Purls of wisdom

changed our lives

Kath Garner walks us through what she’s been knitting during these uncertain times

When the pandemic was rife and lockdown imminent, I very quickly went into panic mode! On the plus side, being immediately furloughed from my job I suddenly had lots of time on my hands, time to improve my knitting skills, but on the negative, how would I cope? Without the support of The Accomplished Knitter, I started to wonder what would happen when I made a mistake.

THE YARN-SHOP DASH

Before lockdown I made a last-minute dash to a local yarn shop. Calmly and patiently the owner asked a series of questions on my abilities, confidence levels and family situation before suggesting a simple colourful blanket for a family baby due later in the year. It seemed a sensible idea – straightforward blocks of rainbow colours, no intricate pattern – what could possibly go wrong? I soon found out with a dropped stitch unnoticed for several rows! As I saw my beautiful knitting unravel, the panic grew. If I pulled rows out, I would be left with vastly depleted knitting, twisted stitches and several more likely dropped. I called the A & E knitter. My request, ‘Can I leave my knitting on your doorstep for you to sort out?’ was answered with a firm, ‘No!’ She decided it was time I tried myself, undoing each stitch carefully until I could solve the problem. She explained, cajoled, encouraged and put the phone down! The process was painstakingly slow but I did it, unravelling, picking up stitches and reknitting – a brand new lockdown skill!

A POIGNANT GIFT

The final result is great. The edges are straight and the tension is even – a massive improvement. For the recipients, it will hopefully be useful but also a reminder that when their child was born, we were in the grips of a pandemic and the rainbow was a symbol of hope. With lockdown continuing I wanted another simple project that would represent the pandemic. Sorting through my stash of yarn, I found a myriad of colours, perfect for a patchwork blanket. My plan was to record the numbers of those sadly lost to the virus each day. A colour was chosen to represent a number block: 0-50, 50-100, then blocks of 100 up to 1000. Each day I watch the headlines, select the correct colour and knit a square whilst thinking of those lost. It is an ongoing project I’ll continue until we are virus free.

AN UNLIKELY SOURCE OF HELP

My current blanket has not come without problems and social distancing meant I couldn’t visit the Accomplished Knitter to ask how to stitch them together, but help finally came from a very unlikely source! Passing the village phone box book exchange on my daily exercise, I spotted a ‘Beginner’s Guide to Knitting’. As I flicked through the pages the book mysteriously opened at the heading, ‘Invisible Seams’! With determination it kind of worked! I do wonder though, how is it that the squares, knitted with the same number of stitches and the same kind of wool turn out to be different sizes! Fingers crossed that when they are all stitched together, it will be a little less obvious. And I will have created a rather basic, oddly coloured, rough and ready mash up of squares depicting 2020 – the year Covid-19 took over the world and changed our lives.

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I’M LOVING…

My rainbow block blanket

I started this blanket with the idea that all the hard work would become a symbol of hope, created for a very special baby, who is to be born in a very unusual year.

I’M MAKING…

A pandemic patchwork blanket

Using certain shades of my leftover wool stash, I’m in the middle of making a blanket that will stand as a permanent record of an exceptional time in modern history.

I’M SHARING…

My village telephone box book exchange!

Who would have thought this unusual and unexpected source of knitting support would help me with my latest project?!