Operating on faith alone is a tricky business. Whether you think you are the son of God or a Sock Master, unless you can hone your skills enough to walk on water or do the Twisted German Cast On, you might want to rethink a few things.
DEAR MRS. WICKS,
My friend raises alpaca and recently learned to spin. We decided to make a trade. She would spin some yarn for me from her alpaca and I would knit something for her in return. Since the yarn she spun was fingering weight, I decided to knit her a pair of socks. But the yarn was so uneven that my gauge changed, with the result that the body of the sock came out much too small. I hate to have to tell my friend that her yarn didn’t work! What should I do? I have three skeins left but I don’t want to waste my time working with uneven yarn. She is a friend, and I hate to hurt her feelings.
Sincerely,
Sock Gone South Up North in Maine
Mercy Otis Warren, circa 1763, oil on canvas by John Singleton Copley “Great advantages are often attended with great inconveniences, and great minds called to severe trials.” Mercy Otis Warren (1728–1814)
DEAR SOCK GONE SOUTH,
This calls the writer Mercy Otis Warren to mind. Known as the Muse of the Revolution, Mercy clearly understood that, Alpaca is an especially warm and soft fiber, which feels delicious next to the skin. Unfortunately, if a spinner is inexperienced, her tension can vary, which will vary the weight of the yarn she produces. Socks are a tricky business calling for exact gauge to get the correct fit. Since the ribbing of the sock came out fine, why not rip out the body and bind off the ribbing to make a wrist warmer for her instead? See if you can find enough yarn of even weight to knit another, to make a pair.
A thin garter stitch scarf would be another alternative. Here, the unevenness of the yarn would not be as much of a problem, and the dips and dives from the thick and thin yarn could add interest for a more artistic look.
Whatever you do, you will have to tell your friend the truth, so she can work on her technique. Spinning, much like knitting, is a matter of practice makes perfect. The more she spins, the more even her tension will become and the more even her finished yarn will be.
While your friend will probably be disappointed to learn of the difficulties you encountered with her yarn, seeing something hand knit by a good friend should soften the blow.
Knitting Together a Revolution
Mercy Otis Warren had the advantage of a sharp mind and a talent for writing in an age when such gifts were not usually encouraged in women. Her marriage to James Warren, who had a distinguished political career in 1754, enabled Mercy to meet and greet the leading figures of the American Revolution. She not only hosted political strategy meetings, but she also wrote with passion on the subject of liberty and America’s need to become independent. She wrote poems, plays, and political propaganda, as well as a three-volume history on the American Revolution. She became a trusted correspondent and advisor to the likes of Samuel Adams, George Washington, John Hancock, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, and John Adams.
“Tell your wife,” Adams wrote to James Warren, that “God Almighty (I use a bold style) has entrusted her with Powers for the good of the World, which, in the Cause of His Providence, he bestows on few of the human race. That instead of being a fault to use them, it would be criminal to neglect them.”
And use them she did. With her lampooning of the Crown and her call to independence, Mercy Otis Warren was a key figure in the faction that knit together the American Revolution.
DEAR MRS. WICKS,
I am new to knitting and find visiting a yarn shop overwhelming. There is just so much to choose from, it’s intimidating. What should I do?
Sincerely,
Intimidated in Kansas
DEAR INTIMIDATED,
I am afraid you will have to get used to it. Feeling overwhelmed in a yarn shop is something most knitters experience no matter how long they have been knitting. I, myself, often think of Napoleon’s words upon entering a yarn shop,
“Nothing is more difficult or more precious,
than to be able to decide.”
Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821)
My local yarn shop has the slogan, “Come in and unwind with us” on its website. Unwind in a yarn shop? Are they kidding? With so many choices to make, who can relax? It’s such a perfect soup of pleasure and pain. All of that yarn, all of those decisions.
On any given day you can see the knitters’ furrowed brows as they pour over the shop’s pattern collection. You can almost hear the nail-biting going on as they slowly troll the aisles, past shelves full of wools, cottons, acrylics, alpacas, hemps, and bamboos, each in a rainbow of colors. What to choose, what to choose? Squeals of delight break the silence as someone squeezes a ball of angora. Murmurs of longing rise up as fingers brush the skeins of cashmere and silk. Nothing is more intoxicating to knitters than shelves full of yarn, the raw material of their dreams.
The decisions to be made in a yarn shop can seem endless. I hate that there are so many choices to make. I love that there are so many choices to make . . .
Drats! I should have bought the worsted.
DEAR MRS. WICKS,
I learned to knit several months ago and decided to try my first sweater pattern. I had no idea it would be this hard! I have had to rip the front out twice. I am ready to set the whole thing on fire and am having revenge fantasies about the person who wrote this pattern. Whoever said knitting is a calming craft never tried knitting this sweater!
Sincerely,
At Wits End in Wisconsin
DEAR AT WITS END,
Take a deep breath. While knitting is often soothing to the soul, there are times when we can find ourselves struggling with a project that has us gnashing our teeth and ready to go to the dark side.
“Yes, I do heartily repent. I repent I had not done more mischief; hang me if you must, but I’d rather swing and be food for the crows, than rip out another row of this blasted baby blanket.”
Anonymous pirate, asked on the gallows if he repented.
Lack of experience may be causing you to make mistakes, especially if you have taken on a project that is beyond your skill level. I would suggest you get some firsthand advice from another knitter or visit your local yarn shop. Then again, even the most experienced knitter can run into trouble if the pattern is poorly written. Ravelry, the online knitting site, is an excellent resource for pattern reviews. You can also find errata (corrections for errors printed in the instructions) supplied there. Reading reviews for a pattern before you purchase it can save you hours of frustration.
The great misconception about knitting is that once you are experienced, you no longer struggle, or have the need to rip anything out. The truth is that making mistakes, and starting over, is a constant when you are creating something new, whether it is painting a picture, writing a book, making music, or knitting a mitten. Just last night I ripped out the start of a mitten three times as I experimented with different yarns.
Once you let go of your need to obtain perfection on the first go around, you will be more at ease about making mistakes and correcting them. Give yourself permission to fail, and you will find your way to a calmer, more relaxed approach, not only to your knitting, but to your life.
DEAR MRS. WICKS,
Help! I have been knitting for two years and I am embarrassed to admit that I have still not learned how to purl. It is as if my mind has decided I can’t do it and well, I just can’t! With only a month to Christmas, do you have any suggestions for simple gifts I can knit for family and friends that won’t require me to purl?
Sincerely,
Stuck in Seattle
DEAR STUCK,
Every now and then I hear from a knitter with the exact same problem: purl-a-phobia. For some reason while the need to knit is great, the fear of learning the other essential stitch in knitting, which is to purl, is so off-putting they give up and spend their knitting lives stuck in garter stitch limbo. This puts me in mind of Vinc
ent van Gogh who had a deep understanding of fighting one’s own negativity.
In the many letters Vincent wrote, he spoke of the struggles he faced both in his life and in his art. His was not an easy path, and yet, his determination to learn and create gave him the strength to work through the many obstacles he encountered.
“If you hear a voice within you say, “you cannot paint,” then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.” Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890)
“If you hear a voice within you say, ‘You cannot purl,’ then by all means purl, and that voice will be silenced.” Mrs. Wicks
You might be surprised to learn that, like many a knitter, Vincent kept a yarn stash. This box full of yarn is on display at the Van Gogh Musuem in Amsterdam. There is no record of Vincent using his stash to knit any tea cosies, but we do know that he used the yarn to explore color. He would wind different colored strands together to see the effect created. Who could imagine that from a little red box of yarn such great inspiration was to come?
As for a knitter’s dilemma of purl-a-phobia, below is a simple pattern for quick holiday gifts that require no purling. Wrist warmers or pulse warmers are not only attractive, but most practical for keeping warm. If a person’s pulse points are heated, the entire body temperature goes up. Mr. Wicks and I live in a drafty old house, and instead of reaching for an extra sweater to keep the chill off, I simply put on a pair of wrist warmers and I’m so much more comfortable. Mr. Wicks, on the other hand, never complains of the cold, but come the day he does, I will know just what to knit for him.
Young Scheveningen Woman Knitting,
by Vincent van Gogh
Wrist warmers are also great for slipping into a purse or pocket when you travel, as they take up little room and can add that extra layer of warmth whenever you need it. They make a quick and attractive gift for friends and family.
CHEERY GARTER STITCH MITTS
Let’s Begin!
Materials: Any soft worsted, dk, or fingering yarn such as alpaca, fine merino, silk, or cashmere
Needles: US size 4 for worsted weight
US size 3 for DK
US size 2 for Fingering
Cast on enough stitches to go around your wrist-
I cast on 32 stitches for worsted
36 for DK
44 for Fingering
Knit for three inches or as long as you want the mitts to be.
For Striped Mitts Knit 3 or 4 rows in Main Color. Attach Contrast Color and knit 2 rows.
Knit 2 rows of MC.
Knit 2 rows of CC. Continue in this way until Mitt is desired length
Cast off loosely using a needle one size larger. Be sure to leave an extra-long tail to sew up seam.
Weave in all loose ends, except long tail.
Fold mitts and sew up seam.
For striped mitts fold right sides together. Sew seam and turn right side out.
P.S. After the holidays, I encourage you to face the new year with Vincent’s voice in your ear and some purl stitches on your needles.
“What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?”
Vincent van Gogh
DEAR MRS. WICKS,
I plan to knit a blanket, and so will have many skeins to wind. Do you think I should invest in a ball winder?
Sincerely,
Wondering about a Winder in New Jersey
DEAR WONDERING,
Winding yarn can be time-consuming, especially on larger projects involving many skeins. I did own a ball winder at one time, many years ago, and found it very handy. After it was lost in one of the many moves our family made, I kept meaning to replace it. Besides their convenience, I love the look of the wooden winders. The problem was that every time I was in a yarn shop and had the choice of spending all that money on a winder or on new yarn, the yarn won out every time.
It has been thirty years since I have owned a winder. What I have had instead is someone to help with the winding, which makes for a completely different experience, depending on who that someone is.
At one time, I had the foolish notion that Mr. Wicks and the little Wicks would take to winding with the same passion and love for yarn that I have. I imagined all of us sitting before the fireplace, happily creating balls of yarn together, in a cozy haze of warmth and wool.
I hoped that the same sensory pleasures I took from feeling the fiber and smelling the yarn would fill them with lasting memories of this special time together. “Any more yarn to wind?” I imagined the children pleading. “Oh, please, let’s just wind one more ball!”
“To make one there must be two . . .”
W. H. Auden (1907–1973)
Imagine my surprise when what I got instead were dull looks and a chorus of groans. “How many more balls do we have to do?” and “I can’t feel my arms anymore!” or “I have homework to do!” and “I really have to go now and clean my room!” These last two protests, so stunning in their desperation, never failed to work, and I would be left alone in the living room, winding the rest of my yarn on the back of a chair.
Even Mr. Wicks’s response was less than satisfactory. “I’d love to help, dear, but I’ve the driveway to repave, or the toilet to unclog, or the gutters to clean.” Mind you, Mr. Wicks is not one to approach odious household chores unbidden.
It got so that if I wanted to clear the room, I would just take out a few skeins of unwound yarn, and my stars, how busy everyone suddenly became!
This went on for ages, until one day, a few years ago, Mr. Wicks presented me with a birthday gift certificate to my local yarn shop. (It should be noted that it has taken years of training to get Mr. Wicks to understand this gift concept, made all the harder by the river of yarn overflowing in our house.)
So with certificate in hand, I headed for the yarn shop determined to be strong and spend the entire amount on a ball winder. But just as I was ready to plunk my money down, what should I spy but a new shipment of silk and bamboo, in a leafy green color that just sang SPRING! I instantly saw what a perfect baby blanket it would make. Instead of the winder, I left the shop with a bag full of leafy, green spring—nine skeins-worth to be exact.
Albert Anker, Winding Yarn (1900)
One day, I told myself. One day I will be stronger and buy that winder for sure. On the way home, I stopped to visit my mother, who lives close by. I thought I would do some knitting while we shared a cup of tea. I pulled an unwound skein out of my bag.
“Do you want to help me wind this?” I asked.
Her face lit up. My mother has never been a knitter. As a nurse in her younger days, she was used to being busy and bustling about a hospital, but now in her later years, she has trouble walking. What she needed now was company and a simple stationary activity. Yarn winding! Why hadn’t I thought of it sooner?
As we sat there together face to face, winding that skein of yarn, my mother commented on how good it smelled and how soft it felt. I was suddenly glad that we had eight more skeins to wind. “We’ll do another two,” I told her. “And I’ll be back tomorrow to do three more.”
Since that day to this, she and I have wound every skein of yarn for every project that I have worked on, which adds up to a lot of yarn. Along with the winding, we have traded stories and she has dipped back into her past to talk about people she has loved and lost. Her favorite stories have been of her childhood, growing up in the country, herding cows with her friend Millie, and sitting under a wild plum tree. Her telling brought her back to that time and place, to that very tree, and it brought me back with her.
We have laughed at the tangles we created, and patiently wrapped and rewrapped yarns both thick and thin. We used to take walks together, now we wind yarn. Some of the best memories I will have of my mother in her later years are wrapped up in that winding. Memories are a tricky business—you can’t order them up just as you please. Sometimes the very best memories are those that sneak up on you, without your even trying.
A ball winder can be a handy and
handsome thing to have, but do remember that the only thing it can make is a ball of yarn.
DEAR MRS. WICKS,
I am new to knitting. What does it take to be a good knitter?
Sincerely,
Newbie in New York
DEAR NEWBIE,
For the simple answer to your question, you need look no further than Virginia Woolf who said,
“I am rooted but I flow.”
Virginia Woolf (1882–1941)
Being an avid knitter herself, Virginia Woolf knew that the act of knitting requires one to leave the hustle and bustle and retreat to a spot of rootedness. There, in mindful concentration, as if in prayer, the knitter picks up her needles, giving thanks for the silent flow of her stitches.
The more you knit, the better a knitter you will become. Your fingers will gain agility, your mind will gain clarity, and your soul will be soothed. Most knitters I know consider their knitting a meditation and a kind of therapy.
“Knitting is the saving of life,” Wolf once wrote. But even knitting could not save her from the anguish of her mental illness. On March 28, 1941, the voices in her head grew so loud and frightening that she put on her coat, filled her pockets with stones, and walked into the Ouse River near her house, where she drowned. After her death, Dame Edith Sitwell remarked, “I enjoyed talking to her, but thought nothing of her writing. I considered her a beautiful little knitter.”
This may not sit well with fans of To the Lighthouse or her other works, but to those who knit, being called a “beautiful little knitter” sits just fine.
Virginia Woolf (née Stephen), painting of Virginia Woolf knitting, by her sister Vanessa Bell (1912). National Portrait Gallery, London, England.
DEAR MRS.WICKS,
I have never knit socks and was wondering if it was worth the effort and money? What do you think?