There is a knitting reference here; however, it will be a short journey before we get to it. Pittsville, Wisconsin for those who are relatively well versed in who's who in knitting is a legendary place. It is located in the middle of farm country in the middle of Wisconsin and boasts a population of 869 people in 2013. The closest major city to Pittsville is Minneapolis, Minnesota and it is a nearly congestion-free four hour drive to get there.
Two knitting legends are from this rather nondescript place, Elizabeth Zimmermann and Meg Swansen. Both have headed up Schoolhouse Press and created a knitting dynasty in this remote part of a rural state.
I wrote about Elizabeth Zimmerman (EZ) here nearly three years ago. Her contributions to knitting were numerous, including the reintroduction of continental knitting to the U.S., using patterns that are knit in a tube, then steeked apart to create a sweater and most importantly, using basic knitting knowledge to design knitwear without patterns. EZ did not like what a major magazine did to one of her patterns so she started Schoolhouse Press in 1974 in Pittsville to insure her patterns were printed the way she intended them to appear. EZ and her daughter, Meg Swansen, published, designed and knit together and when Elizabeth passed Meg took over the enterprise.
This spring in Minneapolis at a knitting conference called, Yarnover, I heard Meg Swansen speak about her life. At 72 she had a good deal to share about growing up with EZ, learning to knit and design from her mother and carrying on EZ's knitting camps (more about this in a minute). Meg spoke about her studying abroad as a young adult, going to Iceland with an Icelandic classmate during a holiday break and falling in love with the wool from the Lopi sheep.
Take a look at the photo below. The staple length of this sheep's wool is very long. Because there are long overcoat staples and shorter undercoat staples the two lengths are simply carded together and not spun. This unspun wool is delicate and allows a knitter many choices in how to use it.
Meg encouraged her mother to become the first distributor of this wool in the U.S. adding a new focus in design for the duo including the Lopapeysa or Icelandic sweater. But the most intriguing part for me was how generous Meg Swansen was during the hour she spoke. She referred to designs knit up by audience members, had them come on stage for an impromptu modeling session and found something to praise in each knitter's work. She had the 150 or so participants hanging on to her every word because she was so genuine and from my POV so Wisconsin-like.
Schoolhouse Press runs knitting camps in Marshfield, Wisconsin (17 miles from Pittsville) each summer, with 2016 marking the 43rd year for the event. The camp is now held in a hotel a change from when EZ held her camps in the woods near Pittsville. The camp runs for four days and includes lectures from Meg Swansen and her assistants, Joyce Williams and Amy Detjen (both knitting juggernauts in their own right). In addition there is plenty of time for show and tell, answering of knitting questions, practicing new skills and socializing with fellow knitters from near and far. This camp, however, remains a little known destination in the knitting world. Marshfield is remote and has a population under 20,000. One will struggle to find great night life there or meals that don't include red meat and potatoes. The lack of distractions; however, leads to a concentration on knitting and I can't wait to attend.
My Minnesota knit buddy, Susan, and I plan to apply for one of the knitting camps in 2017. I missed my opportunity to study with EZ and have no intentions of missing out in studying with her daughter. And I will get to explore a part of my home state that so far I have overlooked. Pittsville - Marshfield, here I come.
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| Pittsville is the black circle south of 29, east of 94 and west of 39. |
I wrote about Elizabeth Zimmerman (EZ) here nearly three years ago. Her contributions to knitting were numerous, including the reintroduction of continental knitting to the U.S., using patterns that are knit in a tube, then steeked apart to create a sweater and most importantly, using basic knitting knowledge to design knitwear without patterns. EZ did not like what a major magazine did to one of her patterns so she started Schoolhouse Press in 1974 in Pittsville to insure her patterns were printed the way she intended them to appear. EZ and her daughter, Meg Swansen, published, designed and knit together and when Elizabeth passed Meg took over the enterprise.
This spring in Minneapolis at a knitting conference called, Yarnover, I heard Meg Swansen speak about her life. At 72 she had a good deal to share about growing up with EZ, learning to knit and design from her mother and carrying on EZ's knitting camps (more about this in a minute). Meg spoke about her studying abroad as a young adult, going to Iceland with an Icelandic classmate during a holiday break and falling in love with the wool from the Lopi sheep.
Take a look at the photo below. The staple length of this sheep's wool is very long. Because there are long overcoat staples and shorter undercoat staples the two lengths are simply carded together and not spun. This unspun wool is delicate and allows a knitter many choices in how to use it.
Meg encouraged her mother to become the first distributor of this wool in the U.S. adding a new focus in design for the duo including the Lopapeysa or Icelandic sweater. But the most intriguing part for me was how generous Meg Swansen was during the hour she spoke. She referred to designs knit up by audience members, had them come on stage for an impromptu modeling session and found something to praise in each knitter's work. She had the 150 or so participants hanging on to her every word because she was so genuine and from my POV so Wisconsin-like.
Schoolhouse Press runs knitting camps in Marshfield, Wisconsin (17 miles from Pittsville) each summer, with 2016 marking the 43rd year for the event. The camp is now held in a hotel a change from when EZ held her camps in the woods near Pittsville. The camp runs for four days and includes lectures from Meg Swansen and her assistants, Joyce Williams and Amy Detjen (both knitting juggernauts in their own right). In addition there is plenty of time for show and tell, answering of knitting questions, practicing new skills and socializing with fellow knitters from near and far. This camp, however, remains a little known destination in the knitting world. Marshfield is remote and has a population under 20,000. One will struggle to find great night life there or meals that don't include red meat and potatoes. The lack of distractions; however, leads to a concentration on knitting and I can't wait to attend.
My Minnesota knit buddy, Susan, and I plan to apply for one of the knitting camps in 2017. I missed my opportunity to study with EZ and have no intentions of missing out in studying with her daughter. And I will get to explore a part of my home state that so far I have overlooked. Pittsville - Marshfield, here I come.
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