Coast Salish Colourwork Class

I took a class on Friday with Sylvia Olsen. This is what I said about her when Tena and I first saw her at Knit City in October 2012:

We also spent time talking to Sylvia Olsen a writer, storyteller and knitter of the Cowichan sweater, a style of knitting developed by the Coast Salish. Her book, Working with Wool, documents how Coast Salish knitters developed their style of knitting almost 100 years ago, a style that turned into a world famous sweater and industry that made and saved their lives.

I was so impressed with Sylvia's knowledge about the Coast Salish and the Cowichan style of knitting that when I saw a class would be taught by her in Mt. Vernon, Washington I knew I had to take it. To be clear it is a class about colourwork knitting, but the Coast Salish do not use floats in this enterprise, rather each stitch is locked in place so that the reverse side (wrong side) offers a similar image to the right side. You might be thinking, well how hard can this be to learn, do you really need a class? And the answer is YES, I did.

Although I have been doing colourwork the right way for a short time, I have developed a skill in doing it. Learning a new way to do this meant I had to let go of those previously learned techniques and in my case, let my intuition show me the way. And yes it did take me three hours to do it as well.

That's me just under the white outlet at the back and Sylvia is standing, with one of her designs closest to the camera. (Photo from the Wild Fiber Facebook page)

The best part of the class is the stories Sylvia could tell about how she as a non-First Nations person learned to knit this way, how she opened a store to sell Cowichan sweaters for the women who knit them and what this work of knitting meant to these women and their families. Hers is another story of how First Nations women adapted their weaving skills to incorporate wool and knitting from the Europeans and developed a new style. It is very much like the story out of Bolivia a few days ago. Traditional skills adapted for a new market.

Sylvia is soon planning a trip across Canada to teach this technique, one that now only a few people know, because like so many traditional skills from the past, it has been lost on the younger generations. She and her family are writing about these skills and developing training and kits to bring it into the 21st century. She also has a new book out Knitting Stories: Personal Essays and Seven Coast Salish-inspired Knitting Patterns. These new patterns use DK weight yarn instead of the chunky/bulky traditional yarn and allow for more refined designs. You can get more information about Sylvia Olsen and her books here. You will find she not only writes about knitting but also about First Nations, as well as books for teenagers.

I have to say the class was moving and well worth the trip out of the Lower Mainland. Oh, and what did we make? This ~~~

The finished toque done in Coast Salish - inspired colour work style

The inside, generally float free. I am still learning, the top is better as the skill improved

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