Knitting

My mother taught me to knit when I was about 7 years old.  We lived in France at the time and I remember her taking me to a small French yarn shop and buying me some red transparent plastic needles and a ball of yarn that was 1 strand of blue and 1 strand of gold plied together.  I thought it was magical yarn and knit and reknit it several times in my attempt to make it into a scarf.  I don't think I ever finished it.  All I learned to do at that point was the garter stitch.  My next memory of knitting is from when I'm in the 7th grade and knit garter stitch squares for the Red Cross.

When I was in high school, my mother signed me up for a sweater class at our local Sears store.  That was when department stores still had a fabric and yarn section.  She enrolled me in a knit-to-fit class where you knit from measurements and didn't really have a pattern.  I ended up with a sweater that was much too short with arms that were much too long.  I think my mother eventually unraveled it and did something else with the yarn.

My next venture into knitting came when I was pregnant with my daughter and knit all kinds of sweaters and booties and blankets for her.  After that the knitting went on for years, with mittens and hats and sweaters being churned out all through her childhood.  Eventually though the knitting stopped as other pursuits took its place.

About ten years ago I discovered knit socks and knit dozens of pairs until everyone I knew had an extensive sock wardrobe.  Now I have the little guy to knit for, my daughter, and I'm even contemplating knitting a sweater for myself.  My current projects are a pair of socks with an interesting heel, a deer sweater for the little guy, and a market bag for myself.  I have yarn to knit up into hats, booties, and washcloths for baby shower presents.  The possibilities are endless. 

~Jane