Thanks from Interim House
I was at Interim House again today. Its this local Drug and Alcohol rehab where I've been hanging out on Fridays and knitting with the residents and some of the staff. I brought some yarn that had been bought with money from a friend of my mother's. Mom, which friend was it? The ladies at Interim house would like her address so they can write her a thank you note.
Then I arrived and Kathy told me they had received a package from a lady in Wisconsin. How amazing is that? Somebody in Wisconsin actually took the time to bundle up needles and yarn and send it all the way to Philadelphia. It was so much appreciated. Nearly all the balls were immediately appropriated and new scarves and other items were cast on. It was awesome. And this lady from Wisconsin--I don't even know who she is! If you are the nice lady drop me a line and let me know. You're the best. The needles were especially appreciated--several sets went out immediately to new residents.
I've been sitting next to one of the ladies for the past three weeks. The first time we talked it was because Kathy asked me to help her. She had only just begun knitting and she was not enjoying it much. She was finding it difficult and stressful. It didn't help that she was using some old white acrylic yarn on rough wooden needles. She had the classic beginners problem of adding stitches (mostly at the beginning of the row). I tried to help her out--explaining that it wasn't necessary to pull the stitches so very tight, and that it is important to tug your work at the end of every row and admire it, pulling the yarn down and towards the back so that she wouldn't accidentally yarn over or make that first loose stitch look like two. And even though she was complaining about her knitting the whole time, she got better, and she started making progress.
The next week she had finished that scarf, and was showing remarkable improvement on her second white scarf. By the end of the knitting time she had gotten her first ball of pink, green and purple fun fur, and she had cast on for a wild pink scarf. When I arrived today, she was nearly finished with it, and we bound it off near the end of the group. And it was gorgeous, beautiful! I wish I were allowed to take pictures. It was evident that at some point during the week, something had clicked and she really understood how knitting worked. This scarf was even and beautiful. And she was so proud of it, she kept saying, "nobody is going to believe I made this." I don't think she quite believed she had made something so wild. She said several times that she is really a plain kind of person.
It was funny, at the same time as she was loving her scarf, wearing it and stroking it and feeling proud of herself, she didn't want to appear too proud or excited. At one point I asked her whether she wanted to learn to cast on her next project (another fun fur scarf) and she said, "Naw, cause I'm not going to keep knitting once I get out of here." One of the other residents said "Hey, that's the kind of thing we say amongst ourselves but we not in front of the teachers!" (those of us from the outside who join their group on Fridays are collectively called "the teachers") I said in response that the thing about knitting is that its always a choice. But then we'll see how she feels about it after four more months in the program.
I wish you all could be there with us. The room is packed with women knitting and crocheting. There aren't enough seats--some of us sit on the floor. Some sit in the kitchen. The group was quieter than usual today, and somebody said they liked the energy in the room today. Another one (one of us outside "teachers") said, "it feels like a real knitting group today." Another one of the ladies, a bit annoyed, said "it is a real knitting group." And she was right. I really enjoy my time at Interim House, its two hours which has some of the best knitting energy I encounter all week.
Then I arrived and Kathy told me they had received a package from a lady in Wisconsin. How amazing is that? Somebody in Wisconsin actually took the time to bundle up needles and yarn and send it all the way to Philadelphia. It was so much appreciated. Nearly all the balls were immediately appropriated and new scarves and other items were cast on. It was awesome. And this lady from Wisconsin--I don't even know who she is! If you are the nice lady drop me a line and let me know. You're the best. The needles were especially appreciated--several sets went out immediately to new residents.
I've been sitting next to one of the ladies for the past three weeks. The first time we talked it was because Kathy asked me to help her. She had only just begun knitting and she was not enjoying it much. She was finding it difficult and stressful. It didn't help that she was using some old white acrylic yarn on rough wooden needles. She had the classic beginners problem of adding stitches (mostly at the beginning of the row). I tried to help her out--explaining that it wasn't necessary to pull the stitches so very tight, and that it is important to tug your work at the end of every row and admire it, pulling the yarn down and towards the back so that she wouldn't accidentally yarn over or make that first loose stitch look like two. And even though she was complaining about her knitting the whole time, she got better, and she started making progress.
The next week she had finished that scarf, and was showing remarkable improvement on her second white scarf. By the end of the knitting time she had gotten her first ball of pink, green and purple fun fur, and she had cast on for a wild pink scarf. When I arrived today, she was nearly finished with it, and we bound it off near the end of the group. And it was gorgeous, beautiful! I wish I were allowed to take pictures. It was evident that at some point during the week, something had clicked and she really understood how knitting worked. This scarf was even and beautiful. And she was so proud of it, she kept saying, "nobody is going to believe I made this." I don't think she quite believed she had made something so wild. She said several times that she is really a plain kind of person.
It was funny, at the same time as she was loving her scarf, wearing it and stroking it and feeling proud of herself, she didn't want to appear too proud or excited. At one point I asked her whether she wanted to learn to cast on her next project (another fun fur scarf) and she said, "Naw, cause I'm not going to keep knitting once I get out of here." One of the other residents said "Hey, that's the kind of thing we say amongst ourselves but we not in front of the teachers!" (those of us from the outside who join their group on Fridays are collectively called "the teachers") I said in response that the thing about knitting is that its always a choice. But then we'll see how she feels about it after four more months in the program.
I wish you all could be there with us. The room is packed with women knitting and crocheting. There aren't enough seats--some of us sit on the floor. Some sit in the kitchen. The group was quieter than usual today, and somebody said they liked the energy in the room today. Another one (one of us outside "teachers") said, "it feels like a real knitting group today." Another one of the ladies, a bit annoyed, said "it is a real knitting group." And she was right. I really enjoy my time at Interim House, its two hours which has some of the best knitting energy I encounter all week.
posted by Unknown | 5:10 PM
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