There seems to be a craze out there. Mothers, sisters, girls of all ages and some guys, too, are picking up the knitting needles and learning to knit or crochet.
Have the times changed enough to accept that a person, of any age or sex, can sit in a public place and knit?
The public is becoming more understanding. People just want to get away from that computer every now and then. They need something that is different than playing video games, watching TV or reading a book (which everyone should do more of).
Have you noticed that TV has started picking up on the knitting bandwagon? A few of the prime time TV shows have their stars knitting on the air and it’s not just the “Golden Girls” anymore.
In the bigger cities that surround our small town, I am seeing the younger generation picking up the knitting needles and taking them in public! Before, it was taboo to be young and knit in public.
Now, it seems that everywhere you go, you can find a young person knitting.
Knitting was reserved for the home; you did not bring it out in public until you retired from working, which was when you were considered “old.”
My name is Danielle Evans, I am 26-years-old and I am studying to become a computer programmer and the deadlines are stressful.
I use knitting to get away from it all.
I have had to travel from our small town of Othello to Moses Lake to find a knitting group. I go there almost every Thursday to knit. We don’t bash our significant others (rarely ever) and we don’t really talk about politics (just when they really tick us off).
Mostly, we just talk about what has happened over the last week, ask silly questions and listen to everyone respond.
Even though I do not gripe about work or the latest squabble within my family, often, I really feel a lot better when I leave.
Of course, that could be the countless balls of yarn and accessories that I buy each time I am there.
The atmosphere of knitting something, a pair of gloves, a scarf, a blanket, whether it is for you or for someone else, contains a sense of accomplishment. It is overwhelming at first, but by spending a little time on it every day, it seems to fly off those needles.
Every time I put down the needles after finishing a project, I have to pick them back up to start something new.
Though it was once thought taboo, knitting is now becoming popular.
Go to Barnes and Noble in Tri-Cities and see if I am kidding. I know of a group that meets in Richland once a week to sit in the chairs, drink coffee, knit or crochet and just talk with each other, whether it is about a project they are having a problem on or just to shoot the breeze.
I started knitting in 2004. I am self-taught. I was down in Richland for a summer internship and one of my roommates knitted.
My grandmother crocheted when I was little, so I knew the basic idea of what was going on, but my roommate’s knitting fascinated me and I have been fascinated with it ever since.
I dare you to go to a local yarn shop (this does not include the big blue building down the road), go in and touch the yarns and feel the differences. It is a feeling you will never forget.
What is a good yarn shop? You know when you walk in, that feeling that you have been there before. That is a good yarn shop.
The Country Boutique in Moses Lake is the yarn shop that I go to. It reminds me of my grandma’s house when I was a child – warm, friendly people, who know the meaning of “there is never a stupid question.”
Do not go back to a shop if there is not someone who offers to help you. Finding the right yarn, needles and other supplies is hard enough when you first start out, let alone when you start a major project.
This is why smaller yarn shops are in business, they love the people. Yes, they want to make money, but the craft is what drives them to stay open.
This column will become a craft-along. I would love to involve you. I would enjoy writing about other crafts and also including a craft-along, but I will need your help. Send me your ideas, comments and suggestions. E-mail me at wovenpixel@yahoo.com, visit my blog at wovenpixel.blogspot.com,or on Ravelry.com as WovenPixel.
You will be the driving force of my column (and trust me, I need all the help that I can get).
*Published in The Columbia Basin Farmer, January/Feburary 2009 Edition.
