Geeky Knitters Club

geeky knitters club inaugural session

One of the activities that I certainly enjoy most is knitting. If my life was unfettered to this system and allowed to beat its natural course, it would sound like this: Knit, read, write, knit, read write, knit read, write with a little bit of talking and eating here and there.
I learned to knit when I was pregnant and instantly fell in love with every aspect of it: from the needles to the various yarns, the colors, textures, the patterns, the free-style potential. The calm it offers my oftentimes much too hectic mind.  I love untangling skeins of yarn, and have spent many hours in silent meditation, even using pins and needles to unravel the finest of yarn. Yes, the love runs that deep.
I know that two of my foremothers earned their living through lace-making and oftentimes I find myself contemplating their lives: one in Trinidad, with a life of horse carts on a cocoa plantation, and the other in Canada- far away from home, only to succumb, family legend has it, to the draft - an interesting reference to the cold and perhaps racism.

One of the highlights in my recent trip to New York was being able to knit a blanket for the lovely Mia Pearl, a hat for Brook and Marie and a scarf for Clemenza (plus fingerless gloves which will be done soon!) One of the things I was resolved to do upon my return to Denmark and "project create new life" was to start a knitting group.

Saying I want to do something and actually doing it, can unfortunately become a complicated affair in the world of real life. While shielding off energetic attacks from the world of capital, I have to admit that even I grow weary. But I did it. And I couldn't have done it without them. Who is them?

I started my stint in education in Denmark at Copenhagen International School.  I met an amazing community of people there. In fact, I don't think I've ever expressed on this blog how cool many of the people I met there and worked with, be it teachers, staff and parents, have been and are.  It was while working at CIS that I wrote my first volume of poetry The Organist's Daughter . I can't even begin to list the many people there who I could honestly say I feel I have had some meaningful exchange with while working there - and lucky for me, I got to meet up with a few of them last evening.

When I first timidly suggested on fb the creation of a knitting group a couple of weeks ago, I was curious as to who would respond. I mean, do people really have time to get tighter and knit? Although Denmark has a strong knitting culture and knitting groups abound, I haven't been able to get my act together to venture to one of the many yarn stores or library events. But I knew my next chapter of life in Copenhagen had to have something organized around yarn to ensure my happiness. Something along the lines of living life one stitch at a time kind of thing.

The group of women who responded and ended up meeting last night could not have better. There was Debbie M. who was kind enough to host the event in her cozy apartment.  Debbie was one of the first to respond to my call for yarn. Then there was Deena. Deena is from Hawaii and we've been hanging out for many years now.  I learn a lot about Hawaiin culture from Deena and together we have shared many a laugh and have supported each other's tenure here in Denmark, so very far away from home. Deena is an extraordinary storyteller whose stories are bejeweled with characters from the Filipines, Hawaii and Los Angeles.  Then there was Sarah - Sarah and I used to work together in a 3rd grade classroom, where she was the class teacher and I was the personal support of an extra-ordinay young boy named Brendan. This was about 10 years ago. Brendan was this rosy cheeked, dark-haired Irish-American boy who had an excellent musical ear and found sitting still to be akin to torture. It was one of the best jobs I ever had the chance to experience- hanging out with a kid whose perspective on life was so outside of the box was a treat for me.  Sarah and I shared many laughs and cultivated a deep and mutual respect for each other. It's because of Sarah that I am familiar with the northern English town of Wigan and her antics of growing up there in the 80s & 90s. Not only that, Sarah is perhaps one of the funniest women that I know.  While she was cracking me up last night I couldn't help but wonder, why has it taken me this long to get together with her? Two seconds with her is enough to get your stomach muscles going and you immediately begin to feel how silly taking anything too seriously can be.  Then there was Shabana and her lovely daughter A.  I first met Shabana many years ago when we were both studying Danish. I loved her from day one - her positivity and pro-activity in the midst of navigating life in Denmark was always a reason for my respect and adoration.  Aleena, her daughter, is 9 years old, and she was the perfect accompaniment to our evening.   It was super fun having her - and I look forward to knitting more bringing more kids on board. What I love about knitting with kids is to experience how eager they are to teach and help each other. It's a brilliant example of cooperative learning at its best. Another aspect about teaching knitting (or gardening, or building or any other hands-on, holistically engaging exercise) is that the kids LOVE to do it and so teaching it is a BREEZE.  The students learn quickly about patience, follow-through, and the reward of bringing something to completion.  Nina, my friend from the airplane, was also an eager participant and thanks to all these wonderful women (and young lady) - the Geeky Knitters Club has become a reality!
Here's to a winter full of yarn, laughter, healing and creativity!
farvel,
the lab