Arctic Lace

Today I have a special treat! Almost two years ago I first came in contact with Donna Druchunas' work through the book The Knitted Rug. This was one of the first books knitting books that I added to my collection that specifically focused on knitted items that were not garments. I loved the fact that Donna took relatively simple techniques and used them to create interesting, clever and functional decorations for a home -- and encouraged other knitters to use them as a jumping off point for their own imaginations. In fact, I completed one of the patterns from this book not too long ago: the Handspun Spiral Rug -- a project that I loved to see come together, even if I still cannot bear to put it on my floor.

At the same time, I was struck by Donna's last name. You see, if you see a last name with an 'as' or 'is' ending, it can almost only be either Greek or Lithuanian. I'm third generation Lithuanian, so, of course, when Donna left a comment on my blog while I was working on the rug, I just had to email her back to ask her a few questions about the rug book and ask her about her last name. Lo and behold, I'd found another Lithuanian knitter.

So it's a real pleasure for me to participate in Donna's book blog tour for her latest book, Arctic Lace. Donna and her husband Dominic (who took all the pictures for the book, and the pictures shown here on my blog today) headed off to Alaska to find out more about qiviut and how lace knitting and the Oomingmak Co-Operative got started. The book is special because it is part travel log, part history, part technique guide, and, like the Knitted Rug, a contains a healthy dose of encouragement to go off and try your own things.

Donna and Dominic in Alaska

TW: Clearly this book is part introduction to lace knitting and Alaskan lace knitting forms and part fiber adventure. What do you hope people reading the book will take away from it?

DD: I'd like people to take away the simple idea that lace knitting is not hard! If you can knit, you can knit lace. Sure it takes more concentration than garter stitch, but it's not rocket science.

In addition, I'd like to instill some knowledge and appreciation of Yup'ik and Inupiat culture, especially regarding respect for the environment and making decisions that are not short sighted, but that consider the impact on future generations.

Unalakleet in Spring

One of the things that Donna explains in the book is that each village or town usually ends up with a particular lace pattern that gets worked into the garments that they produced. Most of these patterns are based on traditional elements from Yup'ik and Inupiat art and embellished items.

TW: How were the signature patterns developed for the villages? Did the knitters in the villages participate in the designs with the Oomingmak co-op founders?

DD: The first lace designs were created by Helen Howard, Ann Schell, and Dorothy Reade. They worked together to develop the stitches and patterns for the co-op to use. After that, different knitters contributed designs. Some of the designs on the Oomingmak co-op website list the names of the designers. Most of the knitters, however, are working in the co-op knitting to make money, and they are basically production knitters. They may make different projects over time (scarves, hats, headbands, lace, colorwork), but they are really doing this to make money, so they like to memorize the patterns to improve their knitting speed. The design process is totally separate from the production knitting part of the business.

Donna Meets a Musk Ox

TW: What was it like to be close to the musk oxen?

DD: It was like being in Jurassic Park, only a little less scary. Because I was at the Musk Ox Farm, the animals were fenced (well, so were the dinos in Jurassic Park), and they also had the tips of their horns trimmed. Although they are still strong and muscular beasts, they don't pose a threat to tourists. The animals that have been hand raised are quite docile and will come up to the fence to get a treat from the familiar farm hands. The animals that have come from other places, such as zoos, are more timid and tend to keep their distance.

When I was at the farm, I got to stick my hand into the fur of one of the animals. Oh my! It was cold and damp out that day, and I was wearing a coat and hat. But inside the animal's fur, with my hand in the qiviut underneath the long guard hairs, it was as warm and dry as sitting in front of a fire. I was completely amazed. It's one thing to read about the great insulation of the musk ox coat, it's quite another thing to actually feel the warmth.

Spinning Qiviut

TW: Do you spin? If so, have you spun qiviut? What tips would you offere someone who wanted to try spinning this fiber to create a special yarn for a project of their own? What are the best fibers to blend with qiviut if you want to make your fiber go a little farther or want a yarn that is a little less insulating?

DD: I do spin, but I've only spun a tiny bit of qiviut. When I was in Alaska, I found an ounce of raw qiviut that was selling for $30. It is full of guard hair and flecks of skin or dander, but it is otherwise quite clean. And qiviut has no grease. So I started spinning it on a tiny drop spindle. It spun up beautifully into a fine, lace-weight yarn. But in the end, I decided to keep my qiviut fiber for show and tell at workshops, and I haven't done any more spinning with it.

Qiviut also blooms after washing, and develops a fuzzy halo that resembles mohair but is much softer. I have heard some people say that qiviut pills, but I've seen samples at the co-op store that are quite old and that have been handled by customers for a long time. They had a very pronounced furry halo, but no pills.

TW: How did you decide what kinds of projects to put in the book?

DD: There were two main considerations. First, I wanted to make projects that were reminiscent of the Co-op's designs. Second, I wanted to include a lot of small projects because qiviut is quite expensive and I knew that many knitters would not be able to afford 6 or 8 skeins to knit a vest or shawl.

TW: Given the insulating nature of qiviut, how did you identify good working gauges for your projects? One of the things I think is challenging about lace is to create something that shows off the open work, but is substantial enough to still create some warmth. But I would imagine with qiviut which has such a high insulation factor, that you also have to deal with the opposite issue: how to keep the garment from being too warm to be comfortable?

DD: Because it blooms when washed and the solid St st areas fill in with the halo, qiviut can be worked at a fairly loose gauge for lace. I preferred to work my projects at a slightly tighter gauge than some qiviut designers, because I wanted the lace patterning to stand out strongly against the solid background. My lace designs, like the co-op's were made with very strong geometric shapes that are outlined with yarn overs. The design is further emphasized by the placement and direction of the decreases, and by using twisted stitches to create very straight outlines around the shapes. This helps make the lace pattern stand out more against the background. Not all lace is designed this way, so if you want to use other stitches with qiviut, definitely make a swatch first.

The important thing is to make sure that your stitches are neat and tidy looking. If they are loose and sloppy, it spoils the texture of the fabric and might not even out when you block the item, again because qiviut does not have that forgiving texture of wool.

If you want to read more of the interviews from Donna's blog tour, or find out about the knit-a-long for Arctic Lace, you can check out her website Sheep To Shawl