Knitting Through It: Inspiring Stories for Times of Trouble

by Lela Nargi

Most knitters know: Getting through a difficult time often means knitting through it. Its this home truth--and all the homespun wisdom behind it--that comes through clearly in the writings gathered in this book. These pieces--some by contemporary writers like Donna Druchunas and Sherri Wood, others excerpted from the WPAs Federal Writers Project--tell stories of knitting through adversity as widespread as war or the Great Depression, as personal as political anxiety, as unyielding as a prison term, and as tenacious as the hardships endured by the Native American community over centuries. Men and women, young and old, rural and urban, white and black--their knitting narratives are poignant, often lyrical, rich with personal and cultural history and vivid imagery. They conjure hardscrabble lives and immigrant experience, the work of anxious hands kept busy creating warmth and beauty or earning desperately needed money. Along with the stories from the WPA project, the book features black and white photographs from the Library of Congress archives, as well as a sampling of patterns to help knitters through their own difficult times.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0760330050
• ISBN13: 9780760330050
• Release Date: March 2008
• Publisher: Voyageur Press (MN)
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.8" x 7.4"

Customer Reviews

All about the therapeutic nature of knitting

I began reading Knitting Through It: inspiring stories for times of trouble a few months ago, sampling the WPA's Federal Writer's Project stories and the modern essays as time and whim allowed. The writings collected by Lela Nargi were interesting and shared fascinating stories, certain to appeal to knitters of all ages. Then, earlier this month, I got the news that my grandfather was dying and something propelled me to pop this little book into my suitcase. We arrived at Grandfather's bedside a few days before he passed away, and I spent some of my time there knitting. At night in the hotel room, Knitting Through It was my reading choice, and it provided comfort in the same way my needles and yarn did during the day. I read it cover to cover and then started over again. Suddenly the stories spoke to my grief directly and I found comfort in the generations of knitters who had experienced similar situations and found a way through it. Knitters are aware of the therapeutic nature of knitting: it calms us during periods of stress, makes us productive during periods of trouble and provides comfort when we gift our work to someone in sorrow. We knit for victims of war and natural disaster, for the homeless and dispossessed, we knit for those grieving and by doing so, we share part of ourselves. Knitting Through It shares those traditions in words, providing comfort and community for knitters. My grandfather passed away on May 1 after a long battle with illness. His legacy of spirituality and hard work were passed down to all his children and grandchildren. When I remember this time it will be with images of knitting, a fitting tribute since it was his wife, my grandmother, who helped me gain proficiency in my knitting. Armchair Interviews agrees.