My favourite Elizabeth Zimmermann book is the Knitter’s Almanac. When I first encountered it a few years ago, I remember being very struck by the passages on reading while knitting (in the ‘April’ chapter). At the time I thought this was utterly remarkable — combining two activities simultaneously? Two activities requiring two very different kinds of concentration? Surely it was impossible! I have since discovered that this is not the case, and that reading and knitting actually complement each other rather well. Clearly one should always trust EZ. In fact, I now find that knitting serves to focus my reading in quite a weird but useful way. I tend to read quickly and impatiently, but knitting makes me slower, more careful, and much more methodical. At the moment I am catching up with a backlog of books for review. One has to take one’s time with those. This is just the right kind of reading to knit to.
This is what makes the whole thing possible.
I am very fond of this bookstand, which is made of a lovely old piece of oak. It gets a lot of use, and in fact I tend to treat it rather brutally — it usually sits on my desk overloaded with a few too too many books and scribbled notes. This is probably all too evident from its battered appearance, and the several places where it has been fixed and glued.
In terms of the knitting, I just needed a project that I could go either round and round, or back and forth with, in a relatively simple manner. No cables or lace. I found such a project . . .
. . . and both the reading and the knitting zoomed by at a ready pace. Yesterday I wrote up my reviews, and in the evening sewed up this:
A bolero jacket from this collection by Debbie Bliss.
It hasn’t been blocked yet, and I think it probably needs it, but the slightly uneven (would others say ‘rustic’?) appearance is at least partly a feature of the yarn its made from — handspun cashmere that I bought at Teo’s on Skye last summer. Knitting with this stuff was amazing. I can only compare the feeling to running ones hands through a bowl of sifted flour of a very fine grade. Ah me. The gauge was quite difficult to approximate because of the way the yarn behaves — it wasn’t sure from one row to the next whether it wanted to be aran or chunky. But I trusted my instincts and Debbie Bliss, and it worked out just fine. I knit it on 5.5mm needles, rather than the 6.5 the pattern calls for, and this has produced a shape that’s reasonably tailored on someone with narrow shoulders like me. Not a Spring jacket, by any means, but just right for now.
Can I say that several hours of careful, focussed, and stimulating reading while knitting cashmere at the same time probably constitutes my ideal working day? A shame that writing while knitting is a complete impossibility. . . . or is it?
Pattern: Bolero Jacket, Debbie Bliss “Simply Soft”
Needles: 5mm (for ribs) and 5.5 mm
Yarn: Teo’s handspun cashmere, 450g.
KDD & Co 
I have never commented on someone’s blog before, but having seen your bolero, I just thought that as a fellow knitter I would write how much I admire your handiwork!
It’s beautiful. You’ve almost inspired me to try to make one for myself!
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So very lovely!
I just found your blog and love it.
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The bolero looks great with your skirt. I did almost all of the reading for the final year of my degree while knitting, it definitely helped me focus and it was also nice to have a visual indication that I was actually making progress!
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Lovely- and such a pleasing product of reading! I’m very taken with your skirt too, is it your own doing?
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What a graceful and feminine ensemble! The colors, the textures, and the lines are most attractive. You look lovely!
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i’m very interested in making difficult reading easier. though i’m so bad at knitting it’ll have to be some simple-minded crochet project.
the bolero is great, but you know i’m a sucker for your book reviews. are we going to get a taste of them? or are they not craftly?
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Catching up on your blog this morning reminded me that I have a similar bookstand (I bought it while living in Indonesia) – I must get it out of the cupboard and back into use when I move in to my ‘studio’ – outbuildings at the top of the garden which are being converted into an office and sewing room (my husband can’t wait to get all my sewing/knitting stuff out of the smallest bedroom, the hall cupboards, the wardrobes…). I love your latest offering – such a lovely colour and shape. I’m off later on a weekend ‘retreat’ with the quilt group I was a member of before we moved to the Borders – bliss!!
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That is truly lovely, and I can’t imagine how luxurious it must feel to wear a handspun, handknit cashmere bolero while you are reviewing your next set of books and knitting.
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Beautiful! I love the subtle colour contrast between the bolero and the velvet ribbon. A classic knit! I hope you get a lot of wear out of it!
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I’ve been meaning to figure out how to read and knit at the same time…. I’m a very fast reader, though, and I wonder if turning pages wouldn’t get in the way of my knitting.
As for knitting and writing at the same time, you’re going to have to learn to do one or the other with your feet!
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Ooh yes–dictation/voice recognition software will surely be the way to achieve this (someday?). I have a “tablet” laptop but I haven’t used its voice recognition feature yet. Fabulous idea and the bolero came out very nice.
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what a perfect bolero, and a great project to choose. I usually opt for simple hats or scarves to knit whilst reading, though it must be said that i usually end up getting more engaged by one activity than the other, and the multitasking is dropped. That stand is beautiful though, as is the lighting in your photos. And I was just wondering – are you wearing a petticoat under that skirt?
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I need a bigger computer monitor to catch those wonderful large photos you’ve got.
Every time I flip through Knitter’s Almanac I am delighted. It holds some new little treasure in each passage and with each subsequent reading. Thank you for reminding me, I think I’ll go have a look at it now.
Yes, and beautiful new jacket.
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Just beautiful! The color, the shape, and the wonderful photos.
I need to find a sturdy bookstand like that. I knit easy things while reading, too, but my bookstands tend to be flimsy metal/wire things.
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I was knitting while reading electronic journal articles at Senate House library the other day and someone asked me what on earth I was doing (as I was surrounded by undergrads watching television on various streaming sites, I’m not entirely sure why I stood out as misusing the place).
As for writing, when I was last assessed for dyslexia needs they offered voice recognition equipment. I didn’t take it because I couldn’t be bothered (plus I like to write in libraries…) now I realise – I could be knitting while I ‘write’ – darnit!
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I love the bolero, and the skirt. Is that one of your creations? It’s fantastic.
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That’s just beautiful.
I have the Almanac waiting for me to find the time….I can’t wait.
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You look so great in that outfit–the bolero is perfect with that skirt. Very vintage-looking.
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I tend to concentrate more easily if knitting whilst reading too, becoming more patient with denser critical tracts and articles. I use this:
http://www.gimbleuk.com/Library/book-cup.jpg which isn’t ideal, but does the job for smaller books.
The bolero is gorgeous: the texture is really highlighted in the photo, and looks soft and springy. And that skirt is great!
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You bolero is gorgeous. Love the velvet ribbon!
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The Almanac is my favorite EZ book as well. Just yesterday I was scanning it for entertainment. She has such a great way of conveying useful information while making me laugh.
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