Such are the threads that make me who I am: my mother’s laugh, my first stitch, that terrible night.
Knit On: We The Knitters
Well, my fellow knitting people, here we are; the world has had to stop, drop and roll into their cocoons and we knitters — well dare I say it aloud — are ready.
Knitting has been called my “hobby,” my “craft,” my “old lady stuff” and no doubt you can add to the list of what people say. Regardless, my projects over forty-one years have expanded from filling a basket, then a closet, then half a room and now an entire room. We the Knitters are ready for global lockdown, needles in hand, no longer scorned but maybe a little envied; maybe we have stashed all these years for just this reason? We have bags, and baskets, and ziplock bags and hidden troves of yarn just waiting for us.
Even though time hangs on us in quarantine — as well as children, dogs, husband, wives, meals and cleaning the house — we have the best tools for surviving this: we will knit and knit and knit when our hands are free and computers turned off, relax into the rhythm of the stitches, calm our brains, our hands, our breathing and our selves.
Here are a few of the resources I have accessed just today — a whole flotilla of knitting and yarn and thread and mending beings from all over the world throwing ideas and comfort into the stratosphere. I have a playlist from Making Magazine, a stitching tutorial from Loop London, a 1:00 PM with Arne and Carlos everyday podcasting a project for free from Norway and at my fingertips two yarn stores 3,000 miles apart who are delivering (one by hand) materials and ideas needed as we face another six weeks or more.
Please write me a message with more resources. I will continue to post.
Meanwhile, I knit swatches for Arne and Carlos and laugh at their jokes. And who doesn’t love Arne’s hair? Instagram @ARNECARLOS, follow their podcasts on You Tube, go to their blog for the daily swatch post chart — arnecarlos.com
On Instagram: @Makingzine, @looplondonloves,
Go to their bios and follow, use their resources and play.
In Marblehead, MA, where I am in quarantine, email info@marbleheadknits.com for your needs, questions, purchase order. This yarn fairy delivers, in SO many ways.
In Seattle Washington, tucked into the historic Ballard district, Jean at @teacozyyarn has a treasure trove of beautiful materials, expert staff and is mailing. Email her at knit@teacozyyarn.com
Knit on. Be well. Stay mighty.
Alexandra Dane

Swatches from the Quarantine Knit-A-long with @arnecarlos
The Threads
A baby sweater. A yarn snob. A photo of the baby in the heirloom sweater. And a business was born @adaneknits.
But I get ahead of myself. This was thirty years in the making.
Today I submitted a query to Interweave Knitting, pitching for a piece that stories the first time I picked up knitting needles on the fourth floor of Swedish Hospital while my mom was dying.
I taught myself to knit, turn, purl, cast on, cast off under the florescent lighting. I focused on my hands. The panic was kept at bay. Fundamentals of knitting fiber together turned out to be the fundamentals of holding myself together.
I will let you know if the essay lands anywhere. And if it doesn’t I will post it here.

Introduce Yourself (Example Post)
This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.
You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.
Why do this?
- Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
- Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.
The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.
To help you get started, here are a few questions:
- Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
- What topics do you think you’ll write about?
- Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
- If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?
You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.
Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.
When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.