Grandma's Knitting Needles Sing (children's story) by Leanne Dyck

Grandma's Knitting Needles Sing celebrates the bond between grandparents and grandchildren, introduces the art of knitting, and explains how wool is produced.

photo by ldyck

Lise McLeod, a fibre enthusiast, promotes wool production on Mayne Island. She invites all crafters to participate in Mayne Island's fall fair this August.

Grandma's Knitting Needles Sing

Pearl watched Grandma's knitting needles dance with the yarn, weaving lines that bent and crossed over each other. The clicking sounded like music. “Old McDonald had a farm. E-I-E-I-O. And on his farm, he had a cow,” Pearl sang.

Grandma sang, “Moo. Moo. Moo.”

Pearl sang about pigs, chickens, horses, dogs, and cats and then she said, “Tell me a story, Grandma.”

So Grandma began, “Once upon a time a farmer had a farm.”

“E-I-E-I-O,” Pearl sang.

Grandma's needles went click, click, click. “But this farmer's name wasn't Old McDonald. Her name was Young Ms. Willetts. And on her farm, she had a flock of sheep.”

“Baa. Baa. Baa,” Pearl sang.

Grandma's needles went click, click, click.

“What did the sheep eat, Grandma?”

“Green grass.”

“And the green grass grew all around, all around. And the green grass grew all around,” Pearl sang.

Grandma's needles went click, click, click. “The green grass grew and the sheep ate the grass.”

Pearl closed her eyes and saw sheep that looked like fluffy, white clouds.

“But then the north wind blew,” Grandma said.

Pearl stretched her arms above her head and swayed back and forth. “Oh-h-h.”

“Yes, just like that,” Grandma said, “And all the leaves on the trees turned from green to red and yellow and gold.”

“Then all the leaves came tumbling down, tumbling down, tumbling down. All the leaves came tumbling down. High-ho-the-diary-oh,” Pearl sang.

Grandma's needles went click, click, click. “The trees stood bare and snow came to cover the ground.”

“What did the sheep eat then, poor things?” Pearl looked worried.

“Young Ms. Willetts fed them lots and lots of grain.”

“Were the sheep cold?”

“Oh, no. They had warm winter coats.”

Pearl closed her eyes and saw the sheep. Some of them wore purple parkas; others wore blue snowsuits. One even had a pink toque and four striped mittens. All of the sheep looked toasty warm.

“Winter didn't last long. Soon the birds started to sing and the sun smiled on the farm.”

“And the sheep got warmer and warmer,” Pearl said.

“Until they got too warm. Then Young Ms. Willetts phoned her friend the sheep sheerer. He came with big razors.”

“Like Daddy uses to shave?”

“Like your Daddy uses to shave. And the sheep sheerer shaved off all the sheep's winter coats. And after their coats were picked clean of grass, twigs and dirt, they were washed and made into...”

“Into? Into what?”

The knitting needles stopped clicking. “Into wool,” Grandma whispered.

“Into wool,” Pearl sang.

Grandma put her knitting on the coffee table. “I bought the wool.” She dug through her knitting basket, pushing aside needles, yarn, and other odds and ends. “I knit the wool.” Grandma smiled and hid something in her hand. “And I made something special...” Grandma slipped something into Pearl's hand. “For you.”

The something wasn't pink, blue or purple. It had two black eyes, one black nose and two floppy brown ears.

Pearl hugged Grandma, put the something on her finger and sang, “Baa. Baa. Baa.”

Photo by Byron

Without a reader,

a writer's words mean

Nothing

On this blog in March...

Photos of a Christmas craft show on Mayne Island

November 10 was bright and sunny--a wonderful day to shop local for Christmas...

(Okay, so there's a reason why I'm not a reporter. Two reasons actually. Number one there's were many more booths then photos. Also names have never stuck in my brain. Even names of people that I know well. All I can say is, I'm sorry.)

 (Danielle's healthy treasures)

 (Amber's fun hats and must-read children's books)

 (David's wrap them around my waist belts)

 (Eden's nostalgia inspired purses and totes. Very cool and I want several.)

 (Diane's delicious preserves.)

 (beautiful jewelry. Some day I'm going to purchase one of those striking necklaces)

 (Wayne's wood cravings)

 (Celia's wonderful creations)

(Sonya's Harley Davidson Christmas stocking)

If you missed the sale, don't fret they'll be another in December.
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Guest Post Author Leanne Prain

Leanne Prain writes...

I am the author of two DIY books Yarn Bombing: The Art of Crochet and Knit Graffiti (co-authored with Mandy Moore) and Hoopla: The Art of Unexpected Embroidery. Both books are publishined by Arsenal Pulp Press.

Yarn Bombing: The Art of Crochet and Knit Graffiti (Arsenal Pulo Press, 2009)is the definitive guidebook to covert textile street art. This full-color DIY book features 20 kick-ass patterns that range from hanging shoes and knitted picture frames to balaclavas and gauntlets, teaching readers how to create fuzzy adornments for lonely street furniture. Along the way, it provides tips on how to be as stealthy as a ninja, demonstrates how to orchestrate a large-scale textile project, and offers revealing information necessary to design your own yarn graffiti tags. The book also includes interviews with members of the international community of textile artists and yarn bombers, and provides resources to help readers join the movement; it’s also chock full of beautiful photographs and easy step-by-step instructions for knit and crochet installations and garments.

Hoopla: The Art of Unexpected Embroidery (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2011) showcases those who take the craft of embroidery where it’s never gone before, in an astonishing, full-color display of embroidered art. Hoopla rebels against the quaint and familiar embroidery motifs of flowers and swashes, and focuses instead on innovative stitch artists who specialize in unusual, guerrilla-style patterns such as needlepoint nipple doilies and a ransom note pillow; it demonstrates that modern embroidery artists are as sharp as the needles with which they work.
Full-colour throughout and bursting with history, technique, and sass, Hoopla will teach readers how to stitch a mythical jackalope, needlepoint nipple doilies, a ransom note pillow, and mean and dainty knuckle-tattoo church gloves, and encourage them to create their own innovative embroidery projects. If you like anarchistic DIY craft and the idea of deviating from the rules, Hoopla will inspire you to wield a needle with flair!

Author links

Author site: www.leanneprain.com

Yarn Bombing blog: www.yarnbombing.com

Hoopla blog: www.unexpectedembroidery.com

Twitter: @leanneprain

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/348824631805917/#!/pages/Leanne-Prain/174655639310288

How/why did you start to write?

I was a voracious reader as a child – both my mother and grandmother worked in a public library and I'd spend most of my after-school time at the library reading anything and everything I could get my hands on. I remember trying to starting a school newspaper in grade two and entertaining my class with my stories about backwards cartwheels in grade four. I was an incredibly shy kid but my written stories always received attention from my classmates and my teachers. I had a pretty rich internal world as a kid, so writing has always served me. It allows me to process my ideas and form connections between disparate subjects.

How did you become an author?

I became an author in 2009 when Arsenal Pulp Press approached me about the idea of Yarn Bombing. I had pitched it as mock project in a graduate publishing plan. When I came up with the idea of the book I thought it was funny and absurd and that crafters would love it, but no one would ever be interested in publishing it in real life – it was too offbeat. Little did I know...

What was your first published piece?

I think it was probably a column I wrote for my hometown paper about high school being over for the year. My first paid piece of writing was a collection of reviews for a website called 120 Seconds that the CBC published in the late 1990's.

What did you do before embarking on your writing career? Was it an asset to your writing? How?

Before I became a published DIY author, I studied creative writing at UBC and spent a lot of time writing fiction, poetry, and screenplays. I graduated with a BFA in creative writing and art history. I followed that degree with a publishing diploma and have worked as a graphic designer for ten years. Being a graphic designer has been an incredible asset to the non-fiction books that I write – I use my graphic skills when I style photographs, draw pattern diagrams, and create my own marketing pieces. I also have a graduate degree in the business of publishing and I think this has given me a good understanding of how the book business works – from distribution to rights to sales. I feel really lucky to have had formal education in both the creative and business side of publishing.

What inspires you?

A legal pad to write on with a black felt tipped pen, a hot cup of tea, a great craft blog, a good memoir, a trip to the fabric store, doodling, cooking a great meal, sleeping in, thrift shopping with a good friend, listening to the CBC and NPR, and even, working...I tend to get my best ideas when I'm involved in another project.

Please share one of your successful marketing techniques

I love twitter. While many people would call it a marketing tool, I also think that it's just a great way to learn new things and get to know more about other people. I've used it to befriend other authors, get travel trips, interact with journalists, accept speaking engagements, and just chat with people about things we have in common.

Who taught you to knit?

While I grew up in a very crafty household and learned to sew at a young age, I didn't learn how to knit until I was 25. My friend Janet taught herself to cast on and do the knit stitch from a kid's book. I was sick one day so she came over and taught me. I learned how to purl, and taught her this in return. Then we formed a stitch and bitch so we could learn from other people. Mandy showed up to a meeting, which is how I met my co-author.

What knitting method do you use? Continental or English or...?

Continental – sort of. I sort of do this strange thing where I twist each of my stitches when I knit – I'm left handed so I'm always sort of doing my own thing in order to make the stitches work. Mandy introduced me to Knitting for Anarchists which is a great book which encourages everyone to knit in their own way. It doesn't matter how the stitch is made, just that you make it. This is one of the things I love about subversive crafting - there are no rules. I'm a colour-outside-the-lines kind of gal. 

What is your favorite stitch pattern?

I'm a fast knitter so I like things to be simple. A good k2 p2 rib is my favourite thing to knit. I love the look of seed stitch but it is too hard on my poor wrists. I love the way lace knitting looks, but I prefer to knit things a bit mindlessly. I like to knit and watch movies – which you can't do with lace knitting.

When is International Yarn Bombing Day? What happens? Where?

International Yarn Bombing Day is on June 9^th this year. Joann Matvichuk of Lethbridge, Alberta invented International Yarnbombing Day, which was first observed on June 11, 2011. but knitters all around the world participated. The basic idea is that everyone goes out and yarn bombs on the same day. They take photos of their work and post them online to share their creations. Mandy and I worked with a group of ten other knitters to cover a statue here in Vancouver.

Do you attend fibre festivals? Why? Why not?

I have attended a couple of fibre festivals. I find them really educational and you get to meet knitters, spinners, and weavers. All good types of people. And there usually is a lama or two on site – and I never miss an opportunity to see a llama.

What are you currently knitting?

Since the books have come out, I do a lot of crafting with other people in workshops, so it is has become a guilty pleasure for me to create something just for myself. Right now I'm creating some long fingerless gloves in a deep red merino wool and sewing some pillows for my apartment. When I'm finished, the next project will likely be a yarn bomb, June is coming up fast!

Guest Post: Author Theresa Varela

How/why did you start to write?

When I was very small, my cousins and I were babysat by an uncle on many Saturday evenings. We huddled on a fire escape, eating pancakes he made for us (size of which depended on our size!) and we listened to stories he told. My mother took us to Broadway shows. Another uncle wanted to send me to acting school based on my at home renditions.  I refused, preferring to curl up with Cherry Ames and Nancy Drew. I also grew up playing with every type of conceivable doll. Paper dolls were my favourite. I looked forward to cutting them out of McCall’s Magazine. I’d create paper houses for them and stories for them to act out. I had a great imagination. Storytelling is where I began, more so than story writing. As a young woman someone asked me what I wanted to do more than anything. I said that I wanted to write a children’s book. I don’t know where that response came from; at the time I was raising two children and working full time and didn’t stop to listen to myself. Going further in my career and obtaining an advanced degree, PhD in Nursing- in Research and Theory Development, creativity went on the back shelf. One day a professor in graduate school ask us to reflect on whether we were readers or writers. At the end of that endeavour, I realized I was both.

How did you become an author?

Through persistence and perseverance. Research is important to most writing but the funny thing about writing some types of research papers is that what you say counts, only if ten other people said it first, and you can justify your comments by references and a very long bibliography. I decided to cross out of the world of research to one where regular folks get to read what I think needs to be put out there on the planet. This is a lot more important to me than only a handful of people reading it. My neighbours would never get to read any of the research articles that I wrote and if they did they probably wouldn’t enjoy them.

What was your first published piece? Where was it published? How long ago?

My first published piece was my doctoral dissertation at New York University. I hold that tiny book dear. It’s on a shelf. When I dust, I gaze lovingly at my name on the spine. It’s called The Mirror behind the Mask: The experiences of people with HIV/AIDS who practice Santería. That was in 2001. I’ve had a couple of articles published in nursing journals after that.

What did you do before embarking on your writing career? Was it an asset to your writing? How?

I’ve been a psychiatric nurse practitioner for over, cough, years. Right now I work in a homeless shelter for men who are dealing with addictions and at a community mental health center. The people I serve are challenging and I love them. I don’t really see myself ever totally signing off from this work. There are so many stigmas about mental illness, still, unfortunately, but I see it as a place where isolation, fear and anxiety can be fought through various types of media, not just for the ill person but the system that supports that individual. Some of my writing tackles this very concept. My just finished novel is called Covering the Sun with My Hand. It’s about a Puerto Rican family, told by Julia Acevedo. Her twin brother is diagnosed with Schizophrenia during young adulthood in the late 1970s. She tells the story of how her family deals, or maybe not deals well, with his illness, and about Latino expectations in regards to women. The story is told from her very candid and sweet perspective. Julia is close to fifty when she begins to finally create her own life without feeling as though she’s negating her culture or family. This particular story isn’t personal to me, other than seeing it lived every day through some of the people I work with. It’s also not only a “Latino story” It’s transferable to many women who struggle with their identities separate from their family’s expectations. In my creative fiction, the people I have worked with are given voice.

What inspires you?

My father used to drive me to La Marqueta. This is a bustling Latino market of all things traditional and cultural in New York City. He’d always tell me “These are your people.” So, I think that inspires me to write. I’m in the process of writing a mystery with a paranormal bend. The heroine, Daisy Muñiz, is also Puerto Rican. She reminds me of a Cherry Ames or Nancy Drew who just happens to stumble on murder and mayhem. This is going to be a series. I have a few outlines in the works for subsequent books. When I grew up there weren’t stories like these with a Latino twist. I didn’t do badly but I want to see where I can fill empty spaces on book shelves or e-readers where there shouldn’t be for this population.

Please share one of your successful marketing techniques

I do lots of friending on Facebook, tweet, and am a member of SheWrites, Cyberville Authors, CrimeSpace and a few others. One of the best things that happened for me is connecting with Sunny Frazier, Acquisitions Editor at Oak Tree Press and Author of the Christy Bristol Astrology Mysteries. I sent Sunny a query for Covering the Sun with My Hand but it wasn’t the right fit for her publishing house. I immediately sent her another inquiry for my first Daisy Muñiz novel, Woman Found, that had been sitting on a shelf. Sunny gave me advice on what I needed to do to sharpen my writing and about creating my marketing platform. I’m proud to be one of her posse members. This past year I’ve learned about the joys of blogging. I blog weekly at http://theresavarela.com. Here I offer my thoughts and experiences on Spirituality, Writing and Psychiatry. 

Parting words

Your website here is lovely, Leanne. There are such wonderful crafts on display. When I’m not weaving words, I weave with yarns and threads. I crochet afghans, embroider and needle point pillows and framed art. Here are pictures of some of the crafts I’ve completed. I won’t say that I’m a photographer. Most of my work has been through the use of kits. I don’t have to think about making up a pattern. I get to enjoy the same gifts that I receive when I write- patience, self-discipline and beauty.

Leanne, thanks for having me for a visit.

(It was my pleasure, Theresa.)

Artisan Tour pictorial on Mayne Island

 Photographer:  Toby Snelgrove
I was so intimidated taking his picture.
Why?
Visit his web site and then you tell me why.

Native carver:  John Aitken
Do you remember when I featured Mayne Island's Honouring figure?
Well, John created it.
I know he's very talented--and nice. Okay, I'll stop there with the attributes or we'll be here all day.

I wish I could remember everyone's name.
Did I tell you I just had a birthday--and people tell me that it will get even harder to remember these important details. And so...now you know...why
That, however, doesn't stop us from enjoying their creations.

Amber's colourful, one-of-a-kind hats--sure to chase away the winter blahs.

 Author:  Amber Harvey
Amber had a sale on her books--3 for $30
Disappointed you missed it.
No worries. She told me that she's going to continue the sale at the Craft show in Agricultural Society Hall on December 11th. Mark your calender.

 Wool producer:  Joyce Kallweit. Yup, I did say the magic word--wool. And her sheep make the good stuff. You better believe I have at least two skeins in my stash.

 Fibre artist:  Celia Leaman.
This is one of the times when I say "should". As in, I should have taken more pictures of Celia's table. She makes the most adorable felted seals and cowboy snowmen and... Well, you'll just have to see for yourself. She'll be at the Craft show on December 11th.
Where is that show again?
In the Ag Hall.
Yup, I know that's where you'll be.

Artist:  Debbie Boules
Yup, yeah, Christmas card--duh. I knew I need to buy something. I really hope she's at the craft show on December 11th.
Debbie? Do you hear me, Debbie?

 Barbara who makes the most delicious muffins
Colleen makes such beautiful earrings--especially this one pair. They are sparkly, white snowflakes. I'm still dreaming about them.
Colleen, are you doing anything on December 11th. Because if not you could...

Artist:  Terrill Welch
Whose new book I want to buy as a Christmas present.
Who am I going to give it to?
I'm not telling. It's a Christmas secret.
Hey, Terrill, do you have some for sale at your house or where can I buy a copy?
Do you think if I visited her website I'd find out?