[MR] Re: A&S: A knitting question

[Tracie Brown]

   The answer is yes, a person with limited or *no* use of 
one hand can knit.  I can knit and purl one-handed by holding 
the "left" needle under my right arm and manipulating the 
right needle and yarn with my right hand.  I do not flip the 
piece to purl, but I've figured out where to place the needle 
and what to do with the yarn to obtain a purl stitch. If you 
need to use your left hand instead, the counterchange of the 
procedure will work. 
   There are various devices, historical and modern, that 
facilitate one-handed knitting. Although some of the 
historical devices are within the technology of the SCA 
period, I don't remember seeing any from earlier than the 
18th century. There might be some, but I haven't seen them.
   Explaining the mechanics on-line is beyond me, but if you 
type "one-handed knitting" (with or without quote marks) into 
a search engine, you will find information on various 
techniques on-line. I also remember reading something by Meg 
Swansen (daughter of knitting goddess Elizabeth Zimmermann) 
about it, but I can't remember where right now. It might be 
in her book "Meg Swansen's Knitting", which (according to a 
review on-line) includes a section on "knitting backwards," 
which is how I would describe my one-handed purling.
   I didn't see the original message -- where is the 
questioner from?  I occasionally visit my parents (in Ponte 
Alto) and always attend Pennsic, so a demonstration in person 
is possible if you can't find anyone else to help you.  Good 
luck, and let us know how your knitting is coming.

-- Signy
Baroness Signy Dimmridaela, OL
Barony of Bryn Madoc, Meridies