Mattress stitch

It may be time for me to leave the village. I have achieved the highest accolade and mark of recognition possible. There is nothing left for me to aspire to. It all began one quiet, rainy afternoon …….

At Clicking Needles, I sit quietly sewing my almost-finished cardigan together. It is a tricky matter to set the sleeves in ‘just-so’, and it requires all my concentration. I let the chatter buzz around me.

“Apparently, it may not be my hat after all that Dougie McLean is touring with,” says Theresa.

We are all very disappointed to hear this because Theresa’s hat was going to make our knitting group – and Theresa – famous.

“Never mind,” says Jean, “because my house is about to be famous.”

It seems a TV production company is interested in unusual renovations, and the producer has asked Jean if they can film in her home.

“Did he just come and knock on your door to ask?” says Sylvia.

“Oh aye,” says Jean.

“Weren’t you worried when he wanted to look around your house that he might be an imposter?”

“Och nae,” says Jean.

Gillian says a strange man came to her house just this morning, asking where Mrs Smith lived.

“Which one? I asked,” says Gillian. “There are two Mrs Smiths around here. But he didna seem to know, or have an address.”

She says she double locked her door, just to be on the safe side.

“I didn’t like his look. Fancy not having an address.”

“Lots of people get addresses wrong, but somehow our mail always get delivered,” says Ann.

“When we just moved here we got a letter addressed to ‘Ann and David recently moved to Glenshee’ and it found us.”

“There’s a house near us called Innernightie,” cackles Glynnis. “Imagine having to tell people you live in a place called Innernightie! Where do you live? Innernightie!” She can’t stop laughing.

Sylvia leans across to look at what I’m doing.

“I’ve been watching you all afternoon,” she says. Oh dear, I think.

“That’s a very interesting way you are sewing up the seam, with the right side facing you.”

I explain to her that I always do it this way, and that – in fairness - I thought she had taught me this method.

“Oh no,” she says. “I always do it from the wrong side and just oversew.”

Glynnis leans across to see what all commotion is about.

“Oh my, that gives a very nice finish,” she says. “What do you call that?”

“Mattress stitch,” I say, somewhat mystified that this group of expert knitters is not familiar with it.

Then I remember where I learned it.

“I had a pattern some time ago that said to join the seams with mattress stitch. I didn’t know how to do it so I looked it up on YouTube.”

Theresa looked over my shoulder.

“So how do you do it?”

I lay my cardigan on the table and explain the stitch to her.

Then Sylvia and Glenys lean over the table.

“Can you show us too?”

Once more, I go through the steps for joining seams with mattress stitch. Then, just as I am about to pick up where I had stopped, Jean leans over.

“Could you show me?”

As I start to tell her, I become aware that every ear is listening intently and all eyes are on me, and I burst out laughing.

“Well, I never thought I’d see the day when I’d be telling the ladies of Clicking Needles how to do something! That’s made my day,” I say, and I sit back, feeling more satisfied than if I had just won a big piece of business.