My mother knitted. Her grandmother knitted, darned, and quilted. Some of my most cherished heirlooms are afghans and a quilt made by these ladies. If you’re lucky, you can say something similar.
We often think of these skills as fading into the mists of time. Today it costs less to dress ourselves than it ever has, while our free time seems to shrink with every passing year. Despite all our technological time-saving advancements, who has time to turn spools of yarn into scarves and sweaters?
Except that we tax our brains with so many distractions, that we deny it the waking respite it needs. I hadn’t considered knitting for relaxation until I met up with Elkins Park resident Ellen Rubin at Luv2Knit & More in her little glass-enclosed store tucked inside the old Strawbridge building on York Road.
What looks like another yarn shop becomes something different after a few minutes talking to Ellen. Yes, she sells yarns in a wide variety of textures in more than a rainbow of colors in floor-to-ceiling bins, but sitting with Ellen for a while unveiled a whole new perspective on this age-old craft. More to the point, Ellen sees it as an approach for better mental health. This accounts for the “& More” part of the name.
“I take a scientific approach to knitting,” says the Drexel grad with a degree in biology and a career in cancer research. “I learned to knit as an adult, and in a way I don’t recommend — by reading!”
Today, for anyone interested in just about any craft, YouTube is your friend. However, for Ellen reading was a familiar method of research. Starting with the simple things like scarves and hats, she eventually graduated to more challenging projects like sweaters and other complex patterns.
“I once made a pillow case with button holes simply because I wanted to learn how to do button holes,” she explained.
Meanwhile her scientific background revealed many side benefits to the craft besides building up a nice wardrobe of handmade wearables.
“Knitting is a great way to relieve stress. The repetition and the focus puts you in a meditative state, especially when you’re starting out or tackling something more complex for the first time,” she explained. “After a while, it becomes second nature.”
Pointing to a small leather bag holding needles and yarn, she beams, “And it’s portable! You can take your knitting anywhere.”
There’s something zen-like about knitting, where the mind focuses on something both repetitive but also productive. The mind tunes out the world for a time, and when it emerges from a trance, a mitten appears!
With this understanding of how knitting and crocheting can benefit in ways other than a cozy sweater, Ellen started teaching. She sees it as therapy for autism, for people with addiction issues, and for alleviating general anxiety. Today, you can find her at schools, knitting parties, or in her the store holding classes, where she can accommodate individuals and small groups.
Luv2Knit has everything you need to get started, including plenty of encouragement and advice from its owner. She expresses confidently that anyone can knit, and as proof she found herself on a five-hour flight sitting between a couple of guys, and in that time taught one of them the basics as well. She once gave lessons to a blind and deaf woman. I’m convinced there’s no one she can’t teach.
I’m not sure I’ll jump into this, but I have a 14-year-old, bored-with-everything daughter who needs something to take her away from her iPhone. This sounds like a good start.
Luv2Knit and More is located on the first floor of the Strawbridge Building at 610 Old York Rd, Jenkintown, PA 19046. Learn more at Ellen’s website and Facebook page. Telephone: (267) 886-2000.
We love walking the walkable communities, so GlensideLocal will take a stroll and present our readers with the people that give us all these great stores, restaurants, and other small businesses that make Glenside and Jenkintown such attractive places to live, work, and visit.