Back home for a spell

Well, the first leg of my workshop tour is over. I’ve taught in Providence, Northampton and NYC, and got to take a well-timed break today before heading back to my day job tomorrow. Next weekend is free of workshops, but then the whole rest of the month of March is just packed with them. I’ll be teaching two intro-level workshops at Mind’s Eye on March 3rd and 17th, an advanced two-color workshop at Mind’s Eye on the 4th and an advanced three-color on the 18th. On the 24th and 25th I’ll be teaching intro and advanced workshops at Gather Here. Mind’s Eye is now taking registrations; Gather Here doesn’t have it up on the website yet but will probably take registrations in the shop. Go sign up if you’re in the Boston area and want to learn some double-knitting, or hone your existing knowledge with an advanced workshop.

What about the other weekend? Well, I’ll be at FiberCamp Boston, of course. March 9-11, we’ll be getting together and un-conferencing at MIT. I’ll be working the registration table and teaching whenever I can get a slot. It’ll be great fun, so come and check it out. We’ve had a good time the past couple of years and if you missed it, don’t miss it this time. Tickets are still on sale and we’ve now got a single-day ticket for those who can only make it for one day.

Now that I’ve got the self-promotion out of the way, I’ve got a favor to ask of you. When I was in Northampton teaching at WEBS, I went out for dinner at the fantastic India House restaurant. The wait for a table was long, but while I was standing in line I noticed a woman a few groups back wearing this amazing sweater with colorwork unlike anything I’ve ever seen. I finally got up the courage to ask if I could take a picture of her sleeve. It was an awkward moment and while she did graciously let me take a photo, I didn’t get more info out of her about the sweater. It looks handknit, but I could tell from overheard snippets of conversation that it was not she who had knit it. The photo was bad because some kind of filter got turned on by mistake, but I got enough out of it to chart the pattern when I got back to my hotel.

Now I’m aware I’m obsessing, but I’ve asked dozens of people and nobody has seen a color chart quite like it. It’s an all-over pattern — the whole sweater was covered — in white on black. I intend to do some double-knitting based on a similar design but I’d really like to know where on earth (literally) this comes from, and whether there’s anything else like it. People seem to think it looks North African, Middle Eastern, or possibly Lithuanian or Latvian. But nowhere in my copious number of chart books have I found anything even similar. So I wonder whether you’ve seen it before? Do you know the pattern it came from? Do you know the nationality of this type of design? Let me know in the comments, and if you’re the one who can give me a definite answer with proof, I’ve got a special gift for you.

5 thoughts on “Back home for a spell”

  1. nothing definite with proof yet, but it looks very Scandinavian to me. It has a lot in common with the Selbu designs from Norway, at least. (I’m still looking. If Scandinavia is a wild goose chase, I’ll let you know.)

  2. I thought Norwegian originally simply because of the white on black … but after going through the vast catalog of patterns on the Dale of Norway Ravelry group, I couldn’t find anything even similar, so I assumed I was barking up the wrong tree. Let me know if you find anything.

  3. Have you explored the possibility that this design is an image taken from the Greek Orthodox Church? It looks like a design that would be found in one of their churches. If you google “Greek Orthodox Church”, many links come up. Perhaps if you sent the image to one of the church “contact us” links, someone might recognize it.

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