by Joanna
When I was a little girl, my grandmother took me to her local yarn shop. It was located in the small town of Chestertown, NY, in the beautiful Adirondack Mountain region. The shop owner was Annis Holmes, an incredible needlewoman, who, at 91, was still running her shop, taking internet orders, and teaching knitting classses multiple times a week. Annis also self-published four knitting books, and carefully preserved an Adirondack knitting tradition known as Buff Knitting. I am very honored to have shared her story in a recent magazine called Knitting Traditions, which is published by Interweave.
Annis passed away this spring while I was doing my research for the article. Fortunately, her daughter was most helpful in sharing photos, memories, and articles about her mother. I wish I could have known her.
Annis, as a visiting artisan at Camp Sagamore.
Collection of Ada Cross
The last winter before my grandma passed away, she knit hat-and-mitten sets for her great-grandchildren. Her stitches were tidy, the color choices and fit were perfect.
Grandma with our older son, 2005
The mittens she made were from one of Annis' pattern books.
me and our older two children, 2006
The women are gone, their knitting lives on.
"…their knitting lives on"
ReplyDeleteI like that…
Thanks, Jill! I can't wait to hear news from you!
ReplyDeletePlease let me know where I can get a pattern for buff mittens I would love to make them for my grandchildren.
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Phyllis McIntyre
Gramchops43@gmail.com
Thank you for asking about my Buff Knitting Pattern. I currently have a child's version of the Buff Mitten published in Piecework magazine, it is on the newstands now. It is the January/February issue of Piecework Magazine and is the historical knitting issue. I hope this helps!
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