Debby Abrahams
I learned to knit at summer camp, but being eight and impatient, I abandoned a scratchy wool scarf in garter stitch after about 4 inches. Thanks to my grandmother, I learned to crochet. Seventeen years later, the sweater I was crocheting called for knitted ribbing, I was astounded at how much faster knitting seemed to be and I was hooked. I love the harmony and contrasts of color, the complex pattern charts, the yin/yang of positive/negative space, and the ability to create something useful and attractive. I took workshops from brilliant knitting stars. I followed patterns, and gained enough skill, first to revise them, and then to write my own.
As my expertise grew, I shared it with others, as so many more experienced knitters had with me. In passing on my skills, I feel that I am part of a wonderful tradition. I give workshops on intarsia, entrelac, knitting with beads, selvedge stitches, double i-cord, and the tubular bind-off, and give illustrated programs on shadow (also called illusion) knitting, mathematical connections to knitting, learning to read one’s knitting, and most recently, options for optimizing unavoidable “dye lot madness”
My interests now center on knitting lace items with beads, and exploring the vast offerings of soft, colorful, durable, and delicate yarns, both commercial and artisanal, so far surpassing the scratchy Brunswick Germantown wool of yesteryear. I am honored to say that of my five entries in the Finger Lakes Fiber Festival knitting compettitions, two have garnered blue ribbons, and three have earned red ones.
Knitting is soothing when I'm tense, and engaging when I'm bored. After 41 years of knitting, I seek to apply all of my experience and understanding to each stitch, and any fiber. I make every knitting choice with function, use, and aesthetics in mind.
