Wednesday 6 March 2013

Knitting in Sin

I am off to see a film. An Oscar winning Searching for Sugar Man. A documentary on a promising American musician in the 60's, who becomes forgotten until suddenly rises to the fame in South Africa.

From the movie theatre I am off to a pub. Not to drink, but to knit. My first time ever. I know nobody there yet, but shall meet people who share passion for knitting and like to socialise around it. Although I have never attended such a meeting myself, I do know how enjoyable it can be. My mother used to knit with her friends, when I was a child.

In the village where I come from, there is no pub, and if there was, women back in olden times would not have gone into one to pass time and to knit as group. Oh no. Impossible. It was a conservative village and any place serving alcohol had a haze of sin around it. Respectable housewives would be rarely seen in such places in any case. In my mother's time women would gather into someone's house to knit. They had an association promoting good household practises and the knitting events were called the association's meetings. First they all would drink coffee and the table was heavy with different kinds of cakes, pastries and cookies. After munching each one of ladies would pull their knit works from they bags and started to knit. While knitting, they agreed who would organise the next meeting and if they were going to organise or join any other activities in the near future.

The association Martat (as the name Martha in plural) is still alive and kicking throughout the country. I do not know if they do gather together the same way as they did when I was a child. I am no longer a member. However, I am happy, that times have changed. Nowadays I can check the knitting gathering times from the net and just pop into a pub whenever I feel like knitting and socialising. Today I shall bring along some yarn for socks, which I am knitting for my sister. I may even order a class of red and become a sinner for the night.

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