#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--THE JOY OF KNITTING WITH MYSTERY AUTHOR KAT JORGENSEN

Kat's current work-in-progress

Kat Jorgensen is both a mystery author and a knitter. Her handsome black cats, Sam and Milo, amuse her and keep her company. Learn more about Kat and her books at her website. 

My Knitting Life

When I was five years old, I’d love to sit on the front porches in my neighborhood with the little white-haired German ladies as they would knit and talk on warm summer afternoons. I was fascinated by how they could take two pointy sticks and a ball of yarn and create beautiful things. 

One lady was making doll clothes. That caught my attention. I wanted to do what they were doing. They pooled their resources and gave me several pairs of needles and shared some of their precious yarn. And my love of the craft of knitting was born.

I was so thrilled with what I was learning, I wanted to show my family. We lived with my grandparents in a big house in the city. It was a time for young families to save their money for a home of their own, and this was a very common practice. At that time my grandparents’ house was full of relatives. But no one had any time to knit or do any sort of craft. My little German neighbors were my first group of knitting peeps. And I dearly loved them. I’d sit with them every chance I got. I listened and learned.

Fast forward many decades (more than I’d care to admit) and I am still knitting. I have taught many people during the ensuing years how to knit, and I consider it paying forward what those sweet ladies taught me in the summer heat all those years ago.

Over the years, I’ve made more items than I can count. Baby blankets, baby clothes, afghans, intricate lace shawls, sweaters, mitts, hats, socks, and on and on. The list is almost as endless as the list of recipients. 

It gives me pleasure to knit. I find it very relaxing. In the rhythm of the needles moving with the yarn, there is a peacefulness and tranquility that lets you escape from the cares and worries of the outside world. Now especially, that is quite a gift.

An afghan made by Kat's knitting friends from
around the world after she lost her husband.

Through knitting, I have made friends around the world. And have found knitters to be some of the kindest and most gentle people you will come across. When I lost my husband after a very brief illness in 2012, my local and online knitter friends surrounded me with love, support, and understanding. They, and the craft of knitting, got me through a very hard time in my life and I am immensely grateful to them and to knitting. 

Who knew all those years ago when that little child sat in awe of those elderly ladies and begged them to teach her how to knit, that it would play such a strong part in my life and lead to so many lasting friendships? Knitting has truly enriched my life.

Your Eight O’clock is Dead

A River City Mystery, Book 1

Becca Reynolds is having a bad day. Her grandfather’s lecture (#405: Eat a Healthy Diet or Die Not Trying) makes her late for her job at Daley & Palmer, the psychiatric group where she works as office manager – her title not theirs. But she knows her day has taken a really bad turn when she finds the firm’s eight o’clock patient dead with Dr. Daley’s letter opener opening the patient instead of the mail.

With the fledgling firm in danger of an early demise, Becca appoints herself the unofficial investigator since the police seem to be looking in all the wrong places.

The case takes Becca from the sordid depths of the Russian mafia to the upscale West End of Richmond, Virginia (known locally as River City), and even to her own back yard. In the course of the investigation, she finds herself in hot water, hot danger, and with dreams of hot men.

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