Knitting’s Not Just for Grandma Anymore
By Ronnie Citron-Fink

When did knitting get to be so cool? Since I started knitting 25 years ago, popularity in knitting has risen and seems to be peaking in some unusual places. Julia Roberts, Julianne Moore and even Russell Crowe (who it turned out doesn’t knit, he just was photographed with yarn and needles in hand) are knitting their way through magazine articles in Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, and Seventeen. Monica Lewinsky told Marie-Claire that “the only way to stay sane” was to knit during grand jury hearings. Hilary Swank appeared on the Tonight Show talking about her favorite pastime, knitting between shoots.

Knitting conjures up images of grandmothers knitting garments to keep loved ones warm. Not only do the hip and famous find knitting appealing, its meditative properties are promoted in Yoga Journal as a true mind/body relationship. “An agitated mind is replaced by a calm one; otherwise, the tension shows in the stitches. . . . It reminds me of a gentle walk in the woods in late afternoon—the peace that comes from breathing in the deepening light of day.” In Health magazine knitting is even regarded as “the new yoga.” A survey a few years ago stated that the majority of knitters knit because it gave them “permission to relax.”

As far as passions go, most people would not consider knitting to be one. After reading The Knitting Sutra, by Susan Gordon Lydon, I realized that for many knitters, passions run deep. Last fall I hosted a “knitting retreat” at my house for my friends who knit or wanted to learn to knit. A group of friends (and my mother) were invited to lug their yarn, needles and “show and tells.” When my 17-year-old daughter threatened to “crash” the retreat with her buddies, an e-mail went out to them too. Who would have known a knitting retreat would be such a hot teenage ticket? As we relaxed by the fire and knit both useful and funky items, it was obvious that stress relief transcends the generations.

Lately, I’ve been reflecting on my own relationship to and trends in knitting. As a college student, learning to knit was solely for selfish reasons. I wanted warm Icelandic-type sweaters for hanging out in the woods. In my early working years, knitting became a fashion statement. People often would ask me at parties where in “the city” they could buy my plush, original designed sweaters. Cozy sweaters are as cute as cuddly puppies when it came to getting dates. When I first met my husband, he regarded my knitting for him as the true test of my undying affection, and I made some of my most intricate Fisherman knit sweaters and Fair Isle designs for him.

As a mother, I have knitted for my children throughout their childhood. When other moms asked me to knit for their babies and children and were willing to pay me, my hobby became a career. Knitting for kids and writing children’s patterns for magazines became an opportunity to stay home (and work) with my kids while they were little. As a teacher, knitting has become a curriculum goal of sorts. I teach as many of my school children to knit that want to learn. Passing along this craft has become a mission of mine. Knitting is easily woven into my classroom through math (counting stitches, rows and graphs), language arts (reading patterns), social studies (cultural and regional designs), science (sheep and yarn dying), music (the rhythmic clicking sounds of the needles), art (creating beautiful wearable objects from a ball of yarn) and my most favorite goal as a teacher, having fun. As I watch my students intensively focus, their concentration turns towards the process rather than the product (no instant gratification here), as if they are hypnotized. They seem to slow down taking one stitch at a time, without being bored. How yogic.

My reflection is quickly interrupted as my teenage son emerges on a cool late fall evening, skateboard under his arm, and offhandedly remarks that he wants me to knit him a skateboarding cap. Together we search magazines and books to find just the right colors, patterns and of course—the look. Knitting is just plain cool.

Whether it’s Mohair, Merino, Alpaca, Cashmere or just plain acrylic yarn, knitting inspiration is easy to come by in the Hudson Valley. Locally, Morehouse Farm Sheep’s Clothing, the Sheep and Wool Festival annually at the Fair Grounds in Rhinebeck in October, Country Wool in Hudson, The Yarn Shop in Woodstock and local farms provide all the materials a passionate knitter would need.

Ronnie Citron-Fink lives in Rhinebeck and teaches at the Randolph School in Wappingers Falls.