The Thread | Teen Ink

The Thread MAG

June 27, 2008
By Aliza Gans BRONZE, Woodbridge, Connecticut
Aliza Gans BRONZE, Woodbridge, Connecticut
4 articles 0 photos 0 comments

The knitting club meets at the women’s center every ­Friday. Today they are working on ­pastel-colored baby socks.

The women clink metal needles and grumble about their husbands, ex-husbands, and rheumatic pets.

“Charlie forgot to take out the recycling yesterday. The trash man had to come into my house because I have such a cold, and he smelled like stale beer.”

The lady with silvery hair draws the curtains ­embroidered with peacocks. Pale light floods the cream-wallpapered parlor.

“The sky looks like rain. Maybe we’ll get a ­thunderstorm if the wind picks up. I’m terrified of storms at night – when the sky bursts like a Polaroid camera.”

The lady who likes to knit in yellow brings in her record player every week. She plays vinyl recordings of Chopin, Dizzy Gillespie, and during the winter, Dean Martin’s Christmas carols.

“This week we have Chopin’s Concerto No. 2, but there’s a scratch right after the first movement.”

They sip black-as-shoe-polish coffee from tiny porcelain cups until their tight buns uncoil into soft, ash-colored curls.

“It’s too weak today. Too watery.”

The lady with silvery hair pulls out twisted strands from her scalp and weaves them into each row of the sock pattern.

“I want my grandbaby to know what I smelled like when I’m gone.”



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This article has 56 comments.


on Nov. 15 2009 at 7:06 pm
FlyleafFreak DIAMOND, Loveland, Colorado
51 articles 0 photos 203 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;I have faith in fools;self confidence my friends call it&quot;~Edger Allan Poe<br /> &quot;In this world of infinite insanity, your friends are the best psychiatrists you will ever have.&quot;~Me

This piece is one of the best I've ever read on the site! The simplicity is amazing, like an E ringing on a tuning fork. You have a very rare talent. Never stop writing.

on Sep. 27 2009 at 7:18 pm
babymama888 SILVER, Shaker Heights, Ohio
5 articles 0 photos 36 comments
really sweet and simple i don't know if i'd be able to do that great job!

LilaW PLATINUM said...
on Sep. 27 2009 at 10:27 am
LilaW PLATINUM, Brampton, ON, Other
21 articles 0 photos 43 comments

Favorite Quote:
Live. Laugh. Love. Fight. Flight. Get it right.&lt;3

love it :)

on Jul. 3 2009 at 4:43 pm
emajin96! BRONZE, Millersville, Maryland
1 article 0 photos 15 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;

This really is a very nice piece. so simple, you dont necessarily have to get something so deep out of it. you dont overthink, and i think thats a rare gift that only few have. great job!!!! :)

on Jun. 28 2009 at 1:00 am
LoveLikeWoe DIAMOND, LeSueur, MN, Minnesota
54 articles 2 photos 748 comments

Favorite Quote:
Whoever laughs first has the sickest mind.

*sob* that was the most beautiful thing ever! ha ha. I loved it!

lesliee said...
on Jun. 27 2009 at 5:52 pm
lesliee, Tampa, Florida
0 articles 0 photos 6 comments
That last line lingers with me even now. A very straightforward idea. This should teach writers everywhere that you don't have to weave complications into a story to obtain a wonderful piece. I found it simple and sweet. Keep writing.

on May. 23 2009 at 2:44 am
tigeress3 PLATINUM, Dayton, Ohio
35 articles 0 photos 78 comments
It's a beautiufl, simple piece with wonderful imagery. Keep up the good work!

on May. 16 2009 at 8:13 pm
Bloodscarlet SILVER, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
7 articles 1 photo 3 comments
This Really good!!! keep on going

on Mar. 21 2009 at 9:23 pm
Mandiella DIAMOND, Plaistow, New Hampshire
73 articles 58 photos 349 comments

Favorite Quote:
Don&#039;t waste time. Start procrastinating now.

This piece was very good. It was nice and simple. At first I thought, why in the world is this about a knitting club? Then I liked the ending. It was touching.

charlie102.5 said...
on Feb. 15 2009 at 5:50 pm
i love the last part! some of the dialogue was a little strange, but overall, sheesh! ur a pretty darn good writer!

MagistarSean said...
on Feb. 8 2009 at 4:18 pm
This piece is amazing. It's not convoluted or trying to push the characters too far in places they aren't supposed to go. It's like a tiny diamond..not that brilliant from far away, but if you put it real close to your eye, you can see gleaming worlds.

Sorry, I know I ranted, but this was really, really good.

davebjeffery said...
on Feb. 1 2009 at 4:54 pm
A wonderfully humanistic piece. The author has gently captured the desire to remain in this world with a deceptively complex device that would be all too easy to pass off as a sparse, simple narrative.



Wonderful, inventive writing.

on Jan. 25 2009 at 10:31 pm
I have to agree with Intothemystic292 that you connect the piece to reality well. I also like the title. Kinda has a double meaning. I like how you changed from one lady to the next and none of their conversations crossed each other-nice touch. Keep Writing!

tweedle dee said...
on Jan. 21 2009 at 11:51 pm
simple and melancholy. this is as close as this website has come to a masterpiece : )

on Jan. 14 2009 at 9:18 pm
I love the way you relate to reality. People tend to tell fanciful stories about people and situations that would never occur naturally. Yours is pure. Although some of the dialogue was slightly unrealistic, this piece is amazing!

simplyshelby said...
on Jan. 12 2009 at 9:58 pm
I adore the simplicity of this and the melancholy picture you paint.