Knit One, Purl One

I started knitting when I was 11. My mother was a troop leader in Girl Scouts and decided we needed more complex arts and crafts. She taught knitting as well as other fabric-type crafts. I liked knitting until Junior High and let it go until I was a senior in high school. This is when I decided I wanted to follow a pattern from a craft magazine making stuffed cats. I did not understand how to read it. I tried and tried and tried until my yarn was gray from knitting and ripping up and knitting again. My mother noticed my frustration and helped me by explaining how the seed stitch worked. With this, I understood how to read the pattern (which is in another language, I swear).

I picked it up again when I was in my mid 20's. Friends were having babies and I wanted to give personal gifts that would be heirlooms, not wipe warmers and diaper pails: Something that would pass between generations. So, I reacquainted myself with knitting with a book from the 1970s, found a sweater pattern online, and away I went. Eventually, I worked with other patterns: scarves, golf club covers, sweaters, slippers, shoes, hats, blankets, and lots of different things. This is my preferred craft.