Salvaged

Six years ago a friend convinced me to take a knitting course with her at Knitwear Architects in Yaletown. The evening classes were taught in a converted warehouse by a heterosexual black volleyball player named Steve. Cotton, silk and linen yarns of every colour lined the brick walls. It was very pleasant.

I took a second course a few months later, and selected a sand-coloured cotton yarn with which to knit a sweater for Saskia. The store didn't have enough of the yarn in stock, but sold me what they had and told me to return in a few weeks to pick up the remainder.

After completing the back of the sweater, a fairly complicated pattern with cables and baubles, I returned for the rest of the yarn, only to discover that Knitwear Architects had gone out of business in the interim. Many desperate phone calls and emails later, I was no closer to obtaining a matching yarn to complete the garment.

And so, every time I rummage through my stash of knitting sundries, I come across this:

The sight of this piece of fabric ignites all sorts of emotions that run counter to the spirit of knitting, deeply negative feelings, including the urge to inflict injury with a knitting needle. I can't complete the sweater without the exact match of yarn, and I won't unravel all those baubles and cables. So each time I seethe, refold it, and pack it away until the next encounter.

The other day Saskia caught sight of it and exclaimed reverently, "Whoa! That's the best doll blanket ever!" And so I unraveled the waistband, crocheted an edging on it, and gave it to her.

I feel a little less rage when I see the piece of knitting in its new context:

Comments

[Amy Hoogstad]

So sweet:) That looks rather difficult to do! I like your new banner too.

[Chris]

I am sure it will be treasured forever too!
:o)

[Celeste]

You are the greatest mom ever, you rock.

[Mary Smith]

That partial sweater looks amazing! Knitting is all the rage right now. I really wanted to comment though on your new header. I said to Mark "Hey, the fresh MD changed her pic!" and he said, "the Fresh MD?" Don't you mean Martina? Did you take that photo yourself? Brilliant. All I can say is brilliant.

[Martina]

Thanks for the compliments on the banner. I did take that picture myself. My briefcase comes everywhere with me, and is always a strange mix of prescription pads, cheerios, textbooks, wipes, ID badges and bouncy balls. It sort of sums up the intersection of various parts of my life.

[lori]

oh my gosh... i used to work at that store, i worked with heterosexual steve!

they also couldn't pay the staff, so we used to take yarn as payment. i probably have your matching yarn around here somewhere.

it looks great as a baby blanket though...

[Martina]

No! What are the chances? Next thing, Steve will be commenting!

If you find my yarn, maybe don't tell me.

Check this out: http://www.knitweararchitects.com/

Looks like they're sort of back in business.