Knitting ain’t just for old hags
We are all tired of hearing about our campus wide obsession with our cell phones and our iPods. Call it a dependency if you’d like, we know we are just a product of our time. How about a new emerging trend on campus that many are overlooking? One that we might have actually missed the bandwagon on its first couple times around. One that may actually compete with the likes of poker nights and guitar hero and say ‘Move over Facebook’. Come on, surely everyone has noticed how popular the knitting trend has become on campus.
So maybe it is nothing new and our grandmothers do it all the time. Ask around. It is surprising how prevalent this useful hobby is becoming among the student body. Sophomore Krista Stanley began knitting her freshman year at GCSU. She links the popularity of the hobby in part to Hollywood. “It’s been more out and about as far as celebrities go, but that’s not why I do it,” Stanley said.
Stanley owes her knitting skills and affection to her mother who got her started. After that, Stanley’s roommate at the time began showing interest in the craft so she spread the knitting love. Before long, the girls had a regular knitting circle going.
To all the anti-knitters out there, the hobby has its obvious benefits. “It’s relaxing and something to do. I make lots of gifts, it takes a long time so they are sentimental,” Stanley said. “It’s pretty therapeutic. It helps you get through things when you have a lot going on and it helps with focus.”
Junior Logan Ferrelle has been knitting for three years. She carries her knitting supplies with her in her bag. “I knit in class, teachers probably hate me,” Ferrell said.
Ferrelle has taught six people how to knit and said, “It’s growing I guess. Lots of people ask me to teach them. It’s thrifty and it’s cheaper than buying your own scarves.”
Scarves and hats are typically what is knitted the most. Ferrelle is working on learning to knit bags, purses, and socks while Stanley has been known to knit ties.
In between all the knitting talk, junior Helen Nichols, a fellow knitting enthusiast, approached Ferrelle, who invited her to join in on the knitting sometime. They exchanged knitting lingo and discussed the difficulty of perling, a backwards form of knitting.
“Is (knitting) a new trend? I don’t really know. My grandmother taught me how when I was little. Then everyone started doing it,” Nichols said. “I stopped for a while when everyone started it.”
Ferrelle described knitting as something with which you have to have patience. Junior Stacee Dunlap agreed. She was a knitter for a while but said, “I prefer to crochet. Knitting is more time consuming.”
It is a skill that takes not only patience, but also practice. “The first scarf I ever made, I gave to my dog. It was so short,” Stanley said. Junior Michael Hague has neither the time nor patience for such a hobby. “I’m a lover not a knitter,” Hague said.
When Stanley sees someone around campus knitting she said, “It makes me happy. I’m not the only weird one.” It is true, knitting is not for everyone, or maybe, not everyone is meant to knit. It is a hobby that gives a feeling of accomplishment and is something that can be done forever. Ferrelle is hoping to get something going where she can give back to the community with her knitting.
For knitting tips there are a number of useful websites online and those who are interested in a little communal knitting may want to check out these groups on Facebook: Knitting Ain’t Just For Old HAGS! and Knitting Rocks My Socks Off!!!!!
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Nov 17 2006. Filed under Features.
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