Today would've been Elizabeth Zimmermann's 100th birthday. So as yarn shops around the UK and US are celebrating the anniversary of her birth, I too, wanted to honor this amazing knitting pioneer!
So here are some fun facts about Ms. Zimmermann:
- She reintroduced Continental Knitting to the UK and US
- Advocated knitting in the round using flexible needles instead of knitting back and forth on straight needles, as was the fashion
- She attended art schools in both Switzerland and Germany
- She first learned to knit English style and then was taught Continental style by her Swiss governess
- EZ migrated to the US with her husband, a German Brewery Master, Arnold Zimmermann, and eventually settled in Wisconsin
- She converted a schoolhouse to a knitting mail order company, known as Schoolhouse Press - which is now run by her daughter, Meg Swansen
- Credited with knitting the first example of an Aran sweater seen in an American Magazine, Vogue Knitting
- Had a US knitting show, still available on DVD, called Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitting Workshop
- Her EPS (Elizabeth's Percentage System) is still used by designers today
- She's also well known for her Pi Shawl, Baby Surprise Jacket, and I-Cord
- Books written: Knitting Without Tears, Knitter's Almanac, Knitting Workshop, Knitting Around, and The Opinionated Knitter (posthumously - released by Meg Swansen)
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What an amazing women and what an amazing life! Happy Birthday Elizabeth!
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