How I Ended Up a Knitter

I don't have the "crafty gene." My mom has it, in spades.... it just skipped a generation. My sister and I look at the stuff she makes and shake our heads- not fair.... we didn't get the crafty gene. Mom, she does it all.... and very well.

Now, I'm not totally unfortunate. I can do stuff. I can sew if I have to, I scrapbook, I was actually quite the smocker when my girlies were little, I've done my fair share of cross stitch, I've stenciled, I even play the piano, but all of these things.... I can only do them by the book. What you see is what you get. I have no creativity, imagination, no muse. I can follow a pattern, I can steal an idea if I see it, and if it's simple enough... but I don't make stuff up. It's even the way I cook. I just don't think out of the box. Nope. (However, I am not completely symmetrical, matchy-matchy like my sister - now that's just sad!)

I never did knit... well once when I was little my Mom tried to teach me... it was going to be simple - a nice, square dishcloth. Mine ended up a triangle - go figure. I just didn't get it. Put it down and never looked back. Never once had the urge to knit again - didn't interest me, I didn't get it.... it was too hard.

Enter my daughter, Kaity - she is why I ended up a knitter. She got the crafty gene! She's just like my mom. Makes stuff up, has her own ideas, throws caution to the wind... amazes me. About a year-and-a-half ago she thought she'd like to learn to knit. I told her, "Go see Grandma, I can't help you ..." Mom taught her how to cast on, knit purl, set her up with some needles and yarn for a scarf, and she was off. Got a CD and surfed the net, and she was doing all kinds of knitty-stuff. I was fascinated. Kaity could knit. Knitting is hard! But, she also plays the guitar (taught herself), paints.... like she tells me, "I'm fancy like that.... I'm just like Grandma, I can do stuff!"

So, last winter we're house-bound, it's been raining cats and dogs for days... and I pick up Kaity's knitting - just to see if I remember anything. After a little coaching I could knit, just knit, not purl, but I did a few rows back and forth on her scarf. And I didn't want to put it down! It felt so good! It was so relaxing. I HAD to knit me a scarf! So, like I said - it's just pouring, and I get Kaity in the car and we're off to our not-so-local yarn store - I had been there once with Kaity, before I "got it," - it was okay, if you like yarn. But, now I couldn't wait to get there and touch stuff, and pick me out some yarn. We get there - and they're closed on Mondays..... I almost cried.... so we go to Michaels, what a letdown, but at least I got some yarn... and I started to knit.

I haven't stopped since.

With all my other hobbies, they were fun, but a little stressful - I would tend to be a perfectionist and obsess over things.... man - I LOVE to knit - it's so relaxing, I even can imagine things and make things up - think outside the box! There's something so different about knitting! I can even make mistakes, and even leave the little ones in there - pshhhh, who's gonna look that close?, who's gonna know? It's like nothing I've ever done....

So here's my latest project, socks of all things, I never thought I'd get good enough to make socks. The funny thing, this is my 4th pair, and I just figured out was making them wrong all along... who would have figured I would ever NOT be anal about following a pattern - the others still looked good, they fit my feet - what's the big deal, so now I know better. Live and learn..... knitting makes me so happy. THANKS KAITY!!!

Oh yeah... that crocheting in the background of the picture - my Mom did that.