a bit like Papa, Mama, and Baby Bear and the porridge?) - but wouldn't those little interruptions of stockinette look lovely if they seemed random? So then to figure out the math for planned randomization. . . and edge stitches. . . and repeats for just enough width/length to get a lovely piece from just one skein of fingering. . . and a couple of weeks later, voila. The stitches aren't new - I see this final lace stitch in many patterns now that I look - but the stitch interpretation and planning are what make it unique for our fingering weight cashmere.
Then the knitting fun began. Knitting on a US size 6 needle was novel for me. I found it very satisfying to progress on a relatively quick knit that doesn't compromise on yarn quality or beauty. There was enough repetition yet varying stitches that the scarf kept my attention. I could imagine whipping up a few of these for holiday gifts (if I didn't need to get on to the next designs nagging at me) . . . My neighbor Pam (my spur-of-the-moment model) loved it, as would so many recipients of the scarf.
My hope with this pattern (and why I entitled this post, 'A cashmere pattern for new knitters', is that it's the first in a line of 'Introduction to Cashmere' patterns. The goal of these patterns is to:
Steppingstones is a great introduction to lacework and learning yarn overs, ssks, and p2 togs, as well as understanding how a slipped stitch edge finishes any knitted piece beautifully. And should a new knitter want help with any of these stitches, we have our Knitting Together sessions every other Sunday where you can pop in, get a demo or ask questions, and hang out and visit if you like. I'm also available by email to ask questions (info@junecashmere.com) and I have on my long list of to-dos to begin adding technique videos as we upgrade our website.
So here's hoping you'll want knit Steppingstones right away to enjoy its lightweight, soft, luxurious warmth all winter long.
Until next time, may you find much joy in knitting with our yarn, especially in a world that continues to crumble around us daily. I know I'm seeking out this yarn to center myself and remind myself to keep looking for good, to notice the beauty of nature and search for kindness around me, to celebrate our gifts and skills. Sending uplifting thoughts to all. Warmly, Amy
p.s. We'd love for you to join our community and receive our weekly newsletter of news on our products and patterns, knitting and interesting stuff, and information on the soul of what we do--shepherd life in Kyrgyzstan. Receive $5 off your first yarn order when you do! Click the 'Join now' button at the bottom of the page.
]]>Two months ago, I introduced you to my sister-in-law Linda and her journey to knit the Wanderer wrap as a new knitter. (Read Part I)
This weekend, I made a quick trip home to visit family in Northern Lower Michigan and connected with Linda to check in on her progress. Ready to be blown away?
Look at this! Linda only started knitting this year, completing just two hats in chunky yarn on US size 13 and 15 needles. I'm blown away and so stinking proud of her.
When I looked over the knitting, I couldn't find a mistake. Linda confessed that when she cast on, she still wasn't sure she could do this project. That confession was a surprise to me since when I left her in August, she was expressing total confidence. Frankly, Linda is showing us another lesson - that 'fake it til we make it' lesson. If we wait until we have confidence, we will never achieve what we want. In fact, the way we gain confidence is by doing the thing.
Back to Linda's knitting. After her first swatch, we determined she should try a different needle size and do another swatch. Her first swatch was a bit loose. Looking back, that could simply have been her inexperience because this trip, Linda showed me that she had knit a few swatches - both in the wrap's lace pattern and in stockinette. Her washed swatches showed beautiful even, tighter stitches. Linda said she felt that swatching was the practice she needed to have success on the wrap itself and to achieve a fabric she loves. Hopefully, this process has made Linda a life-long believer in swatching!
Linda said early on that she was willing to do the preliminary steps, the swatching and gauge testing, because she was creating an heirloom garment, one to pass down to her daughters. I love that. Linda is embracing the process, understanding that when we make garments and accessories from high quality materials, such as our cashmere yarn, we honor our time, energy, and skill on items that will last.
Until next time, enjoy knitting with our yarn. -Amy
p.s.
You, too, can make the Wanderer. We sell the kits at about a 10% discount than if you bought yarn, kit bag, and pattern separately. Get your kit here: Wanderer Kit
We'd love for you to join our community of knitters. Receive our weekly newsletter of news and specials and a code for $5 off your first yarn order with us. It's a great way to introduce yourself to our yarn with a discounted, 1-skein purchase. Click the 'Join now' button at the bottom of each page on our website to join.
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There's a lot of vulnerability for designers in launching a new pattern. How will makers respond to your creativity? Will they want to make your design? Will all your hours of work be rewarded by positive energy and income?
With all that anxiety, it's no wonder that I have felt sheer joy hearing from makers about the Wanderer pattern. I'm delighted that my sister-in-law Linda wanted to jump in and make it, not at all deterred by common knitter worries: working with smaller needles, being a new knitter working with cashmere, learning to read a pattern and chart, taking the time to swatch to learn the stitches, become familiar with the yarn, and get gauge. It's all the things I hope a new knitter will tackle and knowing that my pattern inspired Linda, I'm over the moon. (See blog post on the start of Linda's journey in making Wanderer.)
I'm thrilled, too, to have heard from my friend Stephanie that the pattern inspired her own creativity. Her eye landed on the zig zag lace pattern and immediately she featured it in three scarves that she's already knit up as gifts. She also integrated the motif into a cowl she's designed for herself. I mean the pattern just launched early July! Stephanie is now on to the wrap itself, making it in our Silver Fox color. In one of her emails Stephanie told me, I love this pattern, and how pretty it is...your hard work has really given me something wonderful to use over and over!
As Stephanie corresponded with me, I could feel the joy and energy radiating from her words. She made my week by choosing to share her work with me.
So all that vulnerability in sharing one's creative work? It's validated when I hear from this beautiful community of makers. To know that Linda is using Wanderer to grow in her new craft is empowering - to her and to others. To see that Stephanie was moved to re-envision the pattern as gifts for others is exciting. Both makers teach us the value of simply trying, doing, allowing ourselves to create. They show us the futility of thoughts like 'I can't knit on small needles' or 'My skills aren't good enough for cashmere' or 'I don't dare turn Wanderer into a scarf' or for me, 'Do I dare make myself vulnerable in sharing my designs?' To heck with those fears. Just do the thing and find growth and joy.
So to Linda and Stephanie, thank you for sharing your stories with me and allowing me to share them with others. Thank you to all in this community who share your feedback with me, not just about patterns, but about the yarn and how much you love to work with it and wear your finished garments, or about how meaningful it is to support our work in Kyrgyzstan. You are the inspiration that keeps me going!
And thanks to Stephanie, I believe there just might be a scarf version of Wanderer launching soon.:)
Until next time, find joy in knitting with our yarn. --Amy
p.s.
Make the Wanderer! Get your kit here: Wanderer Kit
Join our community of knitters to receive our weekly newsletter and a code for 10% off a single, 1-skein kit. It's a great way to introduce yourself to our yarn! Click the 'Join now' button at the bottom of each page on our website to join.
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Meet my sister-in-law Linda, a new knitter. Last December, Linda was on a plane trip with a girlfriend who was knitting hats. Watching her friend knit, Linda thought, “I can do that.” Back home, Linda bought bulky acrylic yarn and size 13 and 15 needles, pulled up YouTube videos on how-to-knit and away she went, immediately knitting two hats. Out of the blue, she texted me a photo of her finished hats - I was thrilled for this new knitter!
Linda has longed for our Sand Waves Poncho, designed by Norah Gaughan, even before she became a knitter. It absolutely planted a seed for her to want to knit. Not feeling quite ready for cables, she jumped on our newest wrap pattern, Wanderer, recognizing that it’s knit in stockinette stitch with just enough challenge in lace stitches.
Having a motivating pattern, Linda felt ready to tackle these anxieties:
reading her knitting
Currently, Linda is halfway through her swatch. She has successfully completed a length of stockinette and the first half of the zig-zag lace pattern. She’s now working the second half of the lace – or the zag of the pattern. I explained to Linda that she would hand wash her swatch and check her gauge once her swatch was completed, to which she replied, ‘Gauge? Why does that matter? I’m knitting a rectangle.’ The lightbulb went off when my sister Signe and I explained that she is making a fabric that is expected to drape and wrap around her shoulders. If her fabric is knitted to loosely or tightly, she will have a very different finished piece than what she sees in the pattern photos, one that isn’t going to drape and wrap as she expects. Not to mention that a different gauge will require all new math to achieve the desired wrap size.
Per Linda, “I am so empowered! I am creating cloth and I’m loving this experience. I thought working with finer yarn and small needles was going to be difficult. It’s just the same process as working with bulky yarn and size 13/15 needles. But now I’m creating a beautiful garment that I can’t wait to wear, that will be lightweight and just incredible in this cashmere, which is so soft in my hands. I’m relishing the process. And I really believe it’s helping my arthritis – just like yoga helps my joints.”
For needles, I had Linda try my favorites, Kollage circular square needles with the firm cable. They are anodized aluminum, always warm in the hands. The firm cable has a stainless steel swivel to connect the cables and needles. As for Linda’s stitches, they are incredibly even, a quality of the cashmere yarn that also is encouraged by the square shape of the needles. To a person who knits with our yarn regardless of needles, the result is even stitches, especially once a finished piece has been washed and blocked the first time, allowing the yarn to relax and bloom, and the stitches to settle into place.
We’re just at the swatching stage of Linda’s journey; she does have an entire wrap to go! But it’s exciting that any anxiety Linda felt about starting this project has turned to empowerment and enthusiasm. Yes, there have been false starts and rip-outs, but that is part of learning – and this cashmere is milled so that you can knit, unknit, knit, unknit, making it just fine for learning. The process is bringing Linda joy. . . and me, too, as I watch her giggle and say, ‘It’s perfect!’
We’ll check in with Linda periodically and give updates as she continues knitting Wanderer with our fingering weight cashmere and US Size 2 needles. The take-away for now, however, is to be not afraid! Wait no longer to start your own fingering weight project with our 1-skein kits or our exquisitely designed timeless garments. Giggles of accomplishment await you, too!
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Say hello to your new all-season staple, Wanderer. I designed Wanderer in the midst of Covid in anticipation of a return to - well, wandering. Thankfully, the time to wander has come.
My original intent was to wear this piece as a true wrap, tossed over the shoulder. As my piece grew, I happened to drape the ends to the front of my body (as shown in the photo above-thank you, my dear friend Janet, for modeling!) and discovered the beauty of the mirrored lace edges when worn that way. Just as beautiful is the drape in the back (see photo below). This discovery changed the length of the design and opened up a whole set of ways to wear Wanderer.
How can you wear Wanderer? Let me count the ways. . .
•faux sweater style
•faux sweater turned around - wear the beautiful mirrored zig zags at your back
•true wrap - toss one end over the shoulder - pin it or not
•Asymmetrically - pin at the shoulder with your favorite shawl pin or vintage broach and wear as a poncho
•Draped around your back and over your elbows. How elegant are you?!
•And because Wanderer isn't seamed, lay it over you as the perfect lightweight blanket. Airplane, anyone? I especially took advantage of this use while knitting Wanderer - and still do while knitting other projects and watching tv.
Wanderer is the pattern that made my sister-in-law Linda take the dive to 1) work with our cashmere fingering weight yarn, 2) work with Size 2 knitting needles, and 3) challenge herself to grow her knitting skills. Linda sent me a photo late last winter showing off her newly knit hats and her brand new knitting skills. She's been learning via YouTube. Linda has pined for our Norah Gaughan Sandwaves poncho but when she saw Wanderer, she felt she could begin with it, recognizing that it's simply knit in stockinette stitch with a bit of lace. We're hoping to document Linda's journey as a new knitter making a finer-gauged knit. In the meantime, Linda is working on a swatch of stockinette to get gauge and become familiar with the yarn. When I see Linda early August, we'll work on another swatch to include the lace zig zags.
Wanderer is offered in 3 sizes. Wonder what size fits you? Take a towel or two and pin them to the finished dimensions in the pattern. Try on your towel wrap to find your ideal width/length measurements. Want the wrap a bit narrower? Remove some stitches between the lace sections. Wider? Add stitches in the same section. Shorter? Remove a lace repeat. Longer? Add one or two. With pattern gauge and size B, I was able to get 3 full lace repeats out of 1 skein of our fingering weight yarn. That gives you an idea of how many skeins you might need should you land on your own dimensions for the wrap.
Get your Wander Kit and if you're not a part of our community already, join us. We'd love to share our yarn, patterns, work in Kyrgyzstan, and knitting community news with you! Just click and fill in the 'Join now' button at the bottom of each page.
Until next time, find joy in knitting with our yarn! - warmly, Amy
]]>We've been asked how best to care for hand knit and crochet items made with June Cashmere yarns, so today we'll be posting some of our tips and tricks to ensure your hand made pieces will last for years to come.
Washing the first time
When you make an item in cashmere, the item isn't finished until you wash and block it. This allows the cashmere to bloom, stitches to even out, and even more softness to emerge. As we continue to wear our cashmere items, there are steps we can to keep them in tip top shape so that they last us a very long time.
General upkeep of cashmere
In general, you don't need or want to wash your cashmere multiple times a season. The best 'care' of your cashmere is to wear it. When we wear our cashmere, we actually help to brush away any damaging insects or moths that may be attracted to it. Some additional tips are:
Washing Cashmere
We do not recommend the chemical process of dry cleaning as a means of caring for cashmere. Cashmere is a natural fiber that is best cleaned by hand washing. When it comes time to wash your cashmere item, follow these steps:
Blocking Cashmere
Storing Cashmere
Following these tips should allow you to enjoy your cashmere garments and accessories for many years to come.
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]]>It's spring in Ohio. . . so let me introduce you to my new Deco Scarf and Deco Hat designs. Oxymoron, anyone? New scarf and hat knitting patterns in spring? Why not?! This way, you'll be ready for fall and winter and December gift giving. And, if you live in the Southern Hemisphere, it's perfect timing.
Truthfully, launching a scarf and hat in April was not intended, but life happens. I'd also argue that knitting is not necessarily seasonal, although marketing tries to make it so based on what we wear seasonally. I really think makers make what they are feeling creatively at the moment. The beauty of these two new knitting patterns is that they are quick and offer enough intrigue to be interesting.
Deco was born through my love of sampling different knitting stitches and my love of all things Art Deco - architectural lines, product design, print patterns, clothing styles (as in all the clothing from Phryne Fisher, a tv series based on Kerry Greenwood's mystery books).
My beautiful vintage pottery bowls inspire the lines of Deco's shaped, twisted rib stitch pattern. The contrasting smooth relief sections in the bowl are conveyed through Deco's purl stitch sections.
Deco's twisted rib stitch, shaped by a simple cable stitch, is an easy stitch to master. It's accomplished simply by knitting or purling through the back of a stitch loop rather than through the front. The twisting of stitches in this way allows the stitches to pop and sit higher than the purl stitches surround the rib pattern. If you've worked with June Cashmere yarn before, you know that one of the qualities of the yarn is how beautifully it shows off stitch definition. Our 3- and 6-ply yarns (fingering and DK respectively), as well as the long, uniform fibers of our cashmere, allow this soft, lightweight yarn to bloom into even and full stitches. The resulting stitch definition, drape, and softness of garments and accessories made from our yarn are a thing to behold. Integrating a stitch like the twisted rib into a pattern for our yarn helps showcase the yarn's beautiful qualities.
The Deco scarf design came first and is knit from 3 skeins of our DK weight cashmere, making it just long enough to wrap around your neck and show off the unique shaped scarf ends. Being a hollow fiber, cashmere is insulating and lightweight. It keeps you warm while also regulating with your body temperature. What an amazing fiber. You can purchase the pattern and yarn for the scarf as a bundle in our Deco Scarf Kit.
Deco Hat was actually my husband's idea. While watching me knit the scarf ends into shape he said, "That design would make an amazing hat." I immediately scrunched the scarf end to simulate a hat and sure enough, I could see it too. Knit from just 1 skein of our DK cashmere, the pattern and yarn are bundled into the Deco Hat Kit.
From vintage pottery bowls to my husband's input, design inspiration can come from anywhere, including your immediate daily surroundings. At least that is how Deco came to be.
My sister already is knitting her Deco Scarf in color Aegean. . . what color will you choose to knit yours?
I recently learned of a phenomenon called the Planning Fallacy. It refers to the natural tendency of underestimating the time we will need to complete a project. The good news is that it's based on optimism! When we estimate the time needed for our own actions, we are overly optimistic that we can complete things quickly, using 'best-case-scenario' timelines. The bad news is that we're wrong. Pretty much always wrong. And do I relate to that.
I can look back at so many of my planned projects - you know - like the outside house painting job that has taken 5 +years to complete because 1. it's daunting to scrape, repair, seal, and then paint with 2 coats of paint each. cedar. shingle, 2. there's a lot of surface area to cover - like 3 stories high because of the attic, 3. the task been exhausting, 4. the Covid lost years of depression meant we couldn't even muster an attempt one year, and 5. on and on and on with excuses.
That's just one example but when running a business, it's very disconcerting to me that the practice continues. . . and it's pretty much time to try to follow research suggestions on how to realistically plan.
But why talk about the Planning Fallacy here? Well, the same time underestimation is true for my newest designs: Pebbles Scarf and Pebbles Mitts.
I designed Pebbles scarf some four years ago. At least. My hope always was to introduce it with matching mitts and well, every other task kept pushing back my efforts.
The good news from the time delay is that you can see in the photo just how beautifully my scarf is wearing. This wonderful cashmere yarn that comes from our shepherds in Kyrgyzstan and is milled in the Yorkshire/Lancashire regions of Great Britain simply wears and wears. The scarf looks as nice as the day I made it and I've worn it so much. I love to be able to point to the scarf as testament to the quality of our yarn. So there's that. And I guess the time delay on the mitt design is something I just accept and, more importantly, use as data when estimating realistic time allowances for my next designs.
Petoskey stones - the ones with the circles
For now, however, let me introduce you to my Pebbles Scarf and Mitts designs! They were inspired by the loop stitch that make up the ends of the scarf and the cuff of the mitts. When I first swatched the stitch, I loved its whimsy and the fact that it made me think of the stones and pebbles of Lake Michigan. Growing up an hour from the Big Lake in Northern Lower Michigan, it was - and still is - a thing to hunt for stones. All different kinds of stones. But especially the wonderful Petoskey Stones, fossilized pieces of coral reef found only along the northern Lake Michigan shoreline. The lake stones--they are a part of my soul.
May you find joy in knitting with our cashmere yarn
As I always say, may you find joy in knitting with our cashmere yarn. I also hope you find joy in making these new designs. The scarf is knit from just two skeins of our DK weight cashmere and the mitts require just one skein of the same. We have kits available for each or if you already have a skein or two of our yarn, you can purchase the pattern separately.
Until next time,
Amy
]]>Our newest collaboration with Tayler Harris of tayleranneknits is perfection. From mood board to finished pieces, Tayler's Millcreek Ribbed Cardigan and Tank designs are haute couture yet unassuming, modern yet classically timeless, which is exactly what Tayler hoped to accomplish with this set.
Tayler: "I was inspired to create a sweater set that had a classic, simple look, and timeless feel. Lines and shape played a big role in my overall vision, and the graceful curves of the shaping details are what I love most about the design. Just as a classic novel or a nostalgic song can bring feelings of peace and happiness, I hope this sweater set can bring those same feelings, and stand the test of time."
The ribbing stitch pattern for each hand knit piece runs from edge to edge, reflecting the book page edge lines found on Tayler's mood board. The simple details and finishing that Tayler adds to the sweater set will lift anyone's knitting skills to another level. The cardigan and tank are pieced and seamed, but do not shy away from this beautiful technique of garment making. This is how we create garments that fit us, that flatter our shapes.
Tayler always offers amazing pattern support and technique videos via her YouTube Channel. You can contact us at info@junecashmere.com with questions as well. But because we want you to choose a cashmere sweater that you will love and have it fit you, we'll be offering classes to this effect in January 2023. Join our community to be the first to know about these classes (at the bottom of the page). In the meantime, join us simply to work on any project during our Knitting Together meet-ups on Zoom.
Until next time, find joy in making!
Warmly,
Amy
]]>Last week, I had the privilege to be a panel member on a webinar entitled, Knit Along, one of a series of textile talks hosted by Selvedge Magazine.
During the event, I was reminded of the awe that textiles inspire in me as Di Gilpin and Sheila Greenwell talked about the history of the Gansey Sweater based on the research for their book, The Gansey Knitting Sourcebook. Can you imagine the thrill of finding a woman with note cards documenting 100 years of Gansey stitch patterns? And that the craft was endangered as being lost up until recently? I’m most certainly purchasing this sourcebook and am thankful to Di and Sheila for their work to save this heritage.
Vawn Corrigan was equally as fascinating as she shared her research on the Irish Aran sweater, and the power that celebrity has in making the Irish Aran all the rage. Yup, buying her book as well: Irish Aran: History, Tradition, Fashion.
Lynn Abrams spoke about her research on Scottish knitting. My ears always perk up when people address the role of women’s work in textiles. In this case, knitting was key for the economics of Shetland women in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Lynn’s continued research can be followed here.
Photo from Knitting Modern Europe website
I swooned over the fine stitches of 12th Century and beyond knitted liturgical gloves, the focus of a research project that engages Leslie O’Connell Edwards. Just as I was thinking what an amazing resource the gloves would be as inspiration for designing, Leslie suggested that very thing and encouraged all to peruse the Knitting in Early Modern Europe site.
Betsan Corkhill shared insights from her book, Knit for Health and Wellness. Did you know that texture is two times as significant as color in affecting mood?! Texture! For me, that translates to texture in touch, as well as the visual that texture creates. This might be one reason I find such joy in knitting with our yarn. It is soft and easy on the hands. And then there’s the soft, comforting, lightweight feeling of cashmere on my skin when I wear my finished garments all. the. time. In design, it might explain why I’m drawn to stitch patterns more than colorwork. Stitch patterns fascinate me. They create intricate design by how we work our needles. They create texture – amazing to feel and beautiful to the eye. I wonder what the impact is of texture combined with color, which is where my interest in colorwork lies—when it combines with texture, as in the photo at the start of this blog showing some of my texture meets colorwork design play. Interestingly, our colorwork knitting pattern kits thus far all mix color and texture. I guess our designers were on to something. . .
Betsan shared that knitting can offer us emotional life skills, in particular that it’s okay to make mistakes. In fact, it’s good to make mistakes. For people who stress about perfectionism (yeah, me), allowing a knitting mistake is excellent therapy to remind us that perfectionism is unattainable. Besides, I’ve always heard that by leaving in our mistake, we create our signature, the evidence of our hand in making, our design element, as it were.
Knitting is calming, purposeful and helps to quiet that part of the brain that gets anxious because we’re occupying it with knitting. But we avid knitters know that.
Take my sister Signe as an example. I just learned that making dishcloths helped her get through Covid. When Signe couldn’t concentrate or focus with all that was going on, she made dishcloths. A stack of dishcloths. It calmed her mind so that she could focus on other knitting, like the knit samples she makes for June Cashmere.
Signe's pile of knitted dishclothes - Covid survival.
We learned from producers of yarn and knitted goods. Hélène Magnússon is known for her Icelandic Knitting designs. I’m particularly interested to learn more about Icelandic intarsia, an old technique in danger of being lost that Hélène helped to preserve. . . Sonja Bargielowska is one of the new owners of John Arbon Textiles who mills their own British wool yarns, as well as the yarns of many other well-known British brands. It's fascinating how their mill works – using solid equipment of yore. . . Donna Wilson is a knit goods designer who uses knitting machines to create her products. She’s venturing into a mini mill to expand her work. . . I was there to represent June Cashmere and tell about our work with shepherds and goats in Kyrgyzstan, as well the qualities of high quality cashmere yarn for knitting. You know, I haven’t talked about those qualities for our blog, so it is now the topic of my next post. If you haven’t joined our community of knitters and supporters and are inclined to do so, you may sign up at the bottom of the page using your email. You’ll be first to know when the next blog post is available.
It was a 3-hour long event packed with knowledge and resources that I, for one, am excited to dig into a bit more and use as inspiration for my work here at June Cashmere. Maybe you'll find something of interest as well among the offerings.
As always, find joy in knitting! But also find knowledge, inspiration, calmness, and an escape for the anxieties that continue to plague.
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Sabyr assessing quality of cashmere. Photo by Carol Kerven.
Carol and Sabyr organize a conference
In 2012, Carol and Sabyr organized an international conference on high value animal fiber that took place in Osh, Kyrgyzstan. One of the goals of the conference was to make people aware of the quality of cashmere available in Kyrgyzstan so that they could find purchasers for the fiber. Attendees came from all over the world to talk about exquisite fibers, such as camel, mohair, alpaca, yak hair, and cashmere. A fellow named Sy Belohlavek joined in. At one point during the week-long conference, everyone was loaded onto a bus to visit the high mountains. They slept on the floors of yurts with shepherd families, just to see the goats. Many people then contacted Carol and Sabyr about purchasing the cashmere fiber, but potential buyers either didn’t understand the fiber’s value or weren’t willing to pay more for its quality. Sy, however, was different. He had read Carol and Sabyr's research reports and understood what the project was all about - helping shepherds through education and fair pay for their exquisite fiber.
In the late 1990s, a few international purchasers had discovered the cashmere fiber of the native goats in the remote villages of Kyrgyzstan but offered a very small, flat rate to shear the goats and take the fiber away. Shepherds didn’t know the value of their fiber, nor did they know that combing the fiber as it molts is a better way of collecting it – both for the goat (so it can keep its outer coat for warmth) and for the fiber. Being a short fiber, it would not be helpful to accidentally cut any of its length through shearing.
After that 2012 conference, Sy spent the next few years creating an infrastructure to purchase fiber directly from shepherds. He set up a Kyrgyz team to assess and pay shepherds using a 3-tiered payment system in which average quality fiber receives fair market value and higher quality fiber receives more than fair market value. Sy then guided the manufacturing of the fiber into yarn using small fiber processors in Great Britain, thus creating the June Cashmere yarn lines we offer today.
Grannies and kids come to sell their combed cashmere to Sy’s team. Photo by Sabyr Toigonbaev.
Effects of the cashmere program: what’s happening now?
In fall 2021, Carol and Sabyr traveled to the villages and interviewed shepherds to see how they feel about the program. Sy and his team are the main buyers in the region.
Carol and Sabyr interviewed in two areas: a valley where Sy and his team have been purchasing fiber for about 7 years and a valley where purchasing has taken place only for about 2 years. In the newer valley, they found tremendous enthusiasm for the program as a chance for cash and for planning a future. In the valley where purchasing is business as usual, Carol was told, “We can’t wait for cashmere season.” With one or two members of a family often migrating out of the area for work, it means a chance to earn money from their own resources.
Collecting cashmere. . . and income
Aqsakal farmer buying Tuvet Cashmere stud buck goats with certificate of cashmere test 14.5 micron from Mongolian fiber lab. Photo by Sabyr Toigonbaev.
Traditional combs for collecting other types of downy fiber existed in the region and replicas have been made so that shepherd families have access to the combs to collect their fiber. In fact, June Cashmere sells these combs on our website.
According to Carol, most of the combing is done by women and children. During her interviews, a 10-year-old boy shared that he used his cashmere money to purchase a soccer ball and soccer suit (uniform, as we would say). A young, unmarried woman shared that she used her share to pay for her college entrance exam. A family might opt to use the money to purchase another goat.
Tuvet Cashmere
High altitude village all-black goat flock. Photo by Carol Kerven.
From 2008 – 2017, Carol and Sabyr had their own flock of cashmere goats in the high mountains of Kyrgyzstan. They used the flock to breed a high quality, low micron (referring to fineness of the fiber), whitish cashmere, and to prove that this could be done. Only about a quarter of Kyrgyz native goats are white, while cashmere micron and length varies a lot among farmers’ goats. A French company visited the flock, which convinced them to invest in Carol and Sabyr’s work, which in turn, allowed Carol and Sabyr to create their NGO, Tuvet Cashmere. White cashmere is very desirable by companies because of how dye sets onto the fiber color. Companies also want standard micron and length of cashmere for better processing.
Tuvet white flock. Photo by Sabyr Toigonbaev.
Their NGO is small but like all projects, they need funding to increase their scale of work, to continue breeding the native goat and educating shepherds. Ideally, they would expand their work throughout all of Kyrgyzstan and in tandem, June Cashmere would expand their purchasing. For both entities, it’s a story of persistence.
As Carol and Sabyr say, it's been a long journey. It’s a niche with a small but very high-quality product. It simply won’t expand without external assistance. The project helps people in a way that is not ecologically damaging. High mountain areas are dramatic areas—rocky and climatically harsh, where agricultural crops hardly grow. Farmers say that goats are suitable for these areas. As descendants of wild mountain goats, they need minimum shepherd guidance to go up the mountain and find food and then return. They nibble on bushes and are stable walkers on the rocks. This an area where goats work and produce excellent cashmere, that in turns gives money to shepherds.
It's an incredibly worthy project, indeed.
Good goat grazing 8,000 feet high along Chinese border. Photo by Carol Kerven.
Articles
Background
For most of the 20th century, Kyrgyzstan was part of the Soviet Union, belonging to its textile-producing region. State farms managed livestock production, including specially bred wool sheep and fiber-producing goats, and the fiber was transferred to state-owned textile mills, which in turn shipped finished yarn and clothing to a very large Soviet market for sales. In 1991, when the Soviet Union collapsed, Kyrgyzstan’s animal fiber and textile-producing infrastructure also collapsed. Kyrgyzstan became independent but, external markets were lost, textile mills were privatized and then closed when all the equipment was sold off, and newly-privatized livestock owners were left without a state-run outlet for fiber from their own animals.
Although goats historically have been prevalent in Kyrgyzstan (mostly for personal meat consumption and local sales), cashmere wasn’t a fiber that Kyrgyz mills worked with. Cashmere is defined as the downy undercoat that specific goat breeds grow for extra winter warmth. Naturally molting off in spring, cashmere is a very short fiber that requires specialized mills for processing. In Soviet times, an effort was made to cross breed the native goat with different fiber breeds goats, such as the Angora goat. The result was a heavier harvest per animal but a longer mohair-like fiber that the mill machinery could process. This fiber is not recognized internationally as cashmere.
So how did Kyrgyzstan go from not having a cashmere harvesting tradition to potentially being able to use cashmere as a new source of fiber income for shepherds?
The answer originates with the work of Dr. Carol Kerven and Sabyr Toigonbaev, who together run the Kyrgyz NGO Tuvet Cashmere.
Meet the researchers
Carol Kerven is a British applied social researcher in agricultural and livestock development. In 2001, Carol was working with livestock-keepers in Kazakhstan, which borders Kyrgyzstan. She invited her colleague, Professor Angus Russell, (developer of the Scottish cashmere goat breed) to join her there. While at a local market admiring the camels, Angus spied some scruffy little goats. It was springtime. He asked the older gentleman – an ‘aqsaqal’ in Kyrgyz – a ‘white beard’ (a term referring to a wise, older person of substance) if he could look at the goat. Angus parted the hair on the back of the little goat and turned to Carol, inquiring if she knew that these were cashmere goats. Carol had been working with livestock in the area for 5 years and had no idea. They gathered a bit of the molting cashmere and Angus took it back to the cashmere lab in Scotland. Results were that it was very fine cashmere indeed!
Sabyr Toigonbaev is a Kyrgyz livestock specialist and university instructor on the topic. In 2003, a German development project hired Sabyr for his animal expertise. The project’s plan was to bring cashmere goats to Kyrgyzstan from Mongolia. Sabyr began learning about cashmere. Of course, he was familiar with the local Kyrgyz goats (referred in Kyrgyz to as ‘jaidari’, meaning simply ‘local animal’). However, this was the first that Sabyr was exposed to the concept of cashmere as we know it. In Kyrgyz, cashmere would be termed 'tuvet' which means ‘down’ – or ‘soft fiber’.
Carol was already working with livestock-keepers in Kyrgyzstan and, back in Kazakhstan, had begun working with native cashmere goats. Carol and Sabyr’s paths crossed because of their individual endeavors. Carol invited Sabyr to join a small group to visit Mongolia in 2005, to learn about the Mongolian cashmere supply chain. By 2008, they actively began conducting the research that would bring about their work with shepherds and native goat breeding in Kyrgyzstan toward cashmere production. It was clear to both researchers that this endeavor was not about bringing in goats from elsewhere, which, as Carol described, would be like “bringing coal to West Virginia in the USA or Newcastle in Great Britain”. Rather, it was about developing the native resources at hand and preserving a native goat to the benefit of the shepherds.
High altitude Kyrgyz village all-black goat flock. Photo by Carol Kerven
Carol and Sabyr’s research established that the best cashmere-producing goats were found in southern Kyrgyzstan where high mountains separate shepherd villages from the rest of the country. The more remote the village, the more likely it was to find native cashmere-producing goats that hadn’t been cross-bred with Angora and other breeds, and who produced excellent quality fiber. Once the road of access ended to reach shepherds, it became too difficult for the Soviets to expand their systematic cross-breeding program. It was literally the mountains that saved the native goats.
From research to a cashmere program
As a result of their research, Carol and Sabyr sought to establish a native goat breeding program that would include shepherd training on best goat husbandry and collection practices, as well as education on the characteristics of high-quality cashmere. As researchers and livestock specialists, they could contribute in this way toward a plan that could provide shepherds with a sustainable income through cashmere, one that might supplement their income which was much reduced from Soviet days. For such a program to be of benefit to the shepherds, however, it needed cashmere buyers who would value the quality of fiber coming from the native goats and who would be willing to pay a premium to shepherds for the fiber.
This is where Sy Belohlavek, founder of June Cashmere, comes into the picture. In Part II, we’ll continue the story with how Carol and Sabyr met Sy, the establishment of Tuvet Cashmere and June Cashmere, as well as insight into shepherds’ thoughts about the programs and what is needed for this endeavor to continue.
Articles
What was your inspiration for Scio?
Shellie: I wanted to create a versatile, relaxed fit tee in fingering that can be worn as a casual piece with jeans or dressed up a bit with a skirt. The simple eyelet ribbing adds interest and a bit of movement to SCIO.
Where did you find the name for your design?
Shellie: I'm currently using Oregon city and town names and SCIO happens to be one of them.
What technique tips do you have to share?
Shellie: As I typically use in most of my designs with a shoulder seam, I've used German Short Row shaping at the shoulders and they are joined using a 3-needle Bind-off. The result is an incredibly professional looking seam without the bulk of a sewn seam. These two techniques alone really elevated the finished appearance of my knitting.
3-needle bind-off seam on Scio; right side of fabric
3-needle bind-off seam on Scio; inside of fabric
What’s your favorite thing about the design?
Shellie: My favorite things about this design are of course the fabric created by the June Cashmere yarn and the relaxed, comfortable fit.
What is your design process?
Shellie: I don't really have a set design process. I get inspiration from everywhere - online, catalogs, even the tv. Sometimes an image drives an idea, or it could be a stitch pattern, the shape of a piece, or sometimes I start with a specific yarn and work on an idea from there, taking into account the characteristics of the yarn.
Scio is such a lovely piece to knit. Worked in the round from the bottom up in stockinette stitch, a bit of lace adds interest at the hem, sleeve, and neck. The only seams are at the shoulders. Wear as a roomy tee from spring through fall and style with a shirt underneath for winter for a truly versatile cashmere piece.
What are you waiting for? Start knitting Scio today!
I have a strong appreciation and admiration for textile guilds. Their members join to foster community and learning around textile crafts like weaving, spinning, and knitting, to name just a few. Their existence is important to the preservation of craft traditions, both through member workshops and community demonstrations, offering others an exposure to making.
Guilds for skilled craftsmen began in Medieval Europe with the mission of working collectively toward skill standards, political clout, and control of competition. Some descriptions of early guilds asserted that to become a member, one had to submit completed textile projects for acceptance by the guild as evidence of skill in the textile craft.
As a member of my local weaving and textile arts guild, I’ve had the privilege to read original meeting minutes, often handwritten, from the organization’s inception in 1937 through today. During the guild’s early years, potential members had to submit weavings for approval to become full members. This practice was eventually abandoned to allow makers of all skill and interest levels to become members. That is the desire of guilds today - to invite all to participate.
In my role with June Cashmere, I enjoy telling our story virtually and in-person to guild groups. Most recently, I spent a few hours on a beautiful Saturday with our local knitters and crocheters guild at their spring retreat. This group of individuals embody community and learning through the love of their crafts, knitting and crochet.
It was my first in-person talk since before Covid so I admit, I was feeling just a bit anxious about being with people again. But the minute I walked in the door, I was met with warmth. One member’s son was there that day to ensure that all the technology pieces were in working order for my talk. We likely would have watched my presentation on my laptop if it hadn’t been for him navigating the smart board and PowerPoint downloads to get my talk where it needed to be.
As I walked around, the members were busy working on their varied individual and group projects. Collectively, they were getting ready for a local Juneteenth celebration where they were to have a demonstration table. Some were crocheting hats in Kwanza colors (red, black, and green). One member showed me bags of lovely, donated yarn and explained that the group had purchased crochet hooks so that at their demonstration table, they could teach anyone interested how to crochet. They were preparing to share their craft, to ignite in others creative possibility. They were doing the work of a guild, fostering community and learning through their craft.
After my talk, the group invited me to eat with them. They had prepared an utterly delicious and varied potluck, because you know, creative sorts extend their artistry to food, too. In many cultures, eating together is one of the most important acts of community and sociality. This act of community did not disappoint.
As if these grass root manifestations of community weren’t heartwarming enough, in thanks to me for my program that day, one of the members presented me with a gift – a coiled, cloth basket filled with fine chocolates and a shawl she had knit. Yes, a shawl she had knit. I am still awed by her gesture, her act of giving herself - her time, her skills, her resources - to a complete stranger. I suspect this member understood that as a fellow maker, I would understand her gift. She is correct. Her gift is not lost on me as I will wear it often with joy, remembering its maker and considering it a symbol of the importance of guilds.
Beautiful hand knit shawl given to me by guild member.
Resources:
https://www.worldhistory.org/Medieval_Guilds/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guild
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It's June and we are at the end of the annual cashmere fiber collection season. Cashmere, defined as the downy undercoat that grows on goats to offer extra warmth for the animals living in harsh, mountain winters, naturally molts off during the spring months. In Kyrgyzstan, in villages of lower altitudes, the native goat, referred to as jaidiri, begins molting in March, since warmer and longer days arrive here first. Molting progresses throughout the region's villages as thawing temperatures make their way up the altitudes, with the process ending completely sometime in June.
Fiber collection occurs when shepherd families receive word that the June Cashmere truck is heading their way to purchase fiber. Communication is important during this time as semi-nomadic shepherds are anxious to head up the mountains with their animals to spend the summer in the Jailoo, or high mountain pastures. The fresh grasses uncovered by the melting snow await them. Our purchasing truck needs to time its arrival to the villages just as molting occurs and collection can take place and before families leave for yurt living.
Shepherds collect cashmere by combing the molting fiber. Combing (not shearing) is essential to the well-being of the goats as their long, outer coats are needed for warmth and protection in the high mountains. It takes a shepherd about a half hour to comb a single goat, whose fiber is then placed in its own bag. Shepherds gather their fiber bags to meet the June Cashmere purchasing truck for weighing and assessing. To incentivize best husbandry and collection practices, June Cashmere pays shepherds with a 3-tiered system. Middle grade fiber receives the current market price. Higher quality fiber (in length, fineness, and cleanliness) receives pricing above market value.
The secondary income for shepherds that comes from cashmere fiber sales arrives at a time when cash flow is at a low. In early fall, shepherds arrive back from the Jailoo with fattened animals for selling. Those families who stayed in the villages to farm have crops to sell. As activity gears up outside again, a spring income is welcome. Incidentally, a goat is the least expensive animal for a shepherd family to own. Our cashmere fiber purchases can help the poorest of families add to their income.
Once purchased by June Cashmere, this precious commodity of cashmere fiber, with only 4 ounces produced per goat annually, will begin its course of processing: sorting to keep only the finest and longest, most uniform fibers; scouring to clean the fiber; de-hairing (passing the fiber through specialized equipment to remove anything that is not cashmere), and finally milling and dyeing to become yarn. Along the way, 60% of a goat's original 4 ounces of fiber will be lost in weight. Ultimately, it takes 4-6 goats to yield enough yarn to knit a single sweater. Compare that to a turn-around in numbers: a single sheep can produce enough wool annually for one to knit 4-6 sweaters! Cashmere is a precious commodity indeed.
Fun fact: Did you ever wonder how our company got its name? The word June in English sounds the same as a word in Kyrgyz, but the words have different meanings. In Kyrgyz, june means animal fiber. In English, June can be a woman's name (I've been called June instead of Amy a multitude of times) and also refers to the 6th month, the month that wraps up cashmere fiber collection time each year in Kyrgyzstan. It was fitting within the goals of our company to utilize the dual-language relevant and symbolic meanings of june in a way that highlights the Kyrgyz people and this fiber and connects them meaningfully to a world market.
Simply timeless.
Tayler Harris's new pattern design, Crosswater, is a short-sleeved cardigan knit in our DK cashmere that is certain to be an every-day staple. It is my kind of cardi with its simple shape and elegant lines that will add sophistication to anything I wear.
From mood board and finished sweater to the name of the pattern, Crosswater evokes a story of water. From Tayler:
Crosswater was inspired by water, by its graceful flow and the peaceful murmur it creates as it crashes onto a sandy shore or over rocks in a stream. Water has elegance and tranquility. I wanted to capture these attributes through the cable pattern that gently flows into the body of the cardigan. Water can be still, yet lively; powerful, yet calm. These are the qualities I wanted to emulate in the rhythmic rib stitch pattern throughout the main body and sleeves. Water is pure and precious, and these elements are reflected in the immaculate Kyrgyz cashmere it is knit with. My hope is that this piece will help remind us that through all of the ebbs and flows of life, beauty can still be found.
I believe beauty is found in the design of this cardigan, Tayler! I always wish for people to find joy in making - I can't wait to put this project on my needles because I already can anticipate a calmness from making this particular design. First, like I already mentioned, this is my kind of cardigan. But beyond that, I find the single cable twisting into the flowing lines of ribbing to be calming. It's a pattern simple enough to give me joy in making, with enough techniques to keep me on my toes.
The beauty is in the details.
Crosswater is size inclusive (bust range 29-64 inches) and provides detailed written and chart instructions for techniques and steps. Tayler offers technique videos on her YouTube channel. You can find Tayler and all her patterns on Ravelry under tayleranne. Patterns include Tayler's email address for pattern support.
Of course, we've bundled the pattern and yarn into our logo project bag. Head over to our kit and get yours now: Crosswater Cardigan Kit
Follow Tayler on: website, Ravelry, IG: @tayleranneknits; Technique videos: YouTube.
A final note. Interestingly, as I was preparing to write this post with all-things-cardigan on my mind, a headline popped up on my social media feed. It was from Modern Daily Knitting's (MDK) blog dated for last July, 2021, featuring knitwwear designer Patty Lyon's, 'Ask Patty' column. Patty's topic? Button Bands! It's a great read . . . and relevant here, so take a look: Ask Patty: Button Band Gladness.
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One day as I put down my knitting in order to move the highlighter tape keeping my place on a knitting chart I thought, there must be a better way. Not only did I have to use two hands to move it, the tape had yet again lost its stickiness and needed to be replaced. I had seen and priced the magnetic pattern holders that stand upright, but I take my knitting everywhere and didn’t think it would be a practical solution for me. Also, I am on a knitting budget and prefer to put my money into yarn. I googled knitting chart hacks and discovered one that was affordable, mobile and as a bonus uses the tape that I purchased for the purpose of keeping my place on knitting charts!
At the local craft store, I bought two magnetic 5X7 sheets. I cut a 1/2” strip off the long end of one of them. I placed the larger sheet behind my knitting chart and put the pattern back into a plastic sleeve. That keeps the magnetic sheet in place. Then I cut a strip of wasabi tape and put it on the 1/2” magnetic strip to pretty it up. The strip is used to mark my place on the knitting chart and is held in place by the magnetic sheet behind. I cut a1/2” strip on the short side of the sheet I cut initially and made a second set.
Now I just slide the strip up with one hand when I finish a line or section on the chart and don’t even need to put my knitting down. I keep a second piece of tape stuck at the bottom of the sheet for when the pattern is in transit and the magnetic strip might slide on its own, losing my place. When I take it out and start knitting, I use the magnetic strip again.
-Guest post by Signe Swanson
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Historically, the vast majority of the world's cashmere has come from Mongolia and China. In recent decades, the rapidly increased production of this fiber has contributed to land overuse and land desertification in the region, the negative climate effects of which are felt even along the west coast of the United States.
Native goats to Kyrgyzstan - referred to as 'jaidiri', meaning local goat; photo: June Cashmere
Goats aren't innately bad to the land if managed properly; total animal numbers (including goats, sheep, cows, and any other animals being grazed) need to be kept in proportion to the size and topography of the area of land being grazed.
Traditional grazing methods understood the importance of numbers in an animal pack. In Mongolia and China, however, as demand for cashmere products meant increased value for cashmere, there was a radical and purposeful increase in the number of goats owned and grazed as a means toward increased revenue. Unfortunately, as the size of herds increased significantly they began to outstrip the pasture areas readily available to shepherds. In addition, broader environmental changes (such as drought) have contributed to a situation where increasing desertification has taken place. We are glad to see, however, that efforts are now being made in these regions to try to reverse these practices (See for example, "How sustainable cashmere is reversing land degradation in Mongolia", United Nations Development Programme Blog).
Kyrgyz shepherd with sheep and goats, photo: June Cashmere
What about Kyrgyzstan? Central Asia and Kyrgyzstan are a bit different. First, the general population of goats and animal herds is much smaller--for example families own on average 10-15 goats. Also, as the cashmere industry develops in Kyrgyzstan, it has the chance to incorporate what has been learned from the experience of China and Mongolia. Kyrgyzstan has pasture committees whose purpose is to help maintain balance in the pastures, and there are local NGOs working alongside them to promote the preservation of the land. There remain many challenges and complexities amidst the communities in the task of managing pasture land, but we are glad to see that these entities are present and seeking to help mitigate them.
From the outset, we have focused our work with shepherds to increase the quality of their fiber, paying shepherds on a tiered payment system that rewards quality of fiber. We stress quality, not quantity. The goat is the least expensive animal for a family to own, so our project helps the poorest of families earn extra income. That said, we tend to see a downward trend of goat ownership. As shepherds gain wealth, their tendency is not to buy more goats, but to purchase larger animals.
With the advent of our new processing facility in Kyrgyzstan, we hope to contribute towards the broader elevation of the cashmere industry in Kyrgyzstan. We intend to use our platform to reinforce the messaging from others on the ground and actively encourage healthy land use. As we continue to grow, we have the opportunity to influence and affirm best practices with the aspiration of helping prevent the undesirable outcomes of unchecked growth that have been experienced in China and Mongolia. Our company recognizes that this is an important issue in our pursuit of producing cashmere yarn that is sustainable, ethical, and transparently made.
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We purchase cashmere fiber from shepherds in the Chong Alai region of southern Kyrgyzstan. In this high mountain region, goats give birth once a year – preferably in spring, when there is more food for grazing and time for the kids to grow before going to jailoo – the high mountain pastures where shepherds live in yurts and graze their animals until fall.
If all goes well, birthing takes about an hour. If there are twins, the babies are small and birthing is easier. If the kids are large, the mother may have difficulty and shepherds may have to help the birthing process by pulling on the kid. Barley and grains are added to the goats’ grass feed to give mothers more protein to nurse their kids, who, incidentally, only take milk from their mothers. If a kid tries to milk from any other goat, it will get kicked away.
In early spring, shepherds take the herds to the fields around their village to feed for the day. The kids, however, will be kept at home for a month before joining their mothers in daily grazing. By June, the kids are ready to head to the mountain pastures. Kids will continue to take milk through the summer, but it lessens. When the mothers get pregnant again, they stop producing milk, finishing the weaning process.
Kids born in the spring grow during the summer. They develop cashmere over their first winter that naturally molts off the following spring, providing the shepherds with great cashmere fiber to sell. Ultimately, the fiber is spun into our cashmere yarn line awaiting your creative endeavors. Oh what will you make with this beautiful yarn?
-Until next time, Amy
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Southern Kyrgyzstan (photo: Erica Manning)
Kyrgyzstan is experiencing immediate economic effects from Russian's invasion of Ukraine, a consequence of a world-wide response to economically isolate Russia.
Whenever we talk about the founding of June Cashmere, we recount the history that led to Kyrgyzstan's need for economic development. Like Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan was once part of the Soviet Union. It was part of a thriving textile-producing region in which shepherds belonged to cooperatives that directly sold their fiber to spinning mills with thousands of employees. The mills in turn had a vast market in the Soviet Union to which they could sell their goods.
Archival photo of textile mill in Kyrgyzstan, mid-20th Century
Also like Ukraine, when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Kyrgyzstan became an independent country. Mountainous and land-locked without a larger market to sell goods, their textile system collapsed almost immediately. Mills were privatized and equipment sold off, closing the mills and leaving shepherds without a buyer for their fiber.
Mills today that lay in ruin. (Photos: Erica Manning)
It is this history that has led entities such as the World Bank to search for ways to help Kyrgyzstan rebuild economically, often looking to its textile traditions for inspiration. And it is this ongoing need for economic independence that led our founder, Sy Belohlavek, to attend a talk by researcher Carol Kerven and cashmere specialist Sabyr Toigonbaev on the potential of cashmere production in Kyrgyzstan, ultimately resulting in the founding of June Cashmere. (Note: watch for our story on Carol Kerven and Sabyr Toigonbaev's research and work with native goats coming soon.)
Fast forward to the events of the last week in Ukraine that in turn, have brought more economic suffering to the people of Kyrgyzstan.
Kyrgyzstan (and other former Soviet republics in Central Asia) still have close economic ties to Russia for a few reasons. First, the Kyrgyz currency som is closely tied to the ruble for value. As the ruble tumbled due to world efforts to isolate Russia economically, so did the som. When money devalues, so do personal savings and income.
Second, an estimated 1 million Kyrgyz workers leave their country to earn money to send back to their families in Kyrgyzstan. Many of these workers go to Russia. This transfer of money - called remittances - accounted for over 2 billion dollars of money coming into the country in 2021. As Russia becomes more economically isolated, the trickle-down effect is the potential loss of jobs for Kyrgyz workers, resulting in families back in Kyrgyzstan with little to no income. More immediately, it results in less income because of the daily value fluctuation of the som as it relates to the ruble.
Kyrgyzstan also is highly dependent on Russia for trade; fuel, gas, medicine, flour, meat are just some of the items that will become difficult to get and whose prices likely will inflate.
This is a bleak picture for a country already trying to rebuild economically. The picture makes is even more clear why the work of people like Carol Kerven and Sabyr Toigonbaev (discoverers and breeders of the native cashmere-producing goat in Kyrgyzstan) and our founder Sy Belohlavek (through the establishment of June Cashmere and now a de-hairing facility in Kyrgyzstan) are important. Their work centers on preservation -- of the lifestyle of people and the native goat; of building an infrastructure toward economic development in Kyrgyzstan so that people can stay in their country and gain autonomy economically.
Resources
https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-ukraine-kyrgyzstan-sanctions-economies-central-asia/31718918.html
https://www.rferl.org/a/central-asia-migrants-ruble-impact/31730968.html
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Find joy in making, I like to say, because I truly want us to find joy in creating, in using our hands and minds to produce something uniquely made. I especially want us to find joy in making with this special cashmere yarn, bringing honor to the final step of the yarn's voyage from shepherds' hands to our own.
Recently, however, I'm reminded that knitting (and making) can offer the mind, body, and spirit a multitude of benefits beyond joy. Research and anecdotal evidence from knitters tell us that knitting reduces depression and anxiety (lowers blood pressure, relaxes us, helps us to cope with difficult situations); helps slow the onset of dementia and distracts us from chronic pain (can even help arthritis in hands by keeping them moving); increases the sense of well-being (allowing for creativity, self-achievement, reducing loneliness and isolation, providing community, inclusiveness and purpose). That's a lot! And in an age where social media, technology, and television are hindering our ability to focus, it might help us restore that ability too - through breaking habits and addictions by engaging the mind and hands.
Stitchlinks is a non-profit organization whose website details the ways that we can benefit from knitting. They work, in fact, to integrate knitting into British health care programs. They provide an interesting 'Knitting Equation Chart', a formulaic means of explaining knitting outcomes: physical hand movement (exercising hand muscles and brain -body connections) + enriched environments of creativity and relaxation + social engagement with friendship and community possible, while also noting that knitting is portable -- we can take it with us to continually reap its benefit.
Learning a new skill can be frustrating.
Recently, a knitter casting on the Lostine hat was trying to master the tubular cast-on. Expressing her frustration on Instagram, I reached out to her for moral support and links to tutorials. She was so close to making it work, but the truth is, figuring out a knitting technique on your own can be hard.
The Lostine Hat and Wrap patterns by Shellie Anderson start with a waste-yarn, tubular cast-on. You can see in the photo how beautifully the cast-on allows the ribbing to flow from the edge. For the hat, this cast-on method doesn't impede the necessary stretch of the rim like other cast-ons might.
Conquering a new technique is incredibly satisfying and allows the thoughtful designer details to shine in your finished garment. When I talked to Shellie, she told me that knitters should 'trust the instructions' on this cast-on. It may seem counter-intuitive during the process, but the result is amazing. Knitters have told Shellie that this cast-on has transformed their knitting. Here's another tip when trying a new technique--master it first on a few stitches before tackling it on the entire garment. . . yet another reason why swatching before knitting your garment is so important. But we'll save that conversation for another day.
I found the most relevant tutorials for the tubular cast-on here:
Ready to learn something new? Try the Lostine Hat and Wrap!
Follow Shellie on her platforms: website, Ravelry, IG: @shellieanderson
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In addition to offering beautiful knitting patterns, every issue of Laine includes recipes, sometimes from other cultures, sometimes to showcase Scandinavia. I love food traditions and in my family, December is the month in which food revolves around my Swedish heritage. We eat lutefisk on Christmas Eve (yes, I do enjoy it--for those who don't know, it's a dried cod that suffers many jokes--Smithsonian magazine shares why), as well as pickled herring, but no December is complete without cookie baking.
Since so many enjoy baking cookies, I thought I'd share my version of a Scandinavian sugar cookie recipe. Enjoy!
Dried Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 c. butter
3/4 c. sugar
1 egg
1 t. vanilla
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 t. salt
1 t. baking powder
1/2 c. dried Morency cherries
1/2 c. dark chocolate chips
Pre-heat oven to 350° F. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients and then mix them into the butter mixture. Stir in cherries and dark chocolate chips. Chill in freezer for about 1/2 hour to harden the dough and then scoop by the teaspoonful onto a cookie sheet about 2" apart. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until just golden at the edges and underneath, but still a bit soft to touch in the middle. Cookies continue 'baking' once out of the oven, so be careful not to overbake. Cool on wire wrack. Makes roughly 2 dozen small cookies. Enjoy with coffee. Lots and lots of coffee. Coffee is another Scandinavian/Swedish-American tradition . . . 4 o'clock coffee anyone?
Until next time, find joy in making! -- Amy
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I am enthralled with how people design. . . and I love textile swatches - woven ones, knit ones, printed ones, all the ones. I love to imagine what those swatches might become. When hand drawn sketches are involved, I swoon. And swoon, I did, when I saw Tayler Harris's design boards for our Holiday 2021 Collaboration.
Tayler's inspiration for the collection came from the Uinta mountains of her home state of Utah. In Tayler's words-
The Uinta Range is full of forests, lakes, and meadows, and is home to the highest point in Utah, Kings Peak, that reaches over 13,000 ft. It is a beautiful place full of so many textures, colors, shapes, sounds, smells, and wildlife. All of the beauty that can be found there brought so much inspiration to these pieces.
Tayler's first piece in the collection is a sweater in our fingering weight yarn named for the mountains themselves: Uinta. Her design board collage of photos made me gasp as she connected the region's lushness and textures to flowing, gentle cable stitches, appropriately in our color Moss.
Tayler had this to say about Uinta-
Uinta reminds me of the beautiful forests that cover the range, the rolling land and gentle slopes, the trees that seem to go on forever up into the sky…my hope is that as you knit this piece and see the cables come to life, it will bring a sense of peace into your day. I imagine the birds that live in these trees and the path they fly everyday as they weave in and out, in and out…
Lovenia and Mirror were initially inspired by the natural lakes of the same region, reflecting over 1,000 pristine and calm natural lakes of the mountain range. After having completed Lovenia, however, Tayler re-imagined Mirror from her original swatch and sketch into a simpler ribbed hat that picks up on the long, ribbed edge of the scarf. According to Tayler, the ribbing mimics the ancient rocks that form the mountain’s skeleton. Millions of years and tremendous pressure have formed faults that are nearly vertical. Deep, immovable, fierce, yet romantic.
The design change makes sense when you put the hat and scarf together. Instead of potential competition of cables, you feel harmony with the two pieces--much like nature, itself, in this beautiful mountain range.
Tayler’s life is full with her husband, two boys, their dog, and her very busy creative life. Having studied art and photography at university, Tayler learned to knit about 9 years ago. Knitting and designing have now become her passion.
When I began to work with Tayler last year, two things stood out: her compassionate, gracious character and her nuanced eye for design. Tayler's designs are thoughtful - classic, while being modern. Her sense of color is spot on, as you can see in her stunning Brookside poncho design and Alpine and Nebo cowls, all of which adeptly combine colorwork and textural stitch patterns.
Now in her new collection, we find the elegance of clean lines and cable patterns, resulting in garments that are both refined and handsome, meant for everyone, that I personally cannot wait to make and wear. I even think there's time for me to make Mirror for my husband for Christmas. . . Oh, and those beautiful photographs of all of her garments? That's Tayler modeling and using her amazing photography skills.
Tayler, you are such an inspiration to me as a person and a designer. Your capacity to listen and to love are gifts that you share freely. I am grateful to call you my friend.
Follow Tayler on: website, Ravelry, IG: @tayleranneknits; Tayler has technique videos to go with the new patterns: YouTube.
Until soon, find joy in knitting with cashmere!
IT HAPPENED. A greasy sauce spot. Right on the middle front of the Norah Gaughan Sand Waves Poncho that I wear All. The. Time. . . Oooohhhh Noooooo, I blurted out loud when I realized.
My ‘Oooohhhh. Noooooo.’ wasn’t fear that I couldn’t get the spot out; it was just that now there was another task to add to my to-do list. And it wasn't even a very tedious or time consuming task—just another task. However, I've decided to make lemonade out of lemons, as they say, and use the greasy spot to talk about caring for and washing cashmere garments, as well as share my favorite trick at removing grease stains out of anything from cashmere to those cotton t-shirts where the stains aren’t discovered until after being set in the dryer.
When knitting with our yarn, we say that your making isn’t complete until you’ve washed your garment the first time. Washing allows the stitches to even out and the yarn to bloom. The transformation is exciting, and the garment just continues to soften with wear. I like to use a mild hair shampoo to wash my cashmere garments. Shampoo is designed for our hair—a protein fiber. Cashmere is also a protein (animal) fiber.
To wash, I fill a basin with coolish, maybe room temperature water and a little shampoo and then immerse the garment for a bit of a soak. How long? Maybe 10-15 minutes. . .but I’ve also become side-tracked in the process and left a garment soaking for much longer. I drain the sink and then slosh the garment in a basinful of rinse water, perhaps going through a couple of rinse waters, to ensure that the soap is completely removed. I gently press out the extra water and then roll the garment in a towel to remove as much excess water as possible. Finally, I lay the garment flat to dry. If it’s a garment that needs heavy blocking (as with the points on our Archa Shawl by Nim Teasdale, for example), I’ll do that at this point. Otherwise, if it’s a garment that’s less fussy, I’ll just lay it flat into the desired dimensions and let it dry.
I don’t wash my cashmere a lot after that first time as I tend to wear many of the garments year-round and cashmere really doesn’t need to be washed often. If I’m going to store the cashmere for any length of time, I’ll inspect it, air it out, brush it off, and wash it if needed before storing it in a zippered cotton bag. I know that moths and other cashmere-loving creatures are drawn to human odors and dead skin cells (a bit gross, I know), so those steps help prevent against an infestation. I even put a bit of tape over the end of the zipper to keep those little cashmere eaters barred from having an unintended entrance to the storage bag.
Now for that greasy spot. My go-to greasy-spot remover is simply a little diluted dish soap, gently worked into the spot. For this spot, I let the soap sit for about 15 minutes before rinsing the area thoroughly and pressing out the excess water. I hung the poncho outside over a chair to let the wet region dry; I didn’t wash the entire garment. It didn’t need it.
The next day, I couldn’t find the spot. (I forgot to mark the stain with a pin to know its exact location.) If the spot had remained, I would have repeated the process, possibly adding a sprinkling of baking soda on top of the diluted dish soap to further draw out the greasy residue. In the case of t-shirts and other items that have sailed through the dryer with unnoticed grease stains, I’ve used the same method to remove the spots. The heartier the fabric, the more likely I am not to dilute the dish soap as I apply it to the stain. So far, it’s worked for me every time.
The moral of this story? Wear your cashmere garments frequently without worrying about dirt and stains because our yarn was milled to be worn. You can wash the cashmere, remove stains from it, and enjoy the fact that you have made a garment meant to last.
Until next time,
Amy