THERE WAS A particular sweater that became the high-water mark of pre-grunge, post-hippie preppy fashion when I was 15. It wasn’t particularly pretty, or soft, or from a status brand. Nope, that sweater fell into fashion because it signified ability, ability to commit and follow through, and having enough free time to do something other than school work, sometimes a rarity in the academic pressure-cooker that was my high school experience. If you, or better, your boyfriend, was wearing this sweater, it meant you were a knitter, and, believe it or not, then as now, that was cool.
I learned to knit along with a couple of friends, by visiting the town’s local yarn store. The women there were extremely tolerant of the influx of adolescent girls (no boys, then, though now, there are plenty of cute, cool guy knitters) fluttering around, fingering yarn and patterns, erupting in mysterious, inside-joke laughter as only teenage girls can.
Those women taught me to knit, and in spite of my best efforts to be self-taught in everything, they succeeded, to a point. (I’m still a little vague on some basic knitting skills, and often find myself referring to references in print and especially, online.) We’d hang out in the store for instruction and inspiration, and then return to our dorms with our projects. It wasn’t uncommon to see groups of us gathered around, knitting in hand, watching afternoon soaps together (the only televisions were in common areas in the dormitories) during our rare down time.
Flash forward more than 25 years (ow, that hurts to type) and I still knit. I still knit in front of the TV, or on long drives where I’m not the driver, or while waiting for my kids to finish an activity that doesn’t require my participation. I have had long hiatuses from the hobby, but I always circle back to it. I love that it keeps my hands busy, that it allows me to be productive even when I’m sitting still, and that is an instant connection to other women.
When I moved to my new, rural home, one of the first things I bonded about with new friends was knitting. We traded patterns. We all played Hat Attack, a knitters’ game of assassin, aka Killer, together. None of us really has time for a regular knitting get-together (and oh, how we long for a Stitch N Bitch to call our own) but we see each other enough–picking up, dropping off, waiting at karate or ballet, grabbing coffee or tea in between–to check in with our projects, and one another.
A few days ago, I was at an ice-skating party with my kids, and another mom slid over to me to ask about the neckwarmer I was wearing. “Did you MAKE that?” she asked.
It’s beautiful, all earthy tans and reds and greens, and though I’d love to take the credit, I had to answer, no, that my friend made it for me because I had so admired hers. “But do you knit?” she persisted. It turned out that she was trying to learn, and what she really wanted to know was if I had a regular knitting group.
I wish I did, because I know how much fun and sisterhood it would offer. (If you don’t believe me, check out TSP’s profile of knitters-extraordinaire Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne, over in the Galleries.)For now, I have to stick to my fly-by, impromptu knitting sessions, and the virtual knitting sisterhood offered by Ravelry. (If you knit, and you’re not a member–you should be. It’s an amazing community and resource, and you should sign up for the site, and our our little TSP gang there, a group named “TheSisterProjectKnits.”) You’ll even find a few people there still making that long-ago sweater.
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The laying on of hands, sister-to-sister, knitting provides is unique.
When knitting, I find myself sometimes thinking of all the girls on the American prairie playing cat’s cradle, or of the long line of women who have heightened and added to my knitting skills, as well as the women I’ll knit with yet.
Standing in line at a Vietnamese restaurant over the weekend a woman asked, “Did you knit that?” She nodded at the Point Five Colinette chartreuse sweater I treat like a sweatshirt. I did knit it, as well as five others just like it for friends (this sweater knits up in a few hours; perfect), and as she moved in, her hand extended to touch it, I saw her husband’s eyes turn unmistakably startled. The intimacy of this is exchange is something knitting sisters understand–as does my husband, who witnesses this all the time.
That Sweater!!!!
My youngest sister knit one of these for my oldest son when he was 6 or 8 years old. And I believe she made one for herself also. I probably still have his tucked away-in all it’s moth-y state. Even more unbelievable is the fact that she died 18 years ago. “That sweater” sparked lovely memories. Knitting-it’s forever.
skb
Marion–pattern, please?
SKB–What an amazing reminiscence–I’m so glad you shared it here.
I love this story! The teenagery knitting. I wish I’d been knitting in those days, because it would have surely helped, somehow. With teenageriness, all that.
And that sweater pattern. What a classic–I’m chuckling that you were able to find it online.
PS I went to summer school at Exeter, back in the day. Maybe if I’d figured out a way to go there all year, I’d have been knitting earlier!
Ann–Once again, the threads (or, I suppose, in this case, strands of yarn) that connect us all boggle my mind. Yes, teenage knitting was a gift, in many ways, and though I’m far from a master knitter (too damn stubborn and distractable for that) knitting is something I know I can always go back to: my fingers will always find their way, and it’s a constant source of solace. And on a less soapy note–I LOVE that you know that pattern. It seems everyone has seen that poor, homely sweater at some point!
Candide yarn, how I love thee and the men who wore sweaters made with you!
I grew up in South Dartmouth, MA. in a little village, called Padanaram. At 6 1/2 Bridge Street there was, what for me will always be the the epitome of the LYS, known as P. Straker’s. It was owned by Penny Straker, but it was her mother, Janice, who was there most days in the late 1960′s and early 70′s when I was learning to knit. My mother, a fab knitter, worked full time, so when I would drop a stitch, I’d get on my bike and ride two miles into town to have Janice fix it, too excited to wait for my mother to get home. This was at time when pretty much everyone knit with Candide. All of my Mom’s friends would sit on the jetty in their beach chairs, and knit with this heavyweight wool yarn, while their kids played on the beach and fished. To this day, I can still conjure up the smell of the mix of Ban de Soleil suntan lotion and the natural oils found in Candide yarn. It was, in fact, the oils in Candide that made it water resistant and therefore ideal for the Portuguese Fisherman’s Pullover shown in your picture.
The most popular pattern of Janice’s, back then, was called Sea Call, a basic stockinette stitch, raglan pullover. That was everyone’s first pattern. Penny had mimeographed a typed template of the pattern and Moms would go to her store with whomever they were knitting the sweater for, and have Janice get their measurements and fill in the blanks with the number of stitches and inches needed to make the pullover fit perfectly. I still have my mother’s original patterns. I noticed Penny has a website: http://www.pennystraker.com/company.html Many of her patterns have a classic, sea captainy feel to them. To this day, when I see a guy in one of those warm and rugged sweaters, I want to give him a hug. No wonder I made them for a college boyfriend, my husband and sons.
HI, Judy: I’ve made several Penny Straker patterns, one for my husband right after we married, in fact. I remember buying the pattern in a shop in Salem, Mass after a trip — are you ready? — to Padanaram to visit a friend. Too, too wonderful. The knitting sisterhood just grows and grows, doesn’t it? I agree about those patterns. There is something deliciously huggable about a man in a rugged sweater.
Love that you have been to Padanaram. It was a very sweet village when I was a young teen, running barefoot all summer. I live in the South now where most of my friends have only been knitting for a few years and don’t remember a time when there were just a few pattern writers and yarn choices out there. Which was the first PS pattern you made for your husband and since we’re the same age, who were you visiting in Padanaram (only tell if your friend grew up there)?
Hi, again, Judy. The friend did not grow up there, but still resides in Padanaram, loving it.
The pattern, however, is Geoffrey Vest #760-V and on the pattern, in ink, is written my husband’s name and 1/93, so it has a little bit of memoir for me. All scribbled on, with hatch marks for the cable rows and important changes in pink highlighter, the pattern is a story in itself. I’m so glad you asked me to look for it. It is so sweet to see the notes to myself. I love that; much like my recipe cards, carrying a little personal history. That vest, by the way, is a Penny Staker design. I also have a Janice Straker sweater pattern for Baby Jennifer & Bonnet #B770. Stored together, they tell the early history of my marriage. As I say here http://thesisterproject.com/roach/she-doesnt-knit-big-surprise/ my life can be fairly well plotted by the things I’ve knit.
Paige: I forgot to answer your question above. THAT pattern is Colinette Point Five, simply called Sweater from their Point Five book. I made mine in Dali shade Wasabi Squeeze, though I’ve also made it in Dali shade Salty Dog and cardigan versions for gifts in simply too many shades to recall. See the yarns here: http://www.colinette.co.uk/index.php?cPath=6_25&&page=1
I know that Geoffrey pattern well because I’ve used it to make plain and quick stockinette stitch vests (sans cables).
I knit Swiss Check for old boyfriend and soon after, Eye of the Partridge for husband. I’m with you on reading the notes to self on patterns and recipes. I especially love reading my mother’s notes on her old patterns and recipes.
Thanks for writing.
Hi, Judy. I’ve since been really paying attention to those little notations on my patterns after digging through the box of them, which is where I found — having forgotten I even made it — a photo journal of my knitting projects from the 1990s. Oh my. The babies of friends, the friends, the things I forgot I knit (now there’s a book title! Ha!) Do you keep a record? I think I’ll write a separate post about that. Make sure to look up from your needles and see if I write it.
I, too, have made quite a few baby sweaters –especially for my old babysitters who are now having their own kids which is very hard to believe. A few years ago when I was cranking out a lot of knitting I kept a journal with patterns, yarn swatches and photos. I was just looking at it, trying to remember why my knitting log came to a sudden halt and then remembered: I started an MDK mitered square blanket; queen size (144 squares). It’s gorgeous and I love it, but it involved so many color decisions, I quit knitting for a year when it was done! Just recently, my mother knit a pair of socks for me and sent them along with the pattern to spur me back into knitting. So, now I’m knitting my first pair of socks, for my husband … and I’m back to where I started with this conversation thread! I’ll look for your post.
Marion and Judy–you two are amazing. I’m so impressed (not only by your prodigious dialog here) but in particular by the idea of a knitting journal–I’ve never thought to do that, and duh! that’s the sound of me, smacking myself on the head. If I had, I wouldn’t have spent weeks (only felt like months) trying to track down that cute little hat with the flowers I made as a first birthday gift for my friend’s little girl…you get the idea. And Judy, I, too, am (very slowly) working on my first pair of socks. Maybe we’ll have to make socks the next TSP Ravelry knitalong…
I used to knit a lot until I had children; it is a form of meditation that I really miss.
The last completed project I made was the periwinkle wool baby blanket designed by Elizabeth Zimmerman; the lace edging was the last thing I have completed. Since having kids, I have started one hat and one sweater, but the kids have outgrown them before I had a chance to finish them.
I more or less did teach myself to knit. I remember making a scarf around age 6 or so — my tension was really off, and it was shaped like a sock. My mother tried to teach me, but she wasn’t very good at it herself. However, she could crochet, and so taught me that. So in third grade, I made a granny square afghan all by myself, but at the time, my mother did not want to invest any money in my projects, and so it was made with that horrible Phentex stuff from Woolco, and melted once when my mother put it in the dryer!
Knitting took off seriously when I was in grade 10; there was a knitting pattern in Seventeen, and I made it, and wore it. At that point, my knitting really took off, and soon enough, I was making lace and knitting Kaffe Fasset sweaters.
I’ve made the best baby stuff for everyone else’s babies — not my own! Lovely lace baby blankets (a Rowan pattern), lovely sweaters that still fit. I made *the* Annabel Fox sweater for Pierre from Rowan’s Book 4, and he still wears it today — it has worn like iron! I also made him Annabel Fox’s “A Jacket Called Horse” which took years to finish (and was shaped a little short and wide in the end), but he still likes it and wears it a lot.
I would like to get back to knitting, and make my son little guernsey pullovers, and something frilly and girly for Tallulah. There just never seems to be the time to do it, or even to plan it, although every once in a while, I get bitten by the bug, and try to plan a project.
p.s. I knit Swiss (which I learned on a trip to Switzerland back in ’85, and have never looked back) — how about you?
I am looking for that Candide Portuguese Fisherman Sweater Instructions. I think it was one page pattern for sizes 2-44. I did have it, and have torn my craft room apart looking for it to knit for my grandchildren this winter……..does anyone know where I can get it?
Would truly love to find the pattern for the Candide Portuguese Fisherman Sweater?
Hi, Was wondering if anyone had the candide portuguese knitting sweater pattern. My girlfriend had it and can’t find it. She said that it was the best pattern she had and knitted several sweaters for herself and her children. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
MJ
i began knitting 30 years ago, while pregnant with my first child. It was my mother in law who taught me, she an amazing knitter from Europe, she insisted i learn the European knitting method, which i did. The excitement of first coming to the yarn, perhaps a beginner mind kind of thing, was complete, i would knit well into the night. I would take my knitting every where with me, it was a deep comfort. For years i did quite complex patterns, loved the challenge, even designed my own pieces. Now i like simple things, arm warmers and little hats in soft alpaca, or a large wrap, in a local yarn, chunky and primal. I adore color, that is evident in my creations. I think Kaffe rocks, don’t you? I have taught many how to knit, i feel i am sending them off with something special slipped in their pocket. I can not wait to teach my 7 month old grand daughter, Julia, i guess we are connected by the thread in many ways!!! Now i want sheep, and to learn all about local plants to create dyes with. Good stuff, happy knitting, Lynn
Judy, Loved hearing you speak of Padanarom, the first time i came across penny and the charming village i was on a boat and we got fogged in for a few days, heaven i tell you, i would row into town and head right to Penny’s place, then spend the afternoon windsurfing and knitting, that was 26 years ago, we eventually came to settle in this area, and Penny and i have crossed paths in the gardening world, one of her other passions. cool to have paths cross. Lynn
hi i learned to knit at harriets yarn shop in New Bedfors, Ma. many many years ago when I was about 7 the first thing that I made was a baby sweater,I also went to P S Straker yarn shop what fun it was all the diffrent yarns, I made a baby blanket and sweater to match from her pattern that was 43 years ago –2 of my granddaughters came home fron the hospital wearing it–I hope they will keep up the tradition