Assk, Inez

Assk, Inez

Inez has worked as a textile teacher and is now retired. Knitting has been important for her throughout her life. She has had a big exhibition of mittens (she has inherited artifacts of her grandmothers) in entrelac in Sunne at Sundsbergsgård a few years ago and she has also published a book “Maria's mittens”. She knits in her family's tradition.

people

1936

iain

Swedish

Artisan

402

current,59.8376399,13.1230106;

Scotland

Assk, Inez

TEXT

Inez has worked as a textile teacher and is now retired. Knitting has been important for her throughout her life. She has had a big exhibition of mittens (she has inherited artifacts of her grandmothers) in entrelac in Sunne at Sundsbergsgård a few years ago and she has also published a book “Maria's mittens”. She knits in her family's tradition.

RV_PR_01

694

inez.assk37@gmail.com

+46 70-5944530

fibre and textile crafts

As a child, she watched her great-grandmother knit and Inez was further taught by her grandmother in the 1970s.

Inez have had som workshops where she have taught. She's has written av book with her patterns. Inez currently is mentoring knitter and crafter Ulrika Jäger

Ulrika Jäger, Sara Olsson

female

native

Knowledge in knitting and to be able to read and understand patterns. The entrelac technique requiers further knowledge.

Only wool yarn from sheep, and most of it is imported from Norway. She finds that the norweigian yarn is of a especially high quality

Inez buys her wool from a local knitting store in Sunne: www.lillagarnverstan.se. The yarn is from Rauma Ullvarefabrikk's website: www.rauma.no

Inez makes use of all the yarn, and uses the leftovers. If there's yarn left when she finishes one product, she will continue to make use of it in her next project. This is made easy by the fact that she sticks to using the same qualities for most part.

Entrelac, among other techniques

Mostly knitting needles made of metal, wood and bamboo, both sock needles and circular needles as well as a messuring tools.

It's of course not possible to knit these products without using tools. Inez tells stories of how the metal needles have changed throughout the years and these days are coated as to not colour the yarn. The needles of metal are heavier and slippery, but the ones of wood or bamboo are lighter and will not as easily slip out of the knit. The material is also the original patterns which she has inherited from her materal great grandmother.

Inez knits in her own home. The home is heated both with electricity from a energy provider and with a fireplace where she uses wood. (note: common ways to heat owns home in Sweden)

There's no waste created

She has a room in her house where she keeps all her artefacts in plastic boxes.

Mittens, socks, caps, sweathers, blankets, wests

She produces them for own use, as gifts and for exhibitions

She's previously made artefacts for selling, but she's not anymore

Workshops, exhibitions. She's also written a book with her patterns

No

Mostly women

"Utmärkt värmländsk slöjd" which translates to "craft from Värmland of extraordinaty quality", awarded to toptier quality by a jury of the local regional crafts association

No, but she would like to

(When asked about wish to be invoved with tourism activities): Yes, really interested in this, Finn forest and well, Lekvattnet (note: a village in Finn forest), that museum here and this Finn culture. Because it's so close to my home where I was born and therefor it would be so exciting to, well, get a bit further in the tourism context./ Ja det är de verkligen inresserade utav, Finnskogs ja i Lekvatten det här museet här och ja den här Finnkulturen. För att det ligger så nära mina hemtrakter där jag är född och så därför tycker jag det skulle vara väldigt roligt å ja komma lite längre i det här turistsammanhanget. (21:16 minutes into the interview)

She's associated with knitting cafés. She's had associations with the local regional crafts association.

I believe we can make it more popular. But it's not an easy technique, one has say, the way [entrelac] is knitted / Jag tror nog vi kan få upp det lite ännu mer så att det blir populär. Men det är ingen lätt teknik det får en lov å säga innan de vet, ja, sättet hur man stickar (41:10 into the interview)

Marias vantar. En bok om näverstickning - vantar, mössor, småslöjd. Inez Assk ISBN9789186699659 Kontstrikk. Ruth Gullbekk Bolstad. ISBN9788291195353