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Remember the punis we made for OFFF? Well, we sold them all! Well, all except one that I spun up for a sample. I had made a mistake and had jumbled the green and brown entries on the drum carder. You can see this at the left where there’s a big of extra mingling of brown/green/purple. Ooops! I had great plans of knitting a hat (that would give a nice amount of color repeats), but was in a hurry….so instead of showing you a knitting hat - I give you a knitted tube (which is being frogged now to make a proper hat).
I’ve always wanted to learn how to knit. When I was about 8 or 9 yrs old, my aunt sent me a little girl “learn how to knit” kit. I thought it was so cool - but I couldn’t figure out how to do it. And my mom was no help. My mother could make anything on her sewing machine - but with yarn? Eh, forget it! Luckily the older neighbor gal knew how to crochet and taught me that…but it was never knitting.
I taught myself how to knit right before the birth of my first grandson (my youngest stepson’s child).
I’m not certain I could explain why I enjoy knitting (and spinning and weaving and dyeing…). I’m fairly certain I would go crazy if I was not able to knit. I don’t get to knit in large stretches of time, but I attempt to squeeze in a few rows here and there during the week. I honestly believe it’s what keeps me sane.
For most of our adult life my sister Michele and I have traveled two very different paths: she got married and raised two wonderful children. I got out of college and went straight to work (a career girl was I! Ha!), then I got married and much to my later dismay found I could not have children. We have very different interests and talents: I was always the one that did well with math and science, while she’s quite musically gifted. I was the one who LOVED to go with our mother to the fabric store, while my sister would rather go anywhere BUT the fabric store. My sister had absolutely NO desire to sew or do any crafty thing - period.
And I was the “helpful” aunt who sent crafty kit things to my niece - heh - knowing full well my sister would struggle with them.
Now that her children have grown, I wondered if our paths would ever cross again. Oh sure, we visit and keep in touch, but I longed to have something in common with my sister. I wanted to be able to share something that I care a great deal about, with her. She wondered how I managed to find time for my fiber activities. I told her that fiber therapy is my Prozac. She wistfully wondered what it would be like to make something for someone….I asked her if she wanted me to teach her to knit….fully expecting the large exhale and giggle that “she could never do that and wouldn’t want to”. But she surprised me - she was interested, but quite skeptical of her capabilities.Holy cow! My sister wanted me to teach her to knit! I was absolutely floored!! And wanting her to have the best possible experience and not fumble with needles, I retrieved the dassenplank that Susan had given me. I had intended to send it to my niece, but it seemed a perfect fit for my sister. Then I dug deep into the stash for some Lion Brand Homespun - a rich, kelly green. We sat out in my studio - her with her dassenplank and I with my table loom and we gabbed about many things, enjoying some great celtic music. Pretty soon she had knitted almost 8″ of a nice, cushy green scarf!
This was more than I could’ve hoped for! It’s very rewarding to make something out of fiber as a gift for someone, but to share the calming gift of knitting with my dear younger sister was completely fulfilling - I truly think our paths have come back together. Thank you, Michele, and I hope you continue to enjoy the gift of knitting.
Terry
Ok, so I’m at work (shame, shame on me). I work with all guys (at a paper mill). So to be extra annoying, I keep my Stitch n’ Bitch calender on my desk. Heh. Only today it backfired on me - The title is “What a Feeling” and it explains how to repair a sweater with a “Flashdance” neckline. Ugh. Now I have that STUPID song in my head - whaaaaaaah!
Skeined off a rather large bobbin last night - 2 ply llama that I had kettle dyed. Took me for friggin’ ever to ply it. Now I know why - 880 yds! Wow! That’s got to be a record for me. The bobbin? A Lendrum plying bobbin. Whoo - hoo!!