Hello! We are beavering away behind the scenes, getting ready for the first pattern from Rip it Up, and Start Again. Tomorrow, there’ll be a newsletter, and club members will receive the first pattern, together with a separate email containing your discount code, and other essential club information. Please check your spam folders (where this email might land) and file it somewhere memorable. There is quite a lot for us to do on the first day of a club, and it can sometimes take a wee while for Ravelry to send out patterns to all club members so please do be patient – if you haven’t received your pattern and email by Saturday morning, feel free to send Maylin a message and let her know: help@katedaviesdesigns.com.
If you are interested in joining the club (there’s still time) you can do so here.
How will the next few weeks pan out? Well, each week there will be a pattern (Fridays) and an essay (Sundays), each of which are focused on a particular musical theme. Each week I’ll also be making a suggestion for a classic album (or two) for you to listen to as we build our playlist together. My musical tastes are fairly wide-ranging and eclectic, so hopefully you’ll find something among the playlist, as well as among the patterns, that’s enjoyable and / or inspiring.
Just like the patterns, I can’t tell you any more about the music I’ve selected in advance (no spoilers here), but today just for fun, I thought I’d link a few songs from the knitter’s jukebox I’m putting together, which I’ve shared today as an itunes playlist . The jukebox is very much a collective work in progress, and any suggestions of knitting-related songs that mean something to you are very welcome: please add these in the comments. I’ve also linked youtube videos (below) and apologise in advance if any of these don’t play where you are due to rights restrictions (sadly beyond my control).
1 Bill Oddie, The Knitting Song. Performed on Thank Your Lucky Stars, this novelty spin-off of Shirley Ellis’ popular Clapping Song was recorded by Oddie for Parlophone in 1965. Sadly not available on itunes.
2 The Sultans of Ping, Where’s me Jumper? (1992). Catchy early ’90s post-punk classic which reached 8 in the Irish singles chart and 67 in the UK. Dancing in the disco, bumper to bumper, wait a minute . . .
3 Prince and the Revolution, Raspberry Beret (1985) needs no introduction.
4 The Police Wrapped around your Finger (1983). The second single from the bands final studio album, Synchronicity, this very 1980s video features Sting bouncing up and down in a corridor inexplicably formed from a million burning candles. I find thinking about the logistics of this video unbearably distracting: how and where did they set this up and shoot it? Did no one think Sting’s gigantic floaty white suit represented a serious fire hazard?
5 The Average White Band, Pick up the Pieces (1974). Topping the US singles chart in October 1974, and surely one of the best funk sounds to ever come out of Scotland.
6 The Temptations, Ball of Confusion (1970). How could we not include this Motown masterpiece, written for the Temptations by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong?
7 The Beatles, Twist and Shout (1963). I enjoy the comparative restraint of the studio audience when the Beatles appeared on the Swedish TV show Drop in, in October, 1963.
8 Noel Rosa, Com que Roupa? (1930). In Noel Rosa’s hit song, the narrator’s threadbare garments were interpreted by his Brazilian audience as symbols of the economic depression (and revolution) which shook the country in 1930. Perhaps he can knit himself something to wear to the samba? You can’t beat the original, but I also enjoy the audience participation in this great live performance by Teresa Cristina
9 John Coltrane, My Favourite Things (1961). Coltrane took the popular Rodgers and Hammerstein tune (with its warm woollen mittens), stripped out its familiar chord changes, and transformed it into a mesmeric modal vamp. This performance is from 1965.
10 Orchestra Baobab, Coumba (1982). Not about knitting specifically, but a deeply evocative meditation on colour and emotion.
11 Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Pick Yourself Up (1936). A cheery lift, courtesy of Fred, Ginger and Jerome Kern, for whenever you need to pick yourself (or your stitches) up . . .
Do me know (in the comments) if you have a tune you’d like to include on the knitter’s jukebox, and you can join the Rip it Up club here.
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