Let's Knit -UK (2021-03)

only possible use for a broad,

beautiful, complicated cable scarf

would be to make it into a basic

wrap to wear in the evenings,

instead of the coat that it was

definitely too warm to wear.

So this year, I decided that I’ll

dodge the whole issue and knit

something for inside the

house instead. I’ve

seen a gorgeous

pattern for a very

upmarket luxe

foot warmer.

Automatically

this appealed

to me as my

feet have been

mortally cold

ever since I

started working at

home more. It was a

good pattern too, basically

on the principle of a bag. You sit on

the sofa and put both feet into it

and bask in the cosiness. And if

there’s anything I’m good at, it’s

basking in cosiness (that, and lying

about how many Maltesers I’ve

eaten in an evening), so I cast on

more or less straight away. On a

completely wrong for

whatever I’ve made! As an

example, in one March I

started a cute knitted

headband, with felted

flowers to adorn it. “Just

perfect for spring!” I trilled,

and it would have been.

Except that by the time

I was ready to felt

the flowers,

icy rain was

lashing the

windows and

the near-constant

gales flung buckets

of it in my face

whenever I ventured

my nose outside

my front door.

The next year, I was

fed up of all my scarves,

which had seen constant service

over the preceding winter, so I

decided to spend March making a

beautiful sage-coloured scarf with

a complex antlered cable. I

finished it mid-March. As in, in the

middle of one of the mildest

Marches on record, set about with

blooming daffodils, where the

Since I became a knitter, me and

the month of March have a beef.

According to the old saying,

March is supposed to come in like

a lion and go out like a lamb. As a

kid I had some vague idea that

this related to some sort of

hairstyle change, until my granny

explained that it meant the

weather. Now I know what it

means. I can see that, more often

than not, the old saying is entirely

right – but it doesn’t half make it

difficult to work out what you

should be knitting.

Every time March comes

round, the weather proves to be

DOES THE THOUGHT OF MIXED MARCH WEATHER

PUT YOU INTO A SPIN? IF YES, SIT BACK AND

TAKE YOUR MIND OFF THINGS WITH OUR BRAIN

TEASERS, AND CLAIRE THOMAS’S CURRENT BEEF!

SHARE YOUR HOME KNITS PHOTOS!^

Tag us @letsknitmag on Instagram or post your

pics of your home knits on Facebook

chilly, early spring evening, it would

be just the thing to thrust my feet

deep into alpaca cosiness. I was so

excited. Finally I’d break my March

knitting curse!

Everything started off really

well. The usual parade of chilly

walks were interspersed with

unseasonably mild days at intervals,

and I could enjoy them without the

underlying worry of whether I’d

actually get to wear what I was

knitting. Even on days where the

weather was too bad to go out,

I would stay in, needles clicking,

watching my little foot warmer grow

and grow. It didn’t take long to

make, and when I finished it, I

congratulated myself on having

won this time. Straight away,

I pushed my feet into it and

luxuriated. So warm!

Then the doorbell rang. “Parcel

delivery!” I cried excitedly, leapt up

without taking my feet out of the

foot warmer, and promptly fell flat

on my face. March 1 : me nil!

Claire Thomas is a freelance

journalist and founder of Stitch

‘n’ Bitch group, Knit Pickers

50

Break

TEA

By Claire Thomas

MARCHING

ON

Are these crafty statements true or false?

1

Cat hair can be spun into a yarn that can

be used to knit with

2

Queen Victoria was a prolific knitter and

also crocheted and spun

3

The first knitting machine was invented

in 1756

4

A key component of Tencel fibre is

eucalyptus pulp

5

Double pointed needles are used in

magic loop knitting

FACT CHECK

Purls of^

Wisdom

DICTIONARY CORNER

What is the name of the tool that allows you to

create a cord without knitting needles?

ANSWERS:

1. Mattress stitch, 2. Wrap and turn LETTER SPIN: Knitting dolly DICTIONARY CORNER: 1. True, 2. True, 3. False, 4. True, 5. False FACT CHECK:

Iceland WHERE ON EARTH?:3. Mosaic knitting

“Mermaid cocoon blankets

for my girls”

Faye Rogers^

LETTER SPIN

Can you unravel our craft-related anagrams?

STRESS

MAT ITCH

(8, 6)

DRAW

URN PANT

(4, 3, 4)

NICK

SITING

ATOM

(6, 8)

Here are three knitting-

related clues about a

particular place. Can you

guess where it is?

Where on Earth?

n Lopi yarn originates from

this country

n The traditional sweater of

this land features a yoke and

patterned borders

n Sheep were only

introduced here in the 9th

century