Knitting in the 80s and my Knitting Mentor

A while ago I started talking about knitting in the "olden days" but never got back to it because of all the stuff going on with my family. Time to get back to my story about knitting in the 70s and 80s and tell you about the best knitting mentor a person could ever have.

So far in our story - I was an idiot and thought I could relearn to knit and learn to purl and make an afghan between Thanksgiving and Christmas while going to college. That afghan is still in good condition in the basement and if you ever come over, I'll let you warm up with it.

My last couple years of college were spent in my hometown after I transferred schools and majors. I switched to Nutrition and Dietetics which meant a chemistry class every single quarter and classes that melted my brain. I also worked 24 hours a week to pay for an apartment. I know I was pretty crazy but then - don't all young people think they can do everything! I needed a nice distraction from all this and ended up working part time (2nd job) for a family friend at her shop. Our two families went to the same church and were linked together by Boy Scouts. Both Dad's were leaders and Vivian, Mom and myself would stay together at the family camp of the Boy scout camp while the guys roughed it in tents. So - I got brave and asked Vivian if I could work for her cause I couldn't imagine anything better than working in a yarn shop. Bless her heart she said, "yes". For the next several years I worked Friday nights and Saturdays for minimum wage and was thrilled to do it.

Back then most yarn was plastic/acrylic stuff purchased at Target or KMart or your local drug store. There were a few other places like Lee Wards (bought out by Michaels) but Red Heart was the yarn of the day. Then there was the few place like The Yarn Shed that had the real deal - wool, alpaca, good cotton, yarn you could make something out of and be proud. I loved that place. It was my oasis from the crazy college world. You would walk in and could just smell the wool wonderfulness.

We had Lopi, Bernat Germantown, Bemidji wool, German wool, tweeds, real sock yarn, so much more. We had some yarns that I really miss today. Mirage was ahead of its time. It was a wool with a bit of tweed in it and it would very slowly change from one color on the color wheel to the color next to it. My favorite color was the one that went from deep royal blue to deep royal purple. That stuff made the best vests!

We also had books - and patterns - and magazines. But the best part was, Vivian let me read all those books and patterns and magazines. It was good for her to have staff know what was available but it was great for us. I had an education that couldn't be beat. I absorbed everything. I was introduced to Elizabeth Zimmermann at the shop through her books. I bought them all and read them all. I started designing using her books and Vivian's encouragement.

During this time I also was given a chance to teach way before I was really ready. What was she thinking?!? But I got that first class under my belt and found out how I needed to change what I did and improve. I entered outfits I designed to the State Fair and came home with ribbons every time (not always first but ribbons none the less). I even ended up corresponding with Elizabeth Zimmermann briefly. This was a great time to knit!

Vivian also introduced me to weaving through the ridgid heddle looms she had at the shop to rent. Dad made me a 4 heddle table loom from some instructions I found at the library and then I ended up going to Siever's School in Washington Island, Wisconsin one summer to learn more about weaving. I came home with one of their 4 heddle floor looms and the next few years were dedicated to learning how to weave. More State Fair ribbons followed. Through it all, Vivian encouraged me and showed me what it was to be a mentor and friend.

As time passed I had to give up my Friday night and Saturdays at the Yarn Shed because I was a dietitian and had to work Saturday's at my full time job. But "The Shed" was still the place to go and hang out when possible. About the time I decided to quit being a dietitian (10 years was enough) Vivian was deciding to retire from the shop. I opened my own business with knitting machines and sewing machines in a different part of town so she gave me advise and well wishes.

My business survived 5 years but that's a story for another day. I, sad to say, got lazy with keeping up with Vivian and hadn't seen her for many, many years until the day of Mom's funeral. I turned around and there was Vivian, still supporting me when I needed it. What more could you ask for in a mentor!

How it all began

Since I can’t show what I’m working on I decided to look back a few decades and write about what it was like to knit in the late 70s / early 80s. Back then I hadn’t knit for a while. Actually, quite a while. I learned how to knit in the mid 60s when Grandma C taught me to cast on, knit and bind off. That lesson gave my Barbie doll several scarves and the kitchen a few pot holders but – not much else happened after that. I got into stamped cross stitch, sewing and other fiber crafts for the next several years.

My first year of college one of my friends and I bought Coat and Clarks little green book on how to Knit and Crochet. It cost $.35 back then. That and a ball of yarn and a crochet hook started my crocheting. Problem was - learning to crochet from littler drawings of the end of the hook meant I held the yarn and hook the same way I knit - throwing the yarn. To this day I crochet "wrong" but - it works for me. For the next year I became friends with the yarn section of Lee Wards (the Michael’s type store of the 70s). They had their own plastic (acrylic) yarn that I used for afghans and an incredibly ugly green sweater that was ripped out eventually. The sweater was more of a jacket – mid hip length. Two strands of yarn, one lime green sport weight and one Kelly green worsted weight. It was crocheted to “look” like knit. Oh good grief what was I thinking!

I still use my shades of blue granny square afghan – check out the last post, the boys are sleeping on it. That’s the great thing about the yarn back then – it will last FOREVER! Plastic does not die. The royal blue is now a faded denim blue but it still works. We didn’t have too many choices back then. Most stores had some yarn but it was all the same hard plastic or crochet cotton. I did make a lovely doily out of bright yellow. Nice doily – terrible color. Then there was the toilet top doily out of variegated pink. Mom loved it. It’s obvious I was big into bright colors back then. Weren’t we all? Oh – I also made things in shades of brown. Enough of this terrible stuff. I need to move on a year to when I started knitting again. Things get a bit better.

Thanksgiving my sophomore year we went to my Aunt’s. My cousin had made an afghan that was knit in blocks of purl and knit. Mom liked it. I decided to start up knitting again and make it for Mom for Christmas. What could possibly be wrong with this idea? One month to relearn to knit, knit a complete afghan, finish the quarter and study for finals. Sounds easy to me. I bought needles, yarn (Ben Franklin had softer acrylic) and got to work. I knit while reading & studying, knit while watching TV, knit whenever I could. The Christmas Eve came. It was not done. But it was close. I sat in my room and knit like a woman possessed. I told my brother to hold off present time as long as possible. At one point Mom actually knocked on my door and opened it. There I was with the afghan spread out on my lap as I knit. Afterward she said my face had such a look of shock that she didn’t even see the afghan. Two minutes before present time I finished a beautiful afghan made from 2 strands of royal blue and 1 strand of gold on a size 13 or 15 needle (can’t remember). It was 10 sts and 10 rows of stockinette and reverse stockinette blocks. That was back in 1974 and that afghan is still in use. I was back to knitting!

Next time – what it was like to work in a yarn shop back then. I go to work part time to help a friend of the family and learn what real yarn is!