I’ve been asked a number of times how I learned to knit. The story is sort of long and somewhat complicated.
Growing up one of my best friends in middle and high school lived just a few doors down from me. To say we were inseparable is an understatement. Most of our summer days were spent at her house because they had air conditioning and we did not. (They also kept their Doritos in the refrigerator. It absolutely fascinated me.)
One summer day when we were lounging around, bored out of our minds (typical teenagers), we convinced her mom, who was always knitting, to teach us. For some reason, she agreed to, and because of that my life has been forever changed.
She taught us just the basics — how to cast on, how to knit — and I was hooked. I went home and begged my parents to buy me some yarn — any yarn — and a set of needles from Sav-On. (Apparently the concept of a craft store escaped my sun soaked brain.) Armed with my scratchy acrylic yarn and too-big needles, I knit, and I knit … I had to. I never learned how to bind off. I never bothered asking my friend’s mom how.
That Christmas, I was delighted to find a knitting book and yarn in my stocking and taught myself to purl and bind off. Despite being busy with a part-time job and with school, I always made time to pick up my needles, even if it was for just a row. I needed to.
It continued on this way throughout college, knitting a few rows here and there, and ripping it all out and starting again. Following college I worked at a job where I had far too much free time, and met my dear friend Cara online. We chatted the day away bonding over our crafty desires and dreams, and together discovered the world of knitting blogs. Through those blogs, I learned just how much could be done with yarn (gorgeous yarn, at that), and my passionate affair with yarn began.
I furiously knit scarf after scarf, and armed with my decade-old knitting book, taught myself stitches beyond my trusty friends Knit and Purl. I worked hard at everything I learned, but was always terrified of circular needles and double-pointed needles. That fear stayed with me until recently, when the perfect slouchy cap caught my eye. I had to make it. Not making it was not an option. So I did it. I taught myself how to knit on circular needles. And it was easy. But double-pointed needles were still out of the question …
Growing up one of my best friends in middle and high school lived just a few doors down from me. To say we were inseparable is an understatement. Most of our summer days were spent at her house because they had air conditioning and we did not. (They also kept their Doritos in the refrigerator. It absolutely fascinated me.)
One summer day when we were lounging around, bored out of our minds (typical teenagers), we convinced her mom, who was always knitting, to teach us. For some reason, she agreed to, and because of that my life has been forever changed.
She taught us just the basics — how to cast on, how to knit — and I was hooked. I went home and begged my parents to buy me some yarn — any yarn — and a set of needles from Sav-On. (Apparently the concept of a craft store escaped my sun soaked brain.) Armed with my scratchy acrylic yarn and too-big needles, I knit, and I knit … I had to. I never learned how to bind off. I never bothered asking my friend’s mom how.
That Christmas, I was delighted to find a knitting book and yarn in my stocking and taught myself to purl and bind off. Despite being busy with a part-time job and with school, I always made time to pick up my needles, even if it was for just a row. I needed to.
It continued on this way throughout college, knitting a few rows here and there, and ripping it all out and starting again. Following college I worked at a job where I had far too much free time, and met my dear friend Cara online. We chatted the day away bonding over our crafty desires and dreams, and together discovered the world of knitting blogs. Through those blogs, I learned just how much could be done with yarn (gorgeous yarn, at that), and my passionate affair with yarn began.
I furiously knit scarf after scarf, and armed with my decade-old knitting book, taught myself stitches beyond my trusty friends Knit and Purl. I worked hard at everything I learned, but was always terrified of circular needles and double-pointed needles. That fear stayed with me until recently, when the perfect slouchy cap caught my eye. I had to make it. Not making it was not an option. So I did it. I taught myself how to knit on circular needles. And it was easy. But double-pointed needles were still out of the question …
Of course, the other day I spied the perfect wrist warmers. And of
course, they were knit on double-pointed needles. I tried similar
patterns that were crocheted, but I couldn’t the knit ones out of my
mind. Grumbling, I grabbed some out of my needle box (I’ve owned every
size for years now, despite my fear). And I tried. And I couldn’t get
it. And I tried again. During all of my attempts, Kevin kept watching
me cast on, knit, and frog. He even managed to teach himself how to
cast on by watching me. Watching me get so frustrated, he watched a
YouTube video, took my knitting from my hands, repositioned my needles and said “Try this.”
I'm telling you. There's nothing that guy can't figure out.
