Knitting and Music

Now here's a real blast from the past. In between all my research and other article-writing on how to knit I just love listening to music.
Just last month on the PBS stations if you happened to catch it, was a dynamite special called "The British Beat". Finally. Now, I love Elvis, especially his early years, and doo-wop in general, but all of that has been done to death on tv, and I know that there never was, nor will there ever be, music like we had in the '60's!
For some reason, I don't know why, I have always had a special place in my heart for all things British. (It must have something to do with castles, kings, queens, and Paul McCartney's gorgeous brown eyes, but that's another story.)
In between learning to knit back when I was in high school, my eye was always on the London beat. Never having travelled overseas, it is still tops on my list of places to visit. And soon!
Learning to knit was so much more fun with the Beatles or Dusty Springfield. Poring over my little "how to knit" book never was better then when listening to "Time of the Season" by The Zombies or "Baby Baby Can't You Hear My Heart Beat?" by Herman's Hermits.
Walking up to town after school on any weekday, my girlfriend Marlene and I loved poking around in the yarn shop. On weekends we would get together in one living room or another and learn how to cast-on with The Tremeloes to the upbeat "Here Comes My Baby" or the harmonious "Silence Is Golden." We could listen all day and never hear the same song twice!
Eventually we would actually complete an entire cast-on row and start knitting! Slowly, we learned the knit stitch, while The Hollies told us about their famous "Bus Stop." Frustrations with dropped stitches never seemed so bad while Gerry and the Pacemakers told us "Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying."
Over and over again the deep piano chords of Petula Clark's "Downtown" kept us company on the back porch while mastering the purl stitch. Searching for yarns in our fav colors and extra needles for new projects was helped along by Peter & Gordon's "I Won't Stay in a World Without Love." And didn't it just mean something that Peter Asher is Jane Asher's brother, she who seemed to have won the heart of one Paul McCartney. Naturally, it doesn't mean anything anymore -- but what does mean something is that so many of these same sounds and same groups still play today! And they're good! As in 'turn-your-head-away-from-the-tv/dvd-and-it-sounds-just-like-1969-on-the-radio-good!!'
Now, so many years later, my knitting has been transformed! Along with all the groups I loved, some still rockin', some no longer with us, all have a special place in my heart!
So stay tuned for some groovy patterns! Cheers!
Just like I remember!