Oh Knitting! How I love thee! At your most basic you are two sticks and a string. At your most challenging you are five sticks and many colored strings. At your most frustrating you are two sticks, two strings, a dropped stitch (or three) and a lot of frogging. But still I love thee.
You and I go way back. I was just a little girl on the school bus when I first met you. Sandy Richmond introduced us and it was love at first sight. I had an instant crush and ran out to buy two sticks and a string so we could get to know each other better. I hadn't met Pattern yet, but I made up for that with enthusiasm, and so I cast on a few stitches and knitted a brown scarf. I think it took me most of a year to finish, but finish I did and wore it proudly. We made it together!
We got to know each other pretty good while I knitted away on that scarf. Then I met Pattern and discovered a whole new dimension to our relationship. It never had to end. We could be together forever! Sigh....... We would never have to part because there was always something you and I could do together. So we made a bright lime green poncho. People saw us coming at midnight - it was that bright. But I loved it and I loved you, and I learned more about you and what makes you tick: the knit stitch, the purl stitch, put them together and you've got ribbing! Oh joy! You and I were making something that looked like the picture in Pattern book. I was so proud of myself and so happy that I had met you. I never wanted it to end. But then life happened.
We took a break back before 'taking a break' was a thing. We didn't break up, we just wanted to see others, and I started Sewing. But I never loved Sewing the way I loved you. Sewing didn't feel 'right.' I had to use a machine that was cold and uncaring. It did what it did regardless of what I wanted it to do, and the fabric went places I didn't want it to go. I couldn't touch fabric the way I could touch string. When I cut fabric and put two pieces together they didn't add up. I was not happy with Sewing, but continued in the relationship for a number of years. Finally, we broke up and called it quits for good. Whew! Even now I'm glad we're through.
Then I reached out tentatively to you. Were you ready for our break to end? Would you be willing to see if we could make it work again? Maybe we could make it better than it was before. You said yes (!) and you and I made a pair of socks for my new husband. Oh Knitting, my husband is so good! He wore those socks and never told me how awful they were! Not that it was your fault - oh no! The fault lay all with me: bad yarn, slippery needles, new technique. Yikes! I was in over my head, but you patiently let me knit away and we got to know each other even better. Increase, decrease, K2Tog, SSK - who knew? I never dreamed it could be this way! The stitches and techniques seemed endless and we were together again.
As I look back over the years, I realize you've been with me through many seasons. There have been times when I didn't like string very much and I might have hated sticks, but through it all you've never let me down. I might get challenged (sometimes a good thing) or frustrated (deal with it!) but you are always there for me. You can be as simple or complex as I need you to be.
Who would have thought that little girl on the school bus with her two sticks and a string would still be with Knitting after all this time?
You and I go way back. I was just a little girl on the school bus when I first met you. Sandy Richmond introduced us and it was love at first sight. I had an instant crush and ran out to buy two sticks and a string so we could get to know each other better. I hadn't met Pattern yet, but I made up for that with enthusiasm, and so I cast on a few stitches and knitted a brown scarf. I think it took me most of a year to finish, but finish I did and wore it proudly. We made it together!
We got to know each other pretty good while I knitted away on that scarf. Then I met Pattern and discovered a whole new dimension to our relationship. It never had to end. We could be together forever! Sigh....... We would never have to part because there was always something you and I could do together. So we made a bright lime green poncho. People saw us coming at midnight - it was that bright. But I loved it and I loved you, and I learned more about you and what makes you tick: the knit stitch, the purl stitch, put them together and you've got ribbing! Oh joy! You and I were making something that looked like the picture in Pattern book. I was so proud of myself and so happy that I had met you. I never wanted it to end. But then life happened.
We took a break back before 'taking a break' was a thing. We didn't break up, we just wanted to see others, and I started Sewing. But I never loved Sewing the way I loved you. Sewing didn't feel 'right.' I had to use a machine that was cold and uncaring. It did what it did regardless of what I wanted it to do, and the fabric went places I didn't want it to go. I couldn't touch fabric the way I could touch string. When I cut fabric and put two pieces together they didn't add up. I was not happy with Sewing, but continued in the relationship for a number of years. Finally, we broke up and called it quits for good. Whew! Even now I'm glad we're through.
Then I reached out tentatively to you. Were you ready for our break to end? Would you be willing to see if we could make it work again? Maybe we could make it better than it was before. You said yes (!) and you and I made a pair of socks for my new husband. Oh Knitting, my husband is so good! He wore those socks and never told me how awful they were! Not that it was your fault - oh no! The fault lay all with me: bad yarn, slippery needles, new technique. Yikes! I was in over my head, but you patiently let me knit away and we got to know each other even better. Increase, decrease, K2Tog, SSK - who knew? I never dreamed it could be this way! The stitches and techniques seemed endless and we were together again.
Husband's socks are over 35 years old - older than our child.
Doesn't all that cheap, acrylic yarn look sad?
Who would have thought that little girl on the school bus with her two sticks and a string would still be with Knitting after all this time?
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