MOTHER of PURL
FRIENDS, FUN, AND FABULOUS DESIGNS
AT HOLLYWOOD’S KNITTING CIRCLE
EDITH EIG
with Caroline Greeven
PHOTOS BY Warren Eig
contents
Acknowledgments
introduction
BRINGING CHIC WITHIN YOUR REACH
chapter one
THE BASICS
chapter two
THE NEXT STEP
chapter three
EXPLORING YARNS
chapter four
KNITTING TECHNIQUES
chapter five
PERFECT FINISHING
chapter six
EMOTIONAL KNITTING
chapter seven
SIP & KNIT: PULL UP A CHAIR
chapter eight
KNITTING FOR OTHERS
chapter nine
THE FUTURE OF KNITTING
chapter ten
PATTERNS
glossary of terms
abbreviations
knitting needle table
resource list
index
About the author
copyright
ABOUT THE PUBLISHER
Famous Faces Who Fancy Edith Eig—Hollywood’s Knitting Guru
“Because Edith is such a nice and patient teacher, I learned to knit.”
—Sofia Coppola
“I always wanted to knit, but never thought I could until I met Edith. Her patience and kindness has opened a whole new world for me.”
—Daryl Hannah
“Knitting is a nice way to relax and be productive at the same time.”
—Julianne Moore
“I am so pleased that knitting has made a comeback. It is an art, and it is a pleasure, and thank heaven for Edith and La Knitterie Parisienne—it’s a knitter’s paradise.”
—Shelley Morrison
“I just love to knit and love to knit with Edith because she knows everything in the world about knitting. I remember the first time I went to Edith’s La Knitterie Parisienne …I went four days in a row. And, if I make a mistake, I can’t wait to call Edith or go to the store so she can help me. Knitting is so much fun, and I can’t wait to learn to knit ponchos and sweaters for my stuffed dogs because I don’t have a real one. My next project is going to be a yellow scarf for my grandmother.”
—Dakota Fanning
“Edith is the Deepak Chopra of knitting. She’ll take you from pot holder to cable–knit sweaters in no time.”
—Caroline Rhea
“Knitting is a family tradition.”
—Bridget Fonda
“I learned to knit as a little girl but gave it up over the years. Edith helped me rediscover the love and passion I had for this creative hobby and I haven’t stopped knitting since.”
—Hilary Shephard
“I can’t imagine life without knitting, and it has always amazed me that more people don’t do it. Edith Eig’s La Knitterie Parisienne is the most welcoming knit shop I have ever been in.”
—Annette O’Toole
“Edith is incredibly helpful and giving of her knitting skills and experience. I wouldn’t know much about knitting or crocheting without her. She’s incredibly encouraging and one of my favorite people on earth.”
—Justine Bateman
“Edith Eig is the owner of La Knitterie Parisienne in Studio City, the hottest, trendiest place in town for the young set to gather and knit. Knitting with Edith is the place to be.”
—KNBC–TV
“Edith is a master knitter; she is known as the best in the world.”
—KCBS–TV
“Hollywood’s knitting guru is Edith Eig.”
—People magazine
“La Knitterie Parisienne is Southern California’s largest and most fashionable knitting yarn boutique.”
—Los Angeles magazine
“Mme Eig has emerged as a guru to whom studios and actors turn for practical help and spiritual solace.”
—The London Times
“Edith Eig, knitting guru, takes life one stitch at a time.”
—Los Angeles Times
“La Knitterie Parisienne is run by knitting–instructor–to–the–stars Edith Eig.”
—Los Angeles Daily News
“In the hustle–bustle, ultra–chic world that is Hollywood, one of the hottest spots is La Knitterie Parisienne, where the stars go to unwind, enter a simpler world, and find joy in a pastime that many of their grandmothers practiced.”
—Costco Connection magazine
introduction
BRINGING CHIC WITHIN YOUR REACH
Bringing sophisticated knitting to people who never imagined they could be creative, never thought they could make something beautiful, that is my mission. Nothing makes me happier than helping a knitter toward success.
I feel I have been writing this book for over thirty years. After all, knitting has been a part of my life since I was a young girl in France, when knitting was part of the curriculum and I was forced to sit indoors “à l'école” and knit, while the boys got to go outside and play. This always seemed terribly unfair to me—I wanted to go out and play; what did I care about knitting?—and as soon as I graduated I threw away my needles. When I turned eighteen, I moved to America, got married, and became a career woman, working in finance at a brokerage firm on Wall Street. Knitting—or any kind of craft, for that matter—could not have been further from my mind; who had time?
So, in a way, I guess my knitting life is typical of many women; a craft that we may not think of for years, and then suddenly it starts to make sense—one day we find that there is something missing in our lives, and knitting helps fill the void. For me, I began to feel the need to knit when I left the professional world to become a mother; where once my busy days had been filled with conversation and intellectually demanding work, I now found myself alone for much of the day, with just my young children for company, or the occasional coffee klatch, which, to be honest, bored me out of my mind. One day I bought a pair of needles, some yarn, and sat down and knitted a baby blanket. I’ve been knitting ever since.
Soon I was showing my friends how to knit their own baby blankets, and as we sipped coffee, I found I enjoyed teaching them, and started to enjoy having a creative circle of my contemporaries. We were friends when we began knitting, and just as our stitches became intertwined, so did the bonds of our friendship over needles and yarn. I found I had a knack for teaching and a love for needlecrafts; a local school invited me to teach there, and when I started ordering supplies for my students, I realized the next step was my own store. The Canvas Pad, which I opened in the basement of my home in Parsippany, New Jersey, was a complete resource for all needlecrafts—both knitting and needlepoint. My knitting circle picked up and relocated to my new business, and gradually more people joined us.
Every night my husband, Merrill, would come home from work to find dozens of women in our house, and
