Knit n Things

Once upon a time there was a young girl. One day the girls' mother attempted to teach her to knit.She gave the girl some blue red heart and a pair of plastic needles that used to belong to the girl's grandmother. The girl watched her mother cast on and then duplicated her movements with her own yarn and needles. She watched her make stitches and then made her own. The young girl laboriously made several rows of crooked knit stitches. Then the mom showed her to purl and with tongue clenched between teeth the girl made rows of purl stitches.

In due course the girl got herself a smallish stockinette swatch and handed yarn and needles back to her mother. The mother examined over the beauty of the fabric the evenness of the stitches. She told her daughter she was a natural and should continue to knit the blue fabric. Or better yet she should pick out a pattern and the mother would help her to create a knitted garment. "No, thanks" said the girl, "I don't like it. Crochet is easier and faster, I don't like knitting. Saddened the mother took her yarn, needles and put them away.

Undeterred the mother tried again several years later. "Look what I bought you darling, the woman and that yarn shop said you only need this one ball to make this beautiful scarf. I thought it would look great with your black coat. And I bought you your own needles too, they're bamboo they're supposed to be really great!" "Thanks mom," said the girl "but I don't like to knit." Away went needles and the yarn.

The mother was determined, she continued to ploy the girl with better yarns, "look it's cashmere" and cool knit toys "look it makes I-cord" but the girl held fast, happily crocheting her acrylic baby blankets. Then one day the mother heard about this book. She immediately went out and secured herself a copy. "Hey Jo, so and so told me about this book. She thought you might like it." The girl being a something of a book nut started looking through it with curiosity.

A few glances was all it took. An all night reading binge later had the girl furiously digging through forgotten boxes looking for that soft fluffy stuff mom had bought the year before. The book had this interesting description of something called continental knitting that the girl was anxious to try. Casting on was painstakingly remembered. Knit stitches were re-learned and rapidly mastered. Decreases were quickly learned, as there was much random increasing in the first several rows. It was soon discovered that fuzzy yarn is not such a good choice for a beginner regardless of how soft or how beautiful or how well it might hide mistakes. But the girl carried on. Some increases were needed to make the bottom match the top and a scarf was born.

A Knitter was born along with that scarf. In the two plus years since that fateful day countless projects have come off the needles all due to a mom that wouldn't give up. Thanks Mom.

By the way I searched high & low for that scarf so I could take a photo for you. I think I found Jimmy Hoffa & proof of extraterrestrial life but no scarf. If it turns up I'll add a picture.

Labels: Swaps