07/17/2026
And now presenting Janet Munson! Her 2025 submission, the hand knitted sweater shown in this post, was a beauty. Is she knitting the warmth of our current weather into another sweater for this year's show?
"I was born and raised in Prince Rupert in a family with deep roots in the commercial fishing industry. I seined salmon with my grandfather from age 12 until my mid-twenties. I learned to knit during those long hours of travelling to fishing grounds and awaiting fishing openings, and I soon adopted “knitting in the round” (fewer seams!) as my primary pattern base. Wool sweaters were the garment of choice on cold, wet days. I later moved to Terrace, married, took up farming, and have continued to knit while raising my family on our farm and observing life cycles. Now (mostly) retired, I have time to explore “knitting as art” and salmon fishing once again. Knitting is an ancient textile art that predates written history.
It transfers historical and cultural knowledge through a specific language of loops, stitch patterns, and motifs that has changed little through time. Stitch patterns and motifs have served as a visual language for coastal, island, and mountain communities throughout the world for centuries. Stitch patterns, motifs, and colours have been passed down through generations to identify a family’s heritage, history, belief systems, community of origin, and ecosystem. Some were so specific as to be able to identify a drowned person as belonging to a particular family or community. Knitted sweaters and garments were also a form of income when fishing or other work was lean. Even today, a wool sweater can mean life or death to coastal or river fishers. Unspun or lightly spun wool that has retained its lanolin is breathable, water repellent, and warm when wet. Salmon and People Meet when standing beside the riverbanks or in the river when fishing, but also while sitting streamside knitting, and almost always when it is cold and wet.. ." Janet Munson
