“Do you have a knitting social thing here, you know, a Stitch and Bitch session?”
Well, we have a knit night once a month (which in case you don’t know it, is totally great), but the stitch-and-bitch thing? Nah. Nah-ah. No no nooooo.
The thing is, and I’ve asked myself this more or less everytime the Stitch and Bitch question comes up,Why do people call it that when that’s never what we do???
This is what we were doing at the last knit night..
Felix was explaining a new way of purling which is adjustable according to whether you have an eastern or western orientation – just the latest in Felix’s already long list of knitty insights. (We can hardly wait for next time Felix)
Liz and Caryl were discovering that they both faced exactly the same fairisle vest challenge as both had previously knitted tank tops for fathers who were either smaller or no longer here, leaving their knitting in need of re-shaping. Together they resourcefully worked out how to alter the arm-skyes and re-jig the ribbing so it wouldn’t show.
A new knitter and I were reading (and re-reading) the instructions for a garter-tab cast-on, and we finally worked out that the valleys between garter ridges can also sometimes be called ‘grooves’.
We were all enthralled by the next instalment of Tabs’ remarkable Tree-and-moon intarsia patterned coatigan, a year-long epic which unfolds each month with thrilling new details.
And then later when all 24 chairs in the shop were sat-on and we couldn’t possibly fit anyone else in, a newly arriving knitter worked it out by announcing with a big grin, No problem, I can knit standing up!
This was one knit night out of dozens that have happened here over the last 8 years. The shop is always busy with clicking needles, extraordinary knitwear, sometimes also disasters in need of resolving, adventures that need planning, also adventures-had that need telling, recipes that need of sharing on account of the cakes being eaten. Some conversations are loud and hilarious, others are whispered. Some are in Swedish or French or Russian or Swahili. We’ve even had a life-long Arsenal supporter leaving a Tottenham goalie in stitches. It’s mostly always about stitches. But the other thing? Well, it’s just not a thing.
Come and join us at the next Late Night Knitty Lock-in. It really is totally great.