About Ryan and Knitting

I've been having a field day reading the comments to Kay's and Ann's posts about Ryan, and seeing a thread in the InTurn2's message boards brought to my attention by none other than that sleuth Sandy.

Sometimes I wonder:  Can we write at all?  How do people read what we write and misunderstand so much?  I won't even get started about the Red Scarf Fund and the apparent misunderstandings (well, okay, a very small number, but still..) that that is creating.  I saw comments over at Mason-Dixon that said that was MY blanket in their photos.  I saw comments saying, "Wonderful that Ryan is a knitter."  Of course I saw comments that said, "Who is Norma?" which I love.  I do.  I love the humbling, humorous aspect of it -- a moment for me to be able to deprecatingly laugh at myself, even though Kay and Ann linked my blog when they said, "Abigail is Norma's Abigail," and on and on. Who, indeed, IS this Norma and why should we care?!  It's a question I ask myself on a daily basis. 

I know the reason:  Skimming.  We all do it.  Also, we blog writers are guilty of making assumptions that our readers hang on our every word and have been assiduously following along.  Of course we know that is not true and not possible, but if we explained every single thing fully, it'd take all the fun out of writing, wouldn't it?  I'll speak for myself and say yes, it would.  I'm not pointing any fingers -- just getting a little chuckle out of it, is all.

But here is the truth about Ryan and knitting.  Are you paying attention?

Ryan is directly responsible for me starting to knit again after having only learned how to cast on and knit and purl and cast off again, back in junior high.  I used to crochet a good bit back then.  Making little stuffed animals was a big thing then, and I did a lot of it, in good (read: "horrible") acrylic yarn, and hideous colors, and making hook-size and needle-size and yarn substitutions to beat the band.  You see, I lived in the boonies in a not-very-well-off home.  A shopping trip to the five-and-dime was at least an hour's drive and didn't happen very often.  The biggest thing I ever knitted in those days was no more than a glorified swatch.  I probably called some of those things "potholders," but if one tried to pick up a hot pot with it, one would suffer third-degree burns, no doubt.

BUT when Abigail first met Ryan and they first started dating, there came the first college Christmas vacation.  Abigail came home and said, "I want to learn to knit. I want to knit Ryan a scarf for Christmas." 

Well, I couldn't remember squat about knitting, so I said, "Grandma can teach you."  We went over to my mother's house and she started teaching Abigail the basics, and darned if I didn't positively YEARN to knit.  The rest, as they say, is NOW.  I didn't want to use the cliche, ya know.

And when I say the rest is NOW, of course I mean the rest is Now Norma Knits.  Because if I did not start knitting, chances are I would not have started blogging...or at least not in the way I did...and I would not have met any of you.  NOW I'm getting all misty-eyed.

Abigail did indeed knit Ryan a beautiful scarf, but her desire to knit was forever sucked out of her like a Dementor sucks out a soul.  I was an idiot, you see.  I knew NOTHING about knitting, and I suggested that she use some yarn I got on eBay.  It was very soft, and superwash, SPORTWEIGHT merino, on size US5 needles.  I was an even greater idiot:  I suggested she make a K2/P2 ribbed scarf, and since he is so tall, I suggested she make it 72 inches long.  The poor girl actually did it.  It was the first item she ever knitted, and she endured this torturous ordeal. Does this tell you much about my daughter and her tenacity?  Any wonder she has zero desire to knit now?  But, on the other hand, any wonder that she will succeed in life? 

So here we are, four years later.  But there is more to the Ryan and knitting story.

The first time Ryan came to our home for an extended visit, I was knitting my Plain Vanilla sweater.  Feverishly knitting Plain Vanilla.  I didn't know that Ryan was noticing, but he was.  At one point he started asking questions about it.  Then he said, "I love that.  My mom needs something like that to do." 

So come the NEXT Christmas, I got an email from Ryan from college.  I remember I blogged about it at the time.  He wanted me to help him buy a nice start-to-knit kit for his mom.  I did.  The last I heard on the subject, she was still knitting, too.

And then I'd send occasional handknit items to Abigail at college.  Ryan would ooh and ahh about every one.  He'd proudly tell people, when Abigail wore her Rogue sweater, "Her mom knit this!  I'm not kidding!"  When I sent Abigail some wrist-warmers, Abigail got online and wrote to me, "Ryan wants a pair!"  He got some.  The next time I went to the college to see a performance, he was wearing them.  He kept saying his wrists were cold when other college students were asking him WTF he was wearing.  Totally endearing. 

He told me he wanted me to knit him a sweater.  He's six-foot-two.  Need I say more?  I remember laughing at him even when he said it.  The poor boy does not yet have his own handknit sweater.  He has very sensitive skin, so if any of you do-gooders are thinking of knitting the poor boy a sweater to wear on the set of ATWT, keep that in mind. 

So that, my friends, is the story of Ryan and knitting.  He loves his mom.  He likes me.  He's a good boy, and he doesn't knit, but he loves knitters.  For real. 

Comments

[Kristen]

Ahh. I remember you recalling these stories in bits and pieces over the years... So nice to have them all together. (And how startling to learn you've been knitting only about as long as I have!) Thanks for sharing.

[Kristen]

Oh, and I'm not sure it's just skimming... I spend a lot of time crafting carefully written, step-by-step directions for my students (college, mind you) to follow and an alarming number of them still fuck up assignments.

[Jan]

No wonder you love Ryan! (and, after 72 inches of ribbing on size 5 needles, I'm glad Abigail still loves you...)

[Kathy]

I do remember when you put together that knit kit. Well, thank you Ryan for getting you knitting! What would I be doing with this red Cascade 220 if you weren't on the scene?!? :-) He sounds like a wonderful guy.

[sandy]

Gosh, you do go on for someone who acknowledges her readers are skimmers!
:)
Ryan is good people, of that I am certain. Hollywood, here he comes! (Okay, probably NYC, whatever)

[sandy]

Gosh, you do go on for someone who acknowledges her readers are skimmers!
:)
Ryan is good people, of that I am certain. Hollywood, here he comes! (Okay, probably NYC, whatever)

[sandy]

Hmm. Double trouble,there.
OH, and, knit the poor guy a sweater for cripes sake!!

[Manise]

Great story! So have you cast on his sweater yet?! :-)

[MaryB in Richmond]

While I agree that the story of Abigail and the scarf shows her tenacity (which will help her in life) I think it also shows that even those four long years ago she was pretty sure Ryan would be worth it. And she was right!!!

Cool story!

[Cathy-Cate]

Thanks for assembling the story of Ryan and how Now Norma Knits began. (How Now Norma Knits -- sounds Seussian!) What a guy Ryan is!

[Marcia Cooke]

What a story.....I didn't have a clue!

[margene]

Thank you Ryan! I love having NowNorma in my life and that Norma, too.
PS...I read every word.;-)

[Carol]

I knew all along ;) I read MDK too. If I'm at work and don't think there's time, I save it for home. I'm geeky that way, I have to read it all. Some day when Ryan is rich and famous and rolling on a kingsized handknit qiviut bedspread, we'll all be able to say, I knew him when he didn't even have a sweater :)

[marianne]

I DO know what you mean about folks not really reading a post...I get quite the giggles reading comments and wondering...'wtf'...I tend to not read tons of blogs but I will say..I DO read them and...comprehend, heh.
Ryan....what an exceptional guy...THANK YOU, Ryan! for everything. He 'likes' you? I'd say he 'loves' you. (Great post, Norma)

[Joansie]

I loved the "family history" info. Sounds like Ryan and your daughter are a perfect match!

[Carol]

Lovely post. He deserves a sweater but good golly, a man's sweater at those dimensions?! How about the zip up thingy in Manos from Last Minute Gifts?

[MonicaPDX]

Shades of Emily Litella, anyone? [g] Skimming and not comprehending! Of course, I should talk - rather, my problem is with the spoken word. I'm much better at retaining things I've read!

Love hearing the backstory on Ryan; great post! Somehow I have visions of him being inundated in hand-knit sweaters now. Ok, well... 6'2"? A few, then. ;)

[Rachel]

I had been reading through the message boards but hadn't found that particular entry about MDK.com. I was wondering if the other inturns had internet juggernauts behind them, or if Ryan was the only one. I still didn't find the answer to my question, though now I know the message board people had found out about his knitterly secret life.

While I personally don't want to knit him a sweater, maybe someone will see fit to make him a sweater that he will be allowed to wear on the show. I think it would be a great backstory for the ATWT bloggers to write about. BTW, they have a terribly organized site. The message boards are also very illuminating about the demographics of ATWT fans. It's not all housewives, that's for sure!

[Julie]

Poor Abigail! No wonder she doesn't knit; I can't stand to do 2 inches of k2p2 and you had her doing 72 inces of it?! I'm surprised she still speaks to you :)

Congratulations to Ryan on his win!

[Kate]

Careful! You are dangerously close to making a world full of knitters fall in love with your daughter's beau! Thanks for sharing such a cool story.

[Beth S.]

Ah yes, I remember snippets of this story! And what a great one it is! :-)

I'm so glad Abigail wanted to knit a scarf. Amazing how many other developments hinged on that one little whim. :-)

[NerdGirl]

I too have noticed that occasionally it seems that someone is commenting who failed to read the actual post that is being commented on. I think it speaks to bad habits that occur in real life like people not really listening to someone because they are just waiting for their turn to talk. Thank you for the lovely back story about Ryan and your knitting...it makes me even happier that I voted for him.

[Dave Daniels]

OMG, can you write less? I was having trouble even skimming. Maybe more photos? So, did Abigail teach Ryan to knit? (Just kidding. I know he only MODELS the knits.)
Remember, sometimes less is more.
In your case, less is less.

[Cheryl]

Oh, isn't that great that he won! And that he's a knitter too!

HAHAHAHAHA!

[Ryan (not THAT Ryan)]

First, can you imagine how much this "vote for Ryan" stuff has been confusing me? I plod along, living my usual, dull life and then I discover people all over the knit-blogging world are voting for me! For no reason! And then I have to remind myself it's not really for me at all.

And, second, I protest! I do not skim. I read every word of your blog, every time. Neener, neener. (That being said, no pop quizzes allowed.)

[Cookie]

Oh, I could tell you who Norma is, but it might frighten some readers. People skim? Really? Like how last week some of my skimmers thought I was engaged? Jeez, people... I think NerdGirl is onto something, but you knew that.

Thank you so much for the family history. I'd always wondered how you became NowNorma and now I know.

Oh, and my policy is that if you want me to knit you a sweater, you have to marry me. I vote you hold out till Ryan (the actor) marries one of you. Just sayin'...

[Isela]

I think he needs a sweater, maybe a wedding present ;). Maybe the RYC Cashsoft will work for him, nice and soft. He sounds like a very nice boy; a boy that knows how to appreciate good quality work ;).

[elizabeth a airhart]

lets see watch red scarf funds --- 13 weeks of as the world turns

and the life and times of one norma knits----what do you want us
to for the rest of the year read carefully and i do tis my trifocals

my turn a corner in life just look what happens

[Erika]

It's easy to make fun of the skimmers (I get 'em too - we all do, we live in a world of skimmers, and I do it, too). But then again, apparently I haven't read far enough back in your archives, or I didn't pay enough attention when I did, because I didn't remember the Ryan backstory, either!

I know it's tedious to go through the backstory, and when I do it, I worry that regular readers will lose patience. I try to link to the backstory posts when I think about it, but people still get lost and confused occasionally.

If you ever come up with a Blogging Backstory Rule of Thumb, please do let us know! And make sure to write it up in short sentences, brief paragraphs, maybe a table or some bullet points, lest we skim it and misunderstand!

[Erika]

(Hell, half the time when people say "Ryan" I think they mean Ryan Mossy Cottage here in Seattle with the Avalanche Yarn Ryan and I wonder what she's doing on a soap opera. I have trouble keeping all these imaginary internet people named "Ryan" straight in my head.)

[Cathy]

Thanks for a quick update. I'm fairly new to your blog and it's great getting a snapshot of where everyone has come from.

[Wanda]

OMG, that comment from Dave is hilarious. I love to read all of waht people are writing. Sometimes I ask crazy ?s because I'm reading a few blogs at once and then trying to compose my comment.

A lot of friends admit to skimming, but I love to read about people, so I like to know what's going on.

I enjoyed reading about Ryan and how he comes to love knitters. I think he deserves a sweater, Norma . . (I'm sure his mom can tackle that!). I knit a sweater last year for my bf and he's 6 ft tall and knitting that torso that never ended, yeah, not really up for it anytime soon.

[KelInCal]

That's a lovely story - thanks for sharing!

I skim when I need to, or I wouldn't have any knitting time!

[Karen M]

Yay for Ryan
I've knit 2-- well, 1 and most of one, sweater for an actor in NYC and no, I am not married to him and won't ever be. But he's 6'4" and it's a lot of knitting.... If only I had more time before the show aired, I'd be all over it.
Karen

[Sneaksleep]

Woo hoo Ryan!!!! Soooo happy for him. And so happy for you that he re-awoke your inner knitter.

[Sue]

You make me smile, Norma. :-)

[Lucia]

Aw, geez, I take a little break from blog-reading and this is what I get. YAY RYAN! And Abigail's tenacity will serve her well in life. (I have to ask: English or Continental? If it was English I am three times as much in awe, since it takes three times as long to knit ribbing that way.)

[Ellen Serhant]

I would just like to thank everyone for supporting my son, Ryan, on his recent quest to win a contract on the CBS show As The World Turns. He did get me involved in knitting along with Norma's help and I am forever grateful. It has been a great way for me to pass the time and actually be creative! Now when I am knitting I will also be watching As The World Turns thanks to all of you who voted for him! Ellen Serhant

[adelaide]

What is Ryan going to do with all the red scarves we're knitting for him?

[Rachel H]

Ahem. We do not all skim. It simply isn't possible to be a professional commenter if one skims. I have my standards, you know.

I love the Ryan as knitting provacateur story. Not enough to knit him a sweater though.

[Alarming Female]

heh heh ~ the comments are a scream--you have very witty readers.

(yes, I read all the post AND all the comments)

Thanks for the back story! I had no idea.

[beebs]

And isn't it fortunate for all of us that Ryan came into your life.... And I read every word, every day. And the comments, too.

[Lee Ann]

Betchoo a million something or others that Abigail picks up knitting later in life. I did the same thing, learning as a college student and choosing absolutely the wrong thing and forging my way through it anyway and finishing it no matter what. And then said the hell with this knitting shit.

Ten years later I knit the Intarsia Sweater of Shame plus a crapload of boyfriend sweaters, and gave it up and said the hell with this knitting shit.

Ten more years later (yeah, baby, I'm that old) here I am spinning stuff to knit with, and finding people like you that totally make my life wonderful. (Kleenex. I need kleenex. Jesus.)

If Ryan keeps loving the knitting, dude, it's just a matter of time before she caves and does it again.

[Rachel]

OMG, I was JUST thinking "I wonder why Ryan's mom doesn't make a blog appearance if she's a knitter" and then THERE SHE IS! Hi, Ryan's mom! Gosh, it's really funny how the whole Norma contingent is represented here on the internets. All knitters (except for Ryan, of course), all part of the back story. Now all we're missing is Mr. Norma to have the whole soap opera cast.

Blogs are so cool.

[emmy]

I hadn't realized I have been skimming er I mean READING your blog since almost the beginning. I think I started reading about the time you had just finishe your plain vanilla. I recalled most of your backstory and pride myself on not skimming. Not here anyway! I might miss something!

I am thrilled that Ryan won and I can't wait to see more "modeling" pics. He did promise.

[Dorothy]

So Ryan is going to knit himself a hypoallergenic sweater? :)

[maryse]

i think ryan needs to learn. you know, for sitting around on the set between scenes. i hear there's a lot of down time.

[scout]

How fucking cool is this? Really? ALL of it.
XOXOXOXO

[Sue)]

Such a shame we no longer get ATWT here in Australia, I'd love to see Ryan "in action" so to speak.