Donna Druchunas's Blog

Ethnic Knitting: A Roundtable Discussion
by L'Tanya Durante
Originally published in Black Purl Magazine, Winter 2008

Donna Druchunas, Author of Ethnic Knitting Discovery and Arctic Lace: Knitting Projects and Stories Inspired by Alaska's Native Knitters

On inspiration…
"I love textiles from different cultures, and I love old and antique textiles, too. I get a lot of inspiration from these things and it does carry over into my own designs. Sometimes I try to copy something very directly, to transpose a Mexican weaving pattern into knitted colorwork, for example. Other times the influences are more subtle, but they are still there. My choice of colors, for example, or my decision about what fiber to use for a specific project, might be determined by something I've seen or read about in an ethnic textile tradition. I collect a lot of books about textiles, many of which are about other techniques besides knitting."

I'll be on the YarnThing podcast tonight! More info here!

For several years, I made a living doing knitting-related work. I wrote articles and books, designed garments and accessories, and tech edited books for publishers and yarn companies. After a while, it became too much. The tech editing stressed me out, always worrying about mistakes I may have missed in other people's books, and I felt that the editing work was stealing energy from my own creative endeavors. So I went back to my day job to pay the bills, and so I could keep doing my creative work -- writing and designing -- but without so much financial pressure. The last book I tech edited is one of my favorites. This would be one of my favorite knitting books even if I hadn't edited. It's just the kind of book I like: it has projects and techniques, but more importantly it has stories. This is a book by one of the few knitting authors who is also actually a writer. (Many knitting authors are fabulous designers but have other people who do writing for them, sometimes they don't even write their own patterns. That's not a put down, it's just the way it is. Not all authors are designers; not all designers are writers.) I love it, however, when I find another writer/designer.

Fiber Gathering by Joanne Seiff is a book about knitting, but it is also so much more. There are knitting projects, as well as crochet, spinning, dyeing and rug hooking projects, but is also so much more. Like all of my favorite books, the ones I go back to over and over again, this book is filled with stories. In this case, the stories are about the fiber festivals around the United States. Great for the armchair traveler, this book will make you want to get off your butt and find the closest (or most exciting) fiber event and head out right away! If you've been to fiber festivals before, this book will leave you feeling a little sad, missing the great experiences you had in the past, and a little excited, anticipating the great experiences that are yet to come. Read a chapter, close your eyes, and you'll find yourself engulfed in the world of fiber festivals. Read before bed and I guarantee that your dreams will be filled with the best colors, sounds, and tastes you've ever dreamed of.

My interview with Joanne is below the fold.

Today I'm pleased to participate in the blog tour for the new book, Walking Nature Home, by my friend Susan J. Tweit.

I can't remember how I first met Susan, whether it was through Women Writing the West, or through Deb, my editor at Nomad Press. All I know is that I was impressed with her writing and the way she manages her life and career. I also admire her ideals and values: her appreciation of nature, her love of gardening, her embrace of people, and her open and affirming spirituality. I'm always amazed by how often I meet people with whom I share so much, although I never go out of my way to meet people who are like me. Coincidence? Serendipity? Luck? It's probably just that we notice what we are interested in, what we are paying attention to. Sometimes it's difficult to pay attention to what's around us because we are so self-involved. But when we take the time to look around, to smell the roses (or the coffee), we will always have a worthwhile and memorable experience.

Because I've been working on a memoir for the last couple of years, and that book has stalled because I keep changing my mind about what I'm writing, what I want to write, what I should write, and what I think about everything I'm writing (and not writing), I asked Susan questions about her writing process and her experience working on a memoir. Her answers go beyond the writing process and will give you a taste of her writing and a glimpse into what her work is about in a larger sense. I hope this interview will make you want to learn more about Susan and her writing.

The interview is below the fold.

The Ethnic Knitting Exploration blog tour kicks off today with a stop at Tales of a Keyboard Biologist, the blog of fellow Lithuanian-American (Amerikos Lietuvė), Theresa Walunas. Theresa talks about how we met through knitting and our shared Lithuanian heritage, and she interviews me. It's a great kick-off to the tour. Thanks Theresa!

Tomorrow and Friday, I will be posting interviews with two authors here as part of their book blog tours, so don't miss that! The first is Joanne Seiff, author of the new knitting book Fiber Gathering, and second is Susan J. Tweit, author of a poignant memoir, Walking Nature Home. These are two authors that I met accidentally on my own writing journey, and with whom I've since become friends. So welcoming them both on their book tours is both a professional and a personal pleasure for me. I hope you'll check back to find out about these two authors and their work.