Menokreatikkul; Saturday Stitches - Men Part 2

Thank you for the warm responses to last week's post on men and the yarn crafts. I had a full giggle at David's topical comment regarding NOT making a pink sweater! The furore was quite ridiculous. There are countless sweater designs on the market in various shades of pink. The idea of pink for girls and blue for boys only became established in the mid-20th century, primarily driven by marketing. Previously, the association was inconsistent and even reversed at times; for example, around the early 1900s, pink was often considered a stronger colour suitable for boys and blue a more delicate one for girls. 

A slight digression, but it's important to note that one can wear whatever colour one wishes. You all know by now I love colour. Any colour. 

I promised a little more about the yarn crafts and men involved in it, but I will do so from the perspective of a show that has begun here on the UK Channel 4. Some of you will already be aware of it - and, maybe, some of the controversy that has arisen. I will go into that further in next week's post.

Today, though, I want to highlight the fact that of the ten initial contestants, four were men. That's a 40% representation. Brilliant! 

There is Holger Auffenberg, German-born but long-term UK resident. He is highly skilled in the craft of knitting and proficient in crochet. His work is in fashion design, so he has a head start there, too. His Ravelry page is dedicated to socks. However, he has excellent sweater skills... as can be witnessed in this image...

Image copyright to Simon Fannon

Holger designed and knitted that amazingly detailed sweater, and while skull and crossbones may not be to everyone's taste, it cannot be denied that this shows great skill indeed.

The other fellow in that montage is the second of the men in Game of Wool, Simon Fannon, aka VeteranKnitter. Not because he has been knitting for ever and a day, but because he is an ex-Royal Marine who saw service in Afghanistan. He and Holger have formed a great rapport through the show (one of the few true attractions of the thing). Holger was particularly supportive of Simon when he was sharing with the group how he and his wife have been undergoing that often unforgiving process of IVF - the subject he chose to build a theme from for the very first creative challenge in the show. Simon now makes a living as a construction worker, and he uses his breaks to knit in his van.

The youngest contestant on the show is Isaac (surname as yet undisclosed). He has only been knitting for a little over a year, but is already quite decent at it, so he is managing to hold his place so far in the series (four eps down at the time of posting). He is fond of intarsia work, which is impressive for a comparative novice. (aside: that link goes to a blog with a clear description and instructions... by a male knitter...) 

Now, we come to the fourth male knitter who started the show... and to the disgust of just about every viewer, became the first to be "cast off"!

Gordon Cree is an experienced and skilled Fair Isle knitter. The very first challenge was to create a design in "Fair Isle" for a tank top (sleeveless sweater). I will say more about this next week in the post specifically about the show. By that time, I will have seen the fifth episode - but will say here that the only reason I am continuing to watch it at all is because of Simon and Holger, plus two of the women, Lydia and Ailsa.

I took the screen print from one of Gordon's explanations of colourwork on a sweater he is currently making for himself. That YouTube channel I linked to his name was started as a direct consequence of his being booted from the show. The very first video gives a much clearer explanation of what happened and why he was eliminated. He has had such a rush of followers and those of us keen to see more of his work, that he is continuing with the videos, including this very useful little info-byte...

It is not dissimilar to my own crochet first stitch - but is a little more stable, I think, so I will be seeking to adapt - and using that to loop in a new colour is fab!

Gordon is said in the show introduction to be a 'cruise ship singer'... which is almost insulting. He is a highly experienced musician and composer (he wrote the piece that opens his videos), with a wide variety of performance styles. If you are interested in learning more, you can read the biography on his homepage.

There you are - knitting and crocheting are for everyone! Of course, it has to appeal to the creative side of one's being. It is helpful to know, though, that both Simon and Isaac started knitting in response to a need for mental relief. They both relate to the calm it brings, as well as the engagement of figuring out stuff when it goes wrong!