On Knitting

What is is about the cold weather that makes people around the globe reach for two sticks and a ball of yarn?  There is really nothing better than cozying up on the couch under a warm quilt with some knitting and a cup of hot tea.  And I’m sure this is where I’ll be tonight too, watching history on tv.

Knitting and I have a complicated relationship.  I tried teaching myself to knit several times over the last decade.  It usually ended in me swearing and throwing the needles and yarn across the room.  How could it be so hard when everyone made it look so easy?

About five years ago, while pregnant with The Boy, I felt an incredible urge to knit.  I figured that’s what pregnant women do.  I thought knitting would be good to work on while taking care of a new baby.  With sewing you have to pull everything out when you want to work.  With knitting you can keep your project in a small basket and pick it up whenever you have moments to spare.  So, using detailed illustrations from the web, and ditching the awful book I had been using, I was finally able to teach myself.  It’s one of those muscle-memory things.  Yes it was hard to learn, but easy to do once my fingers learned how.

I realize now that my problem was that I was trying to learn in the english style.  I had such a hard time with trying to “throw” (as it is called) the yarn.  It seemed I needed three hands.  So I started messing around with it, until I realized I could do it a different way.  I can admit now that I foolishly thought I had somehow invented a new way to knit.  What a knitting genius I was!  Why didn’t everyone knit like this?  I learned later that I had somehow stumbled upon the continental style of knitting.

I am by no means an expert.  I would call myself perhaps an intermediate level knitter.  I can follow a pattern.  I’ve knit scarves, hats, slippers, and even a few sweaters, but I sometimes have to pull my books out to remind myself how to do something.

I don’t knit every day.  In fact, until recently, I hadn’t knit in quite a while.  I got discouraged by a sweater I was making.  It has a million ends to weave in (which still isn’t done), and I realize now that the reason it never looked good on me is that I made it a bit too small, and that I perhaps knit it a little too loosely.  Then I tried to knit some felted slippers for the Daddy Monkey, and became discouraged by the pattern that I think was a bit above my ability.  So I sent it to the naughty knitting basket.  For a really long time.

I picked up the needles again recently because a few girlfriends asked me to teach them to knit.  Their enthusiasm is inspiring me to knit again.  I pulled out the naughty slippers and thought I’d had a breakthrough, only to find out I had somehow really messed it up.

After months of crafting for the holidays, I am now taking the time to make something for myself–a pair of black felted slippers.  Hopefully I won’t have to send them to the naughty knitting basket.