Tuesday, April 01, 2008

love & purls

Knitting, he thought, was a comfort to the soul. It was regular. It was repetitious. And in the end, it amounted to something.—Jan Karon, At Home in Mitford


my current project: floor cushions! the brown panel will make the top, and the stripes will go on the sides, to make a wedding present for my younger sister and her fiancé

Two and a half years ago, when we pulled into the driveway of our rented vacation cabin, I didn’t pay much attention to the cabin next door--though I noticed it was “cute” and inviting. I can’t remember if I noticed that it was a yarn store, but I’m certain I didn’t know it would change my life.

We visited that cabin eventually, on a day when it was too hot for anything else. I was instantly intrigued by the owner’s accent (he was Finnish, we learned), and I loved the vibrant skeins of yarn that filled every wall, dangled from low ceilings, and spilled from baskets. As my cousins fingered the adorable knitted hedgehogs, I made a beeline for the bookshelf--trust me to find my way to knitting through books.

I’ve crocheted off and on since fourth grade, and I like the habit of crafting. You can watch a movie and make something at the same time? A multi-tasker’s dream! My junior year, I picked up crocheting again, and made super-size potholders that now haunt our kitchen.

But I never seriously considered knitting--two needles to keep track of? All that strange wrapping of the yarn, poking needles in and out? And what if your project slides off the needles? No, thank you. Hand me a crochet hook and a skein of yarn, and I can do something. No need to knit.

Until I saw that book.

Weekend Knitting, by Melanie Falick. It had gorgeous photography and fantastic project designs, but as I looked further, I also saw: quotes about knitting on the pages, lists of books with knitting scenes, movies featuring knitting, recipes (for cookies and hot chocolate--both pair well with knitting!), and strategies for making a peaceful moment (hand massages, knitting with guests). Clutching that book, standing on a staircase in northern Minnesota, listening to the Finnish man talking with my family, I realized something: I wanted to knit. If only to justify the purchase of this beautiful book, I wanted to knit.

During the rest of the vacation, the lake held little appeal for me. Despite the 95 degree heat, I flipped through the patterns for hats, mittens, scarves, and woolen socks, and then I showed the book to my family (some of them probably had to sit through it twice). I begged Mom to teach me knitting as soon as we got home.

She did, and I spent all of my senior year at Calvin creating an enormous red, ribbed scarf, which I think I’ve worn once. It has mangled sections where stitches pulled out (or were never there in the first place), but it was my first project, and I’m still rather proud of it. My next projects went better, and I was hooked--er, captivated.

I love its simplicity. What once seemed so complicated is now soothing and enjoyable: you knit, you purl. Colors flow through your hands, around the two pale needles (I love using bamboo!), and become something: light, lovely, patterned, useful, tangible. For a girl who spends half her time deleting what she wrote yesterday, tangible progress is a wonderful, wonderful thing.


both my sisters jumped onto the knitting train as well: here’s my older sister, Kristen, knitting in a coffeeshop in Lincoln, Nebraska, last Tuesday

I like that knitting goes anywhere--I’ve knitted in coffeeshops, in waiting rooms, in cars, in Nashville, Chicago, and Nebraska. I even brought a project to the movie theater once, and probably mortified my younger sister. But I find I’m a better person when I knit. I certainly become a better listener--I get antsy by nature, and knitting anchors me. I use it when I’m plotting some difficult scene in the novel. Knitting keeps me from jumping up from my desk to do something “productive.” Knitting is productive, and it sets my brain free to play with ideas.

... like maybe I could write a knitting scene of my own? Or design a sweater for my main character? (That would work for a medieval time period, right?)—jl

P.S.:
I still love knitting books: genius photography and patterns draw me in, but I’m a sucker for all those extras! These are at the top of my knitting must-reads:
* Weekend Knitting, Melanie Falick (the one that started it all)
* Greetings from Knit Café, Suzan Mischer (try the huge triangle shawl, and the orange honey muffins)
* Alterknits, Leigh Radford (the inspiration for my sister’s wedding present comes from here)
* Last-Minute Knitted Gifts, Joelle Hoverson (one of my favorite scarves came from this book)
* Yarn Harlot, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (this isn’t a pattern book, but a collection of light-hearted essays: funny, moving, and quirky, and all about the trials and joys of a knitting life)

Knitters! Talk back! What are you working on? And if you’re a Calvin student, have you done the knitting interim? (Yet another thing I should have done at Calvin...)

Posted by Jenn Langefeld on 04/01 at 10:31 PM
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