Now. You're in for a leedle bit of whining but it's part of today's story.
I first learned to knit as a child of seven at my grandmother's knee. I don't recall what the yarn was but I know for certain that the needles were part of a set of ten that I still own today. Have you ever heard of finger knitting? It didn't take me long to become bored with it and I eventually moved on to "interesting" things like cat's cradle and other string figures. Right around the same time, I had a role in "The Gingerbread Man" as the Old Woman who bakes the Gingerbread Man. My main props were a rocking chair, a set of straights and some blue yarn. Being the stickler for detail that she still is, my mother cast on 20 or so stitches and taught me to knit so I could be an authentic "old woman" it still didn't stick but it helped lay the groundwork for my future as a Knitter.
A few years later my heart's desire was a pair of legwarmers. Well, it seemed that Mrs. Claus either had far too much to do or a really mean sense of humour and I received two balls each of mustard yellow, teal, and purple yarn . . . in, as I recall, a chunky scratchy icky stuff. She also included a pair of needles and a pattern. I did not continue the path to knitting at that time. I did, however, receive three pairs of legwarmers that year. Pink ones from my parents (who were much nicer than the Claus's evidently), blue from my grandmother, and a pair of hand knit mustard, teal, and purple ones when my mother took pity and saw I was never going to do anything with that odd scratchy yarn.
Nineteen years later I found myself living in Florida with no friends. Of course I had Mathboy, his friends, and his family but I had no friends of my own and no idea how to make any. My mother in law and her friends had long been in the habit of circulating books around their little group and when I moved here I became a stop on their book-go-round. One of the books was Debbie Macomber's "A Good Yarn" I read it and fell in love with the idea of knitting socks but more than that, I fell in love with the idea that knitting could bring these lonely women together and help create friendships. I dragged Mathboy off to Michaels and bought the Susan Bates "My Knitting Teacher" kit and the prettiest yarn I could find (give me a break here, I was new) because I was going to make a blanket! Yep. With two 4.5 oz balls of Red Heart Baby Clouds in Tutti-Frutti. I'm not sure what kind of blanket I was planning to make with a total of 210 yards of yarn but there ya go. In my enthusiasm I cast on FAR too many stitches for the straights that I was using and soon got irritated with it and moved on. My next kick at the can was Wendy Johnson's Kitty Pi. I completed it and followed it with several more that I accessorized with little cabled catnip stuffed mice.
It's been over a year now and, while I certainly wouldn't describe myself as an accomplished or expert knitter, I can certainly say I've come a long way. Best of all, I've made some friends along the way. Both in the Blogosphere (Hi Kristy!) and in the real world (Hi Alyson, Eileen, Kelly, Sandy, and everyone else!)
I still have a long way to go with this knitting thing as the list below shows.
I've used Bold for stuff I've done, italics for stuff I want to do one day, normal for stuff I'm not planning on doing, and red for stuff I've never even heard of.
- Afghan/Blanket
- I-cord
- Garter stitch
- Knitting with metal wire
- Shawl
- Stockinette stitch
- Socks: top-down
- Socks: toe-up
- Knitting with camel yarn (I even know where to buy it and, in doing so, contribute to a good cause)
- Mittens: Cuff-up
- Mittens: Tip-down
- Hat
- Knitting with silk (does cotton/silk blend count?)
- Moebius band knitting (haven't even done it accidentally)
- Participating in a KAL (would that be a knit along?)
- Sweater
- Drop stitch patterns
- Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
- Slip stitch patterns
- Knitting with banana fiber yarn
- Domino knitting
- Twisted stitch patterns
- Knitting with bamboo yarn
- Two end knitting
- Charity knitting
- Knitting with soy yarn (clapotis part I is only partially complete but it is a soy blended yarn)
- Cardigan
- Toy/doll clothing
- Knitting with circular needles
- Knitting with your own handspun yarn
- Slippers
- Graffiti knitting (knitting items on, or to be left on the street)
- Continental Knitting
- Designing knitted garments
- Cable stitch patterns
- Lace patterns
- Publishing a knitting book
- Scarf
- American/English knitting
- Button holes
- Knitting with alpaca
- Fair Isle knitting
- Norwegian knitting
- Dyeing with plant colors
- Knitting items for a wedding
- Household items
- Knitting socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars
- Olympic knitting
- Knitting with someone else’s handspun yarn
- Knitting with DPNs
- Holiday related knitting
- Teaching a male how to knit (I'm pretty sure that Mathboy has learned by proximity)
- Bobbles
- Knitting for a living (oh hell no. I'd starve to death)
- Knitting with cotton
- Knitting smocking
- Dyeing yarn
- Steeks
- Knitting art
- Fulling/felting
- Knitting with wool
- Textured knitting (ummmm, isn't it all textured?)
- Kitchener BO
- Purses/bags
- Knitting with beads
- Swatching
- Long Tail CO
- Entrelac
- Knitting and purling backwards
- Machine knitting
- Knitting with self-patterning/self-striping/variegating yarn
- Stuffed toys
- Baby items
- Knitting with cashmere
- Darning
- Jewelry
- Knitting with synthetic yarn
- Writing a pattern
- Gloves (assuming fingerless count, otherwise, it's on my to-do list)
- Intarsia
- Knitting with linen
- Knitting for preemies
- Tubular CO
- Freeform knitting
- Short rows
- Cuffs/fingerless mitts/arm warmers
- Pillows (does the little eye/neck pillow herbie I made for my MIL count?)
- Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
- Rug
- Knitting on a loom
- Thrummed knitting
- Knitting a gift
- Knitting for pets
- Shrug/bolero/poncho
- Knitting with dog/cat hair (but not on purpose)
- Hair accessories
- Knitting in public
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