For some, the word “knitting” conjures up images of grannies wearing shawls, sitting in rockers knitting ... shawls.
Bah(hhhhh) to that!
For the third consecutive year, our friends and neighbors – and even author Barbara Kingsolver and knitting designer Nancy Bates – are taking their works in progress to far-flung locales, including Canada, Canyonlands, Nepal and the top of Mount Sneffels, clocking in at 14,157 feet.
And there are plenty of grandmothers who knit, and according to the introduction in the “Extreme Knitting 2026” calendar, we owe them “a huge debt of gratitude for passing their skills along to other generations.”
The brainchild of Durangoan Betsy Fitzpatrick, “Extreme Knitting” is a way to celebrate the knitting community and it goes to good causes: 100% of net profits is donated to causes selected by the calendar’s models. This year, the groups are: Higher Ground Women’s Recovery Center, National Parks Foundation, dZi Foundation and San Juan Mountains Association.
The calendars are now available locally at Durango shops, including Stitch, Maria’s Bookshop and Meadow Market.
Fitzpatrick, a longtime knitter, said she was able to get a copy of the first “Extreme Knitting” calendar to Kingsolver through a network of friends. She followed that up with a letter, asking Kingsolver if she would be interested in being in one of the calendars.
“I found out that she actually posts her P.O. box because she likes to hear from her readers, so I sent her a letter,” she said. “I said, ‘I know this is a preposterous request, but I would love to feature you in my calendars.’ I did highlight that all the money goes to charity because I thought that would appeal to her as well. With her Pulitzer Prize-winning book, ‘Demon Copperhead,’ she got money (which she used) to open a recovery center for women who are recovering from opioid addiction, which is what that book talks about. ... A chunk of the proceeds from the calendar will be going to that cause.”
Where to get a copy
Copies of “Extreme Knitting 2026” are available at these Durango locations:
Beads & Beyond, 840 Main Ave.
Durango Sustainable Goods, 680 Main Ave. C.
Maria’s Bookshop, 960 Main Ave.
Meadow Market, 688 Edgemont Meadows Road.
Southwest Farm to Yarns (Cortez), 360 W. First St., B.
Sticks & Stones, 922 Main Ave.
Stitch, 858 Main Ave.
When Fitzpatrick found out Kingsolver wanted to be in the calendar, “I kind of went around for about a week just tingling with excitement, because she’s one of my favorite writers. I’ve been a fan of hers for at least 30 years, and I know she gets a lot of requests and has to say no to almost all of them. So I felt very lucky to get to have that experience.”
To get the shots, Fitzpatrick and her husband, John – the photographer for most of the calendars’ images – packed up their car and headed east to southwest Virginia.
“There were storms, flooding and tornado warnings, and it felt like something out of ‘The Odyssey,’” she said. “But we were on a mission, and we kept going, and we made it. We were able to meet her, and we met her husband, Steven, and we met her daughter, Lily, who’s now her office manager. We just had a very nice little visit, and got the photo for the calendar.”
And while creating a calendar every year comes with challenges, especially the pressure of looming deadlines, Fitzpatrick said selecting just the right images can be a little stressful as well.
“My goal is always to have as much diversity in the calendar as possible, because there are knitters of all stripes out there,” she said. “I want people of all ages, all backgrounds, and so trying to connect with lots of different knitters is a challenge ... connecting with young knitters, connecting with knitters in different parts of the world or different parts of the country is my ongoing goal.”
katie@durangoherald.com
