I'll do my best to put in all of my knitting projects from beginning to end, so you can read my entire knitting story, as it has happened and will continue to develop during my life. :)
I was first exposed to knitting when I was in Home Economics in high school at Sun Valley in Monroe, NC. My sister had already graduated from high school, and was gone to college. I remembered that she had learned to knit when she was in Home Ec. I was so amazed at all the things she could make. She made dorm boots for all of us, and I just loved to wear them!
Now, it was MY turn to learn knitting in Home Ec, so I was very excited. The teacher asked us to buy some knitting needles and a skein of yarn and bring them to school the next day. During our class, she showed us how to cast on and knit, and I struggled learning the stitches. I was comfortable with crochet, because my boyfriend's mother had been teaching me to do that. For some reason, knitting was a LOT harder for me. I guess I was just confused with using two needles. Plus, I completely forgot how to do it when I got home. I tried VERY hard, and practiced. But, I was an impatient teenager, so I didn't do so well. Plus, the internet didn't exist at that time (it was 1979), so I couldn't look at photos or videos like you can now.
Whenever I found a book about knitting, I would look at it, and try to follow the instructions. But the photos confused me, and the descriptions they gave didn't make sense to me. So, eventually I lost interest, and moved onto other things....like graduating from high school, going to college, getting married, having children, getting divorced, dating again, etc.
I still had all the yarn I had purchased when I had dreamed of knitting, but I just kept it stored, in case I would ever learn to knit in the future.
Over the years, I moved to different apartments and houses, always taking the box of yarn and knitting magazines with me. But, I never touched them.
Eventually, I found my true soulmate, and we got married. I was very happy for the first time in my life, and was able to relax at home with my sweet husband. Since my kids were older, I had a bit more time on my hands. Plus, my husband didn't want me to work full-time anymore. So, I started teaching piano lessons, which gave me lots of free time during the day. What a relief!
NOW, I had time to pursue the hobbies I was interested in when I was younger. Among those hobbies were sewing, crochet, embroidery, and cross-stitch. Well, my sewing machine was on its last leg, because I had used it so much for making maternity and baby clothes. So, sewing had to move to the back burner until I could buy a new sewing machine.
Crochet was too painful to do, because I had developed tendonitis in my arms and wrists. The constant twisting of my right hand just hurt too much. So, I had to set crochet aside as well.
Next, I pulled out my cross-stitch supplies and magazines. Darn it! My eyesight just wasn't what it used to be. I just couldn't read the patterns anymore. BUMMER!
So, I resorted to embroidery, using the pre-printed designs. Embroidery work is beautiful, but VERY time-consuming. I wanted a more relaxing hobby. I looked again at my yarn, and decided then and there that I was going to learn to knit once and for all.
I turned on my computer, started up the internet, and did a search on Google for "how to knit". BINGO!!! There were SO MANY links about how to knit. I even found some videos online that I could watch. These were WONDERFUL, making all the knit stitches seem so clear and simple.
The very next day, I went to Walmart, and bought a new pair of knitting needles, and a brand new skein of bright red yarn. Even though I knew I already had some yarn at home, I felt like a new skein would encourage me to want to knit. Plus, it was such a pretty bright color, and it made me feel happy.
So, I sat down at the computer again, with my new needles and yarn in hand, and watched those online knitting videos over and over again. I practiced and practiced, staring at the computer screen. I was FINALLY GETTING IT!
Needless to say, I was hooked on knitting. It was so fun and easy and rewarding. The yarn felt wonderful in my hands, and I just couldn't put it down. I finished my red scarf and added fringe, and was SO PROUD! My poor husband probably got sick of me saying, "Look Marvin! I learned a new stitch!" "Marvin! Feel this yarn!" But, he was so patient and loving, and always SO encouraging. I just love him so much. :)
Here's my first completed knitting project - a simple red scarf.
My next project was to make dorm boots, just like my sister made in high school. I used Lion Brand Homespun, in a dark green for my hubby:
After that, I tried making some headbands, so I could learn some new stitches:
While making the headbands, I learned that I cast on and bound off my stitches too tight. It was a good learning experience for me.
Next, I decided to play with some of the furry eyelash yarns I saw in the craft stores. I made a furry scarf, holding two strands of yarn together. One strand of eyelash yarn, and one strand of regular yarn. It was interesting to see what the different color combinations would make. I really had fun with that, and ended up making about 50 scarves! I sold some of them to friends of my mother at her office and her church. I gave the rest of them as Christmas gifts.
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