Yes, “The Guy” Knits!

“The Guy”, of course, refers to Patrick.

Since knitting and crochet are done most often by women in our society, it’s a bit unusual to find a man who can knit and crochet.  But, I am married to such a wonder!  Actually, though, men have been knitting for centuries.  It is believed that knitting started as an offshoot of tying rope for nets.  The earliest examples we have of knitting are from Egypt, but there were definitely knitting guilds in Medieval Europe.  And only men were allowed in the guilds.

Hand-knitting became the realm of women, apparently, when knitting machines in factories became common.  However, men have been known to pick up the needles and yarn when needed since then.  Soldiers in World Wars 1 and 2 would knit their own socks.  Even today, there are a number of hunters who knit their own hunting socks – a nice, tightly knit pair of wool socks can be a godsend when you’re sitting in a tree stand all day.

Patrick took up crochet about ten years ago, about the time I took up knitting (but that’s a story for another day).  At first, he made Zelda (from the video game) hats for the kids.  Then, he made me and Lydia some very fun hats with brims.  For a few years, he spent more time carving and doing wood-working than he did crocheting.

It was about 8 months ago that Patrick and I decided that we were going to pursue the dream of a yarn shop.  And Patrick started knitting almost immediately.  Since Patrick has seen me work to learn to knit Continental style after initially learning to knit English style, he decided that he wanted to learn to knit Continental right from the start.  And he did.  He started by making a dishcloth.  Then he moved on to knitting in the round and making a hat.  And then a sock.  Right now, he’s working on a hat with cables for Christopher.  In less than a year, he’s learned techniques that took me ten years to learn.  (Although, he will be the first to admit that his knitting isn’t as neat as mine and he isn’t as proficient with the techniques since I’ve had more years of practice.)

One of the really interesting things about Patrick knitting is that he’s a walking advertisement for our shop.  It’s pretty normal to see a woman knitting or crocheting in public, but not to see a man working with yarn.  Whenever Patrick sits down and pulls out knitting (like at Christopher’s orthodontist appointments, etc.), he knows he’s likely to get some attention and questions.  Which is just fine with us!  He’s happy to talk about knitting and give people our cards to get the word out about The Knitting Nest!

What does this mean for our customers?  It means that Patrick or I (Catherine) can help you with your knitting questions in the shop (and Lydia’s not too bad at it, either).  We are pretty equally well-versed in all of the fiber-types and yarns that we carry.  Patrick will be able to teach all of our classes.  So, don’t be afraid to ask questions.  Even when “The Guy” is running the shop!