Knit one, purl one
January 13, 2016 | Originally published in the Laconia Daily Sun
If you are from New England, I’m certain somewhere in your closet, or in a trunk in the attic, there is at least one “caribou” sweater. That is, a men’s ski sweater with two reindeer facing one another with a snowflake in the center. If your grandmother didn’t knit one for your grandfather or your father, perhaps someone bought one as a Christmas gift. And if you don’t know the pattern I’m referring to, you can purchase a “Reindeer Caribou Ugly Christmas Sweatshirt” online. The pattern has become an iconic image.
Last week I was at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, walking through the Fashion and Virtue: Textile Patterns and the Print Revolution, 1520–1620 exhibition in the American wing, and there, included in the exhibit, is a “caribou” sweater. It was interesting to learn the name of the designer, Fred Picard, and to know that Jantzen had originally manufactured the sweater in the early 1940s.
Knitting. Of course. Like all crafts, it moves in and out of popularity. You know it is back in style when you begin to see women knitting on the subway and in airport lounges.
One of my favorite places to visit in Center Harbor is Patternworks. Even if you don’t knit, the colors and textures of the yarns are stunning. When I’m there I’m often reminded of the artist Sheila Hicks, who uses yarn to create her art. Patternworks is a gallery of sorts.
My family has been a family of knitters, and I grew up wearing beautiful hand-knit clothing. My yarn store in New York, Annie and Company, recently moved from Madison Avenue to Second Avenue and has almost tripled their size. In the middle of the shop is a large table where knitters meet to work on their projects and ask for advice when they run into difficulty with a pattern. Not hard to do.
At the Congregational Church in Laconia, Sandy Brallier ([email protected]) is the coordinator of Stitches of Love, a group that meets on Tuesday evenings from 7 to 8:30 p.m. While a majority of the group are church members, it is a community project and everyone is welcome. The women have knit prayer shawls and lap robes for people in the hospital, caps and mittens and scarfs for the Santa Fund, red, white and blue patriotic prayer shawls for fallen soldiers, and peace dolls. The dolls have been sent to group in the United States and internationally. They are kept in police cruisers in Laconia if a child is involved in an incident involving the police.
There is also a knitting group at the Laconia Public Library, organized by Jamie Dalton ([email protected]). The group meets on Thursday afternoon from 2 to 4:30 p.m. This is an informal gathering and there are people there who are experienced knitters and can offer advice to those who may be just learning or have a question. Jamie told me that many of the libraries in New Hampshire now have knitting groups.
Once upon a time… people knit to make clothing. Now, we knit as a form of meditation. Like sewing, it actually lowers blood pressure, and is an antidote to technology. It has been years since I have done any knitting, and I’m certain the sweater I have just started doesn’t hold any promise of being something that will be exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and possibly not even worn. We’ll see.
Notwithstanding, the few minutes I do have to knit during the week are peaceful and allow me time to think. I salute the group at the Laconia Congregational Church for their special stitches, as it seems the world desperately needs peace dolls and prayer shawls.
If you have a pattern or a knitting story you would like to share, please send it to me at [email protected].