Knitting has grown in popularity in recent decades. No wonder – doing things with your hands is a human thing.
One or two a week ago they were suddenly in the elevator mirror. Parsin stitches made with the grid technique in an old rose-patterned country shawl. The stitches were done so neatly that even though I have been wearing the scarf for at least a decade, I had never noticed them. I wouldn’t be able to parse even close to that skillfully.
The scarf was my grandmother and the stitches made me think of her? No, and that seemed to be the crux of the matter.
I once bought a scarf from an online flea market, and I have no idea about the seller, let alone the original owner of the scarf. Still, the beautiful stitches warmed the heart. For years they were have walked with me.
Someone, presumably a woman, had once sat down, found a suitable thread, threaded it on a needle and spun the scarf into one piece. Thought about it while doing something.
What, it will never be clear. But the stitches remain.
In the past, I have thought that I cherish the woolen socks and lace blanket made by my late grandmother because they remind me of her. The parsing work of the unknown scarf owner made me think that it is more about making it by hand.
Knitting is a sleight of hand that has not been seen as odd. Women’s usual homemakers – nothing to see here. In the West, knitting grew in popularity in the 2000s even before the coronavirus pandemic, and the pandemic took care of the rest. One if the other found then back to the itches. Me too.
This time the grip of the needles and thread also seems to hold. The first wool coat of my life is still a work in progress, and not all beanies can withstand the light of day, but the enchantment has not faded.
Although manual skills have never really been the number one target of scientific interest, there is a lot to read if you take a little peek. Professor of Crafts Science at the University of Eastern Finland Sinikka Pöllänen numerous publications should be consulted, as should the architect Juhani Pallasmaan A thinking hand -work, in which Pallasmaa challenges the traditional dualistic separation of the scientific world into mind and body.
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The pandemic brought back the itches.
But why did the thoughts stop at the stitches unexpectedly found in the scarf?
I’ve tried to think about it both on the itch and here on the button. So far, I’ve come to an answer centered on a human characteristic: we are primate creatures.
Making by hand is so important to us that the stitches of another primate from time ago are like a gratifying message. This is how I use needle and thread now. What do you have on hand?
The author is HS’s culture editor.
#Column #parsnips #rose #scarf #strength #hands
