2008 Resolution #2 - Learn how to knit. Knitting is an art that has been handed down in my family for generations. My great-grandma Oliva created beautiful works of art, using yarn as thin as dental floss. My grandma Ferrandina is just as talented. Her wool afghans keep us warm at night. My mom, she too is a great knitter, leading a knitting club at her elementary school. The group call themselves the Knotty Knitters - how clever. Both my grandma & mom tried to teach me when I was younger, but I wasn't interested. Now that I'm a mom, I'm very interested.
I'm no Martha Stewart, but I'm a quick learner. I'm not artist enough to create my own designs, but I can follow a pattern perfectly. I asked my mom to be my teacher. She has the patience of a saint & I knew she would work with me in stages. Step number one - the knitting stitch. I still don't know how to purl, cast on or cast off, but those skills will come with time. We had to try three different needles before I got the knack. I was like Goldilocks and the three needles. The first one was metal, too slippery. The second one was wooden, not smooth enough. The third one, too big. Fourth time was a charm! Wooden needles that didn't have any splints in the wood. She cast me on with forty loops so that I could learn the proper technique of holding the yarn. After two rows my hands & back ached. After one hour I was done for the day, but I was hooked. I'm already dreaming of the goodies I'm going to knit.
I spent more time this afternoon. I made some mistakes - dropping stitches or looping two at a time. You can obviously see the mistakes in the picture above, but I'm quite proud of my work considering it was my first attempt. I spent another two hours today on about ten rows. My hands are not as sore as they were yesterday. Soon I'll ask to learn how to cast on the needle. I can see why people find knitting very therapeutic. Expect lots of knitted gifts!!!
