Inquiring minds want to know: where is Napolean's penis these days? We will give you a hint: it's not with the rest of his body, but it's a cautionary tale for today's despots that we think should be more widely known. To be clear, the whereabouts of Napolean's penis is not discussed in Anne Macdonald's No Idle Hands: The Social History of American Knitting, but many other fascinating historical tidbits are. We are now up to the Civil War, and guess what both sides, Union and Confederate, need the most? Yup, you guessed it: SOCKS. "'Send socks!' pleaded Civil War soldiers, and when their heartrending stories of bleeding, frostbitten and blistered feet reached 'the womenfolk,' there followed an unprecedented fever of sock-knitting 'for the boys'" (p. 97). The dearth of socks even inspired Albert M. Hubbard to compose "The Knitting Song: Dedicated to the Patriotic Ladies of the North," "a zesty tribute that quickly became a great favorite with choral groups at fairs and parlor sing-alongs and accounted for even further acceleration of knitting" (p. 102).

While the North had more resources and infrastructure thanks to the unfortunately named "United States Sanitary Commission," the women of South showed their devotion and ingenuity in other ways. Scarlet O'Hara's famous upcycling of the drawing room curtains into a dress had its roots in real events, and later made for great comedy on the Carol Burnett Show. And how can we not admire Lucy Nickolson Lindsay of Missouri for delivering vials of quinine and morphine hidden in the coiled locks of her hair and 22 pairs of socks tucked in the hems of her skirts to the frontline? Women on both sides sent notes to the troops in the socks and garments they made to inspire hope for better days:

Brave Sentry, on your lonely beat

May these blue stockings warm your feet

And when from wars and camps you part

May some fair knitter warm your heart."

Quoted in Anne L. Macdonald, No Idle Hands: The Social History of American Knitting, p. 105.

These are the tales from American history that warm our hearts! And if you want something tasty to warm your palate, may we suggest our recipe for roasted balsamic onions? A treat in salads or sandwiches--tune in and try it!

If George Washington knew about Debie Frable's Killer Sangria, he probably would have wanted A LOT of it to help him get through the Revolutionary War because boy, is this good stuff! Make it TODAY. But at the time, Washington really just wanted socks--he never had enough socks, as we learned from reading Anne L. Macdonald's No Idle Hands: The Social History of American Knitting. As much as knitting and needlework have been dismissed as the stuff of “Pots and Pans,” as the “prankish students” at Yale referred to their social history class in the 1930s, Macdonald reminds us that local women bearing clothing and food to the naked, starving soldiers at Valley Forge literally saved the day:

“[T]here was no mistaking the joy of soldiers on the verge of open revolt when sentinels pacing the camp’s outer limits spotted an advancing cavalcade of ‘[t]en women in carts, each cart drawn by ten pairs of oxen, and bearing tons of meal and other supplies, [who] passed through the lines amid cheers that rent the air.’ Those devoted women . . . ‘preserved the army, and Independence from that day was assured.’”

Anne L. Macdonald, No Idle Hands: The Social History of American Knitting, pp. 36-7.

The value of everyday things--adequate food and clothing--should never be underestimated. Macdonald reminds us that the war for American independence was fought on two fronts, the political and the economic. The burden of weaponizing the economy through the boycott of British goods fell mainly to women who were charged with making their own or doing without. As one Mrs. Troupe recounted Martha Washington explaining, “Whilst our husbands and brothers are examples of patriotism, we must be patterns of industry” (p. 39). Townships—which really meant local women—were charged with clothing their troops or risk being fined. Even children were expected to knit or spin a certain amount every day before going out to play. Can you imagine?! “Finish that row, buddy, because George Washington needs those socks!”

As bad as we think it is now, we would not go back to those times, but reading about them reminds us of the sacrifices everyone—men, women and children—made in the fight for our nation’s political and economic independence. We owe it to them to preserve that. Enough said.

Behind the scenes at Serial Knitters with Debie Frable in Bootie and Bossy's Episode 42!

Ever wonder what goes into hand-dyed yarn? The short answer is A LOT, as we learned from Debie Frable, owner of Serial Knitters Dye House. First there’s the prepping of the yarn—teasing out each tie on the skein so that the dye can fully penetrate the fiber (unless you want something that looks like tie-dye). There are 3 ties on a skein, so let’s do the math: if she makes 300 skeins of her top-selling yarn, Cherry Creek sock, she is teasing out 900 ties for just that colorway in one base, not to mention the new ties she is attaching so she can manipulate it and hang it up. Then she has to wash it because dirt and fat on the yarn will resist the dye. Then there’s the soaking in an acid bath (not the kind of acid used for dissolving dead bodies, in case you were wondering). Tired yet? You have not even started the dyeing, you slacker! Maybe that’s multiple dips in a single color to get just the right depth of red for her “Drac Snack” (are you picking up a bit of a Goth theme yet?). Or Debie’s favorite speckled yarns where she sprinkles on powdered dyes. She then “cooks” the yarn in a warming oven to set the color. Now more washing, and finally hanging the skeins up to dry. As Debie says,

"Nothing about my dye process is glamorous. I consider myself a glorified washer woman, except for the fact that I am dealing with color, and I am in love with color--it inspires me and keeps me going. But it’s a heavy job in that you are dealing with wet skeins of yarn, big pots of water, heavy pans of wet yarn. Then you’re hunched over a sink washing out yarn. Sometimes knitters think it’s so expensive, but you need to understand how much work goes into it."

Debie Frable, Serial Knitters

There’s a lot of work, but there’s also artistry in her colorways, and some quirky creativity, like her colorway named for her favorite cat, Ted, and the adventures they have together in her dreams (look for “Snorkel Ted”). And there are the sweaters she makes for skeletons too--they are clearly having a blast!

We learned so much from Debie, not just about dyeing and selling, but also some tips about knitting with hand-dyed yarn. And did we mention her “Killer Sangria” recipe? Because you are going to need a drink after all that work!