After 5: Knitting Makes Comeback

Maybe you didn’t realize it went away, but some of those in the know were worried.

“I would have sworn 15 years ago that knitting would be a lost art. But thank goodness there are a lot of young women who are interested in scarves and little purses and other trendy things,” says Jan Pusateri, a retired teacher who has been knitting for 35 years.

The resurgence is generally explained by the focus on home and hearth that followed the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, said Carol Partch, who co-owns Springfield’s Simply fibers ltd. with her sister-in-law Sandy Craig, who lives in St. Louis.

To see just how lively – and hip – knitting is these days, stop by Simply fibers on a Thursday afternoon. That’s when a group of knitters gather to stitch and chat.

For Sheryl Siepker, a middle school math teacher, it’s a sacred time. Her husband knows it. Her children know it. Even her students know it.

“I don’t grade papers on Thursdays,” she says. “So if there’s a test on Thursday, they won’t get their grades until after the weekend.”

Sheila Burks, who works 40 hours a week as a purchaser for St. John’s Hospital and another 40 hours a week at her Billings teahouse, Front Porch Friends, agrees.

“This is my therapy,” she says. “Nobody touches my Thursday night.”

If you ask, knitters will happily inform you that knitting is relaxing, that it can bring down your blood pressure and that it’s productive at the same time.

“When I think of all the hours I spent sitting in front of the TV, at (children’s) soccer games – just sitting,” says Partch, who started knitting in 2004, “I could have knit a wardrobe for a Third World country.”

New life

Knitters aren’t just making woolen socks and potholders anymore.

In the books displayed in the store, you’ll find trendy projects galore. In “Greetings from Knit Café” by Suzan Mischer, you can learn to knit an evening gown, a computer keyboard cover, a bikini and a yoga mat cover. In “Alterknits: Imaginative Projects and Creativity Exercises” by Leigh Radford, there are patterns for making a bustier, a necklace and a screen door, among other unusual projects.

Burks, for example, was drawn to knitting two years ago because she wanted to make a felted purse.

Siepker is working on a hat in a style popular with her 21-year-old son. Stephanie Karger, who is 20 years old and works part-time at Simply fibers, is making fingerless gloves and a baby blanket for her soon-to-be-born niece.

“I absolutely love it,” Karger says. “It’s so fun. Knitting is making a comeback in all different ages.”

And sexes. Knitting is not just for women.

Peter Brandwood, who owns a video production company that specializes in filming horses, learned to knit from his grandmother when he was young and picked it up again two years ago.

“I’ve reached an age where I’m not embarrassed,” he says. “And I’ve had so many wonderful

conversations because of that oddity aspect, since I tend to knit in public.”

Cozy Up

Though stores such as Michael’s and Hobby Lobby sell basic yarns and needles, dedicated knitters tend to prefer the camaraderie and sophisticated skeins found in knitting specialty stores. Springfield has two:

• Simply fibers ltd. at 2744 S. Campbell Ave., (417) 881-9276

• Knitworks Studio at 343 N. Clifton Ave., (417) 831-2011

Knitting Glossary

Skeins: A quantity of thread or yarn wound in a coil.

Felting: A technique that changes the look and texture of a knit item.

Purl: To invert a stitch, producing a ribbed effect.

Stockinette (stitch): A stitch fashioned by alternating rows of knitting and purling.