Closing the Loop: An Unconventional Journey

By Heather Caro

Photos by Gordon King

BJ Wolf is not a stereotypical knitter. You might picture a grandmother fashioning a two-sizes-too-small sweater.  Or a young mother carefully crafting booties for her infant.  But whatever you might imagine of the typical knitter, it is probably not the six-foot, outdoorsy persona of BJ Wolf.

But then again, Wolf is anything but typical.

Dressed in athletic pants and an REI pullover, Wolf, 46, looks more likely to be lugging a mountain bike than a Tupperware tub overflowing with perfectly knitted scarves.  Fidgeting in his favorite chair at Northtown Coffee House, Wolf is a constant blur of motion as he excitedly describes the transition from creating knits for family and friends, to what is now a business endeavor.

Seemingly unaware of the curious eyes peeking from around newspapers, Wolf begins extracting lengths of colorful knits. There are classic scarves and modern loops, designed to be wrapped around the wearer’s neck.  There’s even a Nordic-style hat that can be made into a neck warmer with the release of a drawstring – custom made for a snowmobiler with a habit of losing hats while warming up at the lodge.  “It’s sort of urban old-country with an outdoor influence,” Wolf says of his functional designs. “Everything I make I want people to be able to wear in everyday life.”

Wolf came by his characteristic “old country” designs honestly, having learned the art of knitting from his Scottish grandmother, Annie Kemp, or “Nannie,” by the age of 4.  “As young as I can remember I was drinking tea, eating shortbread and knitting,” grins Wolf. “It was probably her way of getting me to sit still.”

Thick woolen sweaters and scarves were a staple in Wolf’s family, as he recalls his visits to Nannie’s hometown of Troon, a coastal fishing village in Scotland.  He describes Troon as quaint, and yet “cold, wet and miserable.”

“The windows are painted open over centuries because they believe in the fresh air,” says Wolf.  “The best way to warm up is by wearing knitted stuff.”

Nannie’s lessons stuck, and Wolf continued knitting into adulthood. “I don’t like to stay in one place very long, so it’s good for when I’m watching movies, baseball games, whatever,” says Wolf.

Knitting became a way to fill downtime when Wolf joined the Army in his late teens. “I wanted to travel, to see the world,” says Wolf.  The military allowed him to do just that.Wolf’s military career encompassed the next 10 years of his life.  Wolf thrived in the high-stress atmosphere of a special-ops unit where he cross-trained as a medic, but it eventually became all-consuming. “The travel culture wears (on you) after a while,” says Wolf.

When it was time to move on from his military career, Wolf decided to enter the medical field. Working at both local Yakima hospitals, he used skills learned in the Army to memorize each physician’s preferences for medical equipment and eventually helped create a new “procedure specialist” position for himself. In the hospital setting, Wolf once again found a fast-paced, high-intensity atmosphere that complemented his personality.  There, he worked long stretches of time without taking a day off, sometimes for months on end.“I’m a bit of a workaholic,” Wolf admits sheepishly.  The grueling schedule and demands he placed on himself predictably led to burnout and so he decided to switch gears and left the medical field last year.

“In the Army and at the hospital, people counted on me to be there when they needed me.  I’m a pro at that to a fault.  I put everything and everyone ahead of myself,” says Wolf. “But for health and everything else, I needed to rest and relax – I could feel it,” he continues. “I don’t want to work myself to death or illness. I need to take care of me and still find a way to be productive.”

“I’m recharging,” Wolf says with a shrug as he describes how his quest to find equilibrium led him back to the unconventional hobby of knitting.  Though Nannie passed away nearly 10 years ago at the age of 86, it is through her long-ago lessons that Wolf may have finally found a way to balance work with relaxation.

“When you enjoy something, you take comfort in it,” says Wolf. “That’s what knitting is to me.” And for now at least, Wolf seems content to channel his seemingly boundless energy into creativity, as he plans his next ventures with knitting needles in hand.

Under the name BJ Wolf’s Mercantile, Wolf’s collection of knits includes scarves, hats, fingerless gloves, cowls and loops ranging in price from $35-$175.  Many of the knits are his own design and though each piece echoes his Scottish roots, Wolf finds inspiration in the Yakima Valley as well.  Knits on his Web site have names like “The Tieton” and “The Brownstown.”  Wolf says he also chooses color combinations based on the natural color palette in the Valley.  “I want to put some of where I live into what I do.”

Today, Wolf spends his days doing what he loves: networking with friends and family and retailing his knits on his website and places like Yakima’s Wild Lucy’s.

“I gather ideas from wherever I go,” says Wolf, “and I’ve been around a little bit.”

For more information, go online to www.bjwolfmercantile.etsy.com or email him at bjwolfmerc@gmail.com.