Shush … don’t tell anyone, but I secretly like to crochet (and knit and sew).
It’s one of my guilty pleasures. Guilty? I don’t know, but
it just never seemed to be intellectual/ artistic/ interesting enough to talk
about. What kind of sad hausfrau
would I appear to be if I arrived with my yarn bag under one arm? So my lovely
double knitting, super soft cashmerino and multi-coloured four ply all stayed hidden at home.
And then, little by little, people seem to have rediscovered the
pleasure of quietly creating something unique in a palette of colour that
pleases their eye. Stitch by stitch it’s become respectable, therapeutic, trendy even, to
crochet and knit again. Groups have grown up of like-minded people who want to
get together for a knit and a natter.
Perfect! How lovely! Now I can take my needles out of the closet and
practise my passion in public.
I’ve often wondered whether someone like Tracy Chevalier
shared my secret enthusiasm? Have you read, ‘The Last Runaway’, her latest
book? It’s about an English Quaker girl, who emigrates to
America and gets involved in rescuing escaped slaves as part of the Underground
Railway movement. One of the many charming things about the tale is the way
Tracy describes the lead character’s love of quilting. Either she has done her
homework very thoroughly, and then used a lot of empathy/ imagining to get it
spot on, or she’s done some sewing in between times.
I especially loved the way bits of fabric, from a loved one’s
cast-off dress/ tablecloth/whatever, would be stashed away, and later
incorporated into a quilt, and a memory would get stitched into a
practical, intimate, everyday object that would become a very physical connection with
the past. That’s got to be the ultimate up-cycle!
Anyway if you haven’t’ read it, and especially if you
enjoyed ‘The Lady and the Unicorn’, in which she did a great job of recreating
the workshop of the fifteenth century tapestry weavers in Paris, go get
yourself a copy. It’s a delightful read.
Enjoy!
Bonny x
Enjoy!
Bonny x