by Kel | January 18, 2011
What inspired you to begin knitting?
For many of us it started when we were children, seeing our grandmothers (or grandfathers) creating beautiful items, carrying on the hand crafting traditions they learned from their parents or grandparents. Some of us came to knitting later, rather by accident – maybe it was catching a glimpse of someone walking down the street wearing an amazing knitted scarf or hat and asking them where they got it, only to discover that they made it themselves. Perhaps we needed stress relief from our busy lives and turned to knitting on a whim, finding that once we picked it up we couldn’t put it down. Many of our younger knitters are lucky enough to be learning knitting in school as our grandparents or great-grandparents did in their day, bringing the knitting tradition full circle.
photo Interweave LLC
For designers Kate Gagnon Osborn and Courtney Kelley, inspiration comes from traditional knitting techniques like Fair Isle, lace, and cables. Their new book Vintage Modern Knits: Contemporary Designs Using Classic Techniques takes these traditions and updates them with a modern style sensibility to create design stories ranging from Vintage Feminine to Rustic Weekend to Winter Harbor, featuring tailored lines, modern fit, and easy to wear style.
With projects from mittens, hats, and shawls to cardigans and pullovers, using knitting techniques from Faroese style lace to Aran cables to Estonian wrapped roositud inlay, each pattern adds an updated twist to favorite traditions to create pieces you’ll treasure for years to come.
So what’s your knitting tradition? What inspired you to start?
Tell us your story for a chance to win a signed copy of Vintage Modern Knits and enough luxurious Canopy Worsted yarn by The Fibre Company to create the Bramble Beret pattern! Then check out our amazing day of events on February 6th. Meet the authors, view the trunk show of garments from the book and attend our workshop. The book will arrive to fibre space™ the first week of February. You can reserve a copy by calling the shop at 703-664-0344.
photo Interweave LLC
Leave a comment below with your story – a winner will be chosen at random and will receive their book and yarn on February 6th at the Vintage Modern Knits book signing.
Update: We have selected a winner at random from your great comments! The winner will be notified by e-mail. Thank you for sharing your stories with us!
- 56 Comments
- Filed under: Events, Featured Fun Stuff
On January 18, 2011 at 12:34pm, Gerry Rogers said...
I started knitting when I was a kid, though never made anything. My mother had a knitting book, and I always made crafty things. Now, though, what has inspired me is my little girl! She is now one-year-old and I so want to make things for her to wear, whether they be hats or scarves or sweaters or dresses or what have you.
On January 18, 2011 at 12:47pm, Andrea said...
I have no idea why I was inspired to begin knitting. I was home from college one summer and decided I wanted to learn to knit, so I went to Michael’s and bought needles, yarn, and a learn to knit booklet. I’ve been knitting ever since. I’m glad I learned that way, because I now have no fear of knitting techniques I don’t know. There’s always a book or tutorial somewhere!
On January 18, 2011 at 12:50pm, Morgan Chinoy said...
I began knitting after leaving my career to stay home with my son. About a year after I left, I found myself in the much-warned-about situation of having nothing that was completely my own. Every decision I made was run by someone else or made by considering someone else’s needs, even the choice to stop for a cup of coffee was dictated by whether my son was getting cranky or would otherwise be cooperative while we waited. Knitting started to call to me, and I decided at the outset to be a completely selfish knitter — every single aspect of every project would be entirely for and up to me, I wouldn’t have to consider anyone else’s needs or preferences at all. I firmly believe I’m a better wife and mother, and just a happier person, for having found it.
On January 18, 2011 at 12:53pm, Chris said...
I taught myself to knit as a way to protest working on a weekend. I had wanted to learn to knit because of the great things in department stores but did not want to spend the money for something I knew I could make. So in 2003, I had to cut Christmas vacation short and also had to work a couple weekends. I bought myself a CD-ROM and some super cheap yarn and sat at the office front desk with needles and yarn.
On January 18, 2011 at 12:54pm, Stefanie said...
No one in my family knits, but I was inspired to knit when my boyfriend was on his second deployment to Afghanistan. I was trying to make the most out of the extra time I had on my hands and decided to start knitting because the writers of many of the military spouse/girlfriend blogs I read also knit. I checked out some knitting books in the library, watched some videos on the internet, and taught myself. This was a year and a half ago and I now have a knitting group with friends at work and have even taught others to knit!
On January 18, 2011 at 1:02pm, Katherine said...
In early 2009, a friend of mine posted a list of 100 things to challenge herself to learn/do in the next two years. I made a list of my own, including learn to knit and go to China (I minored in Chinese). A lot of the other stuff hasn’t been done, but before leaving for my 2.5-month study abroad program in China, I joined Ravelry, bought a bunch of acrylic and needles, and taught myself enough to work on the Mrs. Darcy Cardigan, which I completed by the end of my trip. I never wear the cardigan (too sweaty for me – as someone who has been sewing since I was 7, I knew it would be, but I didn’t want to invest too much in something I might never finish) but I have knit on, and thanks to my ambitious first project I’m not afraid to try new skills. This is kind of a complicated way to say that I was drawn to knitting because of the need to create and challenge myself as well as needing something more portable than my usual sewn apparel to do while I travel, whether it’s on the bus to work or on a plane to China.
On January 18, 2011 at 1:04pm, Deb said...
I learned to knit from an ex-bf who was a fellow reenactor. (He was also 82nd Airborne and a vet of the first Iraq war so no one should ever give guys crap about”knitting is for girls”.) Knitting was a fun way to spend time in camp at living history events and not get suckered into cooking, the default job for “distaff”. I hate cooking, especially over an open fire on a hot Summer day. Knitting also allowed me to use my costume history background and explore the history of knitting and women’s roles, a topic that’s been largely ignored by historians. For example, one of my impressions is as a contract knitter for the Navy during the War of 1812. During that time, many women supported their families through selling their handiwork or patching up other people’s socks, mittens, and hats. Knitting lets me educate the public that women weren’t just limited to being just housewives and mothers, they were full businesswomen in their own right, though I do resist the urge to stab people with my needles when they ask me “Are you hot in your clothes?”
I’ve branched out into knitting modern items as well. Nothing gives me more satisfaction than being complimented on an item that I’m wearing and being able to say, “I knitted it myself!”
On January 18, 2011 at 1:07pm, Mary said...
I remember when I was a kid and my mom picked up knitting for a little while. I was fascinated. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, she stopped after only a few months. Then last November, after seeing pictures of beautiful projects one of my friends from college was making, I found the inspiration to learn. I went to Michael’s and picked up needles, yarn, and a learn to knit book and taught myself one Saturday. I was hooked. The next week I started looking for local yarn stores to find lovely yarn and helpful advice…and then I discovered Ravelry and all the possibilities it contained and I haven’t turned back. Now I try to figure out when I can fit knitting into my schedule as often as possible!
On January 18, 2011 at 1:08pm, Erin said...
My first inspiration to knit came from my friend, Joan Holm, who equated the mystique of a knitted garment as simply a series of loops made by a string. She whipped out a pair of US 10 needles and a skein of white yarn and began assembling the string into a series of loops and the series of loops into a square. I was so amazed by what Joan was able to do with the clickity-clack of two needle tips and a strand of yarn, I was hooked to knitting ever since. Joan told me of the various knitting projects she had made, one of which was a pair of argyle socks she made for her father. At which time I realized knitting is a craft made from love.–Gives new meaning to ‘heart string.”
On January 18, 2011 at 1:16pm, Kate said...
I learned to knit when I was 9 and the skill languished for years – I attempted to knit a checkerboard baby blanket for a “baby” who is now 8 and took it up in earnest when I joined an office in 2006 with two women who knit. Having a human lifeline gave me the confidence to start it back up and they’ll have to pry the needles from my cold dead hands…
On January 18, 2011 at 1:19pm, Joan said...
I don’t remember NOT knitting. My Grandmother was amazing and I beleive she must have been my inspiration. But then again, My Mom knits. My Aunts knit. My Cousins Knit. My Daughter knits. It’s just part of everyday life.
On January 18, 2011 at 1:33pm, Stephanie said...
I taught myself to knit on a whim during a brief bout of unemployment between finishing my post college backpacking trip around Europe and starting my first full time job. Embroidery/cross stitch and sewing are crafts which have engaged me since early childhood. One day, I was wandering around Michael’s, spotted a “Learn to Knit” kit, and thought “Why not?” My interest was sparked and a few months later I found an amazing sweater pattern in Vogue Knitting. The pattern was quite ambitious and challenging, but it definitely cemented my interest in knitting. Once I joined Ravelry, and began a blog, I was truly addicted. Knitting is pretty much my constant companion these days. Just recently my younger sister expressed an interest and I’m teaching her to knit. We’re the only two knitters in the family but I’m hoping that she sticks with it; I would love to share knitting with her in the future.
On January 18, 2011 at 1:48pm, Kurt said...
I had an online friend that designed a scarf that I totally dug. I lusted after one for myself, but quickly realized that I didn’t know anybody that was a knitter in real life, and that if I wanted one, I was going to have to do it myself, which meant learning how to knit. A year later, I’m still building up the skills to tackle the scarf, but fibre space has helped me create a big enough stash and queue that I won’t be lacking for projects or yarn anytime soon.
On January 18, 2011 at 1:49pm, Traci said...
My fondest memories are of staying the night at my grandparents’ home. My grandmother would let me stay up as late as I wanted, and we would make doll clothes all evening. My grandmother was very crafty – she sewed, quilted and knitted, mostly without patterns. I would usually fall asleep long before my grandmother; in the morning, I’d wake up and there would be several new outfits for my dolls on the dining room table where we had set up our working space. Unfortunately, my grandma died when I was only eight years old, but my mother (she and my dad were crafty, too) picked up where she left off – she was the one who taught me how to knit one day when I was home from school with a bad cold. Over the years I have been into other handicrafts, but every now and then I’d pick up my needles and knit. Now I can’t seem to let a day go by without knitting!
On January 18, 2011 at 2:17pm, Holli Garza said...
Though I attempted to teach myself how to knit periodically throughout the years since I was 12, I was mostly unsuccessful. The shorthand was so confusing. C4B, KTBL, K2tog, I mean what the heck? Right? Don’t even get me started on the charts.
Still, I had this need to create something and I kept coming back to fibers. It was a passion that really bloomed in college, once I found my school offered an entire fiber arts program!! We even had 4 whole professors! Well, maybe we shared one with the graphics department. Three and a half professors – still not bad!
I learned so much about so many techniques to make and decorate fabrics. Weaving taking center stage for me. When I left school I found myself a table loom and still wove now and again when I could find the time. Then I had a baby and there was no time! Curses that this table loom wasn’t as portable as I had once thought! How could I continue creating? This part of me I could not give up! Also, what am I suppose to do with all this yarn!
And “Eureka!” suddenly, the cryptic language of knitting was deciphered for me. I looked at a pattern and thought “Oh! Of course, that’s what that means.” Perhaps throughout the years I had subliminally taught myself to knit.
Now I carry a project bag and a diaper bag. I knit and play tag with my little 1 year old girl. I chant to her pattern stitches like nursery rhymes. And just the other day when I finished a short row toe my daughter looked at it and said “SOCKS!!”
For her to recognize what I was making without me telling her, well, it was probably the best compliment I have ever gotten.
On January 18, 2011 at 2:43pm, trudy suchan said...
Learned to knit when young. Decades passed. Six years ago, got sucked in by a Martha Stewart Living sock pattern illustrated by a pair with self striping yarn. Toothpick-thin DPNs? Short rows? Taught myself without Rav or Youtube. Miraculously my first pair fit perfectly. I had them on just this morning.
On January 18, 2011 at 2:53pm, Leslie said...
I just HAD to learn to knit when I was 11 because I wanted to wear a knitted 4-H halter top that I had seen in a magazine for sale. I knit it with a K-Mart acrylic green with “4-H” in bold, white letters in the center of the trapezoid-shaped top. No one in my family knits (they quilt and crochet) so I asked the lady across the street. She was so patient in teaching me how to knit on one side and purl on the other and helping a lot with the decreases. She did the cast-on for me. If I remember correctly, I had that thing knit in one weekend. I modeled it that summer at the county fair. I never really let the needles go after that even after more than 30 years.
On January 18, 2011 at 3:12pm, Shenoka said...
You know. It was wierd. I think it was a calling. I have wanted to knit for a while. Bought a book from a craft store many years back along with the requisite acrylic yarn. And as you can guess…I got no-where. Then one day, I heard the little voice again…I want to knit. Then, soon after I joined a friend at the MD Sheep and Wool Festival. What!!! Overload. Who knew such a world existed?!? I then took a class at a local yarn shop and the rest is history. And this was all less than a year ago. Since then I have knitted many things, I try to make all things either in the round or with Magic Loop and I am always in search of the next new technique to learn. The next two on my list? Fairisle and Intarsia. That hat looks great. I would love to try with magic loop. ;o)
On January 18, 2011 at 3:55pm, Niki said...
I actually started knitting because I was on a mission to learn crochet. My grandmother crochets lace, and I wanted to make sure someone in my family would be able to carry on the tradition. When I started about seven years ago, there were not many cool crochet patterns out there….let alone knitting patterns. Once the Stitch and Bitch book came out and I taught myself to knit, there was no turning back. I was more interested in knitting garments than crocheting lace. Although I must say I have ended up knitting a fair amount of lace. My grandmother is still crocheting lace at age 84, and she tells me all the time she wishes she had learned to knit!
On January 18, 2011 at 4:23pm, Meg said...
A few years back my mother had gotten me a knitting book after I’d expressed an interested in wanting to learn. Not long after she was diagnosed with brain cancer. While she was in remission, I’d hoped that we’d have a chance to learn together, but unfortunately it never happened. When she passed away almost two years ago I started feeling lost and adrift. Last spring while surfing around on the web, I came across your website – I’d had it bookmarked for ages, but never investigated further – and saw that you had a beginner class starting up the following week. At my husband’s urging, I signed up for the class and have been knitting ever since. I find it to be a very relaxing activity, and I love the feeling of looking at the finished product and saying “I made that.” I also really enjoy making things for other people. I just wish my mom was still around to enjoy my newfound love of knitting with me.
On January 18, 2011 at 6:19pm, Michele said...
My mom is my inspiration. I crocheted with my mom and sister when I was growing up. I delved into other crafts in college…soap-making, beer brewing, cooking, and gardening. About 10 years ago, when fun fur made it to the market, my mom learned to knit and showed me. I never stopped knitting and now love knitting socks, hats, and shawls. I started crocheting again in the last year and find it meditating. This year, I look forward to having a sock-in knitting weekend with my mom where I will be the teacher
On January 18, 2011 at 7:38pm, Betsy said...
I taught myself to knit when I was living in Berkeley and cold!
On January 19, 2011 at 7:35am, Angela said...
Nothing inspired me per say, it was more that I found myself very bored during spring break a few years back and decided picking up a new craft may help keep me entertained. I checked out a stack of books from the library and taught myself.
On January 19, 2011 at 9:24am, Melinda said...
I picked it up while working in Canada one summer in college. One of the other researchers was knitting (continental style like my mom thankfully) and I decided I could do that too because I remembered my mother knitting me Barbie clothes when I was little, so she taught me. I thought it was SOOOO easy I couldn’t understand why the other person she was teaching was having such a hard time. I just figured I was a knitter in a past life or something. Several years later I was talking to my mom about knitting, she said that she had taught me when I was like 8 or 9. She hadn’t knitting in probably 15 or 20 years, but I apparently made her fingers “itch” to start knitting again. So learned to knit from my mother, who taught me when I was so young, I don’t even remember her teaching me and I brought the wonderful art back to my mother who has been knitting again for several years now.
On January 19, 2011 at 10:37am, Jennifer said...
All the women in my family are huge crafters- even my dad did latch hook and macrame in the seventies. His mother was a knitter first and foremost, and I remember watching her knit all through my childhood. My mom taught me to crochet one winter vacation, and I thought that was ok but didn’t really get into it. Then I picked up cross stitch in high school. Senior year of college I lived with two crocheters and a knitter, and all of us got really into crafting- and I finally decided (after crocheting two afghans in a few weeks) that it was time to learn to knit. I learned a bit from her, a bit from books, and my mom helped me figure out ribbing… and now it’s going on eight years of constant and obsessive knitting since! My grandmother would have been so proud- she passed away when I was still just a cross-stitcher… but she always hoped I’d pick up the pointy sticks some day.
On January 19, 2011 at 11:50am, Kristine Eelkema said...
Living in Old Town, as a stay-at-home Mom, I would walk my son all over town all day long. On our walks my son would always lose something, a hat, mittens, socks… My neighbor said to me one day that my son needed a hat when she noticed us coming back from a cold walk and he had a bare head with hardly any blonde hair. The very next day she had a hand crocheted hat hanging on my door!! Of all the gifts my first child was given, that was the most memorable! I immediately wanted to know more, I didn’t even know the difference between knitting and crocheting at the time. And it just so happened that Old Town opened it’s first Local Yarn Shop where I took my first class and have been addicted ever since:)
On January 19, 2011 at 12:14pm, Bridgette said...
I think I originally learned in girl scouts, then had a refresher in college and again right before the giant blizzards of winter 2009-10. While my basic knowledge was aided with technology, i didn’t go mad while cooped up due to snow.
I think the reason I kept with learning more about knitting was due to the community that revolved around the hours of knitting. And all of the great ladies and gentlemen that I have encountered because of knitting at Space and out in public. Everyone for the most part have been great, patient, nice, and understanding. It has also a meditative quality about it.
On January 19, 2011 at 1:24pm, Heidi said...
A close friend taught me to knit shortly after I started graduate school, and when I returned home over my first winter break, I taught my college-bound sister how to knit garter stitch. Up until that point, we spent most of our school breaks curled up on either end of our parents’ couch reading book after book. Our knitting habits have definitely cut into our reading time; during visits home we spend lots of time knitting together on our parents’ couch.
On January 19, 2011 at 1:31pm, Nancy N said...
I wanted to learn because my grandmother was always knitting, and I know she sat down with me a bunch of times but I remember also taking a class at an afterschool program (thanks, Mrs. Fichandler!) when I was maybe 7 or 8. I dabbled with my Gram. I picked it up again in college. Then put it down again. Then picked it up when I started teaching. Then put it down again. (1 sweater each time … really, I should make more hats). Now I knit for two reasons- it gives me something to “do” when my presence but not my involvement is required at an activity for one of my kids (is there any thing more painfully time-wasting than a 45 minute class or practice? No, no, there is not), and because I like to follow directions and have it work out all right in the end. I feel like so much of my life right now is asking people to do things and being ignored, it’s nice to be completely in control of something I don’t have to share.
On January 19, 2011 at 1:36pm, Melissa said...
I have a cousin who lives in Portland, Maine who make the most beautiful quilts and blankets. After several years of subtly dropping hints that I would live for her to teach me to crochet, I finally just showed up one visit with a skein of yarn and a hook! And boy was I hooked! After my first blanket, I realized I like the stitch patterns and versatility of knitting better and set out to learn how. I took o e class from Kel (beanies!) and the rest I’ve learned from YouTube or asking questions at the shop. I would live to try a sweater next and have my eye on the Ginger lace Cardigan!
On January 19, 2011 at 1:38pm, robin sellers said...
i just recently started knitting. i tried crochet, but it hurt my hand and wrist too much. knitting has been wonderful though. my mother crocheted beautifully and i always admired her work, but unfortunately i never got her to teach me. i’m very addicted to knitting and have gotten 2 very close friends to join me. we now get together several times a month to knit and chat the evenings away. it has really brought us closer together! i love to sew as well, but i don’t want to be in another room at night when my husband is home, but i can sit beside him at night and knit to my little hearts content. it relaxes me and i’ve been able to make some wonderful gifts for my family.
On January 19, 2011 at 1:45pm, Amy V said...
My grandmother taught me to knit when I was a teen, but it didn’t stick. I took an adult ed course several years ago and got totally hooked…remembering I did knot what I was doing.
On January 19, 2011 at 2:08pm, Consuela Allen said...
I’ve been knitting since August 9, 2010 — I know the date because that’s when I took my first knitting class at Fibre Space and learned how to do my first cast on! I REALLY had never knitted before. I took a couple of wonderful crochet classes at Fibre Space in spring of 2010, and I kept wondering what was all the buzz about knitting? I certainly didn’t want to know how to knit, that was for sure. But I was intrigued by all the wonderful projects I saw, both in the shop and on Ravelry. So I decided to take the plunge. That first knitting class (seems like a long time ago) was quite a challenge. I practiced for hours and hours and sent tortured emails to the instructor, Kel. But I began to get a rhythm to my knitting and started working on simple projects. I got lots of practice because I didn’t know how to undo mistakes so when I *often* made a mistake, I had to unravel the entire project and cast on again! I took some more classes, canceled classes because I had signed up for too many at once, but I began to make progress. I’ve now made some hats, scarves, a Christmas stocking with color work, and a sweater for my husband (love the Cobblestone) and I’m almost finished with my second sweater, this one for me. The teacher for this sweater class, Inge, asked me if I knitted during last year’s snow storms. I had to confess no, I didn’t knit because I didn’t know anything about knitting last winter. I have grown to love the feel of the yarn as it becomes something beautiful and useful. It’s even made me appreciate winter more (I’m a summer girl) because winter is the time to knit with wool and love the feel and usefulness of it. The thing I am happiest about is that I am beginning to appreciate the time spent knitting a project instead of trying to race through and make up for the lost time of never having knit. The creation of something is becoming enjoyable to me, and for that I am really happy. Almost every week I learn a new skill in knitting. I am, to use a crochet term, totally hooked!
On January 19, 2011 at 2:16pm, Katie B said...
My Grandma was a knitter and one year for Christmas she knit all 15 of her grandchildren a different afghan (and she took a photo of each one with the pattern and yarn details penciled on the back, and kept them in a recipe box – her pre-ravelry form of documentation). When I learned to knit I still had my grandma’s afghan I received when I was little and I was inspired to create my own heirlooms.
On January 19, 2011 at 2:21pm, Steph said...
I taught myself to knit after crocheting myself a pair of socks that I wore once, washed and they no longer fit over my heels. I wanted socks that I could wear more than once and that would be comfortable and not cut the circulation off in my feet while still staying up. That was just over a year ago, and I’ve knit 6 pairs of socks, my first sweater, lace shawls and only pick up the crochet hook to make pet toys.
On January 19, 2011 at 5:41pm, LaLa said...
I first learned to knit from my mother at the age of 8. I became a better knitter by reading blogs by lovely people such as Wendy Johnson whose projects inspired and amazed me.
On January 19, 2011 at 10:42pm, Carol Guilliams said...
I too started knitting as a child because I was bored with sports and books and my mother was an expert knitter. I knitted doll clothes and then graduated to sweaters for myself. Then marriage, children and very little time for myself. Every now and then an idea would pop in my head about knitting. “I bet it would be fun to try to knit something”. Early one Saturday morning I went to the local knitting shop (in Roanoke,Va) and talked to the staff and selected a pattern and some yarn to knit a sweater. “What have I gotten myself into” I thought. The pattern was from the top down and there were circulat and double pointed needles. OMG!! I’ll never be able to work the pattern. I agonized all night long and then went back to the yarn shop and exchanged the yarn for the yarn that was suggested by the staff. I went on to knit that sweater and many more. I even taught knitting classes to the handicapped adults participating in Roanoke County’s Therapeutic Recreation program. There were even two blind participants in the class. Everyone learned to knit in one fashion or another. The fun and fellowship was the most inportant aspect of the classes/ I learned more than the participants about life. When I moved to Alexandria last year the first thing I did was find a knitting ship. Thje Thursday night knitters are fun and there is always a staff or a fellow knitter to help when a mistake is mad. I hope Fibre Space ia around for many, many more years.
On January 20, 2011 at 8:36am, Jennifer said...
As my husband’s job began to take more and more of ‘our’ time after work, I realized that I needed a hobby. The long-ignored knitting needles called out to me and I started back up. I let the hours of waiting for my husband to be done working turn into hours of productivity and enjoyment.
I was determined to try something different this time though. No more gifting the same green and white baby blankets for me. It was time to step it up. Hopefully with Fibre Space’s help I’ll be working on my first sweater soon– finally something for me to wear!
Knitting calms the restless energy, allows for a feeling of accomplishment, and creates a community– all though knits and purls.
On January 20, 2011 at 6:36pm, karen said...
Knitting – a new addiction.
I learned to knit, as many of us do, when my grandmother decided I needed to learn something, or drive her completely mad during a vacation I was spending with her. I fumbled, I made knots, I dropped stitches… my fingers seemed to be tying themselves into tentacles of awkwardness. The yarn was a plastic feeling cotton blend in a dusty blue and I garter stitched a couple of monstrous pot holders, one for her and one for my mother. My mother still has them. They are ridiculously awful, purl stitches crop up in straggly rows of knit, and holding something hot with them – is guaranteed to raise blisters. And I never made another thing. Rebellion! In British boarding school, it was oldfashioned to knit, these were the sixties in England – only granny knitted! And a treasure trove of knowledge waited in the WI halls, the women and men who knew how to cable effortlessly, or could Fair Isle so rapidly and the Aran knitters made their sweaters for the tourists in the Scottish shops of the West End.
Crochet was faster, I told myself when I wanted to start doing something easier and faster with my hands than cross stitching. Afghan after afghan followed …until my family rebelled. Blankets for babies, hats and blankets for the Linus project, and scarves by the meter.
Many years later, an online friend began to proselytize about the joys of knitting, declaiming the glories of mohair yarn and the organic alpacas, the sensual feeling of the silk yarns in jewel colours. On a “girls weekend” a group of blog friends gathered at my apartment and while we sat and chatted, I started knitting. A very boring scarf, but the needles felt right – the stitches worked, my fingers didn’t feel like tangled spaghetti, I was sure of what I was doing. It’s become an obsession, between knitting troop hats for Operation Gratitude, baby clothes for my granddaughter’s baby doll, jackets for my granddaughter and now, the new fixation – socks! Books, yarn, needles, circulars, straight, toe up or cuff down patterns, row counters….it’s addictive. Going into a yarn store – oh, it’s almost as good as a candy counter. The heather shaded wools, the garnet and sapphires in silk, bright pinks and purples of eyelash yarn and searing reds and greens of the blends and selfstriping yarns – I could willingly spend hours in there, dreaming of what I could make.
It’s tactile, it’s useful, it’s complicated but orderly, it’s what I do during the long car rides, or waiting for my husband when I pick him up from work, on the Metro, or watching TV. The satisfaction of a completed project, learning how to do the heel or gusset of a sock or a complicated cable – wonderful. Now.. if I could just earn a living doing it, the dream would come true!
http://milspousemutterings.wordpress.com/2011/01/15/knitting-my-new-passion/
On January 20, 2011 at 6:47pm, Beth Rasmussen said...
My mom taught me to knit when I was 7 – she was also 8 months pregnant with my long awaited & much anticipated baby sister. My great grandmother was a knitter, and she & I were very close – we spent tons of time knitting together and she helped with my knitting lessons when my mother was too tired or busy parenting 4 rowdy kids. As I grew up & she got older, she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and forgot how to knit. Somehow, a huge part of her was just gone. A woman who’d knitted for 75 of her 80 years, for her 3 kids, through 2 world wars and other battles our nation was involved in, a woman who knitting calmed so many fears and warmed so many lives – it was just gone. I would sit and knit next to her – she would look at me and say “I wish someone would teach me how to do that.” So I did. Many many times. My hands over hers, teaching her the way she’d helped my mother teach me. She died when I was 22. I just wasn’t able to stop – somehow knitting seemed to be the link that would keep us together, even though she had passed away. And it’s true – in every finished project, garment or other, I see a bit of her reflected in the stitches, the cast on, the simple increasing or decreasing. And I remember her voice telling me “that’s very good. Now keep on.” And that is exactly what I plan to do.
On January 20, 2011 at 7:48pm, evie said...
I started knitting after I learned how to spin. I did learn to knit when I was younger, but there were 5 ugly colors & itchy yarn, so I lost interest. I have since suckered my mom back into knitting (with Addi-Tubo needles!!!); my sister crochets (sometimes) and my very best friend knits, spins & weaves fabulous things! I’m inspired to continue knitting by my mom, my best friend & my grandma (dad’s side) who, I have learned, knit probably not only for herself, but for (at least) 10 children and a husband! I will continue knitting & spinning for the rest of my life.
On January 20, 2011 at 9:49pm, Carolyn said...
I taught myself to knit about 25 years ago because I was in love with Lopi wool sweaters. I started knitting in the round and completed my first Rowan Lopi sweater which I loved to wear snow skiing in Colorado where I was living. I was inspired to knit, I guess, because I was always gifted with the most amazing knitted things when I was growing up. I have a wonderful hand-knit Christmas stocking, and had a wealth of hand-knit Barbie clothes which were simply amazing due to their miniature size. I also had a relative that made lace and learned to do that as well. I continue to knit and try new techniques and hope to learn to spin very soon. My goal is to teach my son to knit this year because everyone should be able to create something with their own hands. Discovering Fibre Space has helped me eliminate bad habits and correct mistakes besides contributing to my ever growing stash of yummy yarns!
On January 21, 2011 at 7:46am, Bethany said...
When I was 7 I read a book where the main character was a knitter and I thought if she can do that so can I. My grandmother was a knitter and I asked her to teach me during our annual summer visits to England. My lessons were a little sporadic – one summer the knit stitch and a 12 st garter scarf that kept growing to 36 sts – the next summer the purl stitch – etc., but knitting was a special bond between me and my grandmother. Because of the distance my knitting skills did not develop as fully as they could and I took classes over the years to increase my knowledge and bolster my confidence. I’ve never forgotten the basics as my grandmother taught them to me and every time I pick something up to knit I think of her. I know we would have had such wonderful conversations about all things knitting if she were still alive. I miss her but know she would be proud of all my FO’s – just as she was when I finally finished that garter stitch scarf for my teddybear the summer I was 8.
On January 21, 2011 at 10:03am, Jessie said...
I started knitting when I lived in a cold, cold apartment in Rochester, NY 10 years ago. Knitting kept me warm! Then I went to grad school and it became a way for me to unplug from the studying without feeing too guilty. It’s been a near-constant companion ever since.
On January 21, 2011 at 10:18am, laura said...
I started to crochet out of mere boredom. I was bored on a Saturday and my mom asked “would you like to learn to crochet?” SURE I said. (I was always a crafty child. The next day I could, I went to the library and brought home 8 or 9 books. Mom joked that she created a monster but if that’s the worst thing I do…. Then a few years later, I got a knitting book as a gift and curiosity hit again. The book only went so far. Thank God for knittinghelp.com. Now 12 years later……
On January 21, 2011 at 10:26am, Nadia Tyler said...
I started knitting not to long ago, but yarn crafting has been in my family for a very long time. My whole family is actually good with working with their hands! My great grandmother who fought cancer to see me born lost her battle 2 days before I came into this world, and I was flooded with stories of how she would have spoiled me and loved me. All I have are the blankets she crocheted. Growing up I would look at those blankets and marvel at how she could have made them. Those blankets were what I ran my fingers over and hid under when I was upset or scared. My grandmother holds on to those blankets fiercely and with right, her mother made them and left them and they are still here giving love and warmth. And with knitting I found that I can make things for my family and friends that do the same thing. I work at the Native American Museum in Washington DC, and the Native Americans believe that when they hand make gifts that you are to keep love, and good thoughts in your heart because that will carry on into the gift you give, and let me say I agree one hundred percent. So I will continue on what my Great grandmother did for me in one way that she could not physically, I will continue to weave love and warmth in my yarn crafts for my family and friends!
On January 21, 2011 at 10:39am, Jess K said...
I started knotting in 2008, inspired by a friend having a baby. I learned solely the knit stitch, and for an entire year knit my heart out to produce a very large baby’s blanket. That blanket came with mr everywhere…on the metro, on business trips to Latin America…even to Europe on my summer vacation. Eventually I finished that blanket and my interest in knitting was cemented.
On January 21, 2011 at 10:59am, Jenn said...
I was about 2 months out of 12 into my husband’s deployment, I had a 2 year old who went to bed at 7, and I was completely bored after I put her down. Of course I couldn’t go anywhere, the house was clean, and although I also scrapbook, there wasn’t a thing left to scrapbook since I did it all already! I was sick of just watching TV. I needed something else. I was wondering through the craft store, and got a learn to knit book, some aluminum needles, and some Red Heart acrylic. It was difficult, as I am left handed, but in a week I had a very horrible looking scarf riddled with unintentional YOs, and stitches that should have been knitted instead purled and purled instead of knit, but I loved it, and I was determined to get better. I dicovered something that I wasn’t expecting with my new hobby, it was very therapeutic for me. It helped me cope with my husband’s absence, and gave me something to look forward to throughout the day after my daughter went to bed. Knitting time was MY time. Time for me. That was 3 years ago. I have another daughter, and another dog, and my husband is getting ready to leave in 5 weeks for another 6 months away and I feel more mentally prepared because I have my knitting and a bunch of yarn to get me through!
On January 21, 2011 at 11:57am, Lauren said...
Though my mother had originally taught me when I was younger, I began knitting in earnest when my husband deployed to Afghanistan in 2007. Someone told me to look at the year as an opportunity to focus on me and to “make improvements”. They suggested finding somethign to do and then getting “really good at it”. I’m not sure if I became “really good at it” but I started by making a simple scarf for my husband to wear under his uniform in the cold desert winter. By the time he came home, I could do socks, mittens, sweaters, even some fair isle. Along the way I met a great group of people and knitting with them on a Saturday afternoon helped the time pass as I waiting for him to come home. He’s been home for 2 years now, but I still work to improve my knitting and hold on to that “focus on me” that knitting allows (even if that means his next scarf is a year overdue.)
On January 21, 2011 at 12:29pm, Jennifer said...
I wanted to still be able to do crafts when I went to college, and knitting fit much better into a dorm room. When mom started teaching me how it worked, I realized I already knew. Apparently the knitting mushrooms my brother and I had as kids to keep us occupied while on car trips taught me the basic concept of knitting.
On January 21, 2011 at 12:44pm, Kathy M said...
I had wanted to learn to knit for a while before I became a knitter. I crocheted afghans, cross stitched, embroidered, crewelled, and quilted, so it was a natural to be curious about another hand craft. After several false starts of trying to teach myself how to knit, including a Vogue knitting cardigan that would be too large for the Hulk, I finally got it when working one of those free wrap patterns by Modea Dea, I think. That and one of Danielle’s Knit-A-Gogo learn to knit workshops was what it finally took to get on the road to being an obsessed knitter. Now the thought of going anywhere with the possibility of a waiting and no knitting project is inconceivable!
On January 21, 2011 at 1:32pm, Marsha Baker said...
I learned to knit from my mom so young that I do not remember learning. As far as I am concerned it is something I have always been able to do. Now all the new yarns and colors and patterns inspire me to try new things and new projects. Knitting keeps my hands busy when riding in the car or watching TV, which is a must. I have made some really good friends through knitting and I am so glad they are in my life.
On January 21, 2011 at 1:54pm, Love said...
I learned to knit because I wanted to be able to make something. In my job, I endlessly work on the same issues that rarely come to any resolution. When I knit, I feel like I accomplish something tangible.
On January 21, 2011 at 2:49pm, Eve said...
both of my grandmothers knit and/or crocheted so I spent my childhood with knitwear – most of it not wanted other than the blankets … there is a memorable bear/cat that my sister and I both got (she said it was a bear, we said it was a mutant cat). Perhaps not surprisingly while I was intrigued by knitting I never really acquired any skills. In college there was/is an Experimental College (aka ExCo) where beginning knitting was a highly sought after class and they were making things cooler than what my grandmothers were doing … so I signed up and eventually got in … and it was great. Our first projects were mittens followed by a sweater. I later taught that same class and have just kept going. One of my best friends who has years and years of my knitting can actually pull out things that demonstrate how my skills have improved over time. I knit for sanity when I worked for a law firm and began knitting for balance when I was in grad school and I still knit for a combination of the two. I don’t seem to go anywhere without at least one project (today I have 2 with me). Being here – in DC/NOVA -is the first time that I’ve had a real knitting community and I really love it. While it has led to the phenomenal growth of my stash it also has elevated my skills and – perhaps more importantly – has meant that for the first time in years I’ve been able to take classes, get problem solving help, and knit with some really wonderful people who I otherwise would not have met!
On January 22, 2011 at 8:44am, Samantha said...
My grandma taught me to knit when I was a kid, a simple sweater that she had to finish for me that was too small by the time I admitted to her that I’d messed up all the increases and decreases. Fast forward a good 10 years, I took up the needles again and she guided me to complete my first scarf which was taller than me and then some. Finally at the tender age of 30, my best friend from high school shared the news of her pregnancy and I was inspired to knit her baby shower gift. I haven’t put the needles down since and long to make a career out of my love affair with yarn.
On January 23, 2011 at 11:28am, Azar said...
My mother taught me to knit at a young age…I was probably in elementary school. Growing up, it was something I picked up every few years – I’d knit a garter or stockinette scarf and then put it down for a few more years. In 2007, I decided I wanted to knit a scarf after seeing a cute basketweave stitch scarf somewhere or another. I finished it and knit three more, then two of my best friends got pregnant, and I decided I had to knit something for them. I found ravelry looking for patterns, and it’s been downhill from there.