Eleanor Roosevelt was a Knitter

This past weekend Taylor and I visited the Hudson River Valley. We toured many of the big estates, among them the home of FDR, Frederick Church's Olana, and one of the Vanderbilt mansions. However, Eleanor Roosevelt's cottage, Val-Kill, in Hyde Park New York impressed me the most.

What I learned from visiting Val-Kill, that I didn't know before, is that Eleanor Roosevelt was a knitter!!!! Apparently this was no big secret back in the day, either. It's just one of those tasty facts that a person like me runs across and can't let go. Eleanor Roosevelt is not known for her home decorating, attention to fashion or involvement with high society. Rather, I think of her as an intelligent woman who was always involved in good deeds for the better of mankind. After all, she was a delegate to the United Nations and a member of the Commission on Human Rights. The fact that she was a knitter confirms for me the knowledge that knitters tend to be amazing people..

I first became aware of the knitting aspect during the movie in the visitor center. There she was, at least three times knitting away!!! The amazing part of this is that the commentator didn't even mention it! Once, she's knitting a sock, with FDR at her side, on the front lawn greeting visitors. Another time, Eleanor and FDR are debating something important (one can tell by the expressions on their faces), and there she is knitting something with a lace edge. Finally, in her cottage, on the footstool by her chair near the fire are a pair of knitting needles complete with red acrylic yarn and her knitting bag (I'm wondering if the knitting is hers, or if some volunteer whipped it up to add to the ambiance of the setting?)

I did a preliminary Internet search of this topic and I found that when she was first lady, every one knew about Eleanor's knitting. She was featured in magazines and she encouraged women to knit for the WWII war effort. People recognized her by the huge knitting bag that she hauled around with her, and she wasn't beyond knitting during United Nations meetings. I learned that in FDR's Presidential Library there is a cabinet of her knitting equipment (wouldn't you know I walked right by the library, exhausted from being a tourist?). Hyde Park knitting groups have had teas and knit ins celebrating the first lady's work, so this part of her is not forgotten, just not known by me, until now.

So my getaway to the Hudson River Valley was most productive. I ate amazing food, enjoyed the country life and learned a tiny bit about one of our first ladies. Having seen her modest cottage and learned about her love of gardening and knitting I find I want to know her. I've started reading her autobiography and hope to eventually know a lot more about her.