Knitting Through it

Most knitters know: Getting through a difficult time often means knitting through it. It's this home truth-and all the homespun wisdom behind it-that comes through clearly in the writings Lela Nargi has gathered in this book. These pieces-some by contemporary writers like Donna Druchunas and Sherri Wood, others excerpted from the WPA's Federal Writer's Project-tell stories of knitting through adversity as widespread as war or the Great Depression, as personal as political anxiety, as unyielding as a prison term, and as tenacious as the hardships endured by the Native American community over centuries. Men and women, young and old, rural and urban, white and black-their knitting narratives are poignant, often lyrical, rich with personal and cultural history and vivid imagery. The stories conjure hardscrabble lives and immigrant experience, the work of anxious hands kept busy creating warmth and beauty or earning desperately needed money. Along with the excerpts from the WPA project, the book features black and white photographs from the Library of Congress archives, as well as a sampling of patterns to help knitters through their own difficult times.Nargi, Lela is the author of 'Knitting Through it', published 2008 under ISBN 9780760330050 and ISBN 0760330050.