Writing Magic. Knitting Magic. Everyday Magic.

“We create what we imagine. That is the meaning of the oldest magical spell. Abracadabra.”

Alice Hoffman, Fairie Knitting: 14 Tales of Love and Magic

Has living through the pandemic opened up a new creative avenue that surprises you? I hope so.

I recently got such a surprise. Because I love all things Salem and particularly stories about Salem witches, a few months ago I signed up for a Zoom talk sponsored by the Harvard Bookstore with Alice Hoffman talking about her latest book, Magic Lessons.

Magic Lessons tells the story of Maria Owens, the earliest member of the witchy Owens clan. Maria traveled around the globe to escape prejudice against witches, only to end up in Salem during the time of the Salem Witch Trials.

As well as telling Maria’s story, Ms. Hoffman spoke of the persistent effort and many revisions involved in writing a novel.

I loved hearing that even a prolific writer like Ms. Hoffman found the work demanding. There is hope for me as I struggle through the final revision of my novel, Dream Stalker.

Ms. Hoffman then surprised me by exploring the relationship between storytelling and knitting. In fact, she and her knitwear designing cousin, Lisa Hoffman, wrote a book called Fairie Knitting: 14 Tales of Love and Magic. Despite my limited knitting skills, I was intrigued and bought the book. I loved it and wanted to share it with you.

The beautiful design makes the book worthy of a coffee table. Each of Alice’s fourteen short fairytales is paired with a themed knitting project. The fairy tales brought me back to my childhood. My favorite is “Seventh Sister.” Envied and abandoned by her jealous older sisters, she knits a shawl from a kaleidoscope of friendly moths, and the shawl guides her home.

The delicate shawl pattern that accompanies the seventh sister’s story makes me want to up my knitting game. The book includes one or two knitting patterns that even a novice like myself could handle. As Lisa Hoffman says in the books, “Keep going, use what you have learned, and move on to the next project.”

Tell us about your pandemic-inspired creative adventures in the comment box below. I can’t wait to hear.