Knitting: The New Craze

 Crafts seem to come and go in phases. During the 1960s Crewel Embroidery was "big." Then came a wave of Counted Cross Stitch and Needlepoint. I have works in all of those mediums. Then, in 1985, I made my first quilt and was "hooked." I wanted to know anything and everything about quilting and I tried many techniques. At first, machine quilting as it is practiced today by longarm quilters was a new thing. Most people who quilted in the 1970s and beyond were actually making comforters for not a quilting stitch by hand was in sight except by those who had learned the art of quilting from their mothers or grandmothers.

I made hundreds of quilts in all sizes ranging from miniature to queen size. I'll admit that many of the bed quilts were tied to secure the three layers together, not quilted by hand or by machine. As time went on, I took on a few large hand quilting projects (quilts) that took me a year each to quilt (like the Calico Garden quilt hanging on the wall in the photo below). Lately though, I have succumbed to the ease of having quilts quilted by a longarm artist. There is something gratifying, after all, in having a project finished and not hanging around as an unfinished object.

Today, the latest trend in "crafting" seems to be knitting. I belong to one circle of knitters. I find that I need to choose projects in which I don't have to think or count because I am too distracted when people start talking. So, I have taken to making winter scarves for needy children. I donate them to the Retired Senior Volunteer Program at the local Friends organization and they distribute them. Since March 2020, when the pandemic set in, I have made six scarves to donate. I use the knit stitch only for the scarves and leave the ends without fringe, per the organization's request. Fringe can get caught in zippers.

It seems that others, including some famous people, have taken up knitting, too. I learned to knit when I was about 12 years old through 4-H, about the same time I was taking 4-H sewing lessons. My mother neither sewed nor knew how to knit. I managed to make some sweaters for myself and family members but I did not knit for many years. I was too busy participating in the master craftsman program for quilt making and completed that certification in the year 2000 (after 9 long years of submitting projects to be judged).

As a quilt historian now, I find the field to be very rich with information. There are less details available about the history of knitting but I did find one book with some interesting facts about the topic. I shall have to sit down with that book soon and enjoy learning what I can from it. 

For now, quilting projects have taken a back burner to my knitting. I am sure I shall make more quilts but this has been a nice interlude. I like to make useful articles that people can enjoy and it cheers me to think of "forgotten" children enjoying my colorful scarves and hats!