Hole in the Fence

When I was 12 (hey it was not THAT long ago!), I had an accident that pretty much confined me to my couch for a few months. I was a VERY active tomboy, so after about a week of watching television and reading I was going crazy.

Say it with me: CRAZY.

A friend of my mother’s offered to teach me how to crochet. As desperate as I was, I lunged at the opportunity. So a group of us pre-teen girls would get together and have classes. We crocheted, we talked, we laughed, which really helped distract me from the long recovery. Kathy, if you’re reading this, THANK YOU!

Time went by; friends started having babies; I started making blankets; but no matter how much I tried I just could not get past the “square ” crochet, so blankets was pretty much all anyone got.

After I had Logan I felt emboldened to try more complex knits. I mean, I was a MOM, and once I became a mom, long dormant genes had awakened. I figured one of them had to be the “knit” gene. So I took up a knitting book—the basic “teach yourself to knit” type. Success! I learned to make a hat!

By the time Kaia came along, I had advanced to booties, so she had the full outfit—hat, booties, blanket!—when she was born. And I had found a creative outlet that was portable, fun, and easy to start and stop—except for the starting and stopping part. You see, as the kids and their dexterity grew, projects were abandoned with increasing frequency as I found the needles in increasingly interesting places—and consequently not in my project. When Kaia was hitting her first birthday, I was hitting my limit. I put the needles down (more or less) permanently.

Then in November, the month after Kaia turned four, I came across knitting looms. At first I was unsure if the looms could give me the same satisfaction as my needles. Turns out not only am I satisfied, I am thrilled.

Say it with me: THRILLED.

I can leave my knitting for days, know exactly where I was when I left off, and the kids have not messed up one project. In the 8 weeks or so I have worked on the looms I have made over 30 hats, which was perfect for a Christmas where we chose to emphasize giving handmade gifts over purchased ones. I’ve also made a few cool scarves, and I’m in the process of doing a blanket with a stuffed teddy bear head for a baby shower. I have lots of other ideas turning in my head, too. I’m a knitting genius.

I have even inspired my brother-in-law and his kids to take up knitting.  Apparently he is using it in the place of a bad habit he is trying to kick……I expect a hat (or 20) soon!

I personally have the knifty knitters round and long looms; they come with basic instructions and you can watch demonstrations and get patterns or craft ideas online. Any fellow knitters reading this? Wanna share secrets and ideas?

Knit on!