Episode 10: Winter Knitting with Unspun yarn; Nordic Knitting book giveaway; and Icelandic sweaters.

[@verylikecheryl]

My Irish father came alone to the UK as a boy of 14. He was schooled by the Christain Brothers in Ireland, which was a very harsh regime. He ran away, and came to England, ending up in Lincolnshire, picking potatoes. He was from Sligo in the West of Ireland. He was raised on a farm until he was sent to school and brought with him a love of Irish music, poetry and culture. More than anything, he valued hand crafted garments of natural materials, and always loved a good aran sweater. My English mum was a knitter and taught me to knit. I have lost them both now but I still have my lovely step mum, so I am knitting her the cabled Ice Sparkles scarf by Anne Hanson for Christmas. It’s in a lovely Donegal Tweed creamy merino blend with very subtle pale blue and yellow speckles. It is for her and it is also for my lost mum and dad and as I knit, I feel my mum’s presence and see her hands working and I hear my father saying in his irish lilt, ‘Now isn’t that beautiful, all together?’

[@woolandtheforest]

Thanks you so much Cheryl, for sharing such a touching and heart warming story about your parents and specially your father. What a journey he took and what a wonderful life he has made! I could sense all your feelings coming through your words so thank you so much for sharing with me. You honor their memory so beautifully by continuing to value handmade things and to craft them yourself. 🙏🏾 Thank you so much for finding the podcast!

[@claudettegraham4303]

I’m an Irish knitter who adores knitting bottom up seamed garments. They fit much better. I’m so delighted to hear someone who prefers bottom up!

[@isabelviccellio6621]

Hiiiii this is the first video I've ever watched of yours. Let me just say, I LOVE YOU! I have gone through many knitting podcasters. Only one has ever made me fall in love with them, Well Loved Knits and now you. Most people are just boring and don't give their personalities to their videos. But you are just so lively and relatable. I can't wait to follow along your journey and to see what other fun things you do within your life. I would love to see your 9 year old daughter in your videos. When I was her age, my mom taught me how to crochet. I created my own business in fourth grade with that. I find it so inspiring to see your daughter do something like I did at her age. I think it would be really cool to have her share her passion on this channel just as you do. Anyways, I just wanted you to know that I am loving you so far! I hope you go long and far on this channel

[@woolandtheforest]

Hello Isabel, your enthusiastic response and your sweet kind words have warmed my heart today 💙🥰🙏🏾 thank you so much for taking the time to leave such a wonderful comment and I'm so glad to see that what I'm presenting here through my channel is resonating so strongly with you. It's definitely not the easiest thing in the world, when you're tired out by mothering, to sit in front of a camera which has no life in it and to give yourself openly to others. So I am pleased as punched to hear that how I am feeling, and what my intentions are as I record these videos, are getting through to those who are meant to receive the messages 💙

[@aaminahaque]

My maternal great grandmother was a young mother to two children during the partition of India and Pakistan. For many generations, ancestors from both of my paternal and maternal sides have passed down the art of knitting. It is something that my grandmothers valued and passed down to my mother and my aunts. As I was born and raised in the US, I never got to experience the true art of knitting as the generations before me had. Now, every chance I get, I sit down with my grandmothers and learn the art of knitting as it was taught to them from before. Knitting in my culture holds a valuable significance, as women used to knit sweaters, shawls, blankets, etc. for special occassions. I rediscovered my passion for knitting last year and have learned so many skillsets since then. One thing I am particularly fond of is Nordic Knitting as the finished result produces a beautiful and intricate pattern. I am currently in the process of knitting a blanket following a nordic pattern and am thinking of gifting the finished blanket to my grandmother before the new year. I am so excited that I have come across your channel. I have been trying to find more knitting podcasts and the way you organize and talk in your videos makes me fall in love with knitting even more. Also, you are the first South Asian knitter I have come across on the internet! I love to see the representation, especially in such a niche community. Much love from the US and your fellow South Asian knitter

[@woolandtheforest]

Hello Aamina! How wonderful to meet you here! And yes very much agreed that it's a wonderful thing to for south Asian women to find each other through crafts and making. I don't get the opportunity for it in my real life but seems like it's starting to happen in the online life at least. You have such a wonderful knitting heritage and how beautifully you are keeping it alive in you. I'm sure your grandmother would be incredibly proud to receive a blanket from you, to see her lineage being continued in such a tangible way. So lovely 🙏🏾 thank you so much for finding me and this podcast!

[@aaminahaque]

@@woolandtheforest Thank you so much for your kind words! I am looking forward to your future podcasts and projects!

[@anitamoller5032]

My grandparents immigrated to Canada via Sweden before WW2. During the war My Grandmother knit garments, which she traded for bread & food. I was always fascinated how yarn transformed into wearable garments. Needless to say she also taught me how to knit the basics:) I have recently discovered the wonderful unspun yarn & prefer the Scandinavian construction. I will have to try the Nutiden next! Your Chanel is very inspirational 🎉

[@woolandtheforest]

Thank you so much Anita, for sharing such a precious story. How wonderful that knitting was not just a craft but something that literally put food on the table for your grandmother! Thank you so much for joining in the giveaway and for your lovely feedback. 🙏🏾💙

[@netty062]

My grandmother quilted and included old aprons, dresses and fabrics into a quilt that I still have and is quite tattered. I also quilt and recently (10 years) have been saving men's and women's plaid shirts in order to make a quilt. I think I'm very close to having enough now. I really enjoy looking at the quilt that's been on our bed for nearly 30 years and imagining how those fabrics had been used. They are all ageing at different rates and that's how I know she had collected fabrics over time. She lived in New Brunswick Canada and we live in Ontario Canada. She recently passed in 2020 at the ripe old age of 97, bless her. I really enjoyed your newly discovered podcast, thank-you.

[@woolandtheforest]

Oh how beautiful! To see the different rates at which the fabric is ageing. A clear and tangible reminder of the memories that must be woven into such a precious item. It's amazing how much of our lives and thoughts and intentions we pull into the things we make by hand. Thank you so much for finding the podcast and for joining the giveaway!

[@Mama2old1]

Love hearing the children, also enjoy learning about wool yarn.

[@chebbiereadsandknits672]

I’m from Kenya but live in the US. When I was young, my Mum and her friends knit baby items for each others newborns. I learnt the basics of knit/purl from her. However I didn’t pick up knitting till I had my babies and she knitted items for her grandkids. That got me into knitting as a desire to learn and carry on that tradition. Since I live in the US, I’ve improved my knitting through the “KZbin University” 😂. I’m loving knitting things for myself and now babies in the family.

[@woolandtheforest]

Hi Chebbie! 🤗💙 So lovely that you dropped by and watched the podcast today! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment as well. That's wonderful you were taught to knit by your mother. I also didn't really knit nearly as much till I had my first baby. KZbin University has definitely done everything for me as well. I actually found Elizabeth Zimmerman's old videos on KZbin years ago! Thank you for joining in the giveaway and for connecting!

[@nlafrance403]

Thank you for this time spent whih us. Hearing your baby next to you was very very sweet.

[@woolandtheforest]

😊🙏🏾💕

[@mirjambezikofer8385]

I just found your podcast and I am in LOVE! I am a mom of four, we are going to move to the USA from Germany in just under two weeks - eeeeek! My great-grandmother was displaced in the aftermath of of WWII from what is today the Czech Republic to southern Germany. Back home, my great-grandparents grew flax, which is a plant fiber that is used to make fabric. My great-grandmother was a prolific knitter. When they were displaced, she would salvage yarn from who-knows-where and knit it into garments, which she then sold in order to make an income. She passed down her knitting skills to my dear grandmother, who even created her own knitting patterns back in the second half of the 20th century. My grandmother taught me how to knit, crochet, embroider, and other yarny crafts. I grew up wearing handknits and I am now passing down that heritage to my children. My oldest son, who just turned 9yo, has knit his own cowl, which he has proudly been wearing. As a family, we love to spend our summer holidays in the Northern European countries, especially Denmark. This year, I have dipped my toes into stranded colorwork and have knit two sweaters for my children. I would looooove to learn more about the craft! Regardless of whether I win or not, just reading through these comments has been SO inspiring! Thank you so much for the time and effort you have put into this podcast!

[@woolandtheforest]

Hello Mirjam! Firstly thank you so much for taking the time to tell me the story of your ancestors and the close connection that craft, fiber and knitting have had in your lineage. It is always such a beautiful thing to me how hand works have supported both materially and emotionally the lives of people going through times of hardship and enormous upheaval. It's like the crafts are the stable threads that whole life journey together when circumstances become shaky. I'm sure your knitting will do the same for you as you make this transition of moving from your home to the United States 🙏🏾 thank you so much for your kind words about the podcast!

[@lesliepallante1612]

Thank you for your heart shared journey and know it's a joy to have found you as a new knitter this year. All those years ago my Italian Grandma taught me to knit and pear and planted the seeds that now are sprouting and growing with joy I never could have imagined. You are a treasure 🙏

[@beccabauer1726]

I have a lot of welsh and English blood, and as a teenager I learned to knit. I just had to do something with my hands. Over the yearns that turned into a deeper love for not just knitting but the wool and fiber as well. I learned to spin and understand what I was working with and now my house is filled with wool in all stages. I found out later how my grandmother used to knit, her mother needlepointed, and my other grandmother quilted. They all loved making beautiful things with their hands as well. I hope my girl grows up to appreciate all the textiles and making as well as I do. 🥰 I’d love to have that book for myself and for her as she gets old enough to appreciate it as well. ❤ Happy Winter Solstice!!

[@woolandtheforest]

Blessed Winter solstice to you as well Becca! And thank you so much for sharing your making and textile story. I'm sure your daughters lives are already imbued with the textile spirit and they'll surely find their way to it when the time comes. 💙☀️

[@juliaann98]

Hello Daki! What a delight to find you on the KZbin. Your energy for your lovely family and fiber arts creations is very endearing. I'm looking forward to catching up with your previous videos and future ones as they are released. I've been a Patreon for Nutiden yarn for the last year and a half, and have accumulated more than my share of their lovely yarn. I'm always inspired by users of unspun yarn and have so many knitting ideas for it... sweaters, shawls, vests, half mitts, hats etc. I also learned knitting sweaters from the bottom up and am returning to that method more and more. In 2000, I attended a Knitting Camp with Meg Swansen, it was the year after her mother, Elizabeth Zimmerman, passed away. I was totally the most novice knitter there. Looking back at it, I realize how much freedom for creating was being taught with Elizabeth's garment construction percentage method. It's given me the confidence to use math to recalculate patterns to fit unspun yarn and larger gauge yarns. The Afmæli sweater has been on my list to do and now I really want to get one going, after seeing your lovely examples. My parents were young adults during the US Depression of the 30's, and my father was especially impacted by it. I was allowed to purchase fabric to sew my clothes when I was in high school in the late 60's early 70's, rather than purchase ready made clothing. In hindsight, making my own wardrobe at that time was an exciting learning experience. Funny, how I'm working on that again after retiring from my career in the education field. Your podcast resonates with me on so many levels. I also get a feeling of acknowledgment when I'm working on something and it's the right time to be doing so... and the opposite timing feeling as well. Thank you for sharing your lovely works of art. Do you plan to show your indigo fabric creations as well? I hope so!

[@woolandtheforest]

Dear Julie, what a wonderful little note to read today! Thank you so much for sharing the story of your making journey, of sewing clothes and learning to craft your own garments. I feel that hand skills and the value of being able to make things by hand never goes away, but becomes very obvious and clear to people in times of hardship. Thank you so much for visiting the podcast and for joining in! 🙏🏾💙

[@annaloomis7573]

I am just discovering you, Daki, and I love your calm energy! "My hands are in wool, and my heart is in the right place." What a joy! Thank you for your podcast. Cheers from the East Coast in Maryland...

[@woolandtheforest]

Thank you so much for watching the podcast and for leaving me such sweet words Anna🙏🏾🥰

[@monica4705]

What a wonderful time I have had sharing in this wooly and tender time with you. I am so glad I stumbled onto your lovely spot. Hearing the children in the background in the reality of a young mother's world really warmed my heart. They are a gift from God and I pray you will have many blessings in the years ahead with your family. I, too, had no extended family when my 3 were born and growing; tough, but we become like trees that withstand the wind,...stronger, right? The Nordic colorwork is something I aspire to master. Although my heritage is is from the UK and Germany, I find the Scandinavian designs charming and beautiful. Looking forward to seeing what your winter of unspun creates!

[@woolandtheforest]

So much resonance in your words Monica! Like old trees indeed. Resilient and beautiful at the same time. I will remember this image when I feel that heartache to be back home in the land of my birth and among my people once again. My children are everything. Absolutely all else just recedes. I see you know how this feels. So grateful you found the podcast Monica, thank you for your beautiful words💙🙏🏾

[@gailstringer1158]

I've just discovered your lovely podcast, and will now have to look at the previous 9! I learned to knit from my mother, crochet from my grandmother, and now at age 72 am teaching one granddaughter to crochet and one to knit! Three of my grandparents were immigrants to Canada from the UK, and the 4th came to Canada as a homesteader from the U.S.; he was descended from very early U.S. immigrants ( 1600s). I love spinning, and here in the beautiful B.C. Fraser Valley have access to lovely fibre to feed my passion. One of my grandmothers crocheted lovely, fine tablecloths, which I now treasure, and know that some day her great, great granddaughters will also treasure!

[@woolandtheforest]

Thank you thank you so much for watching the podcast and for your kind words about it! How wonderful that you are keeping the textile traditions of your ancestors alive in your own grandchildren. Thank you for sharing that story and for joining in the giveaway!

[@Mindfulnessification]

This is the first time I have seen your podcast and I loved it! I love how you talk about your precious family! So sweet! I will be watching! ♥️♥️♥️

[@woolandtheforest]

Thank you so much Jennifer for such sweet words, and for joining the podcast 🙏🏾💙

[@Mama2old1]

I am 7th generation from Wales, my mother taught me to crochet when I was a teen , really learned on my own with my first child. I have been mostly self taught from written patterns. At 79 thanks to you tube I am really learning the crafts. Knitting has been tried thru the years, But I am really learning the craft and enjoying it. We have raised 7 children . Thank you .

[@keikoparker4532]

What a lovely podcast. I was taught to knit, crochet and sew from my Grandmother at a very young age. I have wonderful memories of growing up with her and also being taught to cook and garden. She was a very talented lady.

[@woolandtheforest]

Thank you for your kind words Keiko! My own grandmother while she was a talented cook and sewist never really did either of those things with me. You're so blessed to have shared such a beautiful experience with your own🙏🏾

[@karenbaker6686]

Thankyou for reminding me and all of us how important it is to celebrate our heritages and traditions! Many of the things you spoke about resonated with me and my interests and concerns. I am a novice weaver, and a lifelong knitter...i tell people when they ask me how i spend my winters, "Well, I am a Knitter...I never used to think of myself in those terms, but now that i have admitted it to myself, i cannot go one day without waking up thinking what i am going to knit today before any other thoughts enter my mind!

[@woolandtheforest]

Oh how lovely! And I think you echoe the thoughts of many of us Karen; that waking up wondering what project you'll have on your hands as soon as you're able to. Thank you so much for being here and watching the podcast! 🙏🏾💙

[@iclarkz]

My Polish grandmother was a long knitter and crocheter, and tried to teach me to crochet when I was young, because she thought it was easier than knitting. I never "got it," but I later became an avid knitter. Sadly she passed away before she knew I had learned to knit. Now her son (my dad) is one of my biggest knitting fans, and even though he has dementia he still loves to see what I am working on. He even watches knitting videos with me sometimes. He has a real appreciation for the care and love that goes into knitting, and this year had me knit hats for his friends in assisted living, which he is really proud of.

[@woolandtheforest]

How poignant and beautiful your story is Ingrid! Your father must be reliving his own memories of his mother through you, and I can't think of a more powerful way in which you can honour both her memory and his continuing sense of connection to his past. 💙🙏🏾

[@twinnieschaal]

Hello everyone 😀 I lived with the Shawnee Tribe (Native American Indians) with my family & stepdad where I started to learn to knit, weave & spin. My father Inlaw made a spindle so I can start again. So I followed your links in hopes to buy the book. Thank you for all the giveaways that’s very kind of you 🥰 1:16:22

[@woolandtheforest]

Welcome here and thank you so much for watching the podcast!

[@karinboettcher-hawkins5866]

I learned to knit as a child from my grandmother in Germany. I remember that she always re-used everything. She had knit a cardigan that was worn out at the elbows, and she unraveled the entire cardigan and re-used the yarn to knit mittens for all the grandkids! That what I love about knitting... you can always reuse the yarn for something else! It is not just about the knitting...it is about creating something useful and nurturing!

[@woolandtheforest]

Useful and nurturing! Yes indeed Karin, I completely agree that an enormous part of the draw that knitting has is its fluidity; how the yarn in one project can become another so effortlessly, prolonging the life of the fiber well beyond the original maker. 🙏🏾

[@teadreyer1510]

Hello Daki.. I found your lovely podcast thru Tayler of Wool Needles Hands podcast. I so enjoyed listening to your wonderful, easy going chatter.. you come across so gentle & peaceful. I love that you are also a fellow Nutiden patreon & lover of the yarn. My grandmother used to tell me stories of war time Austria.. how she used to knit mittens & exchange them for milk and other food to feed my mother. She spent some time in a camp & was a very strong woman.. and I miss her so much every day. She was one of those humans who could just knit up anything, without a pattern, just from her head. I hope to be able to make something one day just like she did.. to honour her memory 💕

[@woolandtheforest]

Your mother sounds like she was a phenomenal woman! What an experience to go through and still continue to fill the world with a beautiful useful things. Amazing! Thank you so much for watching the podcast, I'm so glad you found it! Nutiden is a very special yarn 💙🙏🏾

[@SunshineBlessedPlanet]

My grandparents are danish, Norwegian, Scottish and French Canadian Indian and they travelled the Oregon trail and originally settled in the skagit valley as dairy farmers, a lumberjack and seamstresses. From their lovely dna I am a creative of any medium but especially fiber arts and photography. Crochet and sewing/quilting have always dominated but in the past three years the knitting fever has come alive. While living in Iceland, I dabbled in spinning which was quite brilliant. This episode has peeked my interest to explore Colorwork and not be intimidated. I have truly adored this episode and hearing your laughter and that of your babies playing in the room with you. Thank you for blessing my day with your beautiful spirit and artistry through your podcast. 🕊🤍🙏🏼

[@woolandtheforest]

And thank you for sharing such generous comments and kind words about the podcast. You are so blessed to have lived in Iceland. It's a dream for me. A total dream! 🙏🏾💙💙

[@brittastehling9831]

Hello, I am so happy to find you here. I am new to this channel but an old listener of your audio podcast some years ago, when I was new to Icelandic wool. My grandmother was a weaver, to be more precise a linen weaver in my hometown, which was formerly known for its very fine and luxurious linen. Nowadays there isn’t much linen production left in Germany, but both my sister and my mother are trained seamstresses and we all share the love for linen. I inherited some really old bedsheets from family and friends and my love for linen is strong and unbroken. I almost always sew with linen fabric, I like, how stiff it is when freshly washed, the earthy smell, the softness and sturdiness it both reflects when getting older. And it goes so well with rustic wool. They both belong together. I prefer knitting with wool, to be honest, but I also like knitted linen garments.💙🤍

[@woolandtheforest]

Hello Britta! How wonderful that you used to listen to Tog and Thel! I've had a few people find me here who also used to be listeners of the old podcast. It's funny, I had no idea I had reached so many people with that work. It was so wonderful to read your story about linen and your grandmother's work in textiles. I can see and hear the love you have for the fiber so clearly. Thank you so much for joining in and for watching me here! 😊🙏🏾

[@sharikremer4018]

I just found your podcast. I find it very relaxing and informative. I grew up on a farm. Raising sheep was my job and it was not easy. The baby lambs were precious. I really looked forward to shearing the sheep and then selling the yarn. But the crazy thing was that I never even experienced having any of the yarn. It was just a lesson in caring for the livestock. Now I knit and crochet. I wish I knew more about yarn and spinning when I was young.

[@emilywall4849]

Your podcast is such a joy to listen to. Thank you for taking the time to include us in your routine. It was wonderful hearing your little ones in the background. I have a baby who is almost 9 months old and into everything I am creating. He especially loves my yarn and knitting needles. He gets so excited when I give him the little scrap balls of yarn to pull apart and play with. My crafting traditions are ones that have been passed down to me from my grandmothers. I was taught to knit, crochet, sew, mend, quilt, plus many other skills through watching and being instructed by them. They instilled in me the love of making something that didn’t exist before. I still love talking to them about what I am working on and hearing their experiences and tips that they may have. They definitely instilled in me a love of learning new things and sharing the knowledge I already have with others. It’s blessed my life immensely!

[@woolandtheforest]

Thank you so much Emily, for sharing your beautiful story of making and crafting and how your grandmothers are so closely connected with those threads. How blessed you truly are! I didn't share that kind of making based connection with my own grandmothers but with my mother instead. So I can only imagine how precious your experience must be. 🙏🏾😊💙

[@emilywall4849]

It really has been a blessing. Especially as I have so many wonderful memories to remember with them. When I craft or use skills they taught it’s like inviting them into the process with me. I love making little things for them and seeing how much they value and appreciate the time and effort. One grandma always mentions a blanket I made her that keeps her feet warm at the bottom of her bed. It makes my day!

[@kirstenl7593]

Daki, what a lovely video. I found you 2 days ago and feel like you are sitting in my living room having having a bevvie with me. My paternal Grammie was a maker out of necessity. Hand stitching clothes, embroidering, monogramming handkerchiefs, clay work etc. there wasn’t money to purchase so she created from extras. My mother was also a maker and with more means, had a sewing machine and ability to buy yarn. The click of aluminum needles brings thoughts of warmth and love. I have a love for all things fiber; knitting, sewing, weaving, rug hooking and punch needle. I have tried them all but have had to pare down and am left with knitting, cross stitch and punch needle. Creating is soul quenching for me. Thanks again for a lovely podcast.

[@woolandtheforest]

Thank you so much Kirsten for such sweet kind words! And what wonderful memories of textiles and crafting you have of your mother and grandmother. I keep realizing how in that much older generation people made the most beautiful things but with such humble intentions and purely as a part of survival. I hope you return to the channel, it's so lovely to have you here 🙏🏾❤️

[@pamzumwalt2968]

My grandmother taught me about working with fibers, knitting, weaving and sewing and appreciation for nature and art and inspired me to create and share art and beauty with love. It is a precious gift that I share with my daughter and connects me to others who are like minded. Thank you for all you share with others. I love color work and recommend starting with simple hat patterns.

[@lemonkirby628]

It’s so nice seeing a podcast from a fellow PNW resident! You sound a bit sniffy, I hope you’re staying warm during this lovely, chilly time of year ❤

[@woolandtheforest]

Oh hello PNW knitter! Yes a few people have mentioned the sniffles. It's pretty cold these days and I'm still up and down with postpartum stuff, so I get a bit more sensitive in my sinuses. Hope you enjoyed the podcast nevertheless. 🙏🏾

[@sel175]

It is a joy to listen to your podcast. My mother always had some sort of fiber art around. Before I was born knitted socks and smocked dresses and when I was a young child it was spinning and weaving. I remember the sheep and wool festival and cleaning fleeces, carding wool, and playing with the petals of her loom. As her life got busier she stopped her fiber crafts but recently has picked up a few knitting projects.

[@woolandtheforest]

How fortunate and blessed you are to have had fiber in your life in such a way through your mother! Thank you so much for sharing and for joining in the giveaway 🙏🏾

[@helenasuppendrache8768]

My family is from Poland. My mother knitted a lot when I was a kid. Poland doesnt have a real knitting heritage. But doing socialism the women were keen to get hold on western knitting and sewing patterns. There was a whole black market to get western styles. And I remember that whilst wewere to poor to by stylish clothes, my mum tried to make them herself. Greetings from Germany! Helena

[@woolandtheforest]

Thank you so much Helena for finding the podcast and taking time to leave your knitting story. 🙏🏾 It is such a gift to have a mother who can craft and make, especially so when times are hard and that making itself is driven by necessity.

[@LibrarianColleen]

My grandfather came from Sweden to America when he was barely 16 years old. He was a mens garment tailor. I have been a knitter since youth and now going back to my heritage to learn so much more. I enjoy your new to me podcast so much.

[@woolandtheforest]

So lovely to hear that knitting is taking you back to your own heritage! Thank you so much for your kind words about the podcast 🙏🏾

[@Blt889]

I just love your podcast!! Glad it was in my suggestion feed. Can’t wait to watch more of it. I live in Canada and learned to knit with my grandmother when I was a child. She pasted away a long time ago but I still knit thinking of her 🧶

[@heatherjohnson959]

Love your podcast. I love how calm you are and yet, have lots of energy. It is so nice to watch a podcast where the podcaster doesn’t seem rushed. Thank you. Hugs.

[@woolandtheforest]

Thank you so much Heather! I truly appreciate your feedback. And I'm so glad to hear that you felt I wasn't rushing it. It's so difficult to tell with just talking to a camera. Thank you for taking the time to let me know! 🙏🏾😊

[@PaulaSimoes67]

I'm so glad youtube suggested to me your channel!!! You are sunshine and cool wind....love from Lisbon❤️

[@woolandtheforest]

Oh Paula, that is the nicest thing to say! I'm very glad that you feel that way and you are most welcome to my space here🙏🏾💙

[@noreenlou]

No one in my family for a couple of generations back worked with textiles. I taught myself knitting first. I do have Irish and Scottish ancestry (among many others) so I feel connected to Irish and Scottish wool. I live on the other side of the sound and am excited to have discovered your podcast.

[@woolandtheforest]

With my knitting I definitely had to teach myself as well. Although my grandmother did know how to knit it was more of a 'finishing skill' that had been taught to her as a young 'lady' than anything she used in her life. Thank you so much for finding the pod and for taking time to watch this episode! 🙏🏾😊

[@kavitadeepchand]

Hi. I found your channel from Tayler at Wool, Needles, Hands and am very glad to watch your past episodes. Like you, my children have South Asian and European heritage. I like to keep my heritage alive through my love of cooking. I am a self taught knitter and love to knit for my family. I have a lot of learning to do but am loving the journey.

[@woolandtheforest]

Hello Kavita! Welcome to the podcast! Please do connect on Instagram if you are on there, I'm always looking to connect with other South Asian knitters and makers. I too find that food is my most powerful way in which I connect to my own heritage, especially since cooking together eating and a love for traditional food with such a big part of the family I grew up in. 💙🙏🏾

[@janicemacdougall1844]

Such a lovely video, as always!

[@woolandtheforest]

It truly is the most precious time! Thanks so much for watching Janice🙏🏾

[@leannastoufer6333]

I am so glad I've found your podcast! I love your passion for wool and fiber and its special qualities. I learned to knit from my mother, who learned from her mother and her grandmother. My mother knit and sewed for herself and my sisters through many very lean years during the WWII era, then continued the trend when I came along. When my mother died, a little over ten years ago, I picked up my needles again and knit through the grieving. As I did that, I fell in love with the feel of yarn in my hands and the miracle of creating beautiful, useful items stitch by little stitch. Thank you again for such a lovely episode!

[@woolandtheforest]

Thank you Leaana for such a heartfelt sharing 🙏🏾💙 I cannot tell you how many times I've heard this story; of people turning to the crops connected to their mothers and grandmothers during periods of grieving and suddenly finding in those hand works such healing and connection to those who have passed. Thank you so much for watching the podcast 🙏🏾

[@cathyo3494]

I love the sweet way you speak of your family and care for your children! Your video is such a calming and beautiful podcast to watch and learn from!

[@woolandtheforest]

Thank you so much for these lovely words Cathy! I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed the podcast 🙏🏾

[@patricialane4971]

Loved this show! Thank you! I’m Irish/Italian so feel a strong fiber affinity. Mostly knit, but also have a 4-harness floor loom, spin, and am reading a lot about natural dying. My inspiration comes from the beauty of fiber feel and color. Love Nutiden as well, and am a patron. So glad I found you!

[@woolandtheforest]

Hello Patricia and thank you for finding the podcast! I too love all aspects of fiber play, including spinning and weaving and of course my dye work is central to my work as an artist. Thank you for your kind words about the podcast!

[@erinlisaaulfinger9594]

My family and textiles...where to start? I grew up with my mom's mom (PopPop), whose quilts made from recycled fabrics were everywhere. I still have the pink and yellow one with me. Her lifelong quilt project was finally completed by her sisters and aunts when she moved into assisted living due to dementia. My mother's great-grandmother crocheted doilies, and I now own her steel crochet hooks. Mom sews, just like PopPop did. So much of my clothing as a child was handmade. On my dad's side, Grandma grew up in Germany and emigrated at 17. She stopped crafting as soon as she could--to her, it represented the rural life she'd left behind, where these skills were necessary for survival. However, she did pass her crochet skills to her daughter Lisa, who then taught my mother and me. In October 2021, during a visit with Grandma, she found a basket of knitting supplies and gave me a lot of them. I fell in love. Right now, I'm working on some samples to knit my wedding dress. I haven't decided if I'll do it yet, but I just bought the Japanese Knitting Stitch Bible by Hitomi Shida--a true splurge, as I am a graduate student with no income. I see a future for my family and myself filled with handmade goods, from towels and toys to garments.

[@woolandtheforest]

Thank you so much for stopping by the podcast Erin , and for sharing this truly amazing story of your textile lineage. How blessed you are to have so many connections through crafting and hand making to both your maternal and paternal lines. It's wonderful to me these stories now survive through you and into the next generation. I often find that it's not telling these stories that has the biggest impact in eroding our heritage. How precious to now be custodian to your great grandmother's crochet hook! Thank you so much for sharing, reading your story really uplifted my morning. 🙏🏾💙

[@lisacotter6227]

Just discovered your podcast and enjoyed every minute of it! I am from the Midwest U.S. and knitting was not a craft that my grandma did. She was a quilter and crocheter. In the winter when her gardening took a backseat I remember spending hours cutting out quilt blocks from old garments that she would eventually piece together for a quilt. As an adult, I asked my mother-in-law who lives far away to teach me how to knit.

[@woolandtheforest]

How lovely! To share a craft with a grandmother or aunt of mother is such a special thing growing up. Thank you so much for joining the giveaway, sharing your story and for watching the podcast today!

[@woolandtheforest]

typo *aunt or mother 🙏🏾

[@KariEngblom-Youkey]

I am late to the knitting Podcaster community....but can't get enough of them! Enjoyed this post so much!! My family hails from Poulsbo....so spent many wonderful childhood memories enjoying all the wonderful Olympic mountains and beaches . Also... love love love the baby joining in! ( new empty nester who is looking forward to a new generation for our family! But, that is also why I now have time to enjoy podcasts and get back into my fiber interests!)

[@KariEngblom-Youkey]

...and...now I have to binge watch your unspun winter adventures!

[@woolandtheforest]

Hi there Kari! I am so happy you have found the channel and I hope you are enjoying all the episodes of the podcast so far. I love poulsbo I think it's a truly stunning little town, and I want to make more time to visit as the babies get older. 💙

[@fralou1]

First of all I just discovered your podcast and I ticked the line and Aldo clicked not to miss any of your podcasts. Now I’m going to go check out the previous 9 podcasts. I learned knitting from my mother (Barbie) knits and I knit a pair of children socks, in school. I learned to crochet a belt in school. I have to say I didn’t enjoy anything to do with either, but hen I had an accident that prevented me from returning to work , I took of crochet. I did well and even made up patterns for myself. Then in 2016 I discovered a winter knitting group on ravelry and started knitting once again. But this time I really enjoyed my craft. I even took over our local knitting group. Since 2016 I learned new skills. I learned to dye yarn with kook aid and graduated to acid dyes. And I learned to spin with my gift last Christmas with my espinner. But recently, I’ve seen unspun yarns and projects, which I’m trying to purchase and make, hopefully a pair of mittens or a hat. I was going to order the book you were showing but I’ll wait as it’s very expensive including shipping. By the way all these new things I’ve learned after I became a senior. So you’re never too old to learn new things. To finish off I look forward to your next podcast. Thank you for the opportunity for such a beautiful gift.

[@woolandtheforest]

Thank you so much Francine and I'm so happy to have you here! 🙏🏾

[@karenmargolis5831]

I absolutely loved watching and listening to your peaceful podcast. Your passion exudes for fiber and making. My grandmother taught me the very basics of crochet. Although I do not crochet as she did, knitting is my love. I also spin and have recently processed a fleece for the first time. It is quite the process. Looking forward to your next video ❤.

[@woolandtheforest]

Oh how wonderful that you have done your first fleece! I have two Icelandic fleeces and a Jacob's fleece sitting wrapped in my studio which I don't know when I'll get the chance to work with. Thank you so much for watching the podcast!

[@karenmargolis5831]

@@woolandtheforest it was quite the process. From a Romney sheep named Sophia. The fleece weighed 10 pounds with wonderful brown, white and dark grey wool. Here in NH we have a fiber festival in May. Can you suggest a breed that is soft with fairly long staple? I will look for it in 2023.

[@heidiarreola2842]

❤ your podcast and learning about your crafting and family. My mother and aunt immigrated from Costa Rica and they worked for many decades in Hollywood as wardrobe ladies. They were cutter and fitters (worked with designers to produce the pattern for custom pieces) as well as principal stitchers (worked strictly on wardrobe pieces for the main actress of the project). They worked hard and never taught me how to sew. But I spent a lot of time watching them work. I learned how to sew with my daughter when she learned in 4-H. I thought myself how to knit and crochet from magazines, books, and KZbin. My crafting has elevated after Covid shelterinplace with my discovery of crafting KZbin podcasts and IG accounts. I feel that my cultural background has given me a thirst for bold colors and my aunt and moms profession influenced my flexibility with modifications to patterns. I knit mostly for my daughter and she likes her sleeves longer and her sweaters cropped.

[@woolandtheforest]

Hello Heidi! So lovely to hear from you. It sounds like you had an incredibly precious textile background to your upbringing. Cutters and fitters are phenomenally talented people and often underrated in the design industry. Many designers would not be able to even bring their visions to life without the incredible skill of pattern cutters. I wish I had the kind of knowledge and s that your mom and aunt must have! It's wonderful that your daughter and you are continuing these wonderful traditions and taking your skills into the future. 🙏🏾💙

[@lindahenderson1301]

Well this is my first time meeting you..I love your creations and I just purchased that book today on Amazon thanks to you.I live is Boston. MA and I love your podcast and love knitting. You have a wonderful spirit ❤️

[@woolandtheforest]

Thank you so much Linda for your sweet comments and for taking the time to watch the podcast. How lovely to have you visit for a bit! I hope so much that you'll love Kristin's book as much as I did. The patterns alone are just so beautiful 😍🙏🏾

[@julissaknits]

My grandmother is a quilter so we actually use the holidays to exchange our fiber goodness. No one else in our family is a fiber artist so it's one of my goals to learn quilting and keep the tradition alive in our family. It's one of the few things we have left from when our family immigrated to the US in the early 1900s and we want to keep it going if we can!

[@woolandtheforest]

Quilting is such a beautiful and deeply connecting craft form. I'm hundred percent behind your efforts to keep your family heritage alive through continuing this tradition. 🙏🏾

[@nicolekerslake5533]

I live in rural Ontario in Canada my grandparents were farmers and my grandma knit socks for all her children. I make my dad wool socks every Christmas to keep this connection to the past alive. My best friend growing up knit all the time and she taught me using such patience and love.

[@woolandtheforest]

How lovely of you Nicole to honor both your traditions and your father in this way. Truly heartwarming 💙🙏🏾

[@clarityfiberarts]

Hello fellow fiber friend! ( if I can be so bold as to call you friend!). I am so grateful to have been suggested your podcast. Your perspective, your esthetic , all of it brings such a great joy while watching. I share so much of your thoughts about fiber, it too is my everything and has brought me through so much of my life, good times and difficult ones. I am a new empty nester and in so have found myself with more time to devote to my craft and my love for it. I am a new grandmother and am getting to experience babies in a whole new , unbelievable dimension. So much of your content resonates with me even though our journeys are at much different intersections. It’s just another reason why I love our craft. Happy holidays to you and your family and I look so forward to future episodes💕

[@woolandtheforest]

Hello there fiber friend! And of course, even through your words I can see the resonance there. In love for fiber, the journey of it, the experience that is babies, all of it! I've made strong connections in the past two years with women who are at different stages of this woman journey, all well ahead in terms of age of children. It's like having access to a time capsule, psst present future...all to be witness in one place. It's profoundly beautiful. Thank you so much for honoring me with your kind words 💙🙏🏾

[@tyedyediva9671]

I come from very humble beginnings. My mom was a master multi crafter and could make beautiful handmade items from the simplest textiles. She was also an amazing cook. I carry her in my heart with everything I create. So glad I found your channel. It’s delightful!

[@woolandtheforest]

❤️ thank you so much for your sweet words! Your mom sounds like she was a treasure and I too feel that connection to my maternal line most specially when I cook. 🙏🏾

[@midnightknitter5654]

I have never seen anyone in my family knit or crochet. But I was told that my grandfather had a rug weaving fabric. I still love patterns on rugs.

[@goundreykruse]

Very happy to find you again! I listened to your Theo and tog podcasts. You spoke so eloquently and intelligently about yarn and making. Looking forward to following your work here

[@goundreykruse]

Thel and tog (autocorrect!)

[@woolandtheforest]

Oh I'm so happy you found the Tog & Thel Archives! I'm amused to listen to them now years later but still see how much love and intention went into that project. Thank you for being here!

[@goundreykruse]

@@woolandtheforest I listened to Tog and Thel (sorry I got the name muddled) several years ago. It really stuck in my mind and your beautiful voice. It's brilliant that you are on You Tube I'm looking forward to seeing the beautiful things you create. This video is beautifully done

[@woolandtheforest]

Oh wow! That's amazing! Tog and Thel never really had the chance to be concluded in the way I'd hoped, but i still learnt so much in doing the few episodes I did. Thank you so much for being here and for your kind words!

[@praxedesarias4329]

This was such an enjoyable episode. It’s my first time visiting but I will absolutely subscribe. Thanks for all your suggestions!

[@woolandtheforest]

Thank you so much for your kind feedback and for taking time to watch the podcast! 🙏🏾

[@heatherjohnson3074]

Ohhh I was so happy to sit and knit with you! My mom and dad are both artists; my mom makes amazing stained glass and my dad is a master violin maker. We are a family of makers, and our hands are ALWAYS busy! I knit and feel that bond between us, and with all the makers out there!

[@woolandtheforest]

Thank you heather for finding the podcast and spending some time with me today! How amazingly talented your parents are! Wow! I've always been particularly bored by people who have the skill to make musical instruments. My husband is a talented woodworker and I know the respect with which he speaks about people who can make things like violins and guitars out of wood. 🙏🏾

[@christineholbrook1107]

I've just been reading some of the comments that are being left It's amazing where people are from , and their heritage. It's absolutely wonderful,. Merry Christmas everyone from a cold UK x

[@woolandtheforest]

Merry Christmas Christine and thank you so much for finding my channel!

[@storiesnstoneware]

Love the story of your daughter and her journey in creating ❤❤❤ The sweaters are beautiful!

[@woolandtheforest]

Thank you Annie!! I'm so glad you stopped by to watch the pod. xxx

[@karenberg4903]

Absolutely beautiful podcast😊🙏💛! Loved your style of podcast and your personality 🥰 I’m mostly a stranded colourwork knitter. I rediscovered knitting in 2020 when the world shut down and my travel business came to a screeching halt😢. My (deceased) grandparents were born in Norway and came (here), to Canada. During 2020, I dug up boxes that I put aside, from my late mother and father. In there were much info of my history…including Norwegian passports from my grandparents. In what seemed like a dismal time, with the sad state of my business, and really, the world, theses boxes filled with my Norwegian history, I decided to learn Norwegian stranded knitting! This beautiful art, of colorwork knitting, brought me comfort and JOY during some dark days. Thank you for this joy-filled podcast🙏💛! Loved your kids sweet voices in the background & your sweet motherly way with them ❤ PS: I too own and love Kristin’s book!!

[@woolandtheforest]

Oh Karen! I'm afraid I teared up a bit while reading your story. I'm so sorry to hear about your business and how it was affected by all the changes in the world in the past couple of years. It's been a difficult time for so many. What a discovery those boxes must have been! A priceless gift at exactly the time you needed it most. Our ancestors have a way of living on through us in the most amazing ways. 🙏🏾 Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful story with me and for finding the podcast! 🙏🏾💙

[@karenberg4903]

@@woolandtheforest Thank you so very much for your kind and heart-felt reply! You words made my heart happy!! I loved sharing my story with you (& of course, your welcome)! So much good can come from exploring your creative side. For me knitting is a beautiful escape❤. I can't wait for more of your lovely podcasts to relax and knit with🥰 Thanks again!

[@ladyindira]

I'm a Malaysian Sinhalese and my husband is a Sri Lankan Tamil. We're living in the UK. I have only just started knitting this year. This is the first podcast of yours that I'm listening too and am absolutely enjoying it! Your love for the craft really shines through. For your mystery knitting project I'm guessing it is a blanket? 😅 Looking forward to many more videos.

[@woolandtheforest]

Ahh your last name sounds so very familiar! I went to school with a couple of Hendricks kids. It's so funny how Sri Lankans when they leave the country and meet other Lankans always believe they're somehow related. 😄 Please do find me on Instagram! Would love to connect with you! The mystery knit...oooh not quite a blanket but something that will be quite as comfy ☺️

[@camilledavis7088]

This is my first Wool and The Forest podcast and I'm totally enthralled! I came to knitting in 2016 after being laid off from a company that I'd worked for almost 25 years. It was heartbreaking. One of the first things I promised myself was to learn how to knit. I was out of work for about 18 months. Knitting was part of my healing journey and I've been hooked ever since. I recently discovered unspun yarn and am ever so grateful I found this episode. I can't wait to learn more from you! I am African-American and recently participated in DNA testing to better understand my African ancestry. Your conversation on South Asian and Nordic textile traditions was fascinating. It has peaked my interest in learning more about my African textile heritage and traditions. Wishing you and your family peace and joy!

[@woolandtheforest]

Hello Camille! So lovely to have you here! I can feel your excitement and love for knitting and your own ancestry just glowing and flowing through your words. It's beautiful! It's amazing how many people have come to knitting or fiber crafts at the beginning of their paths to healing and finding stability after great upheavals in their lives. I'm so heartened to hear the effort you're putting into understanding and honoring your African ancestry; you honor your ancestors greatly and they are with you and work through you even when you're least aware of their presence. 🙏🏾

[@camilledavis7088]

@@woolandtheforest Thank you for this beautiful confirmation. Blessings to you and congratulations on your new baby!

[@KateColors]

How sweet you are. Congratulations on your newborn. Your knitting is beautiful. Thank you for introducing something Nordic to investigate--I'm looking to improve upon my skills and the book sounds like an excellent resource. I can't wait to see what you've been working on. Have a blessed holiday with your family. --KateColors

[@woolandtheforest]

Thank you so much Kate for these sweet words! I really do think that Kristin's book is an exceptional resource for knitters. Thank you for watching the podcast today! 💙

[@virginiasattler-reimer9554]

What a delight to discover that you now have a video podcast! I always enjoy your work. I have a mixed heritage but what I connect to most is the creative focus I watched in my maternal grandmother, whom I am named after. She needed to make with her hands, as do I, and she was always thinking about ways to use materials, and creating, mostly gifts for others. She is gone now, but I feel something of her with me when I knit.

[@woolandtheforest]

Hello Virginia and thank you so much for finding the podcast and leaving such kind words. 🙏🏾 Your grandmother sounds very much like me; I can't look at the raw materials in nature without wondering of ways to rearrange them into something beautiful or usable... Preferably both! My children too are from mixed heritage and I feel that they are so blessed in that. 💙

[@coletteclark7759]

I live in Canada and learned to knit from my Mother, who immigrated from Ireland in her early 20’s. She is no longer with us but both my sister and I carry on the knitting tradition.

[@woolandtheforest]

Thank you so much Colette for watching the podcast and for joining in the giveaway! 🙏🏾 Lovely to have family that knits together.

[@sunnyw4148]

Both of my grandmothers did it all: knitting, crochet, tatting, sewing, etc. My grandmother taught me to knit when I was 5 by sitting on her lap and repeating in around and out all during her watching her favorite soap operas every day. Decades later after making my own sweaters, my sister taught me to read knitting patterns. Knitting allows me to feel closer to these wonderful makers and many other women in my family who created for their friends and family. I knitted a lot of fingerless gloves this year for many friends to honor our friendship. Giving special treats makes me feel so happy and grounded in my family. I just finished my first Jennifer Steingass sweater and will start another one in January. Why not mail it the beginning of January when things have settled down. BTW Little Big Knits mentioned you and I am glad she did

[@woolandtheforest]

Thank you so much for sharing your knitting story! It's beautiful how you use knitting to connect to both those who came before you and those who share lineage now. How wonderful that you have so many talented knitters in your family 🙏🏾

[@claudia7248]

I knit the Sweater you wear I think 2 years ago. It was so much fun. I love it and have to do another one. Thanks for remembering.

[@woolandtheforest]

You are so welcome!

[@janhatfield76]

Hi! I found your podcast as a recommendation from The Wools Needles Hands Podcast. I am a descendent of seamstress. I love sewing and making garments for myself and my grandchildren. I have expanded this into me side job doing Upholstery. Knitting is my joy, and I so want to learn color work. I throughly enjoyed your podcast.😊

[@woolandtheforest]

Thanks so much Jen for finding the podcast and for leaving this comment! 🙏🏾I was raised by an incredibly talented seemstress and needlework and garment construction is my main area of interest.

[@emmapiontek8447]

Hello from Portugal where we live, in the south west country side. My husband and our 4 children. We are french ( my husband is half french half american from Greenbay) We moved to Portugal 10 years ago. And i knit since i have 8. My grand mother and the mother of my grand mother taught me how to knit. And to be honest it's still the best memories of my childhood. I have spent hours and hours on their knees looking the dance of their knitting needles, the touch of the yarn and this wonderfull '' clic clic'' from their needles. I am in love with naturals fibers and last September i went to Iceland with our little one. A very special trip and also a dream come true. But to be honest, i was a little desapointed about icelandic yarn . It was almost impossible to by some because everybody use their own yarn from their own sheeps! Also, i realised that must Icelandic knits on sale were made by knit machine! Anyway, hope you understand my bad english and wish you a wonderfull christmas with your family. p.s: about your magic kal, i think it will be a beautifull Zimmermann surprise jacket. p.s: i already this wonderfull and very helpfull book so i not in the giveaway.

[@marjaramage478]

I don’t know when I have enjoyed a new-to-me podcast as much as yours on so many different levels. I am Scottish living in the beautiful coastal Georgia of the U.S. My grandmother was an avid knitter who lived in the Orkney Islands during her married life to a minister. Sadly, I never learned to knit from her. My fondest memories of her was watching her knit with great speed with one of her needles tucked under her arm. I came to my own knitting practice here in Georgia and am intrigued by the knitting practice of using a “Makin Belt” as used by the Shetlanders and the “Terrible” knitters of the Dales in England. Many of the Shetland knitters even knitted while walking with the ball of yarn attached to their shoe. I tried knitting while walking much to the chagrin of some of my neighbors who already think of me as “slightly off center”. LOL! I am drawn to rustic yarns, tweedy looks and natural dyes from lichens which I suspect harken to the dyes the Scots used to make their tweeds. Looking forward to what you are going to do with your Nutiden. I am just fondling mine for the time being, it being so precious! Also, I think your mystery object is going to be an abstract blanket! Hope to see you soon, Marja.

[@woolandtheforest]

Hello Marja! Thank you so much for your kind words about the podcast! I'm so happy you found it. And oh I think you are speaking about the same style of knitting that is related to Irish lever knitting. It's a modified version of that knitting with the needles tucked under the arm that I do as well. Except instead of taking a long needle under my arm I use a circular needle which sits in the crook of my thumb and forefinger. Thank you so much for sharing your phone memories of your grandmother. I do hope that you continue to practice with your knitting belt and continue perplexing the neighbors 😄!

[@meryemeabdellaoui2883]

My younger daughter’s name is also Suraya. It’s wonderful for you to pass down the passion for fiber art through generations. I have a distant memory of my mother knitting us winter sweaters when I was little, as a way to cope with her role as a young mother away from her extended family. I only learned to knit when I got pregnant with my daughter 5 years ago and I haven’t put down the needles since. I’m an immigrant in the US as well from the Morocco. I’m happy to have found your podcast, it’s very heartwarming !

[@woolandtheforest]

Oh hello dear and how sweet that you two have a Soraya in your life! I feel close to your mother's experience as I too started knitting for my little ones in many ways to deal with the isolation of living so far from my family and community. Thank you so much for being here and for watching the podcast! 🙏🏾💙

[@werenrodemamre9974]

My mom didn't like to knit, but she was amazing sewing. My grandma have knitted all her life and her mom worked embroidering. So, one way or other, the manuality always has been on my blood. But as all these women passed away before I knew them deeply, I use manuality in an way to connect with them and find my own heritage thru the threads of life.

[@woolandtheforest]

Oh how beautiful you put; the threads of life. That is exactly what I feel I do every time I work with fiber. I am connecting to those who came before me 🙏🏾💙

[@joeandewaczyzyk2634]

Hi Daki! I just found your podcast and am so happy I did! Colorwork is on my bucket list to learn and I would love to try knitting with Nutiden. I grew up in Poland and only recently moved to the US. My grandmother taught me how to knit and we always had a few sheep that we kept for wool. Both my mom and grandma could spin and then they knit socks and mittens for us kids every year. Home spun, undyed wool was a staple in our home. We didn't know how lucky we were. Love your podcast! 💗 Keep up the good work! 🧶 Ewa.

[@woolandtheforest]

How incredibly lucky to have been blessed by hand knit socks and mittens every year! 💙 My life is far too full for me to even dream of treating my own children this way. I knit for my first born and the rest pretty much ended up inheriting 😄. Thank you for your kind words about the podcast and for joining in the giveaway!

[@heathermato2779]

Such a lovely podcast. I so enjoyed all the baby babbling. He's adorable. My family is from Eastern Europe, mostly Germany and Ireland and England. I did an Ancestry test a couple of years ago and discovered that I have a Swedish ancestor on my father's side and one on my mother's side that no one knew about. Years ago I had a co-worker refer to me as a Nordic princess, I guess she was right 🤣😂

[@woolandtheforest]

Isn't that wonderful? Ive always had a strong sense of experiential knowing that our ancestors live through us so strongly; often we are too unconscious to discern their workings until something big happens. 🙏🏾

[@juliesheetz1]

I will always remember my first purple crochet hoot and how it felt in my hand 55 years later , thank you grandma Mary! Such nice comments on here , like little stories;)

[@woolandtheforest]

Isn't it lovely Julie? I've been so honored by all your stories and sharings! 🙏🏾

[@aquinnahsun]

Daki, I’ve really enjoyed this video, and plan to go back and catch up on your earlier ones as well. I do have some Nordic heritage according to a DNA test, but I didn’t learn knitting from a female relative. My mother did some sewing, mainly as a way to save money during my childhood. We lived in the warm southeast of the US, and nobody we knew was a knitter. I took it up in my early sixties when my first grandchild was about to be born, and I haven’t looked back since then (6 years ago). I appreciate fine things, and fine handmade things should be cherished. I would love the book and will probably buy it if I don’t win a copy! I am so happy to see younger people around the world taking up knitting and other traditional crafts.

[@woolandtheforest]

Thank you Paula for sharing your making journey and for joining in the giveaway! I too didn't know anyone who knitted when I was growing up and only found it many many years later when I first moved to the US. And since then it has been a never ending love of my life. Thank you so much for watching the podcast! 🙏🏾

[@BR54niner]

First time here and I truly enjoyed seeing all your lovely knits. Took me a bit to get used to the sniffs but the yarny goodness made it worth it. 😁 ~Tammy NC

[@woolandtheforest]

Sorry about the sniffles and thanks for watching the podcast!

[@BR54niner]

@@woolandtheforest 😘😘🥹

[@almostyou]

What a lovely podcast. I am impressed that you are able to get anything done with four kids, two of whom are under 3! I only have one very active 3 year old and feel like I'm constantly behind on everything! We are similarly far from extended family and then the pandemic added another layer of isolation from community for most of my child's life. It is a wild and incredible ride. I am half Mexican American, half white European mutt (definitely some French and German in there, probably some British and who knows what else). My dad's family were migrant workers, so what I most learned from them was not craft so much as strong work ethic and making the most of very little. My abuela's creative expression was mostly poured into the incredible meals she made using the most humble ingredients. On my mother's side, my memories of my grandfather are of him slowly and carefully creating the most incredible cross-stitch pieces. He was so precise and careful in his work that the back sides looked as beautiful as the front. So, I suppose the thing I have taken most from my family is the notion that patience and care produce incredible outcomes. I learned to knit from an 8 year old using pencils and cheap acrylic craft yarn at the before and after school daycare where I worked in college...and I never looked back

[@woolandtheforest]

What a wonderful story you have shared with me! Learning to knit from an 8-year-old must have been an honor indeed! Thank you for sharing the story of your grandparents and the crafts they each practiced with such care. And I hear you when raising children away from the community in which you grew up. It's hard, but it is also an incredibly strengthening experience 🙏🏾

[@kgillespie4463]

Hi, Daki. I'm a first-time viewer and just wanted to say how much I've enjoyed hearing and seeing all you had to share, and your presentation. I'm in the midst of some last-minute gift knitting so just a quick note to say thanks. I'm the midst of my first colourwork project and will check out the book you recommended, for technique help and project ideas, and also to explore more about my Norwegian heritage. Thanks for all of the inspiration -- can't wait to watch more on your channel.

[@woolandtheforest]

Hello there and thank you so much for leaving this comment and for watching the podcast! I'm so glad to hear that you'll be chasing down Kristin's book; it is an absolute delight and will teach you much I'm sure. 🙏🏾

[@CherryHeart]

This was a lovely episode. I especially enjoyed those beautiful opening scenes, so peaceful and soothing. Your jumper is amazing, I am so in awe of colour work in knitting as I can’t seem to master it at all but yours looks immaculate and your daughters version too, so cute! I also enjoyed your happiness when talking about the roving yarns and the colours, I could feel your excitement coming through the screen. Also the little baby sounds, delightful. Goodness, it takes me back! ❤️❤️

[@woolandtheforest]

So lovely to have you watching the podcast Sandra! 🤗❤️ Thank you so much as always for making time for me. The baby sounds I'm trying to hold on to every moment. As long as they'll let me ❤️❤️

[@carrieahall85]

I just discovered your channel and really enjoyed listening. I have a love for all traditional crafts and the use of natural materials. From making my own paint from rocks to processing raw wool for many uses. I think this comes from my rural upbringing in the northeast and my mother teaching me many crafts growing up. I was taught to crochet as a kid but as an adult I was drawn to the look of stockinette stitch and have a desire to learn all creative things so I taught myself to knit a few years ago. I also love everything nordic, my family and I have been fortunate to be stationed in Germany for a few years on military orders. Our trip to Norway was everything magical, fishing in the fjord, hiking viking trails, picking apples, visiting the fish market... I fell in love with the country and hope to someday return. Our time in Europe had such an impact on our lives, learning to adapt the slower lifestyle and spend more time with family and nature. It helped me realize that my art needed a prominent place in my life and I have been on a creative journey since. Anyway...now that I have written an essay, I am intrigued by your review of this book and have added it to my Christmas list :)

[@woolandtheforest]

thank you so much Carrie for stopping by and watching the podcast. And thank you for sharing your story of your making journey and how you connect to your traditions through all your artwork. I lived the military life myself for many years and was raised in the military as well. So i well understand that feeling of becoming immersed in another culture that can happen while being stationed overseas. It's such a priviledge! Thank you for joining the giveaway!

[@paulam.5785]

I was taught to knit by my mother who was born of German immigrants. She was a sewist and loved knitting. I am about to start my first colorwork sweater. I'm an English knitter but would love to knit it with both hands. I am a first time viewer and have enjoyed it so much. Your enthusiasm is contagious. Thank you.

[@woolandtheforest]

Thank you so much for joining in and for sharing your knitting story! I'm glad my love for wool and knitting shows ☺️ Kristin's book is amazing at teaching colorwork knitting!

[@Anne-lv2qg]

Oh, I just found your channel, and I absolutely love it! There is a very calming energy coming from it. I have a lot of respect for the way you use textiles, and knitting, as a way to connect to the world, and your heritage. I personally come from a family that was more into sewing and embroidery, my grandmother on my father's side did some fabulous embroidered pieces, and my mother is an accomplished sewer. My mother's mother mainly knit socks, and her mother was the one who at the end of summer always asked: "Do you have any need of another sweater?" and would proceed to knit the most fabulous garments. I do all of these crafts, to keep my hands busy and to enjoy beauty taking shape under my hands.

[@woolandtheforest]

Thank you Anne for sharing your textile heritage! My family too were sewists and needleworkers with not a knitter in sight. But I too like you dabble in all the delights of these various crafts. They bring so much quiet joy. So glad you enjoyed the podcast!

[@dinyrohrbach5679]

Hi there, love the colors you choose for your afmaeli sweater! There always was knitting and sewing in my family; my mother also was a master in mending knitwear. It made the repaired object even more beautiful. My father knew a lot about cloth, he worked in the textile industry when it still was situated in the netherlands.

[@woolandtheforest]

Thank you so much Diny for watching the podcast! I very much agree that skillfully mended clothes can actually enhance the original item to something more beautiful than what it was 🙏🏾

[@titobear13]

I really enjoyed your podcast. You have such a soothing voice and your background is so warm and cozy. I learned to knit at a craft night at a bookstore almost 5 years ago. Such a lovely craft that you can share and grow into. Your sweaters are lovely. Looking forward to more of your videos. Congratulations on the new baby! He is so vocal, I love it

[@woolandtheforest]

He's just finding his voice and wants everyone to know! 😄 That's the most beautiful thing about knitting isn't it. The free and effortless sharing of it with others. An instant way to connect. Thank you for taking the time to comment and watch the podcast 🙏🏾

[@knittingonmymind5900]

Hello! I am new here! Your channel is very inspirational! I have Christines book, its wonderful!! 21 years ago I moved from Sweden, my home country to Austria, with my family, three young children and my husband. We were not going to stay very long but liked it so much that we are still here. Even though it is not so far away, I miss my country, its culture and traditions etc. It was very important for me that our children grew up , so have always spoken swedish at home and we celebrate the different swedish holidays in a swedish way. Since I was a child I have known how to knit, as most swedish girls my age we used to knit hats and mittens etc etc in school and in lectures later at uni… Since I live abroad, the knitting is a bond that i have to my home country and a craft that cherish. I knit (mostly) scandinavian patterns and with scandinavian wool ❤⭐️❤⭐️❤

[@woolandtheforest]

Oh how beautiful and thank you so much for sharing this heartwarming story about how you keep the love for your country and your culture alive in your home, passing it down to your children. I have so much appreciation and respect for people who do this intentionally and consciously as parents. It's one of the terrible effects of the modern world that we live in that so much of the newest generation live disconnected from their ancestors and their heritage. Thank you for honoring yours 🙏🏾

[@debwillner5598]

I was so happy to find your podcast. Your feminine quality and soft spoken yet excited way of presenting your knitting is very welcoming for me. I got the pattern for the sweater you’re wearing and look forward to knitting bottom up. I also ordered the book you talked about and look forward to it. I just received my order of nutiden today and I’m so excited to swatch with it. I have no guesses for your mystery knit! I can’t wait to see what it will be!

[@woolandtheforest]

Thank you so much Deb, for your kind and supportive words. I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed this podcast! And thrilled to hear that you'll have Kristin's book in your hands soon. It's such a wonderful resource. And I hear your excitement about the Nutiden! 🙏🏾✨

[@marydownes3869]

This is the first time I've viewed your podcasts and really enjoyed it! Especially the baby noises! I have a 9 month old grandson who is very vocal and I'm so enjoying him. I'm actually working on a colorwork sweater right now with Plotulopi and agree with you on the preference for bottom up. I like knowing exactly what my gauge is going into the shoulder area as you can always adjust the body but the shoulders are much harder to adjust. This one is my second colorwork sweater and I'm doing it with two hands and love it. Much better than carrying the two colors in one hand, especially with such sticky yarn. It is a very simple pattern and I hope to have a better result than my last one. The neck/shoulder area didn't fit well. I would love to get some Nutiden but have not yet investigated the best way to do that. I'm sure it is hard to get! My heritage is 100% Irish and I'm a long time knitter of Irish sweaters and anything cabled. My mother and grandmother both knit and sewed and I've been working with fiber my entire life! I love the history attached to the different cable patterns and swapping out different cables in sweater patterns. And I love the history of the Irish guernsey/gansey sweaters, which is not far away from the history of the fishing villages of Iceland! I'm also working on a cabled pullover for my great niece who is competing in Irish Dance and has just won the right to compete at the national level next summer. Thank you for the great video! I'm recently retired and getting back into spinning and possible dying so I'm anxious to look up your other videos and the podcasts about Ireland that you mentioned!

[@woolandtheforest]

Thank you so much Mary, for your kind words about the podcast and for sharing the story of your making heritage. To me cable knitting and Ireland are synonymous, and what a wealth of textile heritage you inherit through that. Your niece is so lucky to receive such a gift. A true heirloom! 🙏🏾

[@amycarlson6034]

First, I want to let you know I love the baby sounds, and hope you keep letting them be a part of your podcast. Your whole esthetic is beautiful and I'm happy your channel popped up. My heritage is mostly Swedish and Irish. I learned to knit at the age of five on my mother's lap, and it is one of my most vivid memories of early childhood. When I am knitting is when I feel the most connected to my heritage. I love feeling the fabric grow under my fingers, and after six decades it still feels like magic!

[@woolandtheforest]

No wonder you feel the tug of your ancestors when you knit; learning to knit on your own mother's lap at five years old. Amazing! Thank you so much for such kind words about the podcast Amy, and yes I'll definitely allow my darlings to pop in and out of the podcast when they wish. I can hardly do otherwise anyway 😄🙏🏾💙

[@jordanchase2153]

I love how your personality shines in your video! It’s so refreshing to find a fellow mother who is trying to find the time to pursue your passions as well. Keep recording and sharing with us!

[@woolandtheforest]

🙏🏾🥰 thank you!

[@dinahward164]

Some of my family has a reindeer farm in Sweden, which isn’t a fiber animal. And my closer family has always been farmers. I grew up with livestock and a small homestead, but again never with fiber animals. Spinning, knitting, and weaving with locally sourced fiber is a way that I like to connect with and give back to people who do similar work as my family. Although I don’t have deep or direct roots in fiber arts, I think the fiber and farming communities are both wonderful places that I never regret supporting.

[@woolandtheforest]

Both the fiber and the farming communities are so closely linked. I'm finding that out more and more as I connect in real life with people who raise the wool that we work with. Thank you so much Dinah for taking the time to leave this comment🙏🏾

[@loriezientara6062]

My paternal grandmother came from Poland alone at 15. She was a crocheter. Two or three of my maternal aunts and my mother (1st generation Americans of French Canadian decent) were all knitters. I learned to knit at 12, but didn’t really take an interest in it until I had babies to knit for. I have recently begun challenging myself with new techniques. Your podcast is so informative. Unhappily, I have missed the chance to win the book on Norwegian knitting, but you have encouraged me to not be afraid to explore those beautiful patterns. Thank you! I’m enjoying your informative and relaxing program. I love that you keep your children close.

[@just_me8796]

You're so Zen! I really enjoyed listening

[@woolandtheforest]

Thank you so much!

[@ksdunlap1479]

I bought a plate of Manchelopi out of curiosity in a LYS last month, and now you've got me so excited to try it out! I've never knitted with unspun before.

[@woolandtheforest]

Manchelopi is definitely on my list as well!

[@loishafford199]

Knitting is part of my immediate heritage in that my mother knit and taught me as a child. When I returned to knitting as an adult, I wanted to learn more about my nordic roots in that craft, specifically traditional Danish knitting, but also the broader nordic traditions as well. One of the first projects I knit as a part of this exploration was a pair of stranded colorwork mittens.Thanks for the lovely podcast! It was the first episode I've watched; I discovered you through Cary of My Wool Mitten.

[@woolandtheforest]

Thank you so much Lois for being here! Cary is a dear friend and you are most welcome to my podcast 💙🙏🏾

[@barb2083]

My paternal grandmother's family was from Sweden, grandfather's from Norway and maternal grandparents' from Ireland. I think knitting is in my veins. I just discovered your podcast and it is BEAUTIFUL. I had to smile when you asked about speaking too fast, because I found the entire podcast altogether calming. Thank you!!!!

[@woolandtheforest]

Oh thank you Barb I'm so glad to hear that you felt that way about the podcast! Thanks so much for joining in and for sharing the story of your knitting heritage 💙🙏🏾

[@jenniferkesler7934]

Just found you and your channel and I’m hooked! Thanks for sharing your passion and knowledge. Heritage wise, I think I’m still discovering it, but my grandparents were painters, so the idea of painting with yarn very much appeals to me. ❤

[@woolandtheforest]

Thank you for watching and joining in Jennifer🙏🏾!

[@Nicole-pg3mr]

Just found your podcast, so nice to get a nice introduction to you and your projects. I was one of those who was taught to crochet by my Grandma at about 10 years old, and was briefly taught to knit by my cousins about the same time. I have recently picked back up fiber arts, finishing projects in both crafts (hats, scarves, cowl and almost done with a kid-sized sweater). I aspire to be a colorwork sweater knitter, and have plans to cast on a project using Finn sheep yarn from some friend’s sheep as soon as I complete my current project. Enjoy the PNW, the Olympic Peninsula is so lovely.

[@woolandtheforest]

Thank you so much for sharing your knitting and makers story ! As someone who didn't have a grandmother who I shared any making or crafts with I think it's wonderful that you had that connection with crochet and knitting with your family. I do hope you get the chance to practice some colour work. It's completely addictive! 😄🙏🏾

[@MsFuzzyBuddy]

I loved your podcast! It's funny I don't have a knitting heritage at all. My parents are from Western Canada but my mom learned to crochet which I had no interest in. In 2021 I was finally able to get that fire going and learn from KZbin and I'm thrilled I did. Women such as yourself have taught me!

[@woolandtheforest]

So glad you found your way to crochet!

[@MsFuzzyBuddy]

@@woolandtheforest I'm seeing now my comment wasn't well worded lol. I don't crochet at all, I'm a knitter! But I'm happy too, thanks!

[@diba412]

🙏loved listening to the little one and your giggling was fun! I enjoy knitting, crocheting and doing all kinds of things with thread...knitting and crocheting makes me calm and feel 😊 happy...

[@woolandtheforest]

Thank you so much! I do adore baby noises and can listen to my little one endlessly 💕 🙏🏽