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Remembering Annie Modesitt

October 3, 2020 by Sarah White

The losses just keep piling up this year, and it was announced that knitwear designer, teacher, yarn maker and proponent of going your own way with knitting, Annie Modesitt, died October 1.

She had been battling cancer for years, and she last posted on her blog late in August that she as undergoing a last-ditch chemotherapy treatment. Since that time she had entered hospice care.

Annie was a self-taught knitter who used what’s known as the combination style of knitting, which allowed her to knit very quickly and with even tension. She says in her book Confessions of a Knitting Heretic that her first project was a colorwork sweater from Vogue Knitting designed by Deborah Newton that involved 37 colors of yarn (despite the yarn store owner’s insistence that she start with something simpler). She finished it in less than a week.

Her mantra can be summed up by other words from that book: “If you are getting the fabric you want from your knitting, then you are knitting the Right Way for you!”

This is why she called herself a heretic, because at the time most teachers insisted on what’s known as the Western method of knitting and the word “wrong” was thrown around quite a bit. She felt the most important thing was to empower new knitters to find their own way of doing things and to understand how knitting works so that their interest could be ignited into a passion.

As a designer she gravitated to feminine, colorful and technical designs. She called on her millinery experience to knit amazing hats that might have been seen at a tea party at Downton Abbey.

She trusted knitters to use their intellect to be able to knit patterns, rather than suggesting that some patterns are better for beginners. (See that 37-color sweater for instance.)

She was the author of seven knitting books and contributed to many books and magazines through the years. Her flip books showing knitting techniques are delightful, and all her designs encourage knitters to try new things and be a little fearless.

She also launched ModeKnit Yarn, an independent yarn company producing vibrant colors that look great together.

She will be missed.

[Photo: ModeKnit Yarn staff selfie, via the ModeKnit Yarn website.]

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Comments

  1. peggy says

    October 4, 2020 at 5:05 pm

    i met her many years ago when our LYS had her teach a couple classes. i found her to be a delight and hilarious. she will be missed in the community of true knitters. she had a pov but it didnt interfere with her knitting.

  2. Vicki T. says

    October 7, 2020 at 3:26 pm

    My heart breaks hearing this. My schedule never allowed me to meet Annie or to participate in one of her classes. She will be missed. Condolences to her family.

Have you read?

A Sweet Skater Dress to Knit

I know knitting a dress sounds like a major time commitment. And that’s before I even tell you that this particular dress, the Sixth Ave Skater Dress by Briana Luppino, is worked in light fingering weight yarn. 

But would you just take a moment to look at it and tell me if it doesn’t look like it would be worth all the time you would spend knitting it? And it’s miles of stockinette stitch so it’s actually beginner friendly and a great semi-mindless knit you can take with you on your travels this summer and wear when it is done. 

The dress is worked from the top down with tank straps, a scoop neck, waist shaping and a flowy skirt for a fun and comfortable fit. 

The pattern has 10 sizes, with finished bust measurements ranging from 28 to 64 inches, or 71.5 to 163 cm. The sample shown was worked with 4 inches/10 cm of negative ease at the bust, and the designer says most people like between 2 and 6 inches/5 to 15 cm of negative ease in the bust and around 10 inches/25.4 cm positive ease in the hips. 

(To refresh your memory, negative ease means the measurement of the garment is smaller than your actual body measurement, while positive ease is bigger than your body.)

To pick a size you’d work from the bust measurement because you can always add more or fewer decreases as you need to get your desired fit at the waist and hips. And because it’s worked from the top down you can try it on as often as you like to make sure it’s the perfect fit. 

The I-cord edgings give the dress a super casual feel, and I think this would be a great one to add to your summer rotation. (Yes, even with a wool blend yarn.)

You can see lots of cute finished versions and grab a copy of the pattern for yourself on Ravelry. 

[Photo: Briana Luppino]

Book Review – Knitted Tanks and Tunics

How to Knit a Simple Sweater Dress

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