I love knitting.
My father taught my sister and I to knit when we were about 5 or 6.
We were talking the other day, and she remembered !
He got some needles and string, and we knitted very uneven and holey dishcloths for Mummy to use, and, bless her, she did.
I then went on to knit clothes for my dolls, and remember fondly a fairisle jumper I made, which has got lost in the mists of time.
As I told you in FTH 4, my grandmothers were both wonderful needlewomen.
https://b-c-ing-u.com/comments/from-the-1000th-hill-no-4-make-do-and-mend-a-childhood-legacy/
Every year, my mother’s mother would knit jerseys for her 9 grandchildren for Christmas.
She had been a ladies companion in her teens and twenties, and always dressed in her hand knitted twinsets and pearls. Her mannerisms taught us how to behave as genteely as possible.
I don’t think I knitted much in my teens, but I do remember knitting a black dress when I was about 17.
In my twenties, not much either, but I still have a couple of crop tops I knitted in those days.
Fast forward to my children. I crocheted a lot of blankets, but don’t remember knitting anything – John’s mother was an avid knitter and made jerseys for them.
When we were ‘on the road’ I would have a crochet project, with the hook held at the ready to use as a weapon should a stray hand come in the window !!
Then came the turn of the century. The children had flown the nest, our work was slowing down and I had to do something with my hands. This opened a floodgate of creativity making beanies, socks, scarves and ‘dickies’ at first.
Then, I tackled more ambitious projects, like Thomas the Tank Engine and, lately, Fortnite ( worked out the logo on graph paper ) jerseys for our grandson.
Now, I always have one or two projects ‘on the go’ from knitted garments for the family, to making dolls clothes for Claire ( another article to follow ).
Like many knitters, I often take a pattern and adapt it for fun.
My problem has been that I cannot afford to buy the right amounts of wool every time.
My dear friends know that I love knitting, and, when they have finished projects, are kind enough to give me their ‘leftovers’ hence we all have ‘coats of many colours’ !!
These days I will knit something very simple – tons of two needle socks, but then tackle something really lacy, like the cover photo, and this, that needs a lot of concentration in between.
The main thing is that I am having such fun, and always have a lovely creation to show for my time.
Love, always,
Mim
xx
