Knitting for Writers

Patty here…

I have a soft spot in my heart for Eugene Barstok, a character in my Tucker Sinclair series. A better friend I could not imagine. He’s loyal to a fault even when it challenges his fragile psyche. Eugene grew up with a hypercritical mother and an overbearing father so he has his issues. At the urging of his therapist, he began knitting, hoping to achieve tranquility in his life.

As for me, I started knitting in my twenties and only recently picked up the needles again, knitting this pair of socks. I'm working on a sweater at the moment.



Almost every yarn shop in Los Angeles offers Stitch and Bitch sessions where women gather to talk trash and manipulate yarn, but I prefer the click click click of wooden needles in the silence of my own space. Like Eugene, counting rows and stitches is my meditation.

Before you dismiss knitting as a girly-girl pastime, check out these famous knitters.

Joan Crawford girly-girl? There's a coat hanger somewhere that screams no.

Madame Therese Defarge from A Tale of Two Cities, the 1859 novel by Charles Dickens. If you recall, she was the wife of a French wine shopkeeper who knitted as the heads of aristocrats rolled from the guillotine, stitching a new hit list with every slice of the blade. Not exactly a warm and fuzzy person.

If truth be told, men invented knitting. Who do you think made all those fishing nets?

Here are a couple of guys who knit.

President Franklin Roosevelt with wife Eleanor

Rosey Grier, former football player for Penn State and the L.A. Rams

And—NEWS FLASH! Men still knit.



For me, knitting is something creative to do when I’m not writing. And it’s fun. The holidays are almost here and I’ve been thinking about gifts I could made for my fellow Nakeds.

For Our J, a teacup cozy.



Or blankets for Sara and Oliver.



For Paulie, a wine bottle cover for that special dinner party. Rumor is he’s a great cook.



For Ridley, a case for his new iPhone so he can avoid scratching it as he dictates his next novel while on the road for his latest one.



For James G, a cushion for his writing chair. He works outside in his backyard and that chair of his doesn’t look all that comfortable.



For James O, a knitted cover for his gun.



And for our Naked readers, book covers for all!!!



Knitting. Are you man enough to try it?




k1, p1 Monday!