Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Quotes & Sayings

I make a habit of setting aside some time each evening to take out my knitting and work quietly on it, happily relaxing. I believe that it prepares me for sleep and washes away the cares of my day.
I will consider that intarsia, or Fair Isle with three or more colors in a row, prepares nobody for sleep and cursing loudly while flinging knitting around the living room is about as far away from soothing as you can get. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

I recognize that knitting can improve my mood in trying circumstances — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

It turns out I will buy any yarn, even yarn I will never use, if the store discounts it by more than 50 percent. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

The number one reason knitters knit is because they are so smart that they need knitting to make boring things interesting. Knitters are so compellingly clever that they simply can't tolerate boredom. It takes more to engage and entertain this kind of human, and they need an outlet or they get into trouble.
... knitters just can't watch TV without doing something else. Knitters just can't wait in line, knitters just can't sit waiting at the doctor's office. Knitters need knitting to add a layer of interest in other, less constructive ways. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

In the nineteeth century, knitting was prescribed to women as a cure for nervousness and hysteria. Many new knitters find this sort of hard to believe because, until you get good at it, knitting seems to cause those ailments.
The twitch above my right eye will disappear with knitting practice. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

The people who think I'm famous are knitters. Most of my life, I'm wildly unrecognized. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

I am a person who works well under pressure. In fact, I work so well under pressure that at times, I will procrastinate in order to create this pressure. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

All Newfoundlander men can knit. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

You know you knit too much when ... You take knitting to a wedding, in case there's a little time before the bride comes down the aisle. Double points if you are the bride. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

Your average knitter, obsessed as we are with the art form, is quickly going to begin producing far more in the way of warm things than are needed by even an arctic-bound knitter. Knitting breeds generosity, true ... but perhaps in a hurry to avoid burying ourselves in hand-knits. There are only so many scarves one knitter can use. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

Achieving the state of SABLE is not, as many people who live with these knitters believe, a reason to stop buying yarn, but for the knitter it is an indication to write a will, bequeathing the stash to an appropriate heir. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

It is some kind of miracle that all knitting is constructed of only two stitches: knit and purl. Sure, you throw in some yarn overs, and sometimes you knit the stitches out of order, but when it really comes down to it, knitting is simplicity. The most incredible gossamer lace shawl ... the trickiest aran ... a humble sock ... each just made with knit and purl. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

Hat head is a sad affliction wherein the chosen hat and the selected hairstyle are grossly incompatible. The unfortunate combination results in a condition that can be hidden only with the application of another hat. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

You know you knit too much when ... You will check out a book from the library just because you heard that one of the characters knits. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

The only difference between an experienced knitter and new knitter is that the experienced knitter makes bigger mistakes faster. Be bold; there are no terrible consequences in knitting. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

With great effort comes great gratification. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

It is pure potential. Every ball or skein of yarn holds something inside it, and the great mystery of what that might be can be almost spiritual — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

The rules of Canadian engagement say that if we encounter a celebrity, we have to pretend we're not encountering a celebrity. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

The first time you find yourself having a conversation about moss stitch with a group of people who aren't desperately trying to escape you ... it's like coming home. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

A plain sock by itself is terribly boring, but it could score points by having a clever stitch pattern, or maybe by being made out of a very beautiful yarn that's an enchantment to work with.
(Sadly, it is still infuriatingly true that being beautiful without being clever is almost worth more points than being clever without being beautiful, but such are the rules of life and knitting-they are cruel, but there anyway). — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

You have to know how to accept rejection and reject acceptance. - RAY BRADBURY — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

Knitting is a boon for those of us who are easily bored. I take my knitting everywhere to take the edge off of moments that would otherwise drive me stark raving mad. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

In through the front door, Once around the back, Peek through the window, And off jumps Jack. - A RHYME TO TEACH CHILDREN TO KNIT — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

It is a little known fact that much like birds, who can always find north, knitters can always find yarn. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

It is important for knitters to know two things about frogging: that cats are capable of this knitting action, and even seem to enjoy it and seek opportunities to do it; and that foul language is a normal, healthy accompaniment to frogging, whether it is you or the cat that accomplished the task. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

imagine a scarf as an unlimited canvas — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

Just because something is fun doesn't mean it's a waste of time. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

Dear designer of questionable intent,
Please send me a photo of yourself. Please be wearing the knitted pants that you designed. It's not that I don't believe that there is anyone out there thing enough to wear horizontally stripped trousers knit from chunky wool, it's just that I would like to know whether you are deliberately cruel or whether you are the one woman these would look really great on. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

I'm a knitter. My projects are the ultimate in 'some assembly required. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

When confronted with a birthday in a week I will remember that a book can be a really good present, too. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

Knitting is still trying to teach me
That no matter how well you knit, looking at your work too closely isn't helpful. It's like kissing with your eyes open: nobody looks good that close up. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

Some knitters say that they buy yarn with no project in mind and wait patiently for the yarn to "speak" to them. This reminds me of Michelangelo, who believed that every block of stone he carved had the statue waiting inside and that all he did was reveal it. I think I've had yarn speak to me during the knitting process, and I've definitely spoken to it. Perhaps I'm doing it wrong, or maybe my yarn and I aren't on such good terms, but it really seems to me that all I say is "please" and all it ever says is "no". — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

When people see me knitting, I tell them I'm a knitter. Not the sort of knitter they may have run into before, but a passionate, constant, deliberate knitter. I knit everyday, all the time, everywhere I go. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

If you have time to knit, if you've taken up knitting, it means you're not worried about the essential stuff. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

If you were ever dumped after knitting a guy a sweater, consider the possibility that the problem was with the sweater, not you. The recipient probably took one look at the thing, imagined a lifetime of having to pretend to like (and wear) this sweater and others of its like, and saw no choice but to flee into the night — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

I will resist the urge to underestimate the complexity of knitting. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

Once in a while, I bump into a knitter, and we have a lovely conversation. But if you figure out the number of people who know me and the people who don't, it's really a small number. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

As long as there has been knitting there have been battles about it. There are self-declared "yarn snobs," who frown on using anything but natural fibers; "gauge snobs", who wouldn't be caught dead with chunky yarn; and "experience snobs", who claim you can't declare yourself a real knitter until you abandon novelty yarns. The truth is that the knitting world is a tiny metaphor for the real world. It takes all kinds.
I will not allow myself to feel bad if someone disapproves of my knitting. I will also resist the urge to stuff his mailbox full of chunky acrylic fun fur at 3:00 am. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

Ribbing, moss, seed, and garter are all balanced and combine the yin and yang of knitting — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

You know you knit too much when ... Before you buy anything, such as a hammock or curtains, you seriously wonder whether you could knit it. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

SABLE- A common knitting acronym that stands for Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

It is a peculiarity of knitters that they chronically underestimate the amount of time it takes to knit something. Birthday on Saturday? No problem. Socks are small. Never mind that the average sock knit out of sock-weight yarn contains about 17,000 stitches. Never mind that you need two of them. (That's 34,000 stitches, for anybody keeping track.)
Socks are only physically small. By stitch count, they are immense. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

I will always buy extra yarn. I will not try to tempt fate. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

It took me years and years of trial efforts to work out that there is absolutely no knitting triumph I can achieve that my husband will think is worth being woken up for. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

Knitters use knitting to value-add to the world. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

I will not let the non-knitters of the world decide how normal I am. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

I will continue to freak out my children by knitting in public. It's good for them. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

Sweaters need to be imagined, dreamed over. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

Since I became a knitting humor writer, I seem to be understood a little better - at least for the purposes of social discourse. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

There is no wrong way to knit ... We should all agree to stop correcting each other and deal with the more important issue. How wrong crochet is. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

You don't knit because you are patient. You are patient because you knit. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

Five things I'd rather do than swatch for my new project
1. Get a spinal tap.
2. Scrub the bathtub after all three of my daughters have come home from "Sandbox day" at the park.
3. Babysit two-year-old triplets while simultaneously diffusing a bomb.
4. Bathe a cat.
5. KNIT MY NEW PROJECT. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

The chances of running out of yarn on a project are directly related to the difficulty that you will have getting more. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

When you are knitting socks and sweaters and scarves, you aren't just knitting. You are assigning a value to human effort. You are holding back time. You are preserving the simple unchanging act of handwork. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

As usual, the sock yarns have no idea what is going on. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

There is practically no activity that cannot be enhanced or replaced by knitting, if you really want to get obsessive about it. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

It's only knitting and it's one of the few times in your life when there are no bad consequences to a mistake. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

A half finished shawl left on the coffee table isn't a mess; it's an object of art. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

100 years ago, buying something you could make was considered wasteful; now making something you could buy is considered wasteful. I am not convinced this is a step in the right direction. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

The best reason for a knitter to marry is that you can't teach the cat to be impressed when you finish a lace scarf. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

Many years ago, when I used to smoke, my lighter was often easier to find than my scissors. If I couldn't find the scissors, or was feeling too lazy to get up, I used the lighter to burn the yarn in one place to break it. Other than the smell, this worked fairly well. Later, when I found my scissors, I would cut off the little charred bits.
One day, I was knitting a cotton facecloth and needed to cut the end. I flicked my lighter, expecting to singe the one spot, thus breaking the yarn.
I will remember that cotton is highly flammable, and that the knitting Fates punish laziness. I will also remember that a flaming facecloth can be extinguished with a cup of coffee ... in a pinch. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

The essay is one of my favourite forms of writing, and I feel like what's inside is really personal, more so than with shorter pieces. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

There are twice as many knitters as golfers in North America. Still, if you walk into any airport in North America, you can find a golf magazine but not a knitting magazine, even though you can't golf on a plane. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

Advice for New Knitters
When choosing a pattern, look for ones that have words such as "simple", "basic", and "easy". If you see the words "intriguing", "challenging", or "intricate", look elsewhere.
If you happen across a pattern that says "heirloom", slowly put down the pattern and back away.
"Heirloom" is knitting code for "This pattern is so difficult that you would consider death a relief". — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

Sometimes, people come up to me when I am knitting and they say things like, "Oh, I wish I could knit, but I'm just not the kind of person who can sit and waste time like that." How can knitting be wasting time? First, I never just knit; I knit and think, knit and listen, knit and watch. Second, you aren't wasting time if you get a useful or beautiful object at the end of it.
I will remember that not everyone understands. I will resist the urge to ask others what they do when they watch TV. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

Everybody tells me that they would love to knit, but they don't have time. I look at people's lives and I can see opportunity and time for knitting all over the place. The time spent riding the bus each day? That's a pair of socks over a month. Waiting in line? Mittens. Watching TV? Buckets of wasted time that could be an exquisite lace shawl. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

Despite what we knitters know to be true, the non-knitting world somehow persists in thinking that a "knitter" looks a certain way. Most likely, this picture is one of an elderly woman, grandmotherly and polite, sitting in her rocking chair surrounded by homemade cookies and accompanied by a certain number of cats.
In reality, a knitter today is just as likely to be young, hip, male, and sitting at a "Stitch and Bitch" in a local bar. Several of today's best knitting designers are men, and a knitter is as likely to have body piercings as homemade cookies.
Despite our diversity, the tendency to be accompanied by a cat is an oddity among knitters that cannot be explained. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

I explain at the parties that I believe knitting is a transformative and intriguing act that can change the life and brain of the person doing it, and that knitting is a perfect metaphor for life and insight into some better ways through it. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

Even when it isn't going well, knitting can be deeply spiritual. Knitting sets goals that you can meet. Sometimes when I work on something complicated or difficult - ripping out my work and starting over, porong over tomes of knitting expertise, screeching "I don't get it!" white practically weeping with frusteation - my husband looks at me and says, "I don't know why you think you like knitting." I just stare at him. I don't like knitting. I LOVE knitting. I don't know what could have possible led him to think that I'm not enjoying myself. The cursing? The crying? The forteen sheets of shredded graph paper? Knittong is like a marriage (I tell him) and you don't just trash the whole thing because there are bad moments. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

I do know that there isn't ever going to be a time when there aren't any knitters. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

It turns out that knitting isn't about the yarn or the softness or needing a hat (although we really can't argue with these secondary motivators). It's really about this: Knitting is a magic trick. In this day and age, in a world where science and technology take more and more wonder and work out of our lives , and our planet is quickly becoming a place running out of magic, a knitter takes silly, useless string, mundane sticks, waves her hands around (many, many times ... nobody said this was fast magic), and turns one thing into another: string into a hat, string into a sweater, string into a blanket for a baby. It really is a very reliable magic. — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

I think my personal minimum score for anything I'm thinking about doing
knitting or not
is about a seven on the interest scale. If something's scoring a five, like a movie, then I need to add at least two points of knitting to do it for me to be able to hang in.
If it's something gripping, like a conversation with a charming and entertaining friend, I may not need to add much knitting at all. If my friend scores a nine, I might only toss in a plain sock, with no patterning or anything, just round and round on autopilot while we visit. (I can only think of one thing I do with another person that really has no room to add any sort of knitting to, but let's not discuss it here.) — Stephanie Pearl-McPhee