Knitting

With my renewed commitment to sustainability came an interest in knitting. I've always been crafty but had no good reason or motivation to put any of my skills to use. However, a year or so a go, a woman in my Sunday School class casually mentioned a politically liberal knitting blog that she follows. Now it's not that I assumed that knitters didn't have political opinions, but the idea of a progressive knitting subculture wasn't something I'd considered before. But oh how it delicious it sounded. Chirping about health care reform while whipping out a little JCrew (sans sweatshop)- inspired number? Well, I was reminded of the classic Seinfeld episode where George aspires to eat and have sex at the same time.

So I just got back from my second lesson with the aforementioned woman. Her name is Lucy. She rocks. She's one of the smartest, most articulate people you'll ever meet. And turns out she's one hell of a knitter. And one hell of a teacher.

We had our first lesson right before Christmas, which provided me with enough instruction to experiment with a scarf. She also suggested a few books, but I settled on Stitch n' Bitch, a hipster knitting instruction manual by the founder of Bust magazine. (For those who don't know, Bust is a third-wave feminist magazine. It's an important periodical, but I've never been able to get into its vibe. Philosophically, I identify more with second-wave feminists, but that's a different posting.) It's a great book, though I'd recommend using the book along with a great teacher.

So! If I was in knitting school, my report card would show that I have demonstrated competency in the following areas:

• casting on
• knit stitch
• perl stitch
• frogging
• tinking
• garter stitch
• stockinette stitch

Tonight I learned:

• rib stitch
• increasing (yarn over, bar increase, and make one)
• decreasing (k2tog, ssk, and skp)
• I-cord

Let's hope my next report card is as positive. I'm giddy.