PURLS OF WISDOM
32 Subscribe at http://www.gathered.how/simplyknitting
O
nethingthatweshouldnever
be,asknitters,iscold.AsI write
this,it’sa brightday– there’s
evena hintofsunshineasI lookoutofthe
window– butit’sa bitnippyoutthereand
I’mwearing‘AllTheLayers’.I’vehadmyhat
andmittensonwhilstI wasoutwiththe
dog.I’mwearingmywoollysocksofcourse
(itdoesn’treallymatterwhattheweather
islike,I’veusuallyhadmywoollysocks
onatsomepointduringtheday– hard
experiencehastaughtmenottowalkthe
doginsandals!),andI’vegotmyjumperon.
I’vealsogotplentyofcardigans,scarves,
cowls,shawlsandblanketstuckedawayin
thedrawershouldI needtowrapmyselfup
anymore– I maylookmorelikea mummy
oftheEgyptiankindthantheWinwick
variety, but at least I won’t be cold!WONDERWOOL
You’veprobablyseentheslogan‘Knittingis
mysuperpower’aroundandwhilstit may
haveoriginallybeencreatedasa joke,I
thinkit’sactuallya statementoftruth.How
manyotherhobbiescanhelptoregulatethe
temperatureofprematurenewbornbabies,
distractanddelightolderpeoplecoping
withillnessesthattakeawaytheirability
tofunctionastheyusedto,orkeepour
children(andgrandchildren)lookingsuper-
cuteaswellassnugglywarm?I haven’t
noticedanybodywrappingthemselves up in
a model train track recently!HANDKNITVSMACHINEKNIT
I don’tknowwhatit isaboutthem,but
handknitsjustfeelwarmertome.It could
bedowntotheyarnsweuseortheextra
loveandoccasionalrudewordsthatget
knittedintothem,buteventhehighstreet
retailers know that we’re onto something.ChristinePerrydiscoversthatknittingissomore
than just about keeping warm, it’s a ‘superpower’...Wha r th
joys of knitting?
Theirknitwearsectionsoftendisplayitems
thatlookprettyclosetobeinghand-knitted
althoughweknowthatthey’lloftenhavebeen
producedona machinesomewhere.Surely
I’mnottheonlyonetocheckoutwhatkindof
castonhasbeenusedandbeabletospota
machine-knitted cu at twenty paces?!YOUCANKNITANYTHING
Asknitters,wehavethepowertomake
surethatnotonlywebutalsoourfamilies
andfriends,and(forthosewhodocharity
knitting)evenpeoplethatwedon’tknowcan
havea woollylayertowear.Armedwithour
pointysticksandballsofyarn,wecanconjure
upwhateverisrequired.There’sprettymucha
patternforanythingyoucanthinkoftomake
(anda fewforthosethatshouldprobablystay
unknitted– swimsuits,perhaps,orcoatsfor
dogsthatliketoswimwhichendupmorelike
cloakswhentheycomeoutofthewater...).
Thepointis,thatourhobbyismultifaceted;
it occupiesourhandsandmindsbutalso
produces something that is practical.THATWARMGLOW
Sadly,I don’tthinkit’severgoingtobethe
casethatourknittingproducesenough
energytoburna greatnumberofcaloriesor
evenswitchona lightbulb– imaginethat,
wecouldsolvetheworld’senergyissuesby
simplycastingona newproject!Butthere’s
nothingquitelikethewarmglowyougetfrom
pullingona newlyfinisheditemorwatching
someoneelsebedelightedwithsomething
thatyou’veknittedforthem.Knittingtruly
doeswarmusinsomanyways, and not just
when the weather is cold.If youwouldliketoreadmoreabout
WinwickMum,ChristinePerry,popoverto
her website at http://www.winwickmum.co.uk.I’MLOVING...
Anexcitingnewyarn
Thisisa variegatedyarnfromCountess
AblazeinBluefacedBaron4plyinthe
colourwayDragonIsland.I lovetryingout
no-nylon yarns and this is so fun to knit with!I’MMAKING...
Moresocks!
ThisistheSockheadHat– a freepattern
fromRavelry– witha ballofWYSWinwick
MumBrightsideyarn.I lovethe way the
colours look like crayons!I’MSHARING...
Somethingnew
A brandnewsockpattern– Sanctuary
Socks– availabletodownloadforfreefrom
myblogatwww.winwickmum.co.uk.Think
chunky texture and pretty shades of purple.