Interview: Adrienne Martini:
Title: Sweater Quest: my year of knitting dangerously.
Imprint: publisher
Free Print: Simon and Schuster
Synopsis: A wooly Julie and Julia, Sweater Quest chronicles the author’s mission to knit the holy grail of all sweaters, Alice Starmore’s “Mary Tutor.”
Q: I am interested in your choice of title. The concept of embarking on a quest is intriguing.
Why did you choose knitting for your quest? Was it a writing quest as well?
The Quest really started when I read Julie Powell's Julie and Julia. In the shower the morning after I'd finished it, I started to think about who the knitting world's Julia Child would be. While I know there are at least a dozen of them (just like in the cooking world, too), my personal Julia is Alice Starmore. And the cover image for her Tudor Roses collection has always been rattling around in my head.
Q: You opine that knitters are obsessive. Are writers also obsessive, do you think?
How would you characterize your writing process?
I've never felt entirely comfortable talking about writing processes, since every writer is unique in terms of approach. For me - and your mileage will vary - process is about regularity and routine. I do my best to write something every day, even if it's just a small blog entry. I don't know if writers are obsessive so much as insatiably curious. If I hadn't had a deadline, I could have spent years doing the research and reading and interviews without ever writing a word.
Q: If you could start this journey over what would you do differently?
What did you learn about yourself?
If I could do it over, I wouldn't have ignored the sweater for the better part of the summer. The last few weeks of knitting were a challenge. What I learned is that I am not a product knitter, not really. I've turned into a knitter who deeply enjoys the process.
Q: What is your super power… the quality that allowed you to finish both the book
and the sweater?
I have no super power, just a tolerant family. Beyond that, it helps that I live in a small town and my commute to the college where I teach is less than two minutes. You'd be surprised how much time you have in your day when you don't have to drive for miles and miles in heavy traffic.
Q: What are you wishing I would get around to asking?
That's one of my favorite interview questions, too. Um. "Would you like an all-expenses paid trip to Fair Isle?"
Q: Thank you for sharing. Will you be coming to the Sheep and Wool Festival in
Rhinebeck?
I will most certainly be at Rhinebeck. Wouldn't miss it for all the merino in New Zealand. Well. Maybe for all the merino in New Zealand...
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