Telling Yarns
In the evening, one of my favorite diversions is to curl up in my husband's armchair and knit while watching reruns of "Law & Order." As pleasant as that is, however, it's also a little sad. I work at home and figure, rightly, that I'm spending way too much time alone. To remedy the situation, I've decided to join a knitters group, where women -- and men -- talk, knit and (with luck) share snacks. When I lived in Richmond, I regularly attended a "stitch" group that met at a friend's house; but as a newcomer to Washington, I don't know many people, let alone knitters.
I've seen the occasional knitter on the Metro with a skein of yarn stuffed in her handbag, almost furtively working on a scarf. There's also a knitter I've seen repeatedly at the Adams Morgan Chipotle who sits with a bag of materials next to her chair and a tiny terrier snoozing alongside. Well, that's companionship -- but what if you are more eager for the human kind?
  At Stitch DC on Capitol Hill, store owner Marie Connolly, left, regular Ceci Carry, part-time assistant Brigitte Pieke and customer Chelette Johnson of Washington work on various projects. (Mark Finkenstaedt for The Washington Post) |
"It's always mystified me," said Michelle Strange, a D.C. resident and expert knitter. "You think of quilting bees -- women working together -- but none of the other fiber arts have that association. I'd much rather knit and chat than sit at home knitting."
With that sentiment in mind, Strange and a friend formed a knitting group in February 2001 at Takoma Park's Savory Cafe. "The first meeting was just the two of us. . . . I put the word out [via e-mail] so the next time we got four, then eight," Strange said. Now she is one of the coordinators of DC Knitters, a casual alliance of textile artists that maintains a Web site with a calendar of public knitting groups along with lists of yarn shops, instructors and other resources. "We're really lucky in this area with workshop[s] and guilds that offer classes. We wanted something less structured, though, where people could just get together and knit."
The site lists about 11 groups in the Washington area that are free and Metro accessible. From this assortment, I picked three to visit: one in a Capitol Hill yarn shop that attracts experienced knitters, another in Fort Totten that offered instruction to new knitters and finally a downtown group that meets after work in a low-key tea shop. My own needlework skills are pretty basic. I knit scarves and have been working on a blue wool pullover for, oh, about two years. I felt welcome at all three groups and made some progress on my projects as well.
One of the most popular is the Capitol Hill Needlework Group, which meets Sunday afternoons at Stitch DC, a yarn shop in a converted Barracks Row house. With refinished wood floors and fresh white walls, the historic building has the feel of an open studio. "We opened in June 2004, and I invited them here," shop owner Marie Connolly said. "I think they showed up that July!" The Needleworkers are a varied bunch -- working moms, retirees and professionals who like to knit to unwind. Many live in the neighborhood.
Hosting a knitting group does indicate a certain marketing savvy. "I pretty much don't escape, though, without buying yarn," confessed Evelyn Bourne-Gould, one of the coordinators of the Capitol Hill group. Sitting in a cushioned chair, she was deftly knitting a spiral scarf out of rich red wool. Surrounding her were wide bookshelves with cubbies of alluring yarns, each suggesting to a knitter's eye possible projects: Hand-spun merino from Uruguay dyed bright green would make a fun child's pullover; staunch, Rowan wool from England in oriental carpet colors such as burgundy and indigo could be turned into socks and winter sweaters. Meanwhile, Bee Sweet yarn from South Africa -- a mix of mohair and silky ribbon that comes in dainty colors such as sky blue, amethyst and rose -- brings scarves and accessories to mind.
As much as business may benefit, Connolly sees the Capitol Hill Needlework Group as a means to build a sense of community. "One thing I have always tried to do with my store is that when people come in, first and foremost, you are a guest. . . . The group is a part of that, guests who share a common interest in yarns, fibers, knitting," she said. Connolly's welcoming sensibility is reflected in the shop's homey decor: The front room boasts a squishy sofa, covered with throw pillows and a purple afghan; a number of chairs and rockers gather nearby into a sociable group.
On a recent Sunday, Conchita Baylor had an ambitious project spread out on the sofa beside her -- an evening jacket knit in rich black wool with a sequined medallion on the back. Baylor designed the piece herself. "I don't like patterns -- you have a job for years where you've got to go by the rules," said Baylor, a retiree from the Department of Labor. "This is more freestyle. I drew up the idea, and Marie mapped it out." Although she had crocheted for years, Baylor was new to knitting. "I can knit and purl, that's about it -- I've been working on this for a couple of months," she said, patting the jacket. Nearby, Martha Huizenga was sewing up the sides of a pink mitten. "Hopefully they'll be two," she mused.
A newcomer to knitting as well, Huizenga just learned the previous April. "My mom goes to a knitting group at her church," she said. "I was visiting her, and she asked, 'Do you mind if we go? We can get you some yarn, and someone there will help' -- so that's how I got started." Though she doesn't attend the knitting groups at Stitch DC every month, she observes, "it's good to come here when you need help. . . . At home my husband just says, 'Sorry, honey.' "
Although no instruction is offered during the knitting group per se, those with projects in need of treatment can head to the shop's back classroom, where expert knitters offer aid. On the day I visited, the room had the chatter and activity of a neighbor's kitchen as knitters gathered around the wide wooden table -- someone had brought home-baked spice bread and grape juice to share. Bourne-Gould was in earnest consultation with a woman who needed help with a pink sweater. Meanwhile, Angie Nichols-Friedman was repairing a Harry Potter-inspired "Hermione's Cable and Bobble Hat" slated for a special niece. An accountant by day, Nichols-Friedman had taken a introductory knitting class at Stitch DC earlier in the year. Then "I decided to be adventurous with this hat . . . but I think I'm in over my head," she joked. Showing me the pattern, an almost algebraic configuration of letters and numbers, Nichols-Freidman tried to explain the problem to me. "I got into trouble making bobbles -- sort of a 'yarn blob' that decorates the hat. You make one by knitting a lot of yarn into one stitch." With her bobbles resolved, Nichols-Friedman happily went back to her knitting.
Working on a project far closer to my level was Brian Croft, a local interior designer. "I'm madly knitting five scarves, all the same stitch, but different gauges, big to fine." At the time he was working on a black scarf composed of tiny stitches -- it looked as if it were woven. "If I get stumped on one, I pick up another." After a pause, he added, "I'm probably making it more intellectual than I should."
