knittingthestash Episode 157: Northland Adventures

[@bags-by-carol]

Loved seeing a new episode - my librarian, academic geek side enjoyed hearing about your research and book project! Best of all things combined fiber and research.❤

[@debbieretzlaff2912]

Beads of sweat pouring down❣️😂 Love you guys❣️

[@manicspinner1959]

Those newsletters could be a genealogical gold mine for family researchers....

[@catblues8645]

I just love the dynamic between you two 😂

[@paulalafontaine8020]

Whenever I see Spencer I a chuckle because I sewed a button on my first cardigan with his instructions, tutorial. Super funny. I even tried to make my non knitting partner appreciate the humour.

[@knittingthestash]

Oh that's wonderful to hear :)

[@michellelindgren8419]

Hi Melissa! Really great sweater for Spencer. I really like Petite Knit’s patterns, although I’ve only made one. 😊

[@MaCo-v4v]

Spencer, use needle felting to felt a bit at the top of your sweater! Then you can cut it open with no risk of further damage to the sweater and it will perfectly match your old one 😂.

[@knittingthestash]

Now that's a good idea!

[@juliecanknit2]

Am I reading right? Northland sweater using Southlander yarn? 🤯

[@knittingthestash]

hahah yes!!!!

[@louannahendricks1598]

Just ordered the Northland sweater pattern I think my boys will love it, thank you!

[@knittingthestash]

Great! It's a lovely pattern!

[@Janet-ov7zx]

So, sounds like this is your first introduction to mill villages. I grew up in a textile town in the 1950’s and 60’s. At one time its claim to fame was that the town had the most cotton spinning spindles in the world. Yes, everything was provided by and owned by the mill. Schools, churches, housing, recreation, and stores all owned by the mill. They published their own newspapers, as you've found. They had their own police and fire fighting forces. With many mills, the workers were paid not in dollars but in chits, which meant that they could only shop at the company stores. After paying monthly rent on your mill house and buying your groceries at the company store, people were left close to penniless until the next payday. "Moral infractions" as defined by management, could cost you your job, which meant that you and your family would be homeless, but without any savings in real money to start over somewhere else. There were zero regulations on air quality or exposure to cotton lint and dust, so the majority of workers developed brown lung, and eventually could not work. We would drive by one mill on the way to school, where cotton lint was so thick in the air over the roads beside the mill that it would look like it was snowing. If someone could no longer work, they then lost housing, unless they had a child now old enough to take the parent's place in the mill. Although my family did not work in the mills, I saw the impact of this paternalistic control in my friends' lives. So many quit school as soon as they could, at age 16, to go work in the mills, and keep the cycle going. I suspect the northern wool mills and mill villages were similar. The transfer of the textile industry abroad devastated families who had worked in and relied on the mill for everything for generations. The towns were equally devastated. Some of the smaller towns in the county where I lived have yet to recover. harpingJanet

[@victoriaressler3547]

Wow that's very interesting. Thanks for sharing!

[@knittingthestash]

Oh my this is awesomely awful, Janet! Thanks for sharing some of your story here. These mill towns certainly have a fraught history.

[@lilbruin]

Fascinating, Janet, in a "can't look away" kinda way. "St Peter, don't you call me, cause I can't go. I owe my soul to the company store."

[@Janet-ov7zx]

@@lilbruin Those kinds of song lyrics are based on sad truths about so many industries, textile mills and coal mining especially.

[@paulamedeiros2477]

Thanks!

[@knittingthestash]

Thank you, Paula :)

[@lilbruin]

"That's where yarn should come from." Agreed! (though, having said that, I do buy Cascade and Patons. I know, I know.) . Have you got a line on anyone with a couple of named muskoxen? Dying to get my hands on some qiviut.

[@7nancylou]

Clara Parkes from the wool channel did a short about how lanolin is used in the production of Vitamin D. It was interesting . 23:58

[@judyperodeau4945]

Thank you for this video.

[@knittingthestash]

thanks for tuning in :)

[@AnnieM-54]

In Australia we have traditionally referred to DK yarn as 8 ply.

[@knittingthestash]

Yes!! Totally spaced on that reference. Thanks for the reminder :)

[@thegrynne]

You should check out Ysolda Teague's Anyway Sweatshirt pattern! I that distinctive collar feature that Spencer likes.

[@knittingthestash]

OooHhhH thanks for the tip!

[@genier7829]

Nice to see you both, we are leaving sweater season but I'm thinking ahead to next winter. Would the NZ yarn be good for cables? I'm looking for a dark olive yarn and the Phineas color looks ideal. The lanolin talk reminds me of my water district days of FOGs (fats, oil, grease) , the leading cause of sanitary sewer spills. Aah, good times.

[@knittingthestash]

Oh man, yes, it's all about the grease in the water . . . sigh. The NZ yarn would be great for cables! How much do you need? I don't know how much extra I'll have after Phin's sweater, but I would be happy to send you any remainder :)

[@genier7829]

@@knittingthestash I'll need about 1700 yds, because cables.... which yarn is this? I saw Southlander DK, but not 8 ply. I already have several dark olive wool sweaters, but apparently one can never have enough, so many subtle differences😉

[@sunnyw4148]

I like both of the sweaters you are wearing. Have you ever read Amoskeag: Life and Work in American Factory City by Tamara K. Hareven and Randolph Langenbach.. It is a classic

[@knittingthestash]

Thanks, Sunny! And I have not: I'll have to check out the source. Thanks!!

[@newmoonjlp]

Melissa, tell us about the hand painted sign behind you! Is that a Spencer creation?

[@knittingthestash]

Oh, that would be great . . . but no. It was an Amazon thing. It ever lights up!

[@cheryldowd6916]

Believe it or not company’s use to care about their employees. Their lives outside the company were celebrated. When you were hired you were welcomed to the family by other employees. It’s a shame those days are gone.