Knitting Through Time

Stories of How We Learned to Knit

By: Cynthia Coe

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

How did human beings learn to knit? What's the story? We don't know, and there may be many stories of unknown knitters who figured out how to make fabric from a ball of yarn and two sticks. These fictional stories spin tales of how we all may have learned to knit, starting from the first knitted cloth made in Egypt and all the way up to the present.

Told through the stories of three main characters, Knitting Through Time shows how women in Western Europe and North America may have learned to knit.

Journey with Seraphina, a Roman aristocrat of the 4th century, who seeks solace in the stark simplicity of the Egyptian desert after the loss of her husband. Through an unexpected incident, she may have changed the history of fabric in human history. Follow her as she continues her journey through 4th century Gaul and beyond.

Meet Anna, a young Dutch widow in 17th century Amsterdam who joins a community of Beguines, laywomen living in community to serve God. Is she cut out for this life? She also ends up far from home and takes her knitting with her.

Follow the path of Nan Westerhill, a familiar face from The Prayer Shawl Chronicles series, as she lands in Amsterdam hoping to finally find her purpose in life. She answers what she thinks is a call to lay ministry, but she finds a very different life on the cobblestone streets of another European city.

Through a trio of interconnected tales set in medieval Spain, the threads of knitting history are woven together, connecting the history of knitting in Egypt with the story of knitting in Spain, where knitting next pops up. Catalina, a young artisan working for the Spanish royal court, perhaps has a hand in spreading knitting to Northern Europe, based on skills passed on from her Visigoth and Arab ancestors.

Knitting Through Time is a tapestry of storytelling that blends history, imagination, and the enduring allure of knitting. This novel invites readers on a journey through time and across cultures, where every stitch tells a story of resilience, creativity, and the timeless bond of human connection.

Delightful on many levels!

This engaging novel connects historical eras with the present with knitting and Christian life as its theme. The characters are all interesting and well drawn. They each follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit to create fascinating lives, knitting as they go. My favorite is a lovely mystic who invents knitting after giving up a splendid life as wife of a Roman Senator while living alone in a cave in Egypt. I don’t want to spoil the story, but I can tell you she lives a long, long life!

The history of Knitting combined with scripture.

Charming story, combining possible origins of Knitting through time with some scripture and a nice overview of world history at the end in relation to the events of the book.

Pleasant and fantasy

What I disliked about this was the machine generated voice. It was clear and distinct, and did not convey the life that a good performer adds to a story. The story is an imaginary history of knitting, developing and migrating across the western world. The continuity thread that sort of ties things together is pure time travel fantasy. Pleasant fluff to listen to.