Unraveling the Mysteries of Linen: A Journey into Knitting and Creativity
Grab this free guide + Listen to the Episode =
A free masterclass on linen, knitting, and developing your creative spirit
(you are welcome, My Friend!)
Let’s venture together into the captivating world of linen, unveiling its historical richness, strength, versatility, and how it lends itself to knitting.
We'll dissect its journey from the flax plant origins to your knitting needles, offering practical advice on care, winding, and usage. We'll also draw parallels to other fibers, particularly bamboo, and cotton, highlighting distinctive differences and similarities.
As we navigate the intricacies of knitting with linen, we'll delve into the importance of safeguarding your hands and maintaining their health. From mitigating the twisty nature of the stitches to understanding the energy they carry, this episode is full of useful and actionable insights. You'll learn about the necessity of swatching and the impact of stretching and washing on different yarns. It doesn't matter if you're a seasoned knitter or just starting, the tips and encouragement can help!
But it's not just about the knitting. We'll also explore how your words and thoughts shape your creative spirit, becoming personal rocks that can either hinder or enable your growth. Drawing on my experience and the shared frustrations of fellow knitters, we'll discuss how these challenges can be channeled into becoming our best creative selves. So, if you're a thoughtfully creative spirit or yearn to grow in that direction, this episode could just be the catalyst you need. Let’s knit and grow together!
Ever wondered what the secret to a beautifully knitted linen piece is?
I had the joy of hosting a series of workshops that were live, and they brought me such joy that I wanted to be thoughtful to the many people who sent me messages that said: Hey Mel, in my time zone I'd have to get up at two o'clock in the morning! or This day of the week I can't make it…, and so the great thing about having a podcast or a blog post to support knitters is you can listen to this episode or read this post when it suits you.
I also want to offer the workshop itself as a template for you to think about anything. Consider the word LINEN in the title, in brackets, for which you could substitute entrelac or lace or color work, or even different blends of fiber that you haven't tried before. Or maybe crochet or spinning… Anything that is going to be new to you that you may have a bit of resistance to trying, either because you don't understand it fully (I know how that feels) or because you've tried it before, unsuccessfully (I know how that feels, too!)
One of the reasons I want to share with you this journey, this opportunity, is so that you can be empowered.
One of the reasons I want to share with you this journey, this opportunity, is so that you can be empowered. If you're thinking: I hate linen and I don't want to use it, then I still encourage you to listen to this podcast and read this post so that you can prove yourself right.
If you're the person who says: Yes! I love linen, but I use it all the time and I have some frustrations, this is also for you. You can dig in and hear some solutions.
In fact, I want to stop for a second and share just some of the feedback that I got from people in the workshop so that you can hear their take, because where I am today and how I love linen and playing with linen and working with linen and even designing and linen, I am here at that experience now and that experience, that feeling, may actually be 180 degrees from where you are. Maybe you can hear yourself in some of these comments:
“That was helpful in so many ways. I didn’t realize the excitement I would feel about all my projects after finishing the workshop. I mean I want to cast on with linen and linen blends and pretty much everything in my stash. ”
“I really enjoyed your class. I learned so much about linen and appreciate you taking time to share your knowledge. I’m mentally going through my stash and hoping I have some linen to try your pattern. Thank you again for your time and sharing with us”
“The workshop was very informative. I especially appreciate the tips for winding linen. So many workshops are about the mechanics, but the personal experience tips are my favorite...The things I didn’t know to ask.”
“To be honest, I almost didn’t go. What a mistake that would have been! I have three kids under the age of 8 and I was super tired. But I did go! And it was so good! An hour of self-care, education, and inspiration. And I still can’t understand how it was free. Thank you for your time, the free patterns, and the new confidence I have with linen.”
“I can’t believe you’re giving me this shrug pattern on top of the free class. I feel like I should be paying you for a Master Class. I had fun, I learned so much and I almost FREAKED OUT when you shared HOW YOU CARE FOR YOUR LINEN! I loved this class, thank you.”
An anonymous review shared that by being part of the workshop, she was inspired not just to explore linen but to dig into all the different things she has in her stash that she hasn't used. She felt excited and empowered and encouraged to dig in with her own two hands to figure out what she could learn herself. (All that from a free class isn't that bad.)
And so now here is your opportunity! Listen to the podcast or read along here after you download the free workbook that goes along with this post.
And now, let’s explore linen & our creativity together!
Linen responds to us differently than what we experience with wool
And I'm going to give you a story that is going to make this stick with you:
I have a wonderful, wonderful friend who lives in Pennsylvania and when I stay with her I have a little log cabin that is my temporary home. I cherish the fact that she shares it with me. Now, when I walk out of it, a little ways off to the right is a barn and off to the left is a greenhouse
The barn. Let me tell you about the barn. The barn is a wonderful construction. It's got beautiful thick stone masonry along the bottom of the structure. And above that gorgeous stonework is wood that creates this massive door that goes up three stories. It's just got this huge roof and it's red and it's vibrant. It has this cute little side entrance that I tuck in through every day that I'm there. The door is split so the top can be opened to let air come in and the bottom can open, too. It's just so good to go through that door into the barn. I go in several times a day when I'm staying there.
When I walk into the barn there are horses inside of it, and chickens and very vocal sheep! They call out to me in these loving, endearing ways. They're like BAA! BAA! I walk in there and I feel like Rocky Balboa on the tops of the steps raising his arms. They're cheering for me. Yay!
I get this wonderful sensation walking into the barn. The response from the animals is so inviting and so sweet and it serves my heart well.
Now, like I mentioned, when I go out of the log cabin to the left is a greenhouse. It's very, very robust, and it's beautiful. The bottom of it is brick. It goes up maybe a third of the way for the walls, and then it has this glass and metal construction that the light is bouncing off of. The door in the front is this beautiful glass and metal and as I open it up and it has that soft metal creak to it.
Inside the greenhouse there is, oh my goodness, this beautiful haven for rosemary and basil and oregano plants, just going crazy in there. There are also hydrangea shoots and fuchsia and a host of colorful plants in there as well. There's a koi pond with the water trickling and the koi just happy to swim through. There's crunchy rocky gravel under my feet as I walk in
And when I walk in, there's silence.
It's quiet in there, it's warm, there's no sound, it's still, and if I breathe or if I talk, it's like the sound gets pulled in by the plants. But there's no clapping, there's no BAAA!, there's no feedback, there's no neighing, there's no clucking, There's no whinnying, there's no baa, there's nothing.
And the plants are still beautiful and enjoyable.
And what does that mean here? If I walk into the barn and I think of that response that I get from those animals, that's perfect, it's the perfect moment.
If I walk into the greenhouse with these beautiful plants that light up my soul because of their beauty, and I walk into there and expect the same response from those plants as I do the animals, I'm going to be disappointed. When I walk into that greenhouse there will be no plants calling to me. There will be no plants flapping their wings or whinnying or tossing their heads or nuzzling up to me because they want those little treats that I can give the sheep.
That response is not there.
Is it because the plants are jerks? No, it's not. They're not giving me feedback. They are giving me different experiences from what I get in the barn.
And I want to submit to you for consideration: the woolly, happy, beautiful fibers give us the barn experiences. And when we work with linen, we're going to get linen experiences, ie greenhouse experiences.
For us to think that linen has to behave and act and our approach to it needs to be like the approach we have with the animals in the barn is unrealistic.
We don't approach the plants in the greenhouse in that way. I'm not going to go into the greenhouse with a handful of animal treats and a curry comb and treat the plants to those things.
And in the same way, I'm not going to take compost and put it around the sheep in the barn. Two separate experiences, two separate approaches, and I think considering those things will serve us well as we move forward and talk about linen.
All right, my friend, I hope that you are excited as I am because when we realize that our approach to wool and linen can be the same way as that earlier illustration of the barn and the greenhouse, it opens up so many moments of discovery. And that same idea is applicable to all parts of knitting and creativity. It isn't that wool is better than linen. They are different. Their results and behaviors are different.
If you are interested in learning more about working with linen, or developing thoughtful approaches to your knitting, definitely download the workbook and have a listen to the podcast workshop!
