I found the sock in her tiny sewing basket a few months after she died. The sock is perfect. I remember sitting on the edge of the bed and peering at the stitches through my tears. The construction of it was beyond me. All of those tiny stitches. Those toothpick-tiny double points. Little bobbins of thread-thin yarn. And the instruction booklet circa 1952! What treasures. The sock represented magic to me. A home kind of magic, which is really the only kind that’s important.
Why hadn’t I ever asked her to teach me how to use double points? Why did she drop sock knitting? My father was just a few weeks away from his own end at that point, and all he could remember was that he loved the homemade socks and wore out pair after pair of argyles. He seemed to remember commenting that the spots where she darned the heels gave him blisters and she tossed a ball of yarn in his general direction and quit sock knitting then and there.
It wasn’t until I ventured back into knitting in August 2003 that I began to look at The Argyle Sock with a critical—and more knowledgeable—eye. The cuff and leg were done flat! Who knew? The red diagonal line was duplicate stitch! How did I miss that the first time around? The rest is clearly circular knitting. What even stitches she created. I couldn’t find a slip or mistake anywhere.
I always was awed by my mother’s knitting, both her approach to it and the finished results. She wasn’t a slave to patterns. If an improvement or design change occurred to her, she gave it a shot. If it didn’t work, she ripped it out and started all over again. No angst. No fears. (Meaning, not at all like her hyper daughter who lived in fear of public knitting humiliation.) I remember most clearly the gorgeous Aran fisherman’s cardigan she made for me when I was maybe nine or ten. It took her all summer and was ready to wear on the first day of school. I loved it so much I wore it despite the 80-degree weather that day! A big gorgeous ivory-colored sweater with front patch pockets and bone buttons. I loved it more than any other article of clothing before or since and even incorporated it into some of my books along the way. (I guess that was my way of holding on to it even though it’s long gone.)
The funny thing is I’m not sure I ever told her, really told her, how much I loved that sweater she made for me. She read the books with the references in them. She knew that I held every single item she ever knitted or crocheted or embroidered or hooked for me in the highest esteem. But did I ever tell her how I felt about that sweater? How I can still see it in front of me, feel the stitches beneath my fingers, all these years later?
I hope so.
NANCY HERKNESS’S WHAT (VERY LITTLE) I KNOW ABOUT KNITTING LACE
1. A lace knitting project is a great antidote to the terror of flying. It seems to trigger the rational part of your brain that quotes all the statistics about airplane safety while drowning out the irrational part that screams, “This giant tube of metal overloaded with people and baggage can’t possibly stay thirty thousand feet up in thin air.” I know this because I have that brain.
2. “Life-lines” are critical to retaining your sanity while knitting lace. It’s a simple concept: every X number of rows, use a tapestry needle to thread a length of dental floss through all the loops on your needle, and leave it there until you have threaded the next life-line. This allows you to rip out sections you have messed up (because messing up is almost inevitable in knitting lace) back to the nearest life-line, where you can easily pick up all the stitches in the right position. Dental floss is the best material for this because it’s thin and slippery, and therefore easy to pull out when you are ready to move it to its new position in your lace.
3. “Life-lines” are also important if you are taking your knitting on an airplane (see Item 1), just in case an overzealous security guard decides your knitting needles look like a weapon of mass destruction and refuses to let you take them on the plane. Then you can take the needle out of the lace and the life-line will save your project. Note: I have never once had a problem getting my bamboo knitting needles on an airplane but there are reports of folks who have. They recommend taking a preaddressed and stamped mailing envelope if you want to save your needles; you just pop them in the envelope and drop them in the nearest mailbox.
Nancy Herkness is a knitter and award-winning romance novelist. She’s also a member of the merry band of knitter-writers at the Romancing the Yarn blog. You can visit her website at www.NancyHerkness.com.
FRAN BAKER’S TWIG STITCH THROW
This is an easy casual throw to knit and is reversible.
Materials
Medium worsted weight yarn:Variegated: 4-6 balls
Coordinating color: 4-6 balls
Circular knitting needle, size 15 (10mm)
Note: Throw is made holding one strand of variegated and one strand of coordinating color together.
Twig Stitch Pattern:
K3, *K1, YO, k2tog; repeat from * to last 3 stitches, K3
Stitch Guide:
K = Knit, YO = Yarn Over, k2tog = Knit 2 Together
Instructions
Cast on 90 stitches
K 4 rows
Row 5 and all rows in pattern: K3, *K1, YO, k2tog; repeat from * to last 3 stitches, K3
Continue in this pattern until length suits
K 4 rows
Bind off in knit
If you wish to make throw wider or narrower, do so in units of 3 and purchase yarn accordingly.
Fran Baker is a bestselling author who also owns her own small press. Readers are invited to visit her websites at www.FranBaker .com and www.DelphiBooks.us.
CAROLINE LEAVITT’S KNITTING WRONG COULD BE VERY RIGHT
I was making my first-ever designed cardigan, which had open work leaves on it and fancy buttons. I must have spent months on it, and when it was finished, to my horror, I found one side was about three inches shorter than the other. Defeated, I threw it in the trash, and then fished it out the next day and tried it on solely for the purpose of seeing if I had sized it right. Guess what? The three-inch difference actually looked really, really cool! Since then, I have worn the sweater constantly, and people always ask me (admiringly, I might add), “How did you think to get one side shorter than the other? I want to try that!”
Caroline Leavitt is an award-winning screenwriter and author of eight novels. Her ninth novel, Breathe, will be published by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill in Spring 2010. Her website can be found at www.carolineleavitt.com. Read her blog at carolineleavittville.blogspot.com.
CINDI MYERS’S CONNECTING THREADS
For me, knitting has always been about connections—the connection of loops of fiber to form useful and beautiful items, certainly—but even more the connections that knitters make with one another and with those who receive or admire their work. While knitting may seem a solitary pursuit, once one picks up needles and yarn, one becomes a part of the knitting community. When my fourth-grade teacher taught me to knit, she wasn’t merely passing on a useful skill to occupy my fingers and mind. She also made me part of a community that transcends location and time.
Whenever I take my knitting with me to while away the time before the beginning of a concert or to make more bearable the wait at a doctor’s or dentist’s office, I never fail to meet others who knit. When I step through the door of my local yarn store or log on to a favorite knitting blog, I am assured of an instant connection with others who gather there. The people who receive a pair or socks, a sweater, or a humble dishcloth that I have knitted become part of that community as well. When they wear or use the gifted item, they will think of me, but they also will probably think of a friend, a grandmother, or a favorite aunt who also knitted. Knitting connects past and present, creator and created-for, in the most lovely web of artistry, thoughtfulness, and understanding.
Cindi Myers is an avid knitter and prolific author of more than three dozen romance and women’s fiction novels. Find out more about her at www.CindiMyers.com.
RACHAEL HERRON’S FAVORITE TRICKS FOR KNITTING
The prettiest left-slanting decrease to pair agains
t the right-slanting k2tog is a beautifully modified SSK (slip, slip, knit). Slip one as if to knit, slip one as if to purl, then knit both together through the back loop.
A long-tail cast-on can be used for just about everything, always.
No one else will ever notice your mistakes. They won’t notice the miscrossed cable because they’ll be so impressed with the sweater itself.
Knitting and wine go together well, but combining knitting and whiskey is usually ill-advised.
When traveling, take only socks-in-progress. You’ll be too interested in everything around you to pay real attention to any other kind of pattern. Sock yarn takes up very little room in your carry-on, leaving you space to buy souvenir yarn to bring home.
Rachael Herron lives in Oakland with her love, three dogs, four cats, many spinning wheels, and even more old-time instruments. She writes for Yarnagogo.com and is known as simply The Knitter to her friends.
BARBARA BRETTON’S TEN ORGANIZATIONS THAT CAN USE YOUR KNITTING
There’s no question that knitters (and crocheters) are among the most generous crafters on the planet, and their generosity isn’t limited to tax-deductible monetary donations. Knitters give their time and talents (not to mention thousands of FOs) to a multitude of organizations. Here are some of the ones I know and love:
1. H4HA—www.h4ha.org/snuggles—knitted or crocheted cage blankets for shelter animals.
2. Bear Booties—twistedpdx.com/download/BearBooties.pdf—mittens for bear paws.
3. Knit 4 Children (K4C)—knit4children.tripod.com—supplies baby blankets, caps, booties, lap throws for seniors, etc., for a number of American hospitals.
4. Children in Common (CIC)—www.adoptionstogether.org/common/index.asp—primarily woolen socks for orphanages in Eastern Europe.
5. Project Linus—projectlinus.org—“security” blankets for sick kids.
6. Seamen’s Scarves—www.seamenschurch.org/484.asp—long-standing charity based in New York City.
7. Warm Up America—warmupamerica.com—afghans and blankets for families in need.
8. Afghans for Afghans—www.afghansforafghans.org—an international effort.
9. Veterans Hospitals—www.nationalww2museum.org/media/press-releases/knit-your-bit-the-national-1.html—scarves for Vets a small way to say thank you.
10. Red Scarf Project—orphan.org/index.php?id=40—scarves for kids who have aged out of the foster care system.
Barbara Bretton wrote the book you just finished reading. You can find her at www.barbarabretton.com or at bmafb.blogspot.com or especially at romancingtheyarn.blogspot.com.
MARY ANNE MOHANRAJ’S MOSSY DREAMS OF SQUARES AND BOBBLES
This modern scarf is appropriate for crochet beginners; if you can sc (single crochet), dc (double crochet), tr (treble crochet), you can do this. The only new stitch is the cluster stitch, described in detail below. It’s also very fast to make! The scarf is basically worked in three blocks: an open squares block, a cluster block (which I only used near the ends), and a solid block. In my version, I alternated open squares and solid for the body of the scarf, but you can vary the blocks to your taste. This took me just over two skeins of bulky-weight yarn, but of course that’s dependent on how long you want your finished scarf. If you do it in the recommended insanely soft alpaca, you’ll enjoy a luscious crocheting experience.
Level: Beginner
Yarn: Misti Alpaca Bulky
Hook: G
Cluster stitch
* yo, insert hook in stitch, yo and pull up a loop, yo and draw through 2 loops on hook; repeat from * 3 times more, yo and draw through all 5 loops on hook
Stitch Guide
ch-chain, sk-skip, sc-single crochet, dc-double crochet, tr-treble
crochet, yo-yarn over
Instructions
Row 1: ch 19
Row 2: ch 4 (first tr of row), tr 18
Open Squares Block
Row 3: ch 4, * ch 2, sk 2, tr, repeat from * 6 times (forming 6 open squares)
Rows 4-5: repeat row 3
Clusters Block
Row 6: ch 2, sc 18
Row 7: ch 4, tr 18
Row 8: ch 4, tr, cluster (*yo, insert hook in stitch, yo and pull up a loop, yo and draw through 2 loops on hook; repeat from * 3 times more, yo and draw and through all 5 loops on hook), tr 6, cluster, tr 6, cluster, tr 2
Row 9: dc 18
Row 10: repeat row 8
Row 11: ch 4, tr 18
Row 12: ch 2, sc 18
Open Squares Block
Row 13: ch 4, * ch 2, sk 2, tr, repeat from * 6 times (forming 6 open squares)
Rows 14-15: repeat row 3
Solid Block
Row 16: ch 3, dc 18
Rows 17-19: ch 4, dc 18
Row 20: ch 3, dc 18
Rows 21-onward: repeat open squares and solid blocks until desired length is reached, ending with an open square, and leaving length for one more cluster block, open square block. Finish with a row of tr and a row of sc. You’re done!
Mary Anne Mohanraj is the author of Bodies in Motion, Sri Lankan- American linked stories (HarperCollins) and nine other titles. Bodies in Motion was a finalist for the Asian-American Book Awards and has been translated into six languages. Her other books include A Taste of Serendib (a Sri Lankan cookbook), and The Poet’s Journey (an illustrated children’s book). She teaches creative writing, Asian-American literature, and post-colonial literature at the University of Illinois. Visit her website at www .maryannemohanraj.com.
Laced with Magic Page 24
