Monday, July 25, 2011

A Field Guide to Knitters Part 5


Part 1 is here. Part 2 is here. Part 3 is here. Part 4 is here.

Competitive Knitters (Compto knitcreo)

Description 
Competitive Knitters come in several variations, design and speed competitors. The speed Knitters are the cheetahs of the knitting world. Their fingers move faster than regular Knitters believe could be possible. They have been known to engage in Sock Wars as well as The Knitting Olympics.

Habitat and range
Competitive Knitters are likely to be found at special events, showing their skills off to large groups of amazed observers. One of the most well known events is the Back to Back Wool Challenge.


A little history about the event appears in a document on the International Back to Back Wool Challenge site:

In 1811 at Newbury in Berkshire, UK, a one thousand pound wager was made to make a coat from  the sheep’s back to a mans back in one day. Watched by 5000 people, the coat was completed in thirteen hours.  The sheep was eaten with much quaffing of beer to celebrate.

Today's Challenge began in 1992 when Richard Snow, a keen young spinner at the Scottish Wool Centre at Aberfoyle in Scotland, developed thyroid cancer. His desire to raise funds for cancer research sparked off their Back to Back Challenge, a competition very similar to that run almost two hundred years ago. The event created enormous interest in the UK, not only because of the clever wool promotion
but also because of the funds raised for cancer research. 


There will be a special version of this type of event for the first time this year at Sock Summit. The Fleece to Foot Challenge.

Vocalizations
This Knitter often answers to the name "Wannietta" or Toronto Spider. At least they do in Canada! As Wannietta says on her blog she is "the 3-time and reigning champion of Canada's Search for the Fastest Knitter with a personal best of 245 stitches in 3 minutes, and 3rd fastest in the world at the '08 Knit Out" 

As part of the Toronto Spiders Team she and the other members (Julia Lee, Lorraine Smith, Judy Comfort, Karen Richens, Denise Powell, Barb Aikman, and John Steele), proudly shared their time of  5hr 52min 48sec 5hr 55min 50sec   A NEW CANADIAN RECORD 2010!

You can read about this years Back to Back event here
 

Field Guide to Knitters:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Part 4
Part 5

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