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So far we’ve been talking about what Elizabeth was doing . . . what avenues she was pursuing and how she was developing the channels she had for communicating to her readers, listeners, and viewers. In this episode, we look at the other side of that conversation — the response of those knitters who were reading, watching and knitting along with Elizabeth. It’s the fan mail episode, full of delightful examples from Dr. Lilly’s several weeks spent combing through the archives of Schoolhouse Press.

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• Amy Jumpsuit by Closet Core patterns (hack to dress)
• Glynn sweater
• “ted talk” by Jenny Zhang
• link to Distelfink hat pattern on Meghan’s website
• about Mulberry Hill Farm
• link to Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival vendors
• link to the Night Sky punchneedle kit and many other craft & knitting kits

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This episode centers on discussion of Elizabeth Zimmermann’s newsletters — how they evolved over time from a sales list to the biennial publication Wool Gathering; how they became a means for EZ to share knitting designs and variations in template form; and most importantly,  how the newsletters helped to make a growing knitting community visible to itself.  Dr. Lilly Marsh, engaging and entertaining as ever, shares evidence and details from her research.

Dr. Lilly has shared a slideshow of images featuring EZ’s published patterns. You can find a video of the slideshow on YouTube.

Comments are welcome!  You are invited to post your comment to this blog post.  You may also contact Dr. Lilly via her website, Lilly Marsh Studios.  Finally, there is a thread with lively chatter on the Yarns at Yin Hoo group on Ravelry.

The “Dear Knitter” salutation, as well as the long, narrow size produced on off-cuts of paper from a local printer, are evident in this photograph of Newsletter #2, Winter 1959.

Newsletter #12, which includes a steeked Aran V-neck pattern. Illustrations of the cables were hand-drawn by Elizabeth.

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• Birch Hollow Fibers
• McCalls’ M7969
• KnitSpinFarm self-striping sock yarn — seriously awesome!
• FreshAir interview with Scott Weidensaul
• “Why Animals Don’t Get Lost” by Kathryn Schulz
• Windchime by Tony Hoagland

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This episode is focused primarily on Zimmermann’s early work with industry and how she managed a parallel track between developing her own mail order yarn and design publication business with her increasingly critical work within industry spaces and practices.  Dr. Lilly Marsh shares some gems from her research, including excerpts from local newspaper articles, and snippets from “the lost document” that reveal her deepest desires for fostering a knitting community.

Dr. Lilly has shared a slideshow of images featuring EZ’s published patterns. You can find a video of the slideshow on YouTube.

Comments are welcome!  You are invited to post your comment to this blog post.  You may also contact Dr. Lilly via her website, Lilly Marsh Studios.  Finally, there is a thread with lively chatter on the Yarns at Yin Hoo group on Ravelry.

Image of a passage copied (1977) in EZ’s handwriting, from Hundreds and Thousands (1966) by Canadian artist Emily Carr. Near the close of this episode, Dr. Lilly provides a wider context for this passage, based on her wider reading of the text.

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In this episode, I catch you up on my recent projects.  There’s lots of sewing, including this darling clothespin bag, a dress with voluminous sleeves, and more mending for Mom.  I’ve begun knitting a cowl in spring colors with yarn from Robin of Birch Hollow Fibers, and I have some poems that are perfect for spring, plus a new-to-me recipe that I encourage you to try!

I was so lucky that Mary Jeanne Packer introduced me to Robin at Vogue Knitting NYC.  Robin’s Sojourner Sock is spun at Battenkill Fiber Mill–speaking of which–did you know the Washington County Fiber Tour is ON?  Check it out!

Join in the fun as we knit the Baby Surprise Jacket designed by Elizabeth Zimmermann.  This KAL will continue through all eight parts of my conversation with Dr. Lilly Marsh.  All details for the KAL and the 8-part series can be found on this Ravelry thread.

My sock knitting is on pause at the moment while I work on this cowl for spring.  I’m alternating beautiful colors dyed by Robin of Birch Hollow Fibers.  There’s also a bit of yarn from Liesl of Buckaloo View in there too.

More sewing and stitching in the works.  I have another pair of Mom’s well-worn jeans to mend, and I’ve cut the fabric for View A of McCall’s M7969.

• Absurdly Addictive Asparagus

• Ruth Moose “Laundry“
• Thomas Carper “Laundry at Night“
• Naomi Shihab Nye “I Still Have Everything You Gave Me“