Knitting is the one craft that my mom doesn't do. She has taught me embroidery, sewing, quilting, rug-hooking, decoupage, needlepoint, dollmaking--just about every kind of craft you can imagine. But not knitting or crocheting. I've asked her why she never took up these crafts, and she just shrugs her shoulders. "Never liked them," she says.
Last summer I convinced my friend Lauran to teach me how to knit. Lauran knits and crochets beautifully, although she's quite modest and shy about showing off her creations. When I first approached her about knitting, she was a little skeptical. "People always want to learn, but they don't usually stick with it," she said as she handed me a set of needles and some yarn for practice. I had no doubt about that. I felt like I had ten thumbs as I tried to wind the yarn around the needles without letting it slip off. It was about as easy as trying to write with my left hand. But I refused to give up (if only to prove Lauran wrong) and eventually I knitted my first real project--a cotton dishcloth. It didn't resemble any dishcloth I had ever seen, and even Lauran couldn't figure out how something that should have been a simple knitted square had ended up with at least six corners and as many holes as a piece of Swiss cheese. "It's shaped like Texas," she said, turning it this way and that.
The dishcloth was Lauran's idea, and as I struggled along, I kept asking her why I didn't just start by knitting a scarf. Didn't everyone knit a scarf for their first project?? In the end, I realized why she had recommended the dishcloth pattern. It was simple garter stitch, but I also learned how to increase, decrease, and yarnover. Plus, it was quicker than a scarf. Instant gratification...sort of. I ended up knitting a second dishcloth that turned out much neater than the first, and with far fewer mistakes in it.
After the dishcloth I knitted a huge red scarf. Then I started knitting hats, mittens, baby blankets, and finally, a sweater. (I should mention that I knitted most of these things within six weeks of making the Texas-shaped dishcloth. Did I mention I tend to be a bit obsessive when learning something new?) The sweater was for my son, then 18 months old, made of a snuggly blue alpaca yarn. I couldn't have done it without Lauran's help. She is infinitely patient. She showed me how to fix my mistakes, how to do more complicated stitches, and how to read patterns and modify them. And she never once laughed at me or criticized me. I think that's why I enjoy it so much. She made knitting fun.
So now, I'm knitting a sweater for my friend Sam, and I'm really happy with the way it's coming along. He asked for a simple and classic design. I think this will fit the bill. The pattern is from "The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns" by Ann Budd. The yarn is "Atlantic," a pure wool from Briggs & Little, a Canadian mill in New Brunswick. I definitely want to finish it in time for fall weather. It's almost ready, Sam!
