all wound up
christmas • craft • family • winter • Comments (3)
I taught my darling daughter to knit this summer while on holiday at our cottage on Prince Edward Island.
We used very large needles and big chunky yarn and so the results were quick and rewarding.
My mom taught me to knit about the same age (10) and I thought it would be fun to share the hobby with Charlotte even though I hadn’t knit myself in over 30 years.
It came back quickly and we had lots of fun talking about how grandma used to cast on and off for me and so I never learned that part and now I would have to use the little book I gave to her to teach myself so that I could do the same for her!
We also had a good giggle over the story of the infamous sweater I knitted for Bob when we were dating - long before we were married. It was the summer of 1982 and he had made a snap decision to travel from the west coast of Canada to the east coast, with only a back pack and a mission to meet as many provincial Premiers as he could just by knocking on office doors. It wasn’t the usual snap decision that a 20 year old man makes, but it was for Bob. He ended up with a full page story in the Toronto Star and stories of meeting five Premiers plus Joey Smallwood that will last him a lifetime.
What does this have to do with knitting you ask? Well guess what the poor girlfriend did while she pined away at home, working as Jr. Editor at Chatelaine magazine?? Of course, I knit him a sweater!
It was a nubbly gray wool and it was one of the first patterns I’d ever followed. It actually didn’t turn out too bad with 4 big exceptions: 2 armholes that only a broom stick could fit through (Bob was rake thin in those days but not that thin!) and 2 sleeves that reached his knees.
I recently read on a knitting website that you haven’t really knitted until you’ve made a sweater with arm holes too small and sleeves too long and so at least I can call myself a pro!
Anyway, Charlotte and I have had fun knitting ever since the summer. She caught on quickly and enjoys picking it up while watching tv or in the car. But the biggest surprise is how much I love it. In fact, I can’t stop knitting! The only thing is, I only want to do scarves. I don’t want to follow a pattern or ‘think’ while I knit. Just knit.
I know knitting’s satisfying that terrible trait I have of always needing to feel like I’m ‘getting something done’. So instead of just watching tv (which I seldom do anyway), I knit and watch tv. Or instead of just enjoying a drive to the cottage, I knit and play passenger. Or instead of visiting with girlfriends, I knit and chat. It’s kind of a sickness. But on top of feeding the need to be productive, I do also find it relaxing and I actually look forward to sitting down and knitting a few rows just like I look forward to my fiction novel at the end of a long day. ?
Most of our scarves are thick and long. Very long. Charlotte and I both agree that a scarf looks more ‘fashiony’ if it’s extra long.
They only cost the amount of 2 rolls of yarn (under $20 each) and so at that rate, lots of people are getting them from us at Xmas. We initially thought we’d do them for ALL of her teachers but that was a bit ambitious considering she likes to give gifts to everyone from the principal to the custodian. Maybe we’ll just stick to her key teachers this year 
. But I do think it’s a sweet gift for her to give and not expensive.
Anyway, I hope you’re inspired to pick up a couple of pointed sticks and get knitting again. If your mom isn’t around to cast on for you, I promise it isn’t that hard. 
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