MY KNITTING MEDITATIONS
A pictorial exhibition
Kunda Silimkhan
POORNAM- CENTRE FOR HOLISTIC WELL BEING Panaji-Goa
MY KNITTING MEDITATIONS
A pictorial Exhibition
Kunda Silimkhan
©author
January 2014
Panaji-Goa
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I thank my paternal aunt, Mrs Malini Daimodker, who on a very busy morning found time from her cooking chores to find knitting needles and some wool to give me my first instructions in knitting. I made a hair band in blue woolen yarn.
My second guide was Mrs Arcangela Fernandes, my crafts instructor in school who taught me to knit baby socks.
Then my next big project was a woolen coat for my mother under the guidance of my neighbor Mrs Rudrangi. Earlier attempts at learning to knit sweaters had failed because another neighbouring teacher had found me wanting in skill.
Mrs Rudrangi had great patience with my impatience. I love the cables I knitted under her guidance. after that,I kept knitting from books but never really completed anything big .
My specialty during those days was to leave everything incomplete unless I wanted to gift it to someone.
The next teacher was my grand aunt Mrs Kalyan Bhandari.
I had gone to see my cousin’s trousseau and instantly fell in love with a circular doily she had knitted.
Soon after the wedding, I pestered her for instructions and made two doilies under her guidance.
If she had not lent me her needles and books I would not be able to place this book before you.
Following a busy schedule in Internal medicine for twenty years left no time for knitting. I would occasionally crochet some doilies to gift.
Then, in 2006, my friend Mrs Philomena Barreto gifted me a knitted doily getting back old memories.
She was even generous enough to lend me her bamboo needles and her collection of patterns.
Seven years had to pass till I could get back to some intense knitting.
I have also picked a few patterns from Yarn Over and other friends.
I thank all these people in my life because knitting for me is not a hobby or pastime but a means to get beyond time…. a journey across time.
Some patterns in this book are copyrighted, others are in public domain.
I do not know the original creators in most cases so I have refrained from naming people. But I sincerely wish to thank all the creators of lace. They have made my world very beautiful. I still dance a jig when I complete a doily or do a Sufi swirl and it amuses my mother.
So, thank you all again for making my mother and me happy.
Another person I have to thank is my brother. During school days, when I left my half done work in the sitting room, my brother would pull down the whole work with a twinkle in his eye.
I would have loved to pull it off myself. Sometimes his goal was to get me irritated but I would guess his ploy and mockingly hit him without losing my cool.
A free lesson in Anger Control……
And today, he did all the photography for this book.
Wxw|vtà|ÉÇ
This book is dedicated to all the followers of Sant Kabir and others who believe in and practice Communal Unity.
jhini re jhini re jhini chadariya, jhini re jhini re jhini chadariya ke ram naam ras bhini chadariya, jhini re jhini re jhini chadariya ashta kamal dal charkha doley, panch tatva, gun tini chadariya saiin ko siyat mas dus lagey, thokey-thokey ke bini chadariya so chadar sur nar muni odi, odi ke maili kini chadariya das kabir jatan so odi, jyon ki tyon dhar deen chadariya
Sant Kabir
Sant Kabir, referring to himself,
This cloth is very fine.
It is woven in the essence (soul) of the name of Ram (Chanting) The Charkha or Spinning wheel spins with its eight- petaled lotus
(asthada Prakriti or the eightfold aspects of manifestation)
Composed of five tattvas and three Gunas as the pattern or blue print Sai took ten months to weave ( in the womb)
Pulling the threads to give the right weave(tension)
Worn by the Gods, men and sages ( all who take a body)
They soiled it with use.
Das Kabir says, I have nurtured with care
And one day will leave it(body) here.
Prologue
I mentioned knitting meditations in one of my book and my friends wanted to know what I actually meant by it.
My maternal aunt was visiting one day. She loves knitted stuff but has not learnt knitting.
She suggested I build up a collection of knit doilies and then have an exhibition.
I don’t have time to organize an exhibition plus I am still just learning to knit. I have yet to create my own signature designs. They are hibernating in my head.
Until I get to actualization of all that is dormant, I thought I will set up this pictorial exhibition on the web and make my aunt happier.
If it inspires at least a few people to tap their inner talents, whatever they may be, I will consider the effort of this book well rewarded.
Introduction
The year 2013 was a year of intense activity for me writing or editing so many books.
Writing too many books at one go would have driven me mad if I did not have my knitting to fall back on.
The coming year, 2014 is going to be more hectic and I hope I find time for some bobbin lace.
My friend, Mrs Cassia Paes and family have gifted me a pillow and bobbins that belonged to their late mother. I am lucky to meet such kind and generous people.
I believe in the law of attraction but for those bobbins I had to visualize for over thirty years. Nevertheless, I am fortunate to get them at all when I had learnt bobbin lace-making through the internet.
It was one lace I had craved for since childhood. With bobbin lace, I could say all my lacey desires have found completion. No need to be born again to knit and weave.
For a healthy functioning of the brain and stress free life, balancing right and left brain is very important. The right brain is responsible for imagination and the left for creativity (see Study Less Score More for more on brain)
Of all the activities I do to balance my left brain, knitting and crochet stand prominent.
When I have no time to do them, I have to be satisfied with singing or dancing.
The question will arise in the reader’s mind
Why knitting of all things?
Firstly, I am passionate about lace.
Knitting brings me joy.
Knitting inspires me to create. Any lace brings out the beauty of creation.
Though I am fascinated by the laces of the 3Dworld, they are nothing when they are compared with the exquisite designs seen in the Tapestry Room of higher dimensions which is worth a visit if you love designs.
Secondly, knitting or weaving keeps me aware.
If I miss a stitch, the whole effect is lost.
Sant Kabir and his message of Communal Unity had attracted my thoughts since childhood.
Sant Kabir weaved his way to ‘Selfhood’
No big ashram, no display of disciples, no show … no renunciation of the world….
No mountains , no Himalayas
No risk , no loss of money
Utter simplicity.. mundane practicality
Just ‘ here and now’
That is what lace is, Here and now
Shift from here .. shift from now …and..
Oops ! I have dropped a stitch.
In the patterns I have showcased, if there is a line of irregularity along a radius, then it is because of my short needles but every time there has been a mistake otherwise, it was because my awareness had wavered.
Another group of people who have aroused my curiosity are the self- effacing cloistered nuns.
The best needle work of the world and especially lace can be traced to the cloistered nuns.
You may have a masterpiece from Duchrow or Niebling today but the basic stitches were still part of the Nuns’ creations for centuries.
And their greatest attribute is that they have done it anonymously.. Just for the love of God.
I wanted to get that effect in my life while knitting my doilies.
This could be an opportunity for me to pay a tribute to their many sacrifices.
I owe them a lot, trying to learn from them the art of letting go competition and struggle and living a life of surrender .
Thirdly,
India is faced with a job crunch.
We have an affluent, upcoming , aspirational middle class with growing needs.
And the Chinese have built a strong export industry to cater to these needs.
China supplies the world’s lace at a very cheap rate.
The quality of Chinese lace is so poor that I would feel it humiliating to gift someone with it.
Every blouse that is made in India is embellished with such laces.
People are seeking quantity, so quality is compromised.
If Mr Narendra Modi is serious about his 5 F program, then lace should feature at the centre-point.
FIELD FIBRE FABRIC FASHION FOREN
I am not for the final F though. The why of it I have discussed elsewhere.
Now, either Mr Narendra Modi or the MODI THREAD COMPANY could take this issue seriously.
Lace has the capacity to provide employment for nearly one lakh women and they can even sell lace online.
Add to it, the thread manufacturers and farmers and rest of the people involved…
How many in thread making?
How many in cotton cultivation?
5 lakhs?....quite an achievement of the humble lace.
The women of Gujarat especially the Muslim women have a knack for artistic things , a natural propensity borne out of tradition .
Lastly, knitting teaches me management
If I can manage a thousand stitches on my short needles, managing people becomes easier.
It reflects my mind
If the mind is too relaxed, the knitting is loose….
Why did I choose Four Needle Knitting?
I chose the four -needle knitting because it requires more awareness.
Moreover, in Goa you do not get long needles or circular needles. Traditionally, people used bamboo needles. Since bamboo needles damage the thread, I prefer the nine inch short needles used to make collars, aided by lifelines to prevent the stitches from falling off.
This required me to be very aware. Miss one stitch and all the work is lost.
It takes more time to recover than to do it over again. So, by default I remain in ‘here and now’.
Circular knitting requires one to have a fair knowledge of geometry and arithmetic especially if you want to alter designs or create your own designs or restore a work.
It requires you to have a good power of visualization.
Remember the best patterns were created in an age when there were no computers. I am in awe!
Painting and other arts require imagination and creativity but do not require so much of calculation.
In that sense, circular knitting provides right and left activity simultaneously.
You can’t get lost in circular knitting as in painting.
You can’t touch it up.
You get lost in knitting and you have a mess, no place for reveries here.
You get lost in painting and you may have a different and better picture.
Circular Doilies, Chakras and Mandalas
Another reason why I like circular doilies is because they resemble chakras or mandalas.
The size, the color and pattern code for a different energy.
I can feel the energy though I cannot make any technical sense out of it.
May be in future, we will have machines to measure subtle energy and a doily for every disease.
I will try making a graph using my RFI TM scanner.
Color and Consciousness:
There is something very thought provoking that I learnt while knitting.
The shop keeper would tell me to take all the required yarn from one batch so that I will have a uniform color.
All knitters are aware of this.
But what I learnt was that if Mr A added x gram of color to y litres of water and dyed z kg of white yarn , he would get batch 1.
If during the next round, the same Mr A kept all factors precisely constant and dyed the yarn , the batch would slightly differ and would be called batch 2.
The difference in shade would only be obvious after knitting.
Remember, I am talking of the best yarn manufacturers in the country .They have high quality control …yet….
What is this factor which is not technical?
What is this fudge factor?
Is it mind ? consciousness ?
Pictorial Exhibition
My First Big Project
A coat for my mother 1979
Guided by Mrs Rudrangi
KNIT DOILIES
The patterns here are picked from the Portuguese patterns donated by
Mrs Philomena Barretto . They were written in short forms. With my limited knowledge of Portuguese, I had quite a time deciphering the notes.
It was almost like unraveling the Da Vinci Code.
By trial and error , I got them right…..
Or maybe I created my own patterns
There were other patterns gifted to me by my grand aunt written in English or Marathi.
Some were donated by friends on the net.
Others are my own baby steps at creation.
When the stitches could not be held on the needle, I morphed the pattern.
When I get bigger needles or circular needles, I will redo some of the patterns just to preserve them for posterity.
Otherwise, the joy is in the knitting and not getting exact replicas.
Wherever the proper name is available, I have mentioned it.
My first knitted doily - 1984
Done with crochet cotton No 20 on No 13 needles , 14” long that belonged to my Grand Aunt, Mrs Bhandari.
My aunt had stretched her doily oblong and it looked like oval doily.
Unfortunately, I ran short of thread and wound up the last two rows prematurely which makes it curl at the edges.
I can redo it differently but I like to keep this doily with the defect because it teaches me acceptance.
2008
I repeated a smaller version of the first doily with 9’’, size 11 needles and knitting cotton which I knitted in a train while travelling to Bangalore
.
My Second doily: 1984
A beautiful peacock pattern
This was done with peach colored crochet cotton yarn No 20 and No 13, 14” needles.
I never preserved the pattern. I assumed it would stay in my memory bank.
But when I sought to recollect the pattern in 2013, it was lost from memory.
So, I did reverse engineering (without unraveling of course) and recovered the pattern.
But since I had no access to No 13, 14” needles I had to manage the show with No 12/11/10 nine inch needles.
So, I decreased the number of feathers to seven and did it pink color .
I want to repeat the original with peacock blue yarn some day.
My double pointed needles- Eight and Nine inch long
An antique Portuguese Pattern
This doily was preserved by my neighbour, Mrs Lata Dharwadker.
It was knitted circa 1960 by her relative Mrs Raiker.
Done with a two- ply white woolen yarn, it was in tatters.
I used some of my mother‘s left over soft crochet cotton thread from Graphico to temporarily restore it till I can get the right woolen yarn.
The cotton thread was the same diameter as the original woolen fiber, yet there were gaps on restoration.
So, I learnt a lesson in COHESIVENESS.
WOOL has a gathering or binding influence like egg or cornflour in the kitchen.
The pattern resembles the Portuguese Pattern ESPIRAT
2013
All of the following doilies here were done in 2013 when I was attacked by a virus called ‘Do or Die’
Espirat
With No 11 needles and crochet cotton No 20.
Larger version of Espirat with finer needles No 12
Notice the difference in appearance with change of needles.
Pinnas –central portion
I will be doing the full patterns later. For now, I wanted to learn the basic types of petals.
Filomena
A eight petals lotus.
Most doilies have EIGHT petals.
They fit comfortably in a circle.
Julia- morphed
This is very beautiful lace. It will look even better when completed.
Cardos
When I started this pattern it looked boring.
In fact, I left it alone with the centre part done for a month.
I usually don’t undo anything. I leave it for a later time and start something new.
Even the mistakes are kept .
But when I completed it later, it was a “ wow!’
Remember, I didn’t have pictures. I had to do the doily to see whether it was beautiful.
Same is true with my life. There are times when I feel it is so monotonous and boring till I pep it up with novelty.
If I keep going then one day, it will be a “wow”
I don’t have a picture of my entire life.
I don’t know my life’s script at one go.
It is revealed to me row by row.
I can alter the pattern to suit my taste but I have to knit it as I go..here and now.
If at row 24 , I decide I want a change at row 48, I have to wait till row 48 to make that change.
I can morph it, but it does not look as good unless I am an expert sage.
I can abandon it, but it is useless to anyone then.
I can make mistakes and correct them at the next round.
I can accept it the way it is.
And each piece (life-time) is a wow!
All knitters will agree with me.
Tulipan- centre portion
There was mismatch between needle and thread, I did not continue it.
But kept it for the lesson of balancing things it thought me.
I may still do it one day to see whether I can put the threads together of this doily and life…….
Marta -morphed
This is another white wonder .
Naperon with crochet cotton
Naperon with knit cotton
Moddo sem nome pequeno
This one was gifted to me by Mrs Philomena
My morphed version
The original pattern had eight petals. Mrs Philomena smartly did seven.
I realized my mistake half way through.
Rosace
A Very Hearty Spread. I love it!
The name was faded. This is the morphed version.
Teresa
English patterns
Gothic Cobweb Doily
The inner cobweb was so slippery that I spent one week doing and undoing it on the nine inch needles.
The thread became so soiled that I abandoned.
This was done with new thread and lifelines.
It will look good in a frame.
Chrysanthemum
smaller version of Chrysanthemum
Cornflower Doily the original had 14 petals- central portion- has butterfly stitches
I did not know how to keep so many stitches on 3 needles.
So, I adjusted with 7 petals. There was so much in built flexibility, that the pattern still looks good. There is always another way!
Or when one door closes look for another door or a window.
Cornflower -central portion with 7 petals.
The Hemlock Doily
Central portion
The leaves continue….gathering stitches(knowledge)…..
EZINE
Morphed
The central part has perfect symmetry and geometrical
The leaves were free style… morphed here.
Original German
Ranunkel
Anleitung Design by Gisela Beyer, 2001
Frosted Ferns
Central portion
Others
Ulma
Pretty Petals morphed
Not starched
Little flower from Bad Cat designs
Liz Snella Doily
Ullstein
Vintage pattern – petals with net
Vicki knitted Heirloom lace -morphed
Feather Stitch
We can keep expanding this one..covering the whole world with our love.
I don’t know whether this has a proper name.
I like to call it Sunny Days are here again.
Again , very intricate.
I marvel at the ingenuity of the creator of this pattern
…. And THIS BIG CREATION
My baby steps at creation
My project for 2014: Pillow lace
My precious gifts
Pillow lace doily:
Sorry, I didn’t do it. But I wish I had.
This exquisite pattern of pillow lace was done by a lace maker from Odisha, India . I bought it at an Odisha fair. I could not trace the name of the artisan and I rue that it picked up rust when I left it in a box well covered with tissues.
It is done with very fine thread probably No 80 but of poor quality. All the effort is wasted by not providing the artisans with good yarn .
We have wonderful lace makers in India but they are paid little . There is no need to import lace from China.
Appeal:
If any of the readers have old magazines or hand -written notes on knit doilies in any language and do not know what to do with them, just scan them and send them to some lace museum. Please do not throw them out. Knit doilies bring joy to knitting addicts like me.
If you wish, you can send me a copy too… at [email protected]
Your contribution will be acknowledged on my website and also on the LACE PROJECT website.
Do not destroy your antique lace even if it is damaged. Photograph and post it on pin-interest or any social networking site.
Someone in your neighborhood may be able and willing to restore your doily for you.
Epilogue:
I am still learning a lot of things about knitted doilies and with them about my mind.
Sometime next year, I plan to knit my first LYRA and Goldegren , two patterns of Herbert Niebling I really love.
I was wondering why I should catch this knitting virus.
But nothing in my life (or anybody’s) is random. I had to wait and watch.
I didn’t have to wait long.
Something interesting happened while I was working on the doily project.
I was invited to give a yoga program for a women’s home in a coastal village of Goa.
At the time of this visit, I tried to check out what I could do for the women.
A little more contemplation and The Lace Village Project was conceived and will be delivered as soon as I get funds for it. For more info, see LACE VILLAGE PROJECT which I will post shortly.