Mary Jane

I had a great trip to Boston on the bus. From Portland I shared a seat with Wendy Hebb, a documentary filmmaker who lives in Damariscotta. She and her partner Michael Richard are working on a film about the rise of sustainable agriculture in America.

“Back to the Garden is as much about the “culture” in agriculture as it is about growing wholesome food. Interviewing farmers, chefs, activists, scientists, and writers around the country has made us aware of the new and important relationships between organic farmers and their land, animals, neighbors, and patrons. Their work and insights shape the heart and soul of sustainable farming and are increasingly becoming the building blocks of profoundly robust communities. In this vein, farmers’ markets have been called the new “town squares” because neighbors stop to chat, politics and local issues are traded along with produce and recipes, and a feeling reins that, at least on market day, we are all in this together.”

Not only a filmmaker, Wendy is also the Conference Coordinator for The Kneading Conference, a summer event in Skowhegan Maine, which :

” brings together farmers, novice and professional bakers, and earth oven enthusiasts to explore the art and science of growing and milling grains and baking artisan breads. The purpose is to revive the practice of locally cultivated whole grain bread, from seed to loaf.”

July 29 & 30 the with a free “Bread Fair” on the 31st.

On the flight I had a window seat, slept most of the time, but woke up in time for our stunning approach to Miami, zooming over the beaches and glittering skyscrapers, like the intro to CSIMiami. We made it in record time, a half and hour early.

Mom wasn’t so lucky, her flight delayed for an hour due to “technical difficulties” the thing we hate most. In Miami it was hard to find out any information regarding Arrivals, until I exited to the ugly baggage claim area, brightly lit with screeching florescent lighting. I sat out the 2 hour wait here, venturing out so I could take a picture of palm trees in the dog walking area, between parking lot hell.

Hello hello, back in action, though the action is a little frantic. All my promised fill-in posts are not to be…I’m embarking on an Andean Adventure this week! Peru.

My mom, who is the most wonderful person ever, is taking us both on a dream vacation that features each of our favorite things: Archeology and Textiles. Our group leader is none other than my hero, intrepid traveler and author of “Andean Folk Knitting: Traditions and Techniques from Peru and Bolivia”– Cynthia LeCount Samaké.

I hope to offer regular posts of our adventures, so I’ve been scrambling to get all my broken appliances fixed, camera cleaned, electrical adapters located, and not least of all, deciding what knitting to bring.

I’ve sent a little treat to those of you who have been kind enough to take the time to register here at my website, my new Andean Mitts pattern shown above and available in my shop. They are light, lofty and so soft – just the thing to keep your hands warm during the early spring when there is still a nip in the air. Inspired by images of traditional woven Andean textiles, but with crazy colors! They would be rather elegant in neutrals, so you might just try that.

The details:

Andean Mitts

Finished Size Small 6”[15cm]circumference, Medium 6.75” [17cm] circumference, Large 8” [20cm] circumference. Length all sizes 8” [20cm].

Yarn Shown in Classic Elite Inca Alpaca (100% Alpaca, 50g/109yds [100m])
Orange (1183 – Oriole), Red (1151 – Tulip), Green (1111 – Peridot), Blue (1125 – Aqua Spray), Fuchsia (1163 – Morning Glory); I skein each.

I haven’t tried these but they might be nice:

Knit Pics Andean Silk (55% Super Fine Alpaca, 23% Silk, 22% Merino Wool;50 g/96 yards [87m]) I’d choose Orange (Allspice), Red (Cranberry), Green (Lettuce), Blue (Merlin), Fuchsia (Sangria)

Berrocco Ultra Alpaca (50% Super Fine Alpaca,50% Peruvian Wool; 100 g/ 215 yds [198 m]) Orange (6363 Carrots), Red (6234 Cardinal), Green (6262 Snap Pea), Blue (6294 Turquoise Mix, or I like 6260 Royal), Fuschia (6235 Fuchsia)

Approximate yardage: MC Orange or Red [48m], CC1Red or Orange [30m], CC2 Green [20m], CC3 Blue [20m], CC4 Fuschia [13m]

Needles US7 [4.5 mm] 1 set double-pointed (dpn) US7 [4.5 mm] Adjust needle size if necessary to obtain the correct gauge. If you tend to knit your ribbing loosely, you may want to use a needle one size down for that.
Notions stitch marker (m); tapestry needle, 12”[ cm] waste yarn for afterthought thumb.

Gauge 24 sts and 22 rnds = 4” [10cm] in Colorwork pattern.

• • •

Thanks everyone – see you south of the Equator!

PS-I’ve heard from one friend who registered but didn’t get on the free pattern list, if there are others of you out there, please email me (maryjane(at)maryjanemucklestone.com) and I’ll send you your copy. Let me extend that, if you register before Friday when I leave, I’ll send you a free one too. Now the lost one was in the caverns of WordPress, I’m not sure how she slipped through…

My weeks have been jam-packed with lively events. I celebrated my birthday in New York City during the Snowicanne where I met American hero Daniel Ellsberg…and visited the yarn shop Knitty City. I taught a fun Norwegian Sock Class at the charming Fibre Space in Alexandria Virginia, where with a lovely group of knitters, we knit socks, dined on delicious Norwegian fare and watched the Canada-US Olympic hockey game. Tuesday, I enjoyed a most inspiring visit to the archives of The Textile Museum where scholar Ann Rowe kindly showed me their mind-blowing collection of Andean Knitting.

That’s three posts at the very least! And what about the Ravelympics? I medaled in Nordic Colorwork Combined.

But my laptop broke. Ugh. It will be fixed on Monday, but it won’t be till I return to Maine that I can re-install all my favorite programs that allow me to do the things I like to do, and post the stories I’d like to.  I’m lucky to be able to borrow a friend’s “retired” laptop, however it has so many aggravating quirks that I limit my time using it, least I become bald from hair-pulling.

I offer you a glimpse of Michele’s darling Swan Sock above. I provide students with a bunch of charted patterns that they can pick and choose from if they want to try their hand at designing their own socks. I also offer a complete sock pattern designed for the class. But more on that later, when my laptop is back in action!