Beg:

Born & raised in Buchans, Newfoundland, Nigel moved to Calgary to work as a librarian and stayed for 25 years.  Lured by the West Coast (and a great apartment!) he moved to Vancouver  in 2003 after his retirement.

Casting on:

Nigel’s Mother taught taught him to crochet at the young age of 11.  Wanting to make things that were more “useful”, he learned to knit and hasn’t been able to stop himself!

KFB & PSSO:

When not knitting, Nigel can be found in the water!  As a member of the English Bay Master Swim Club, he’s competed in numerous competitions.  In the last BC Seniors Games, held in Burnaby, he came home with Gold & Silver medals…well done! An accomplished origamist (origami master?) he has over 100 reference books to help him fold paper into beautiful, intricate shapes.  He has also challenged himself by walking several different legs of the famous Camino De Santiago pilgrimage trail in Spain.  During one such 29 day walk, he purchased yarn in Portugal and knit one sock, then upon entering Spain, knit the second one.  Truly an international pair.  This winter Nigel will be spending five months touring South East Asia.  Before he leaves, he’ll be purchasing enough yarn to make sure he can finish the lace tablecloth “Pomegranate” by Herbert Niebling.  We’ll look forward to seeing it at Show & Share in 2014!

Knit knowledge and know how:

Like many of us, Nigel is a big fan of Ravelry and gets much of his inspiration and patterns from that website.  His big complaint is that there are not enough really good men’s patterns, so he’s designed his own, notably socks.  He credits Cat Bordhi’s book “New Pathways for Sock Knitters” as having been the inspiration for many of his designs and techniques.

Cables and Lace:

Elizabeth Zimmerman’s Hybrid Yoke Sweater has been one of his most satisfying projects.  Knit out of Cascade 220 yarn in purple heather, he inserted orange for a pop of colour on the inside trim.

Steeks, Tinks & Frogs:

“I’m a cannibal”, he says!  Two sweaters (one from 20 years ago…Kaffe Fassett’s heraldic dog sweater) have both been partially knit, then sat in bags for a while, until he cannibalized the yarn for other projects.  The sweaters, once “eaten” could never be resurrected!

Dye Lots:

He loves “nice, good, fine wool”, most especially in orange & purple.

Fibre Fantasy:

Nigel’s hope is to publish his sock patterns in the not too distant future.  He’s also got some sweater patterns that he’s hoping to share with the world.  We’ll look forward to that!

Guild Gauge:

Nigel’s friend and fellow obsessed knitter, Holli, encouraged him to join.  He loves to share his completed projects  at Show & Share and takes great pleasure in the support and encouragement from his fellow Guild members.   Nigel has been a guest speaker at WCKG, giving us insight into lace knitting…one of his passions.

Purls of Wisdom:

Nigel is encouraging of men to knit.  He has participated almost every year in the Men’s Knitting Retreat, held each fall in Washington State.  Organized by the Organization of Men’s Knitting Retreats (see them on Ravelry) almost 45 men from the US, Canada (and some International) come together to knit and learn.  Just the guys!  His final purl of wisdom is “toe up is where it’s at”.

Find Nigel on Ravelry…  KnitKnigel.