In Stories In Stitches 3, I tried a new experiment. I included a bit of art history!
One of the projects, the Flying Fish Knee High Socks, were inspired by a pair of socks made in Belarus in the early 20th century, with colors inspired by the artwork of Marc Chagall, an artist who was born in the same area.
Although Chagall later lived in France and, for a time, in the United States, his artwork is deeply influenced by his early life, growing up in a small town in Belarus. The area was all part of the Russian empire at the time and Belarus did not exist as a nation, but the village where my great-great grandmother and her family came from, the town where a knitter made the original fish socks, and the town where Marc Chagall grew up were all in the area that is now called Belarus. All of these people called their towns shtetlach and spoke Yiddish because they were Jewish.
I love Marc Chagall’s paintings for so many reasons, but mostly because of the bright colors, the surreal viewpoint, and the combination of modern styling with historic — or even nostalgic — subject matter.
We often mourn the loss of Eastern European Jewish culture, and blame the Holocaust for this loss, but in reality, the old traditions of the Jews were already passing away in the early 20th century, just as the old traditions of people of so many other ethnicities were. Modernization was coming to Europe and, for better or worse (and in reality, a little bit of both), things were changing. Even if the Holocaust had not occurred, odds are the world of the shtetl would have passed into memory during the 20th century.
Chagall himself left behind the traditional life of his parents and grandparents and lived a very modern and cosmopolitan life as part of the Paris art scene in the 1910s and 20s. The influence of modern art and experimental styles and techniques is clearly seen in his work. During the second world war, he spent several years in the United States, but never felt at home on that side of the Atlantic ocean. During this period, Chagall painted some of his saddest and most poignant paintings of his early childhood, as well as many paintings of Jesus on the cross, representing the suffering of the Jewish people.
Marc Chagall captured what have become iconic images of shtetl life. And what may be surprising to many of us is the diversity in these small towns. In many of his images, Chagall illustrates Jews and Christians, synagogues, and churches! Life is never as simple as our memories, it seems. And when most of the people who might remember life on a certain street, in a certain village, at a certain time are gone, whatever memories we have are necessarily only part of the story.
“When we realize that there is never a single story about any place, we regain a kind of paradise.” – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
To learn more about how my family, Marc Chagall, and socks with fish are related, get Stories In Stitches 3!
Experience level – advanced beginner
After I finished my Arctic Lace Knitting Book, I finally allowed myself to explore the world of lace knitting and discovered that is is much more varied and elaborate than I could have imagined. Around the world and over time, knitters in different countries and regions have developed unique styles of lace knitting that range from easy-intermediate (like the knitting of the Oomingmak knitters) to advanced-insanely- difficult (like some of the Victorian patterns designed by English knitters). Other lace styles are used in Estonia, Russia, South America, Lithuania, Germany and Austria, and New Zealand. I’m sure there are even more, but these are the styles I’ve explored so far. – Donna Druchunas –
Experience: All skill levels, basic knitting skills required.
Have you ever wondered why some people can read charts easily and others find them incomprehensible? The truth is, charts are written in a code that can be deciphered by knitters who learn the symbols on the page and in their knitting. Charts do not use arbitrary symbols, but each symbol includes the instructions on how to make the indicated stitch! In this class, you will learn the secrets of interpreting chart symbols for texture and cable stitches.
