A dispatch from the knitting front
By: Kristin Boyd
Per Oprah’s recommendation via her television show, of course I wrote out all of the goals that I would like to accomplish in my life.
The list, written in jumbo handwriting on notebook paper, has traveled with me from one apartment to another since I graduated college five years ago.
I have checked off 12 goals so far, but I have 48 more to go, including learning sign language, publishing a book, auditioning for a game show and becoming a mommy.
Make that 47. On Friday afternoon, I finally learned how to knit.
Here I am at Mary Jacobs Memorial Library in Rocky Hill with a very patient Gail Madak, who is introducing me to a pair of purple plastic needles and a ball of bulky brown yarn.
For me, this is Knitting 101. Gail, head of adult services and founder of the library’s Knittin’ Mittens group, is my professor.
Knittin’ Mittens meets at 1 p.m. every other Friday. The group is hoping to make more than 20 pairs of mittens for women at Crawford House by winter.
Everyone is welcome, Gail says, adding you don’t need a library card or knitting knowledge to stop by. "It’s a fun way for people to come together," she says. "It’s social. We meet, chat and share information. We help each other."
The knitting regulars, probably basking in the warm spring day, are no shows. It’s just me, Gail and my inexperience.
Gail gives me a private lesson, starting with a knitting overview: knits and purls, seeds and stockinettes, scarves and sweaters, and so on.
She tells me her grandmother taught her how to knit Continental style, as opposed to the more popular and easier American style. She’ll show me the Continental style, she says. Of course, I think, why would this be easy, huh?
I keep my eyes glued to Gail’s hands as she shows me how to hold the needles close to the tip and weave the yarn in and out of loops, all while continually giving the yarn some slack.
My oh-my-gosh-am-I-going-to-be-able-to-do-this look must have translated to boredom because Gail asks, "You’re not just humoring me, are you?"
"No," I tell her. "I’ve always wanted to learn how to knit. All I can do is sew on a button." Now that I think of it, I can barely do that.
Gail guides me through my first set of loops, her hands overlapping mine as I begin knitting. Finished. One set down. Only a hundred or so more to go, I think, before Gail sets me loose to try a set by myself.
No problem, I say confidently.
Boy, was I wrong.
The first five minutes of knitting solo are tense. Gail is like my training wheel, and without her undivided attention, I cannot handle this.
I kind of have the looping down pat, but not really. My needles are not cooperating, and I keep missing the last step, thus criss-crossing my yarn.
Still, Gail cheers me on, occasionally re-looping the yarn and re-adjusting the needles so I can start over.
"Try again," she says. "You’re doing great."
With her encouragement, I finally get a rhythm going: Up, around, through the loop, drop off. Up, around, through the loop, drop off.
Whoo-hoo! I am a knitting machine.
Three minutes later, I complete another row of 12 loops, and by my overjoyed reaction, you would’ve thought I hit the Mega Millions jackpot. Gail congratulates me, and I smile, quite proud of myself.
I start another row, assured that I will have a small potholder or something that looks kind of like it in no time.
Gail is working on the beginnings of an eyeglass holder in a beautiful swirl of purple and blue strings. Her hands move like a machine up, down, in, out.
A wee bit jealous, I try to knit faster, determined to be as good as Gail.
Whoa! Slow down, I tell myself.
I am not that stitching good yet.
For now, I’ll just stick with my beginner’s ball of bulky brown yarn well, that’s if I can ever get my fingers untangled from these darn loops.
The next Knittin’ Mittens meeting will be held at 1 p.m. Friday, April 13 at Mary Jacobs Memorial Library, 64 Washington St. in Rocky Hill. For information, call Gail Madak at (609) 924-7073, ext. 4.
Kristin Boyd is always looking for new topics of interest to Princeton-area newcomers. She can be reached by writing to [email protected].