Knitch Magazine

It was with much trepidation that I planned to attend my first meeting at a Knitting Guild. Knitting was something I did in the quiet atmosphere at home when the kids were in bed and I could sit in front of the television set and relax. Knitting was not done during the day and never in the company of others (not counting my husband). As the years went on I began to knit in the car as my husband drove to and from our summer cottage.

The thoughts of someone observing my tedious method of knitting concerned me. I knit the old fashioned “Canadian Way” or so I thought. I put the right hand needle into the stitch, drop the needle, pick up the yarn, wind it around the needle, drop the yarn, pick up the needle, push the needle back with the index finger of my left hand and slide the old stitch off the left hand needle. Over the years I have slightly modified the technique. Speed was never an issue with me, but tension was. The idea of knitting amongst a group of people and talking at the same time almost gave me a panic attack!

After searching through my unfinished projects, I found the easiest one and set off to my first meeting where I listened, observed and did very little knitting. Now, a few years later I still listen, observe do some knitting and even became involved on the Executive of the Guild. I still save most of my knitting times for those quiet times at home. I guess I’m not really a social knitter. I do work on some projects at the meetings while amongst such animated company but mostly I get inspired by everything that other knitters do. I have managed to complete the Master Knitter Program and have learned numerous knitting techniques both from the program and from my fellow knitters.

It was during my quiet listening times that I observed how others knit. What a revelation! I found out that very few people knit exactly the same way. When in Ontario visiting a childhood friend and attending a knitting seminar with her I commented that she knit the same way I did. Her reply; “Your mother taught me to knit.” I thought our Grade Three teacher had taught us, but apparently not. My mother started both of us off knitting scarves for our dolls. I have since observed another Guild member knitting like I do and I know my mother didn’t teach her to knit for they lived provinces apart!

Sometimes when amongst a group of knitters, let your eyes wander to their hands and observe how they hold the needles. I remember my mother-in-law firmly anchoring one long needle under her left arm as she knit, (all of her long needles had a bend in them!)

I haven’t seen anyone using a knitting belt or a holder but history tells us that many knitters used these techniques. Some knitters hold the needles below the knitting, while others have their hands on top of the knitting. A few knitters have a thumb under the knitted article. In my past experience most knitters used two needles for flat knitting or four needles for things in the round. Now it seems that circular needles are very common and often five needles are used for socks, etc.

When it comes to holding and manipulating the yarn “anything goes.” For those using the “Canadian Way” the yarn is held in the right hand, sometimes wound around various fingers, sometimes just dangling. The yarn is usually thrown around the needle using a variety of ways. Some people seem to have a long index finger (I call it a knitter’s finger) that hooks the wool over the needle. They don’t have to drop the needle to pick up the yarn. During the knitting process many of our Guild members never look at their own hands, but talk and look at others while involved in this complex knitting operation. Then we have those amazing knitters who hold the yarn in their left hand. Once again they hold the yarn in different ways, usually winding it around some fingers. Those using this technique appear to manipulate the needle through the yarn-rather like crocheting. I find it mind boggling observing them--while I’m watching their hands to see what they are doing, they are chatting away to others as if their hands automatically did the process without any thinking required. I have managed some two-handed Fair Isle knitting but it was slow tedious work.

What did I learn from all my observations? Firstly, there is no one way to knit--everyone seems to have his or her own personalized style (like handwriting). Secondly, knitters are extremely talented people--knitting, talking and creating all at the same time. Speed varies but not necessarily in proportion to the rate of talking. You might wish to make your own observations during knitting events and maybe you’ll find a kindred spirit--someone who knits exactly the same way as you do!

Wilma McQueen is a member of the local knitting guild in Calgary, AB, Canada. A retired educator, she is an avid knitter, quilter and traveler. If you arrive at Calgary International Airport on a Sunday night, you just might be greeted by Wilma and her husband, Murray who serve there as White Hat volunteers.