REFLECTIONS ON WHY LOVE KNITS AT TYNDALE
BY: EMILY F. BANKS (PHOTOS BY DAVID KENTIE)
It was a cold, blustery Thursday night when true knitting magic invaded the cafeteria of Tyndale University. The flickering lightbulb candles were set, fattening pastries and cookies lined the tables and the drones of an infamous ginger singer echoed through the room. It was there, hiding amongst the mess of conversation and cover song falsettos that the wonderful faint clicking of two six-inch bamboo needles could be heard. Working in unison, winding and knotting together row upon row of perfectly tightened stitches, I find myself. As the room begins to fill it becomes obvious to myself and others that knitting may be one of the few activities that requires little actual skill but perhaps only the patience of a saint to learn. As I assist novice knitters with their first slip knot, I am suddenly overjoyed with the thought of how many potential scarves were in the room. In fact as more and more cries for help were being heard I began to literally see people for their potential in scarves. No but seriously, not only was knitting bringing together our community of students at Tyndale, but it was backed by this wondrous feeling of love. Even though some were fighting off wrist arthritis and rope burn, I was convinced there was love entering every stitch. Did we each have a beautiful, perfect scarf to hand in by the end of the night? Unfortunately no. Did some leave that night in tears, questioning their brain capacity after failing multiple times to tie a knot with two sticks? Perhaps only a few. Did we learn to love better? Maybe not as we expected. What was seen however, was now a tangible, common goal to work towards. Not for ourselves, not even for our student body or for Tyndale at all. No, this was all for others specifically for those deemed “less than” in our city of Toronto and for the forgotten yet overwhelming impoverished population of our world. Though we may not have many wonderful scarves, hats, or other fashionable winter accessories to show for ourselves just yet, we have something much bigger to be inspired by: a movement of hope and love now resting on our hearts and the faces of our city to inspire us. May love continue to knit together our city, and here’s hoping, our world.
