Sunday, November 12, 2006

Elizabeth Zimmerman-ia

It's been two weeks but the event is fresh in my mind. On October 29 the School of Human Ecology at the University of Wisconsin inaugurated an exhibition about Elizabeth Zimmmerman and the Schoolhouse Press!! In attendance were Meg Swansen, Cheryl Oberle (www.cheryloberle.com), Amy Detjen, Lizbeth Upitis, Joyce Williams, Wendy Easton and about 300 knitters who basked in their brilliance. (I am using an Apple computer and, for some reason, cannot make links!! But, you can go to Amazon and look up books by these wonderful knitters and designers.) We also basked in the glory of the original items knit by the hands of EZ herself, notes and letters she wrote, items from her famous early Knitting Camps, and on and on. You can find the virutal exhibition at www.newschoolknittingexhibition.org.

It was fabulous to have EZ's knitting receive a very formal museum-like display. Although she is a guru of the knitting world and her knitting camps (now operated by Meg Swansen, Amy Detjen and Joyce Williams) annually "baptize" more of her followers, there has never been an exhibition with all these wonderful items in one spot.

Meg Swansen was her graceful and lovely self, reading from her mother's writings about purchasing their second (now famous) old one-room schoolhouse. I was able to sit next to Lizbeth Upitis herself and talk to her about her Latvian mittens and "my" knitting group in Barcelona.
On November 16, if you are close enough to Madison, you can come to knit in the gallery, surrounded by EZ's originals are hanging!!! I plan to be there working on an EZ pattern.

3 comments:

HPNY KNITS said...

I wish I could be there! hope you can take some pix of the event!

betta said...

ooooooooooooooh!
i wish i could be there!
but you know what? i received the announcement of this summer knitting camps, and i think i will be able to assist this year! :)

and i have other good news too... i owe you an email!

nadine said...

Wow! the pictures of the event look so good!! the ribwarmer is simply great :) wish we could have an exhibition like that one here too!!