Fishermen Knitting Faster

For anyone that is interested in knitting fishermen faster, see my blog at
http://gansey.blogspot.com/.
Better knitting through better tools!

Aaron

(Last night, my wife reminded me that her mother knitted 4 or 5 children's
sweaters a year and only owned 3 pairs of knitting needles in the12 years
that she knitted for her kids.)

wrote:
For anyone that is interested in knitting fishermen faster, see my blog at
http://gansey.blogspot.com/.
Better knitting through better tools!

Aaron

(Last night, my wife reminded me that her mother knitted 4 or 5 children's
sweaters a year and only owned 3 pairs of knitting needles in the12 years
that she knitted for her kids.)

Hi Aaron,

Thanks, I've enjoyed your blog and would never have thought of the
apron. My Mom was like your MIL, only had a very few pairs of knitting
needles. Now, I have some of all sizes, but all straight ones, don't
like dpn's or circulars. In fact one of these days I'll have to go
through them since I don't knit that much now and see if I can find a
good home for the extras.

Hugs,

Nora

wrote in message
. com...
For anyone that is interested in knitting fishermen faster, see my blog at
http://gansey.blogspot.com/.
Better knitting through better tools!

Aaron

(Last night, my wife reminded me that her mother knitted 4 or 5
children's
sweaters a year and only owned 3 pairs of knitting needles in the12 years
that she knitted for her kids.)

Why re-invent the wheel?
http://www.manorhouse.clara.net/knitwear/woolkits.htm
stocks a full line of traditional 5 ply gansey wool, and the steel double
point needles with which to knit a gansey.
I knitted a gansey with Wendy 5 ply, just be careful not to stretch the yarn
to much, it lacks the elasticity to spring back into the proper shape. If
you look at pictures in the printed matter relating to ganseys, you will
notice that the sleeves and ribbing are not close fitting.
DA

In article ,
DA wrote:
wrote in message
.com...
For anyone that is interested in knitting fishermen faster, see my blog at
http://gansey.blogspot.com/.
Better knitting through better tools!

Why re-invent the wheel?

Because it's more fun?

=Tamar

How about teaching some local kids to knit and giving them a starter stash?
I would ask at the local school, "Anyone want to learn to knit?"

Aaron
"norabalcer" wrote in message
ups.com...

wrote:
For anyone that is interested in knitting fishermen faster, see my blog
at
http://gansey.blogspot.com/.
Better knitting through better tools!

Aaron

(Last night, my wife reminded me that her mother knitted 4 or 5
children's
sweaters a year and only owned 3 pairs of knitting needles in the12
years
that she knitted for her kids.)

Hi Aaron,

Thanks, I've enjoyed your blog and would never have thought of the
apron. My Mom was like your MIL, only had a very few pairs of knitting
needles. Now, I have some of all sizes, but all straight ones, don't
like dpn's or circulars. In fact one of these days I'll have to go
through them since I don't knit that much now and see if I can find a
good home for the extras.

Hugs,

Nora

"norabalcer" wrote in message
ups.com...

wrote:
For anyone that is interested in knitting fishermen faster, see my blog
at
http://gansey.blogspot.com/.
Better knitting through better tools!

Aaron

(Last night, my wife reminded me that her mother knitted 4 or 5
children's
sweaters a year and only owned 3 pairs of knitting needles in the12
years
that she knitted for her kids.)

Hi Aaron,

Thanks, I've enjoyed your blog and would never have thought of the
apron. My Mom was like your MIL, only had a very few pairs of knitting
needles. Now, I have some of all sizes, but all straight ones, don't
like dpn's or circulars. In fact one of these days I'll have to go
through them since I don't knit that much now and see if I can find a
good home for the extras.

Hugs,

Nora

PERK~~
extras?????
whatchoogot, Nora?
First dibbs!!!!
Hugs,
Noreen

Hi Aaron,

Oh, the local senior center has received some size 8's and 9's that
they use to teach the kids in the school next door.

Hugs,

Nora

I am not "reinventing the wheel", I am restoring an old wheel.

Sure, Manorhouse offers 16" needles. For my current project, 12" needles are
long enough, and ever so much easier and faster to work. It took me an hour
to make the shorter needles (and $2 in materials). In the course of this one
project, the shorter needles will save me hours and hours of work and
frustration. Then, I am going to knit a similar gansey for my wife. I only
learned the advantages of the shorter needles by trying longer needles and
then trying shorter needles. If I only had the long Manorhouse needles,
then in the course of these two projects, I would waste days! And, days
wasted are the difference between FOs and UFOs! If a really fat person wants
a gansey, I still have that set of 18" needles that will hold a round of 500
stitches. Talk about wasted days! Better to spend a few days talking the
fat one into losing weight!

I tried different shaped tips. And, it turns out that different shaped tips
have advantages for different yarns. It was very traditional, for knitters
to regrind the tips of their knitting needles on a regular basis. Now, I
have more understanding of the how and WHY. I am not reinventing, I am
understanding tradition, and writing it down. Since much of this is
experimental, I am putting some of my work up for peer review.

The colors of the Manorhouse yarns are close to boring. Yarns by other
suppliers have wonderful colors, but may be a slightly different weight that
will require a different needle size to produce a traditional gansey fabric.
I merely remind friends that is possible to inexpensively make knitters
tools, and that for some projects, those inexpensive homemade tools will be
better than expensive commercial products.

I also try to remember the advantages of modern commercial products. For
example, circular needles are much safer. You could not stand on a crowded
train and knit with my 12" steel needles. I am not sure that I would even
use those needles in any environment where there were small kids. And, in a
damp fisherman's cottage, the rust problem would be huge. I really admire
those mothers knitting for their fishermen.

Aaron


"DA" wrote in message
...
wrote in message
. com...
For anyone that is interested in knitting fishermen faster, see my blog
at
http://gansey.blogspot.com/.
Better knitting through better tools!

Aaron

(Last night, my wife reminded me that her mother knitted 4 or 5
children's
sweaters a year and only owned 3 pairs of knitting needles in the12
years
that she knitted for her kids.)

Why re-invent the wheel?
http://www.manorhouse.clara.net/knitwear/woolkits.htm
stocks a full line of traditional 5 ply gansey wool, and the steel double
point needles with which to knit a gansey.
I knitted a gansey with Wendy 5 ply, just be careful not to stretch the
yarn
to much, it lacks the elasticity to spring back into the proper shape. If
you look at pictures in the printed matter relating to ganseys, you will
notice that the sleeves and ribbing are not close fitting.
DA

The colors of the Manorhouse yarns are close to boring. Yarns by other
suppliers have wonderful colors, but may be a slightly different weight
that
will require a different needle size to produce a traditional gansey
fabric.
I merely remind friends that is possible to inexpensively make knitters
tools, and that for some projects, those inexpensive homemade tools will
be
better than expensive commercial products.

5 ply is traditional gansey yarn. The yarn from Manorhouse is spun from
sheep found in Yorkshire, and the colors they offer are traditional colors.
The lifesaving museum in Portsmout,UK has a wonderful collection of orginal
ganseys.
DA

The Yorshire 5-ply was serviceable and inexpensive. It really was a great
value. It was the right weight for a garment to wear every day. Yorshire
5-ply became commercially dominate -- therefore traditional. The colors
offered today, are from the inexpensive synthetic dyes developed after 1870.
These colors dominated because fishermen's wives are ever so thrifty.
However, that does not make the ganseys knit for the various fishing fleets
any less traditional, when those ganseys were knit from wool grown near the
fleet's home and/or home-spun, and/or home-dyed with vegetable colors.

And, if those fishing fleets could use other wools to produce a traditional
gansey, than I can do the same. I am going to put scores of hours into
knittng a traditional gansey. Do I pick a yarn that is traditional because
it was serviceable, inexpensive, and fishermen's wives were thrifty? What if
that yarn is no longer inexpensive? High cost destroys the very reason that
the yarn was traditional! Or, do I pick a yarn that I really like? When we
were in GB, I touched and felt theYorkshire wools, but never bought any.

I am glad to know about the gansey collection at Portsmout.

Aaron

"DA" wrote in message
...

The colors of the Manorhouse yarns are close to boring. Yarns by other
suppliers have wonderful colors, but may be a slightly different weight
that
will require a different needle size to produce a traditional gansey
fabric.
I merely remind friends that is possible to inexpensively make knitters
tools, and that for some projects, those inexpensive homemade tools will
be
better than expensive commercial products.

5 ply is traditional gansey yarn. The yarn from Manorhouse is spun from
sheep found in Yorkshire, and the colors they offer are traditional
colors.
The lifesaving museum in Portsmout,UK has a wonderful collection of
orginal
ganseys.
DA