Cathy > Cathy's Quotes

“Properly practiced, knitting soothes the troubled spirit, and it doesn't hurt the untroubled spirit either.”
― Elizabeth Zimmerman

“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, At Knit's End: Meditations for Women Who Knit Too Much

“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, At Knit's End: Meditations for Women Who Knit Too Much

“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, At Knit's End: Meditations for Women Who Knit Too Much

“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, At Knit's End: Meditations for Women Who Knit Too Much

“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, Things I Learned From Knitting

“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, At Knit's End: Meditations for Women Who Knit Too Much