Mother of Purl (12 page)

The point of these stories is to encourage you to look creatively at your mistakes, and to devise your own solutions by approaching your errors rationally and analytically. Check your emotions at the door, until you’ve devised a solution.

Besides the obvious pleasure of owning a successful business, one thing I find truly gratifying about La Knitterie Parisienne is that it enables me to help my knitters reconnect with something important that is missing in their lives, to feel some connection to their mothers and grandmothers, to their roots. When I first came to America, knitting

was a solitary activity; I was the first to reintroduce the idea of social knitting to a new generation.

For me, the knitting experience has always been a social one; in my first store, The Canvas Pad, I encouraged people to sit and linger and work on their projects. What was popular in New Jersey has exploded into a cultural phenomenon in Los Angeles; whether it’s Wednesday nights or Friday mornings, I always have people sitting at my table, chatting, knitting, and enjoying each other’s company.

I love this aspect of what I do. In a city like Los Angeles, where everyone is from somewhere else, it’s hard to meet people and develop friendships, and even harder to replace that feeling of having older female relatives—a mother you can call on when you feel out of your depth. Always available at my fingertips is a long phone list of my regular customers—they are more than clients, they are friends. We have dinner, share the holidays, and know and care about each other’s good and bad times. Just because a pregnant member of the knitting circle is confined to bed rest does not mean she is out of the loop: I will call her from the hubbub of Wednesday night so she can talk to her friends and feel part of the circle again.

This sense of community is what I mean by “emotional knitting,” and it’s what I hope in this chapter to help you to create for yourself. Over the years I’ve been called upon to organize customized knitting socials for countless celebrities. The baby–blanket social is always the most popular, but there are dozens of other holidays and special events that can be organized around a knitting party—the only limit is your imagination.

There are two kinds of knitting socials. The first is organized to accomplish a specific task, for instance, to make a baby blanket for an expectant mother. The second kind is organized for purely social reasons, perhaps to try and jump start a knitting group at your local coffee shop. In either situation, you need to consider the same basics: location, materials, guests, and theme. As knitting socials become more popular, you’ll need to be adventurous to draw guests.

The first thing you’ll want to do is find a location. Coffee shops are good, if a little predictable—make sure the owner is comfortable with her tables and chairs being taken over. Keep your eyes open for more interesting venues, like the London–based knitters who hold their knitting group on the Circle line of the Underground, or hold socials at friends’ homes on a rotating basis.

Keep it easy and simple. Knitting parties are most enjoyable when the hostess has created an ingenious theme for the party. You’ll also want to be sure to have enough experienced knitters on hand to encourage and lead beginners.

Decide on a budget. Are your guests going to contribute? If you have ten or more guests I would estimate about $15 for materials per person, and don’t forget to include additional costs for food and beverages. Depending on the yarn you select, you can expect to pay about $7 to $10 a ball. Splurge a little for needles. Clover bamboo needles are a great choice; they are nonslippery, light, and easy for beginners to use. They also feel good in your hands, which may encourage your new knitters to keep knitting after your party.

It’s easy to throw your own baby–blanket knitting party. You don’t even need to be an expert knitter; just follow my guidelines.

You’ll need 36 six–by–six–inch squares for a blanket. To ensure your guests finish their squares at the party, go for a relatively big gauge; 3 or 4 stitches to an inch. If you end up with more squares than you need, make another blanket: that’s what we did for Camryn Manheim. This also happens to be the
only
time it’s not necessary for each guest to make a gauge—originality is relished.


Buy good–quality yarn. There’s no point in having twenty friends work together for an afternoon if the result is a scratchy mess of acrylic. I recommend buying a heavy cotton yarn, like Pronto or Goa, knitted on size 10 or 10.5 needles so the results can be achieved quickly.


Set up your tables, or, if you prefer, cluster your couch and armchairs together for an informal, cozy feel. Arrange the yarns and needles in small containers, one per guest. For Camryn’s shower we used wicker baskets, but you might use giant coffee cups or cute shopping bags from your local yarn store, whatever seems to fit your theme the best. Have a few good reference books on hand for the more adventurous knitters, though most people will inevitably knit garter–stitch squares, and mistakes only add to the charm of the blanket.


As the host, if you’re not proficient in finishing the blanket, bring it to your local yarn store and they can advise you.

There was a reason why knitting was an integral part of my childhood education in Paris. Our teachers believed that it encouraged our mental development while teaching discipline and patience. They were right. Knitting is no longer a part of the school curriculum, but I believe knitting can be incredibly beneficial for children—it encourages creativity and coordination, and it helps stimulate the mind.

If you wish to ignite a love of knitting in your son or daughter, follow these tips. First, get them involved from the beginning; allow them to pick whatever yarn they like, and encourage them to take their time selecting it. Start them on a simple scarf. Don’t worry about having them knit a gauge, just select the appropriate needles; make sure that the stitches are relatively big, and use a chunky yarn.

Cast on for them. Don’t worry about teaching them how to cast on till they’ve mastered knitting and purling. Don’t wait any longer than that, though—otherwise they’ll think of casting on as a skill too difficult for them to master. Once they have the knack, keep a watchful eye, but don’t hover over them. Knitting is an amazing way to help children develop a creative independence, but you’ll need to give them their space in which to do so. Fix their big errors, but allow the little ones to slide, at least at first, and never rip out their work—unless they get to the stage where they are ambitious enough to want to rip out and reuse the yarn for another project.

Encourage boys by having them knit something for themselves, such as a wristband in an absorbent cotton. If you are inspired, you could even devise patterns for knee or elbow pads for them to wear while skateboarding. Just measure the circumference of their joints, calculate a gauge in a soft, chunky yarn, and show them how to knit the piece in a rib (to allow for the necessary elasticity).