Once Most Prolific Knitter Has Died

Gwen Matthewman, an 86-year-old knitter who once held two world records, has died, according to reports from the Pontefract and Castleford Express.

Matthewman was once the fastest knitter in the world, at 111 stitches per minute (the current record is 118). She was also considered the world’s most prolific knitter after churning out 915 garments in a year using 11,000 ounces of yarn (that’s nearly 690 pounds).

She was born in 1927 and took up knitting at a young age. She was catapulted into stardom in the 1960s, when she was studied by Japanese knitters on a live television show. She also appeared on David Letterman’s and David Frost’s shows, among other appearances around the world, and was known for having knit a sweater for Neil Armstrong before he traveled to the moon.

Her son says she gave up knitting “many moons ago” to spend more time with her family and take up other pursuits including darts and dominoes.

[Photo via the Pontefract and Castleford Express.]

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Before there were true crime podcasts, there was Unsolved Mysteries. The show’s original run, from 1987 to 2002, introduced generations to the documentary style true crime format, complete with dramatic re-enactments. The show touched on all sorts of unexplained events, from theories about alien abduction and ghosts to more mundane missing persons cases.

It’s kind of a cult classic that’s been rebooted and re-invigorated several times, though the original is of course the best.

If you’re nostalgic for the olden days of crime television, you can knit yourself an Unsolved Mysteries sweater with the classic logo from the series on it.

Designed by Cecilia Calles, this boxy, cropped sweater uses stranded colorwork knit flat to make the logo. The body is worked from the top down flat, beginning with the back panel. The front is then picked up from the shoulders and worked flat with the logo added. Pieces are joined at the side seams so you can work the collar and the sleeves in the round, and tubular bind offs add a polished look.

The design is available in one size, but it would be pretty easy to modify to make a sweater to fit you. Or just add the chart to a plain sweater pattern that you like and that fits you for a bit of vintage true crime flair.

This version is worked in fingering weight yarn and uses four colors. It is rated for intermediate to advanced knitters because of the colorwork and bind off techniques. But I think it would be a lot of fun to knit and your true crime watching/listening buddies are sure to love it! (I would totally wear this for viewings of Only Murders in the Building, if I wasn’t wearing a Mabel Sweater, anyway!)

You can find the pattern at Cecilia’s Etsy shop, Weirding Module.

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