sweater – tracey doxey

Size inclusive

For the last couple of weeks, I have had some very hurtful, negative, comments about my latest knitting design, from women on social media and in groups – often with multiple exclamation marks about their oppinion about my Kaleidoscope pattern not being size inclusive.

My design was made for me, lovingly and creatively. It took 4 months to knit and design and write, alter, chart, photograph, teach the test knitter and promote the pattern. I put the pattern out honestly, with care and great attention to detail yet I have been constantly hammered about the pattern not being size inclusive because it’s one size up to 44 chest.

To make it every size in this pattern, would be a completely new pattern for each size and a test knit also. It is made up of 44 stitch repeat so to make it work, it would either go up or down in increments of 44 stitches which affects the alignment, where the V neck sits, the exgtra decreases on the armpits and shoulders and then the size of the sleeve would alter each time to fit. This is not just a quick adjustment, each size would be a completely new pattern and test knit. Size inclusive is not a law. It is a design choice if that cannot happen. It would take 18 months to write 4 patterns and do 4 test knits.

But my pattern is just one person’s creative vision – Mine. It is, however, inclusive for boys and my friend shows that in the photo taken this afternoon. It’s a beautiful knit and I’m stopped all the time when I wear it – A little like, ‘that’s a nice puppy’, kinda stopping to stroke and touch.

The negative comments and exclamation marks that I have received this past two weeks have not knocked my confidence in this piece but has made me want to stop sharing, stop teaching online colour work skills and stop designing – so, I put a notice to reflec this on a Stranded Knits facebook group and we broke facebook posts in 10 minutes with over 100 positive comments (just one little snidey comment)

The post that I put on the Facebook group this afternoon re balanced me. The women were supportive and really understood how social media forums are a space for anyone to say anything they like but would not say in a conversation face to face. They were all calm and helpful because I said that I would not answer any negative comments. It went wild. Over 60 positive comments and my responses in about 10 minutes until FB stopped after the 100th.

here are a few of the comments:-

1 Size inclusivity really matters. But as someone who advocates for consumer rights, I find it’s most productive to focus our advocacy on major brands and big-name designers. People may not understand that for indie designers, scaling up complex patterns like this is indeed similar to writing a new pattern in each size—meaning it’s just not feasible. I’m sorry that as an indie designer with just a couple jumper patterns available, you’ve been caught up in these dynamics—but I hope you also understand the advocates’ perspectives and feelings. It’s such a challenging systemic issue.

2 I find that designing sweaters and publishing good patterns is just not worth my time. The return (number of patterns sold) vs. the investment (knit first test, find and supervise test knitters, write pattern, revise pattern, photograph item) is just not workable. Socks are a better return for me as far as writing patterns. I knit sweaters for myself (size 3X) or my loved ones occasionally.

I agree. The wool for me and the test knitter was £200 to cover everything that’s without all the hundreds and hundreds of hours

3 It gets a bit exhausting when the dreamer gets questioned on why wasn’t it the dream for everyone?

I get for plain patterns why some get ouchy that it’s not in many sizes, but for cable work, stranded work: it’s a lot of math and a lot of testing and even then is NOT a guarantee that your construction “works” on a body, even if it matches the inches. Hang and drape and look are very subjective. And then you, the designer, is who gets yelled at because they did make it in size 84” and they spent “a lot of time and a lot of money on this amount of yarn” and then the sleeve didn’t set right “on them”.

People as a whole: if ANY knit pattern doesn’t suit YOU, just edit it. Tinker with it. Frog it and start again. And by the time you’ve redone your sweater five times to make it work “for you” realize the designer would’ve had to do “that” a million fold, if they wanted to make the pattern include every conceivable body. You’re basically expecting a masterclass in custom knitting fitting, for an $8 pattern.

In all, there were too many comments and we were not allowed to add any more – they were automatically turned off.

Here is a beautiful Shetland comment from a lady who also designs –

Your hard work. Your pattern. Your design publication. Your artist license Folk can choose tae enjoy, support & purchase…or scroll on. Dinna pay da moaners (trolls) ony heed & dinna respond tae dem. I received a message fae some een telling me I didna hay tae write in Shetland dialect – as du can see, I stopped, joost fir dem…nah

Dinna stop being YOU Tracey Doxey and keep lovin’ whit you create

I felt stronger after the supportive comments and I will not stop being me but this post, I think, is about the hurt that women cause women on social media when they do not have an informed opinion – it is a dig.

here is the pattern. and yes, the additional sleeve is an extra pattern because it is a design in itself – and here also is the test knit image with the Tree and Star Sleeves.

Kaleidoscope Jumper pattern

Make of it what you will

It may be my last ever pattern 🙂

Kaleidoscope pattern update

Thank you to everyone who commented on my Instagram post on July 30^th when I asked what sleeve you would most like me to finish my jumper in, as I had already knitted the 1^st one in Trees only, not tree and star, like the body.

There were many comments to say what sleeves you’d like to see as the second one, on my latest Kaleidoscope, jumper design. To be precise, I had 166 comments and 544 likes on that post. I also added a poll on my Instagram stories to ask the same question, and below are the results for that.

So, for the first time, I actually did a real research survey to find out what you wanted. The results were really interesting.

The overall winning suggestion was that most of you just wanted Tree sleeves only in the pattern, just as I had already knitted with the first one, but a lot of you thought that I should add the alternative ‘Tree and Star sleeve chart’, to give the knitter options but some of you said that you wouldn’t pay extra for an additional sleeve pattern design even if it took me days to chart , test knit, write the pattern and instructions. This I found quite disheartening as the Kaleidoscope pattern is my most adventurous and my most perfect and I wanted to release it with 2 sleeve options but if people don’t want to recognise the work in that extra design, I have made a compromise.

I will release the Kaleidoscope jumper pattern within 2 weeks week AND I will follow up with a ‘Bolt-on’ pattern which is a chart of the alternative ‘Tree and Star sleeve, plus a Sanquhar alphabet chart for you to be able to personalise your knit with your initials and date above your cuff. This way, I will produce a beautiful pattern with the sleeves requested by the majority in my surveys. And, I will have an additional bolt on pattern with the 2^nd sleeve. The bolt on pattern has more work than a hat pattern and deserves to be recognised as a design in itself.

It’s 3 months since I started the project on 10th May. Not bad for a fast slow knit.

Please comment on what colours you’d like to see this jumper knitted on
I’m excited to bring this pattern out.

Below are a few comments from Instagram. You can follow me here on instagram for more updates and lots of photos

But, I think that the best way to find out about the pattern release, is to become a ‘friend’ of mine on ravelry, then I think you get an update when the pattern is published

Oh, I knitted the second sleeve in Trees only, and I am almost ready to graft the 2^nd sleeve into place, here is a video of the graft after I took the risk of grafting the sleeve into the armpit with double yarn for strength. I am most happy. The jumper has grafted shoulders, the sleeves expertly grafted into the armpit, a mitred V neck and the option of 2 different sleeve patterns plus a Sanquhar alphabet to knit your initials and the year into the design. I hope that you will knit it and make it personal to you.

My test knitter is knitting Tree and Star sleeves to match the body AND, I will also knit a Tree and Star sleeve with my initials and the year knitted into the work too. My test knit will be yellows and greens.

Let me know what you think in comments. Join me on Instagram to get more frequent updates and join as a friend in Ravelry to hear when the pattern comes out first.

Also, if you do want to, there is still the Tree and Star hat pattern to knit before the jumper, to get used to the motif, or after, to have as a twin set. I can’t wait to wear mine.

Just a few comments from my Instagram post asking which sleeve you would like to finish the design.

First of all: what a fantastic pattern! I love it!
😍😍😍 For me, I’d choose option 1, trees only. But I think I’d include both options in the pattern ❤️

Hi Tracey, I would probably knit the trees/stars option but would like to have the tree option open until I get to the sleeves in my project. And I would pay the double if that idea what it takes.

When will the jumper pattern be available? I will be in Shetland on 11-18 Aug and would love to know the amount of yarn and color codes to be able to buy yarn with me home to Denmark.

Hi Tracey! It’s a beautiful design 💙 I’m not in the position to be taking on a large project at the moment, but I’d choose Option 1. I do love symmetry. I’m not sure how many would be open to paying more for a potential 2nd sleeve option. But, if you design another sweater in the future in the same gauge, perhaps with a round/crew neck, or a cardigan

Choices! I’d probably like both sleeve designs because I’d be tempted to do one sleeve of each pattern 🧐 I like the deliberate similar but not matching!

I love the tree sleeve! As much as I’d enjoy the options I know in my heart I would still pick two tree sleeves. I’d also pay more to have the options. Could you release a second sleeve option as an add on pattern later to cover your work?

Could you sell a tree sleeve version and a tree and star only version as separate patterns, or charge a bit extra for a sleeve add-on? A tree only (including body) pattern would be great too

Trees for me as first choice ❤️❤️❤️

Trees on the second sleeve as well !

Both please Tracey

Trees only add a lovely interest.

I would love your new pattern to offer both options. Personally I think i would like the combo best but it’s a rare treat to have a choice. Keep up the good work my flower!

winner chosen. I hope that you’re all up for buying this exciting pattern

Hi! Such a gorgeous jumper! I probably would go for trees on both sleeves. The colours are amazing!! 😍😍😍

Test knitting with me.

About 4 months ago, I put a call out for anyone who has knitted my Sea Urchin hat pattern or my Tree and stars hat pattern and would like to do a test knit of my latest design, then, to get in touch. A lot of people got in touch but had not knitted any of my patterns, so didn’t know my style of writing, or when they found out the project was a jumper, they pulled out.

my trusty Test knitter, Mary stepped in and I sent her a box of yarn.

test knit yarn box.

It’s costly to test knit and the yarn that I sent Mary to use or choose, would have cost me over £100. I have supported Mary with alignment and will help with the mitred V neck and graftin the sleeve into the arm hole.

So, she learns too.

I put a poll out for which sleeve should I finish my jumper with? Normally, I would do 2 different sleeves to both test knit and because I like to design that way but the overall winner for the choice of my 2nd sleeve by over 100 comments was for me to knit a 2nd sleeve in the trees design. So, Mary, will knit the test knit in tree and stars ( I think I will do a 3rd sleeve in completely different colours to test it also)

The thing that came out of the polls were that some people wanted just trees but said that I should add both charts for both sleeves and that set me to thinking about all the extra time taken to chart, swatch, test, hand knit, alter a 2nd sleeve just to give an option in a pattern. I don’t think that pattern buyers think about the time taken to write a full pattern and to add extras is doing it for love.

My pattern will have 2 different charted sleeves. It will take longer and more work. But I hope that you will all find that it is worth it Because I am absolutely loving this jumper as it grows.

Over the weekend, I added a 10% discount offer on the Tree and Star hat, if anyone wanted to Get Ahead with learning how to knit the Kaleidoscope Jumper. I forgot to add the offer to my website followers so I have just extended the offer until midnight tomorrow night.

10% off the Tree and Star Pattern until Midnight UK time, Monday 4th Aug

the pattern is in the link above and there’s no discount code, the discount is taken in your basket.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on which sleeve you will be knitting, but, until then, here’s the armhole, waiting for my 2nd sleeve and here is the matching hat. I can’t wait to wear them as a twin set when I hope to visit Japan in December.

Tree and star hat pattern here

Kaleidoscope pattern details

I am almost finished knitting my new design. It has a lot of gorgeous features. – Grafted shoulders, a beautiful mitred V neck band and I have just grafted the first sleeve into the body of the armhole.

I normally knit my sleeves by picking up stitches around the arm hole then knitting down to the cuff, but the reason that I grafted the tree knitted sleeve into the arm hole, is because I knitted it in the round from the cuff up and then worked the finished sleeve into the armpit. The reason for this is because I did a swatch of the tree motifs and to get them standing the right way, (trunk at the cuff end of the knit) if I was knitting armpit down to cuff, I had to start knitting the tree from its top. This is quite an easy thing to do. But, I realised from the swatch that if I knitted the trees from the top to the trunk, starting at the arm hole down, the stitches would be upside down and that really annoyed me. Here is a swatch of what the stitches would look like if I had knitted them from the armpit. Can you see that the stitches are sitting upside down in the tree motif? And to the eye, it would look a mistake when the whole sleeve was knitted and it would really annoy me.

So, I have knitted the sleeve, in the round from the cuff up to the top and it was an absolute pleasure. Detailed images will be in the pattern of the joining seam and how it looked when finished and I will release videos on how I grafted the sleeve into the arm pit.

The question is now that I am undecided whether to do a 2nd tree sleeve, which would look harmonious and cute, or shall I knit a sleeve with the tree and star motifs from the body? Or would you prefer both options in the knitting pattern so that you can choose to knit either one design or both?

So, I am having a little ‘win the pattern post on Istagram’ Anyone who comments on my post which one they prefer will get a chance of winning the pattern when it is released.

My instagram is @traceydoxey and you can let me know your preference on the post for a chance to win.

If you would like to knit this pattern but feel a little daunted, you can start very simply with the Tree and Star hat pattern which is in the link here

I am really excited about this pattern, so much care and attention has gone into it. There will be pages of charts to help you get your motifs, V neck and armpit decreases in the right places and options – for you to choose yourself to make the design more your own.

Let me know your thoughts on the pattern and if you are hoping to knit it. here is the instagram page to join in giving your idea of what the 2nd sleeve will be

Behind the scenes of my latest design

Last week, I painted the walls in my sitting room. It has been difficult to get the exact right colour because of the light in the room – Finally, I landed on a Little Greene paint by the name of Bassoon. It is perfect, deep in tone but light in colour – it’s the colour of wet sand – good wet sand.

The colour has completely elevated the room and opened my eyes in a different way as well as bringing joy to the space that I haven’t felt in a long time (if ever)

Tiggy watched over my labour and didn’t budge an inch – he hasn’t faired well in this heat, so I have been a little worried about him

This morning, I am not in work until after lunch time, so I have taken time to spend with my new design, updating the pattern, rewriting the sleeve and staring at my beautiful yellow wall. I am really enjoying my new design. It will have at least 8 pages of charts to help you as an aid with decreases and shaping. There will also be 2 alternative sleeves so that you can personalise it in some way to suit your own tastes. So, on my workdesk at home this morning, are swatches of sleeves and how they will knit up and fit in, updates in my design book and I have started planning a meet up saturday morning here in my ground floor flat in Sheffield for knitters to come together, talk, learn, share and I will also be on hand to offer advice, share patterns and yarn. If that is something that you are interested in – then get in touch via the contact page.

here’s the latest pages in my design / swatch book

https://videopress.com/v/YZgxTrvH?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&posterUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fvideos.files.wordpress.com%2FYZgxTrvH%2Fimg_2280_mp4_std.original.jpg&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true

swatch / design devlopment book

It would be lovely to do this full time – so if you would like to support me, please buy my patterns here, join me in my online workshops or you can buy me a kofi in this link 🙂 and I will name you when I buy the drink

Big love from Tracey – constantly learning, constantly knitting, constantly trying to make exciting work. If you enjoy my work, give me a comment 🙂

Fair Isle Pullover – Two Sisters

In these beautiful crisp Autumn mornings slowly opening up to warm, sweet afternoons, clear sunsets and most recently the large orb of the super moon rising, I have once again, picked up my second Fair Isle pullover which I am knitting with my sister in mind. It started off in the colours that she loves – black, grey, with highlights of navy, mustard and dark red but I was slowly sinking in the monochrome of it all. Without thinking too much, the colours have become richer, using darkest navy as a full-bodied colour rather than a highlight.

The pullover is, as usual with my knitting – a passion project with a story. If you haven’t read the beginning – it is here.

The most resent result is an overall slightly mismatched look, which I am completely aware of – a little like the character of a person, moving through moods. But, on a practical level, the colour change has meant that I am now back in love with this time-consuming knit.

I have packed this project in my backpack and unfurled it at cafes, and on Stanage Edge to watch sunsets, at Chatsworth – sitting below all the ballons taking off, and anywhere calm that I might knit and take in the surroundings and the work through my hands and fingers. The jumper takes on the environment within which I knit.

I am still working on the Japanese concept of Ma – the space and silence between all things and this pullover embodies that considering the space between my sister and me. It taking shape into something just as abundant as the first one but a very different visual character / experience.

I am using my Fair Isle Pullover chart to complete the jumper in exactly the same way that I did the first – the images show the results so far. Let me know your thoughts on colour.

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/fair-isle-chart-2

instagram show many more images – here

my places to knit – below a sunset, a rising moon, beside the river, or on my little patio. xx

間（ま、Ma）は、the space between.

I have posted previously, that I am currently working on a textile piece called, ‘I Cannot Reach You.’

It is a piece about the space in the relationship between me and my sister. The knitted piece will also encapsulate the Japanese concept of Ma, the spaces in between 間（ま、Ma) the silences, the unspoken past, the misunderstandings in the past and present, it could be in the silence when I hear the sound of a cup being placed in a saucer during a visit. Ma is, the things we know but never say.

My sister and I were born eleven months apart, I on 26/06/1963 and she on 27/05/1964. Our mother dressed us identically for about 12 years until we probably tried to impress our own tastes upon the clothes we were wearing. At that time, my Grandad enjoyed the latest photographic technology available to a working class man – a small camera then a polaroid camera. He took many photographs, particularly in 1970 when I was seven and my sister six years old. In the photographs, my sister and I are beside each other but rarely touching – there is an unspoken physical and emotional space between us. All of the images were ‘set up’ in a way that my mother wanted to show that she dressed her daughters well. In the empty space between my sister and I, there seems to be a lack of intimacy or connection, we are not smiling in any of the images. I remember very little of growing up but I do remember the feel of every fabric of those clothes. Clothes carry so many unspoken signifiers – wealth / or not, clean / or not, fashionable / or not, comfortable / or not. I cannot remember much about my childhood.

Here, we are ‘well turned out’, as my Mother would say. For years, our Nana, my mother’s mother, knitted us identical cardigans to match the identical dresses. She used the wool available to her in those days – nylon from Woolworths.

For one month – from the end of May to June 2024, my sister and I are both 60 years old and are very much ‘like chalk and cheese’. I love my sister dearly and carefully, and she loves me, but I cannot reach her. Our love is not one of laughter or discussion or going places together or tea time calls or spontaneous catch ups or quick visits or trips away together – it is one of careful organisation of a preplanned time and place and length of visit to suit my beautiful sister, who has begun to shut the world out. And, believe me, I can understand that. I cannot reach her but I try. I wait, I hope, I try to reassure but, all I can do is be beside her for just slightly more than one hour at a time that she can manage and I have learned to understand that gift of time. Being with her makes me very happy.

I have initially, knitted something that is recognised as a jumper but it isn’t only that. The wearable, knitted jumper sits well within the intersection between craft / skill / materiality / wool/ textiles/ conceptual art / family / sister’s heritage and cross cultural discussion. ‘I Cannot Reach You,’ is an expression of the space in between us, using the medium of a skilled knitting practice to produce a jumper, that could be for me to wear but that it has a name – ‘I Cannot Reach You,’ it has one sleeve knitted slightly longer than necessary, ending in a knitted glove. The second sleeve knitted in plaited and aran knitted stitches – I chose the Fair Isle for its intricacy and my love of Shetland culture and I chose the Aran sleeve to represent how I plait my hair. Giving the jumper a name, never wearing it and placing it upon the wall, makes it art, right? Textile Art. Now, I am knitting a matching jumper in identical patterns as the first 100 colour piece but this time, it will be knitted in the colours my sister likes, with a blackberry or plain knit sleeve to relate to my sister and how she wears her hair. I hope that one day, we can both wear our respective pullovers and stand closely side by side. Without a space between. But, at the moment, I feel that when the second pullover is finally finished, both will be hung side by side, not touching but with a space in between. Ma 間（ま、Ma)

If you are interested in the Fair Isle Pullover worksheet, it is here in the link

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/fair-isle-chart-2 you can knit it for yourself in any colours that you choose. I would love to see your projects, please use @traceydoxey on instragram, then I can see your project oo.

I look forward to showing the two pieces together but for now, I am busy working on the 2nd piece.

One hundred colours, or just ten?

One hundred colours, or just ten in your Fair Isle projects?

I am knitting in preparation for the workshop on Friday – to show how alternative colours will look to my normal many many colours that I normally choose for a project.

This time, I am working with the colours that my sister likes but she doesn’t know that I asked her her favourite colours just so that I could knit them for her.

My pullover – the workings you can find in the rich tapestry of resources in the Fair Isle Pullover chart worksheet, is made up of about one hundred colours.

My next pullover, knitted to the same charts as the first, will use about ten colours – with variations of greys, shetland black, madder, navy, mustard and a cyclamen colour. I’m already enjoying how it is turning out. – my sister has far more subtle choices in colour.

If you would still like to join me at my free online workshop on Saturday 22^nd Just 3-4pm UK time, then buy the worksheet and I will be sending emails with joining instructions up until Weds 18^th June.

Let me know what you think to just the black and grey version of this project.

Also – access to online facebook group for everyone who has bought the pattern too.

Here is the fb group.

Looking forward to seeing you on Saturday.

Much love. Tracey

I Cannot Reach You

I have finally finished my knitted piece.

It is called, ‘I Cannot Reach you.’

It is a piece about the space between me and my sister, born 11 months apart.

It has been one year in the making.

It is love.

Our mother dressed my sister and I in identical clothes for about 12 years until we found the voices to be different. We were born in 1963 and 1964. You did what you were told. And, we were told. Clothes say so much about the wearer, about the social history, about what people what to portray, about many things.

My nana knitted us identical cardigans – probably for the same amount of years. But my sister and I were very different people. And we are very different people today. I am not sure if differences in kids was either an accepted or a noticed thing in the 60’s. It certainly wasn’t in our house.

I will knit another piece, in the colours that my sister likes – Black, Grey, Navy, Dark Red and Mustard and place it alongside this piece, made up of over 90 colours and I will hang it beside this piece. I am interested in the Japanese concept of Ma 間 the spaces and the silences in between all things. when the 2 pieces are placed alongside each other, they will show the spaces between us.

For now, this peice will be entered into the Harley Foundation open, because I am regional, because it is art, because, it is love.

On a practical level, I will be starting a knitalong for the Fair Isle worksheet that accompanies this knitted pullover and will email everyone who has bought this pattern to ask if they/you would like to join a free 1 hours zoom session on the worksheet and how I made the pullover with a Q&A, so that they / you can join in the knitalong and use the worksheet to your advantage – to make what you want – hat, scarf, vest, pullover.

If you would like to join me, I will be starting in about a month.

Here is the link to the worksheet.

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/fair-isle-chart-2

And, thank you to everyone who has bought it, I hope you will join in on this community knit along with people joining from all around the world.

Art, craft, knitting or story telling?

I have knitted something that is recognised as a jumper but it isn’t only that. The knitted piece now sits well within the intersection between craft / skill / materiality / woo/ textiles/ conceptual art / family / heritage and cross cultural discussion. It is nearly finished and it has a name. It is named, ‘I cannot reach you.’

The garment, because it can be worn, has one slightly longer Fair Isle sleeve than necessary, reaching out, ending into a knitted cuff with a thumb. The other sleeve, knitted in Amber coloured yarn in Aran patterns, crosses and plaits the stitches. This style of knit for this sleeve was chosen because of how I sometimes plait my hair. So, the indication is now that it is not clothes but craft or art. Most people who have commented on the Aran sleeve don’t like it – they cannot work with the idea that the sleeve is different to the Fair Isle patterning of the body and other sleeve. Me, I like it.

The Pattern of Life isn’t all perfectly matching or symmetrical or neat or predictable. So, changing the length of a sleeve, adding another style of knit to the other sleeve, working with patterns and motifs for about one thousand hours, has enabled me to Knit an evolving story. First, it was a wearable vest, then I ripped the arm ribs back to start sleeves. I don’t mind if I never wear this garment at all, and yet it is wearable, it is also showable as art, it is passable to be open to a discussion about clothes, knitting, women’s work, materiality – why we knit, why we make clothes, what becomes art, a concept, a thought and why we bother at all.

In my 60^th year, I am figuring out what is the stage of my creative journey, today. I have a valuable story / experience to share – having an MA in knitting when I was 58, a Fine Art Degree at the age of 35, I’ve travelled across some of the largest countries in the world by train, to get to a tiny place in China. I’ve sailed across land and sea to live in Shetland. I knit but I am not a knitter. I can crochet and sew too. I’ve taught English, I’m a coach for apprentices at Uni, I have been a PA, a Contemporary Dance tour manager, and events manager, a gallery building manager – but none of this really matters and yet it all matters greatly because it has brought me to this point in my life – to figure out exactly what is the value of my creative practice and where do I want to take it?

I am not an emerging artist, I am firmly placed in an underrepresented demographic of an older Women still making conceptual art under the guise of a knitted project.

What I would like to do is engage with other women to knit this piece, as they feel fits them. I want everyone to use their own colours choices, yarn decisions, size of the project so that we may talk about the work of women.

I am really proud of being able to knit this ‘thing’ because, let’s be honest, I have been in a privileged position to do so but I haven’t always been so. I could not have knitted it when I returned to the city from living in Shetland, without home or job, crying on the kerb stones. My creative practice was far from my priority then – I needed stability – take Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, for example. When I returned from Shetland, didn’t even have the physiological needs – without home or sleep. Since that time, I have built myself back up and for now, I am around the esteem level with a subliminal eye on Self actualisation. I’ve also been here before and know that it is not a sure thing nor is it a prolonged state and I know where it goes after – that is down.

I think, what I am writing is that my jumper is not a jumper – it is an art piece about my feelings about my beautiful Sister and I cannot always reach her – which is why I have called it ‘I cannot reach you’ And, weirdly, to this end, I am thinking of knitting a 2^nd jumper, in exactly the same way as the first but in different colours because when we were children, our mother dressed us in identical clothes for about 12 years ,when we were, and still are, like chalk and cheese.

For all the lovely people who have bought my Fair Isle pullover worksheet, would you like to join me in some kind of knit along. I will not be teaching you how to do your project but I would love to see your projects and hear what you are making. I think it will be wonderful to share what we are doing. I will be slow, I am not in a rush. I have many other things on the go including finishing this piece, I also have work and workshops and a crochet piece for my daughter and somewhere along the line, I would like to live a little – go see places

I have added a chat group on Ravelry – it is here

I am also thinking of ways to display this piece and have been in contact with The Head of Fine Art at SHU to see if we could show the piece and she had better ideas – so there are maybe a few things being mulled over.
I want to show the piece because I would like to be back in the Fine Art arena because I want to go to Japan to do an artist residency and showing work is part of that process.

Have any of you read this far 😊 ?

Would any of you like to join me in a knit along so that you can knit your own pullover or use the charts to knit something for yourselves? leave a comment or join the group.

Do you have any thoughts on this whole thing? Positive or negative.

Is it art or craft or knitting or story telling?

Here is the Fair Isle worksheet with all the motifs in 2 large charts, if you would like to join the chat group.

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/fair-isle-chart-2