Cybersocks
Annabelle's Entrelac Socks
Instructor: Annabelle Dawson

Socknitters lost a good friend, and great teacher, with the passing of Annabelle Dawson, January, 2002.

Autobiography

Once upon a time I  was an innocent child. Then I fell into the hands of  a bonafide dragon in the disguise of a grade five teacher. My life took an abrupt turn when she taught us to knit, and it has never been the same since. I became hooked on the narcotic of knitting. Being able to transform innocent looking balls of sheep hair into wearable garments seemed nothing short of miraculous.

During high school, I made socks for my father, then neatly segued into sweaters for my then boyfriend. With marriage and babies came children’s clothing. Since I had four children whose main talent seemed to be the ability to lose mittens, I spent much of my time frantically trying to keep up with the demand.

As my offspring grew and the need for mittens slowed, I found new outlets for my obsession. Over the years I have worked in several yarn shops, including Creative Crafts, Christine’s, Village Yarns, and Clickity Wools, both as sales person and as teacher. I have also been a custom knitter and crocheter since the 60’s. My kaleidescope career covers more than 40 years and such diverse areas as finishing, teaching, working in the design studios of Spinrite and Susanne Galat ( an American designer) , and designing for Crafts Plus magazine. In addition, I have organized production knitting for Mimi Bizjac, Wayne Box, and Wayne Clark and have produced custom designs for Wind At My Back and for several movies and tv shows. Currently, most of my designs go to such companies as Shelridge Farm, Canaan , Belle Vallee, Woolen Acres and Wood’nNeedles.

As for teaching, I began as a public school teacher, moved on to teaching classes for North York and assorted yarn shops, then to workshops for such groups as Knit With Us,  the Getaway Weekend, the Needler’sRetreat, the Creative Needlework Show, Spring Fling, Spring Frolic (for The Downtown Knit Collective), Peterborough KG, Halton KG, Aurora KG, Ottawa KG and Montreal KG.

Whew! And I am just beginning to get it right. It is wonderful at an age when most people are retiring that I am busier than ever. I do not plan on giving up until the undertaker pries the needles from my hands. But it is good to know that my legacy will go on in the form of those I have taught,- my daughters and the many others who have learned from me, and that many more people will learn the joyful song of wool moving over needles from them.

God bless all knitters, may we go on forever!