The Death of Ski Sweaters and Ganseys - Long

Wet wool is heavy. And, wool with "grease" can be smelly when wet. (Wet
dogs and mules do not seem to mind, but everyone else seems to object.)

And, there is always that little problem of wet wool losing its strength.
(There was a period of extended rain in the Adirondacks when my wool pants
just sort of disintegrated.)

And after having been wet, synthetics are easier to wash, and they dry
faster.

But, wool has beauty and personality. A pair of handknit wool socks says
love in the way no mass produced sock ever could. Any handknit sweater is a
joy.

I just think that we should push wool to its limits.

Aaron





"Leah" wrote in message
...
Hi Aaron,

Did you wear one of those sweaters out on your walk in the snow? Did it
keep you warm? If so - you really are keeping useful knitting traditions
alive, and more power to you!

The first day of walking in a snowstorm this year, I wore my thick
wool (felted fabric) coat that hangs down to my knees and helps
protect my legs from the cold. However, it was soaked in about a half
hour and made it hard to make any time in the wet as it got heavier
and made it that much harder to make time against the wind that was
also blowing (I don't mind walking in those conditions, as I love the
cold and snow). The next time it was snowing when we went out, and I
wore a PVC waterproof jacket with hood. It was insulated and kept me
warm enough, but rather than getting soaked with the wet snow, the
snow piled up on the top of my body. The legs were then exposed,
though, and got really wet and cold, so I'm going to look for a pair
of waterproof pants to match the jacket. They remain lighter weight
and being waterproof and pretty much wind proof as well, will make it
easier to keep up the pace when we are out exercising in all kinds of
weather. So I'm choosing modern technology over old. I don't have
access to unscoured wool AKA "wool in the grease" to make a nearly
waterproof reproduction sweater, or I'd be tempted to try it out to
see how effective it is and how long it lasts in those conditions.
I'm wondering what wet sheep's wool in the grease smells like after
being repeatedly in those conditions, too.

Sitting at a keyboard in a cool office sometimes requires warmer clothing
than being active in colder conditions.

True, but I still think humidity contributes. If we have the swamp
cooler going at work when it starts to get hot, it feels colder than
AC at the same temp due to the dampness it puts out.

For windier, colder conditions, the sweater that I am current knitting
for
myself, is from yarn that weighs 930 yards per pound (almost worsted
weight)
knit on US # 1 needles for a gauge of 7.3 stitches per inch. The
swatches
look thin, but they sure block the breeze.

Sounds like a great sweater. Do you have any pics posted anywhere of
your sweaters?

Leah

In article ,
wrote:

Wet wool is heavy. And, wool with "grease" can be smelly when wet. (Wet
dogs and mules do not seem to mind, but everyone else seems to object.)

And, there is always that little problem of wet wool losing its strength.
(There was a period of extended rain in the Adirondacks when my wool pants
just sort of disintegrated.)

And after having been wet, synthetics are easier to wash, and they dry
faster.

But, wool has beauty and personality. A pair of handknit wool socks says
love in the way no mass produced sock ever could. Any handknit sweater is a
joy.

I just think that we should push wool to its limits.

Aaron


Go for it Aaron, and create your own great woolen sweaters, from hand spun
to hand knitted, Way to go.

Otto is agreeing with you about the hand knitted socks. His mother
knitted his sockswhen he was still at home, with a tight knitting hand.
After Otto's mother died (at 91), a friend's mother took over and she
knitted Otto's socks much looser. He loved the soft socks, but went
throught them like butter. Naturally, when I started to knit his socks
(only in the last 5 years,) mine are the best, and yes they are always
woolen socks, although I do cheat, knitting them from super wool. I have
allways felt about knitting socks, like I feel about growing my own
potatoes. Lots of work and the bugs are way ahead of me, by the time I
get to harvest them. The way Otto wears socks, it is faster and easier to
buy them. But, love.....won out, LOL, and his constandly telling me that
his mother could do it so much better.....LOL (clever man), put me on the
sock knitting trail. Yes I do a lot of re-knittting of the toes. My
price is that Otto shows all his socks to everyone telling them that I
knitted them for him. Funny twist to this story, is that Otto is very
very colour blind, so I knit him the wildest socks you can imagine. There
are great colourful sock wools on the market today, and I have lots of fun
with tham. Everyone is amazed that my conservative Otto is so wild in his
sock choices...LOL

Els

As i wrote before Aaron
I respect your work and research,
I have read many researches about such materails. I would advice you
to look at publications , by variousTextile Institutions, as well as
Nasa .. who researched many materials for use in Space travel etc.
I am now back into my own researchand my own art/craft making after
the exhibition. i have written my points of view. Have no intention,
nore the time to repeat any of my words.
Wensday i have a meeting with Art teachers from the North of the
country , in the Exhibition were 5 of mine take place, The subject i
was asked to talk about is "The Creative process that lead me to make
those work"...thus have to think if i take some added work.
On Saturday i have a Bus full of people in the other exhibtion [the
one i curated ' A Present for Eve & her daughters" , the subject there
is "Other Kinds of Art ". Over the years i deal with Students who
study for Masters degrees or Doctorates, [ in various categories
somehow related to Textile , Sociology of it or History ].
From Time to time , i get to speak to , or teach persons who for some
reason want to reconstruct some amcient or Antique technique. And it
is ok. This is the way we all particiapte in this wonderful world of
Textiles. I am very very lucky that i have so many opportunities to
see it from so many sides , other cultures , other periods , other
points of view.. I never stop to learn more to read more to hear more.

People change points of view and we all are better off when we can
freely say, this is my point of view , those are my findings, But also
respect Other points of view , other findings.. There are so many
researches done over the world. I am a great believer in the "Spirit
of the Time " = the Zeitgeist... if i thought about something , it is
VERY possible that Others thought about it as well ... And we all
contribute to the Common knowledge... Researching something is
wonderful , telling about it to others is wonderful, esp if those
others are interested. This isn`t a cult or a religion that you have
to try and PROOVE your findings at all costs. I trust you write to us
about YOUR findings, I also trust that there have been researches like
this before. Every research makes us richer in knowledge.
You have stated your point about the use of the term REAL , i have
explained to you my point of view, why and how i use the term REAL.
And i thought we could moove on to exploring other things.
Thus i don`t understand this repeated post. I am sorry that you feel
that you have to Hammer it into my mind like that. i have said i
UNDERSTAND that this is YOUR DEFFINITION of it.
Thank you for the effort you put into it.
mirjam

Els van Dam wrote:
In article ,
wrote:

Wet wool is heavy. And, wool with "grease" can be smelly when wet.
(Wet dogs and mules do not seem to mind, but everyone else seems to
object.)

And, there is always that little problem of wet wool losing its
strength. (There was a period of extended rain in the Adirondacks
when my wool pants just sort of disintegrated.)

And after having been wet, synthetics are easier to wash, and they
dry faster.

But, wool has beauty and personality. A pair of handknit wool socks
says love in the way no mass produced sock ever could. Any handknit
sweater is a joy.

I just think that we should push wool to its limits.

Aaron


Go for it Aaron, and create your own great woolen sweaters, from hand
spun to hand knitted, Way to go.

Otto is agreeing with you about the hand knitted socks. His mother
knitted his sockswhen he was still at home, with a tight knitting
hand. After Otto's mother died (at 91), a friend's mother took over
and she knitted Otto's socks much looser. He loved the soft socks,
but went throught them like butter. Naturally, when I started to
knit his socks (only in the last 5 years,) mine are the best, and yes
they are always woolen socks, although I do cheat, knitting them from
super wool. I have allways felt about knitting socks, like I feel
about growing my own potatoes. Lots of work and the bugs are way
ahead of me, by the time I get to harvest them. The way Otto wears
socks, it is faster and easier to buy them. But, love.....won out,
LOL, and his constandly telling me that his mother could do it so
much better.....LOL (clever man), put me on the sock knitting trail.
Yes I do a lot of re-knittting of the toes. My price is that Otto
shows all his socks to everyone telling them that I knitted them for
him. Funny twist to this story, is that Otto is very very colour
blind, so I knit him the wildest socks you can imagine. There are
great colourful sock wools on the market today, and I have lots of
fun with tham. Everyone is amazed that my conservative Otto is so
wild in his sock choices...LOL

LOL THat is funny, Els. Keith won't wear hand-knit socks, but he loves
hand-knit mittens - especially the "trigger finger" ones.

Higs,
Katherine