Fifty Years of Knitting Projects
Difficult and Intricate Knitting Patterns are Favorites
Aug 31, 2007
How many knitting projects could you complete in fifty years? One a year makes fifty items. Three projects per year are 150 pairs of knit socks or sweaters with knitting instructions read and followed. It is almost mind boggling to think about it. Some knitters can finish a large project in under a week and do so all year. (Just to save you getting your calculator out that’s twenty-six hundred knitted items in fifty years!)
Here is an interview with such a person. She may not have knit twenty-six hundred items but very, very close to it. She is humble about her talents and skill. She is no longer able to knit because the wool is too heavy. But she only gave that up to show off her amazing talent with needlepoint. Her table cloths, place mats and napkins are stunning. Her beautiful handiwork graces my home. She is my Mother-in-law.
Q. When and why did you start knitting?
A. When my children were small. And, of course for myself.
Q. Who taught you to knit?
A. My mother was the first person to teach me to knit, just like I taught my daughter years later. But, after I was married and started to have children I became more serious about it and I taught myself a lot by reading patterns and knitting instructions. Then it was just trial and error.
Q. Your mother was involved in a unique knitting project. Would you tell us about it?
A. Of course! My mother was involved in a knitting projects during the Second World War. She would knit socks. They would be packaged up and sent along with other items to the front for our soldiers.
In fact, our whole family was involved in knitting projects.
My two aunts donated a room in their house for women to come and knit clothing for the Red Cross to give to Canadian soldiers. I remember seeing women going in and out of that room all day long. I sometimes think that the visiting was as important as the knitting. After all, we were in a small rural farming community where everyone helped each other.
Q. When you were grown and married did you often knit with other people?
A. Yes, that was one of the great things about knitting. When I was a young mother, I would visit friends and while the kids played we would both knit and talk. It was fun.
Q. What types of things did you like to knit?
A. Sweaters were my favorite. I liked doing difficult, intricate knitting patterns on the sweaters. I made many afghans as well. I made toques and sweaters for the whole family. And, of course, as you well know our family is golf-crazy, so I have made more than my share of golf club head covers.
Q. How long have you been knitting?
A. I guess it is about 50 years, maybe more.
Q. Of all the knitting patterns that you have knit, is there one favorite that stands above the rest?
A. That’s easy. I made a sweater, no, I made several sweaters, with bright colors. But my very best was knit with bright red yarn and on the front I knitted a large white duck made with angora wool. And, on the back there was a line of smaller angora ducks all lined up in a row. And I made one with a cat too that I loved.
Q. Have you noticed anything change over the years in the world of knitting?
A. Circular needles are fairly new as knitting goes. And, well I guess knitting fads. It was very popular for years to knit afghans and now dish cloths seem to be the thing. People don’t seem to want to knit sweaters as much as they used to, maybe because they are more difficult to make and so cheap to buy. But store bought are not nearly as nice as handmade knit sweaters.
Q. What is the best advice that you could give a beginner knitter?
A. Read your pattern carefully before you start to knit. Work it out in your mind how you are going to proceed. Take your time!
Buy the best wool that you can. Don’t waste your time and money on cheap wool. After all, you want what you spent all those hours knitting to look nice and last for a long time.
