In the early 1990s contemporary sweaters knit by a pre-school mother from Norway caught by eye. In a matter of weeks learning to knit them myself became a joy. Until then I had never worked with multiple colors or knit in the round. It was fast, fun and addictive. Do knitters have milestones, turning points or -- dare we say -- transformational moments? Well, yes -- in their own way! One of my first Norwegian sweaters for children, knit in the round. I met Gullborg Johannsson at Ithaca's UCNS pre-school, where parents all took shifts in helping to care for the children. She was knitting a maize-colored sweater at lightning speed, all the while serving as referee at the local Lego table. In coming weeks, a small band of us trooped through snow and ice every week to learn more about her knitting techniques. She surrounded herself with stacks of hand-knit sweaters that she had made for her three children and her husband, a Cornell graduate s...