More Knitting in China

Anna Wong from San Francisco wrote me this about her trip to China:

I was in China in June & though we weren't on a shopping trip but on a "roots" journey, I told my family that the one thing I wanted to look for was dp needles.

I speak no mandarin & very bad cantonese. During the trip, I encountered 3 knitters while we were roaming local neighborhoods & though we couldn't actually converse, with limited words, much sign language & pulling out my sock work in progress, it was amazing what a common bond knitting is - they loved my self striping yarn while I was awed at their sweaters/skirt on the long needles. I finally was able to get enough info from one of the knitters to direct me to a shopping area where there was a stall full of crochet, knitting & sewing notions. I got both metal and bamboo 14" dp needles - ended up buying various sizes & enough to give as gifts to my knitting buddies - the cost was unbelievable, I got 14 sets for US $7.00.

Bottom line, thank you for sharing your experience which in turn gave me an experience I will treasure.

Knitting in China

Anna Wong emailed me today and indicated she is going to China in a few months. I liked that she said knitting is a universal language. It's so true - my best communications with Chinese were over knitting, as with this woman who showed us her project (one of the slippers previously pictured).

Many people ask about the airlines and knitting needles. While I'm not an expert and can only speak to my experience, I had knitting with me on all flights (Air China), both to/from the US and within China.

About the food. I don't remember what this woman was selling, but the food always looked good! Lots of veggies.

My daughter, Rose, who went to China with me, was up today with pics on disk. I have downloaded many, but particularly was looking for one of a woman we saw knitting in a little park. We were in Xi'an with a bit of time on our hands before going to the airport. I suggested that we visit the Silk Road statues that were on a little touring map I had (actually, as I remember, it was the placemat at our lunch restaurant). The driver and guide agreed, so we all went to see the statues, which were remarkable more for the legends and stories they represented. I am fascinated by the Silk Road, that so much traveling and trading was going on between Asia and Europe such a long time ago. I hope to travel the Silk Road someday.

Lastly, I wanted to post the picture of the yarn shop we visited in Shanghai. The yarn is all neatly packaged in project size boxes, though it was possible to buy just one skein. The yarn was wool mostly, some cashmere. All lovely!

Put up is mostly 100 gm balls, though some was smaller. Several boxes are sitting on the display case and more is in the case. The yarn pictured here is most of what was in the shop - this back wall covered, then a space for the clerk with a display case marking the yarn section of the store. The rest of the store was ready made knitwear, most likely machine made. It didn't look handmade.

Next to the yarn display, at the center of the back wall was the cashier (if she was in this picture, she'd be to the left. The clerk wrote up a receipt, I went to the cashier and paid, then back to the clerk for my goods with my paid receipt.

Home from China

I arrived back in the US from China yesterday and home to Funkstown today. You can see my finished vacation project on the Lacy Cabled Scoop blog. I also got 1.5 socks done.

It was so fun to see women knitting in China, which enhanced a feeling of connection to people I did not know. Knitting is so cool that way.

The one non-sweater project I saw being created were these slippers. The women who created these were at a shopping area at the foot of the walk up the mountain to the "Ghost Shrine" on the Yangtze. I love the decorative increase!

On our last day in Shanghai, we were at a market and it seemed all the women were knitting, at least the ones who weren't chatting on their cell phones. All projects we see are from the bottom up circular sweaters knit on long dpns.

When we went downtown in Shanghai in the afternoon, Rose spotted yarn at the back of a shop. It was all wool and cashmere, mostly fine gauge. I bought this set of dpns as they were like the ones I saw the women using. Cost=$5, length=14". The 100 g ball of yarn, a nice wool, was $2.

Knitting in China

The other day we were in a small park in Xi'an and saw a woman knitting. Not the first we've seen, but we approached her and "talked". She was knitting with four VERY LONG dpns, which appeared to be homemade. She was making a sweater with recycled wool. The dpns were 0 or 1 size. Every knitter we have seen is knitting in this fashion - using dpns to do circular knitting.

Meanwhile, Mom, Rose and I knit when on the bus or boat during down time. Our fellow travelers must find this amusing/interesting as several have taken pictures of us!

Greetings from China

Today Rose and I climbed to the top of a very high hill--walking the Great Wall outside Beijing. Awesome and profound. I have never imagined myself being there, much less walking on the wall. It's very beautiful, one of those "see forever" vistas. 1075 steps up, then back down.

Yesterday we visited the Forbidden City, Tianamen Square, and the Summer Palace in Beijing. Tomorrow we are up early and take a plane to Xi'an where we will see the Terra Cotta Warriors, have a "Dumpling Dinner" and go to some kind of cultural show. A long day.

There are a couple of other knitters in our small group of 25. That doesn't include Mom (she's working on Lacy Cabled Scoop) , Rose, and me. We spend some time on the bus going from one place to another, so the knitting is perfect to pass the time.