Simply Knitting - UK (2020-02)

PURLS OF WISDOM

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T

herearepeopleoutthere– actual,

reallivingpeople– who’venever

triedknitting.It’sa sourceofquiet

puzzlementforme.Howcanthisbe?Maybe

theyassumeit’stoodicult.Maybethey

thinktheydon’thavetime.Maybetheythink

they’renotcreative.Whateverthereason,

thesepeopleregularlyleavethehouse

withoutasmuchasa half-finishedFairIsle

jumperora sock-in-progressintheirbag.

(Seriously, it’s true. I’m not making this up.)

KNITTINGISAWESOME

WhileI mightnotunderstandthewaysof

suchmysteriousfolk,they’readultsand

maketheirownlifechoices.Liveandlet

live.Atleasttheexistenceofthesenon-

knittersmeansshorterqueuesattheyarn

shop.However,whenit comestothenext

generation,I havenoshameevangelising

theall-roundawesomenessofknitting.

Childrenpickupnewskillsfast,andwhile

theymaygrowtoloveortohateit,they

should have the opportunity to try to knit.

SURROUNDEDBYYARN

ButI’vehadtobecautiouswithmyown

twinboys.Likemostself-respectingnine-

year-olds,they’reautomaticallywaryof

anythingtheirparentsdescribeas‘fun’,just

incaseit containshiddenvegetablesor

algebra.I’venotpushedtheideaofknitting,

buthavebeenwaitingandhopingthat

curiositywouldgetthebetterofthem,given

thatthey’vegrownupsurroundedbyyarn.

They’vealwaysknownwehavetwopairsof

children’s needles in a drawer, just in case.

PLAYINGITCOOL

Timepassed,andthenmoretime.Justas

I waslosinghopethatmysonswouldever

show the slightest interest in yarn, I finally

PhilSaulwantsheryoungtwinboystodiscover

the joys of working with yarn on their own terms

Tryin t temp

my boys to knit

heardthosepreciouswords– “Mummy,

canyoushowmehowtoknit?”I couldhave

shriekedwithjoy,butI knowmysonssoI kept

quiet.Don’tletthemseeyou’reexcited.“Yeah,

if youlike,”I shrugged.I fetchedthenever-

before-usedchildren’sneedles,andTwinOne

snuggledupbesidemeonthesofa.“OK,first

you need to hold your needles, like this...”

MAGICALMOMENTS

Whereoneofmysonsgoes,hispartnerin

crimeisrarelyfaraway,andwithinminutesI

wasteachingtwoyoungboystherudiments

ofknitting.Myheartwaspracticallyexploding

insidemychest.Concentratinghard,they

woundtheyarnaroundtheirneedlesand

pulledthrough.Likeeverysinglebeginner

acrosshundredsandhundredsofyearsand

dozensofcountriesbeforethem,theirearly

stitchesweremessy,unevenandchaotic.

Buttheywereknitting!Theyconcentrated,

theypractised,andsurprisinglyrapidly,their

stitchesimproved.Theycouldseethatthey

wereimproving,andtheirfaceswerefull of

smiles. It was completely magical.

HAPPYMEMORIES

I don’tknowwhethertheywillcarryon

knitting.I don’tknowwhetherthiswillbe

a short-livedflareofenthusiasmorthe

beginningofa lifelongpassion.I don’tknow

whetherthey’llloseinterestsoonbutthen–

liketheirmother– returntoa loveofknitting

asanadult.ButI doknowthatI willnever

forgetwatchingthemworkingtheirvery

firststitches.Whetherornottheybecome

knitters,I’llneverregrethavingintroduced

them to the magic of yarn and pointy sticks.

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I’MLOVING...

Gettingoutandabout

I lovetakingmyknittingWIPtoworkon

outdoors,especiallywhenI’mbesidethe

sea.I reallydon’tcarethatit’scold;I just

love knitting with a view of the ocean.

I’MMAKING

Somethinginspired

Mylatestyarnprojectinvolvestiny

Moroccan-inspiredcrochetedlanterns.Lots

ofthem.Likebiscuits,youcan’tstop at just

the one. It’s a little bit addictive.

I’MSHARING

Multi-taskingmagic

I’msharinga loveofknittingwhilewalking.

Chooseaneasyorrepetitivepatternyou

knowwellandsetoutonfoot.Exercise and

yarn together – what’s not to like?