The Day I Met Carmen (And Found Knitting Again)
When I first met Carmen in our local park with our new puppy Zenna, five years ago, I had no idea how much my life was about to change.
At first, it was all about the dogs. There were at least three new puppies in the park, each growing into very different-sized dogs, but all of them friends. Peaches, at seven years old, was the Grand Dame of the park, watching over everything with quiet wisdom.
Somewhere along the way, I got to know Carmen. She told me about her shop.
“I used to knit,” I said.
“You can again,” she replied.
I hadn’t picked up needles in at least 15 years.
Carmen encouraged me to start small. “Try a hat,” she suggested. Then it was socks. Before long, I was spending ages in the shop choosing yarn for a sweater and not long after that, I’d invested in a complete needle set. If I was going to do this, I was going to do it properly.
At first, I knit for others. Then, I started knitting for myself.
It’s a story I now see again and again with customers who come into the shop: so many have knit in the past and want to return to it. Often, they’ve made a scarf, but why stop there? A hat or a sleeveless vest (slipover) is usually the perfect next step.
One of the first questions we ask is, “Have you knit in the round?” The answer is often no, but with a bit of encouragement, that quickly changes. Before long, they’re knitting sweaters.
Having taken that journey myself, I can relate. It’s one of the things I enjoy most about working in the shop - seeing the progress people make, whether they’re returning to knitting or discovering it for the first time.
My own knitting journey has come a long way. From that first hat and pair of socks, to working in the shop, to knitting at every opportunity, much to the amusement of my family, who often say, “You are always knitting…”
I keep them onside by occasionally making something for them, although I still can’t say I love knitting socks.
Like many knitters, I now have more WIPs than I’d like to admit, and a yarn stash that has quietly taken over several IKEA bins under the stairs. This year, I told myself I’d knit from stash and finish those WIPs… but working in a yarn shop makes that a challenge.
There’s always something new to try.
Recently, that temptation came in the form of Peace Fleece. Even though I already had some in my stash (bought at Rhinebeck a few years ago), I couldn’t resist. I picked up a couple of skeins in Georgia Rose to make a Weekend Slipover by PetiteKnit, inspired by a pink vest I’d seen elsewhere, although not in a fibre I’d ever want to wear.
I paired it with Isager Mohair No. 27, a soft pale pink, and the project flew off the needles. So quickly, in fact, that I found myself back at the shop on Easter Saturday (when we were closed) trying to grab another skein. In my haste (and without turning the lights on), I picked up Mourning Dove instead. A lovely shade… just not the one I needed.
I didn’t realise until I got home.
The slipover was finished by the end of the weekend, and the obvious question followed: what to do with the unintended skein? Naturally, another project.
After a bit of swatching and some helpful advice from Carmen (who, as usual, was right), I paired it with Harrisville Designs Daylights in Bloodshot and Isager Mohair No. 19 for the Vest No. 3 by My Favourite Things. That one practically knit itself, and just like that, I had two new layering pieces ready for spring.
Working at A Yarn Story has brought so much more than knitting back into my life. There have been retreats, travel, and so many new friendships. It’s something I never could have imagined back when I first met Carmen in the park.
As for now, I am working from stash. I am finishing my WIPs.
But there are only so many sleeves one can knit…
And with summer projects on the horizon, we’ll see how long that lasts.
Happy knitting,
~ Susan