Knitting, Crocheting and a Little Bit of Life

Folded neatly at the foot of my bed rests an off white, wool crocheted afghan.  As a young bride, it was a joy to unwrap this beautiful keepsake.  Bob's grandmother had crocheted each individual rose in intricate detail.  I loved the look and feel of this heavy afghan immediately. 

I'll admit, the thought of making a blanket or afghan was overwhelming to me.  At the time, I was good at sewing but knitting and crocheting seemed way beyond my abilities.  Bob's Grandma Tatum also worked with yarn and was willing to share her knowledge.  I remember her attempts to teach me broomstick knitting.  Her patience with me did have a nice result but I don't recall I ever finished a project.  And I remember the needles were really, really big!

From time to time I would look at the crochet hooks, the knitting needles, the yarn and began thinking, some day when my kids are grown, I'm going to work with yarn.  When my aunt would come to visit, I would look with awe at the project she was working on.  Her needles had such a steady click!

In 2001, we made a trip to my Dad's over Christmas and made our visit to the Parsley Pot.  If you are ever in Ashland, Ohio, I highly recommend visiting the Parsley Pot.  On the counter sits a glass jar full of brightly colored crocheted, catnip mice.  We bought the traditional mouse to take home to our cat.  During the trip home I began to think, "surely I could crochet a mouse."  Internet was now available and I searched and found, much to my delight, a catnip mouse pattern.  I bought my crochet hook and a skein of varigated, cheap yarn and took it to the next ball game.  The 2001-2002 basketball season had us at junior and senior high ball games four nights a week.I developed my skills and expanded to crocheting potholders.  I remember I able to create one that was white with a yellow rose in the center.  I don't recall who received that pot holder but I sure was proud of it.  Life got busy with my daughter and the crochet hook and yarn lay abandoned in a basket along with the "I Can Teach Myself to Crochet" book.



Infant hat knitted with plastic circle loom

  During my daughter's years at college, we found ourselves traveling again.  I bought a plastic knitting loom and learned that I could loom knit the entire four hour drive and my hands never fell asleep.  I began to knit scarves and then branched to knitting hats with my plastic looms.  I loved buying yarn and was thrilled that I could finish a project in a pretty short amount of time. 


I do enjoy knitting with the circle loom.  I can make hats quickly and have given many as gifts.  It's fun to knit them for the granddaughters.  I also have a box of hats ready to give to a charity.  With the loom, I can visit or watch television and not worry about skipping a stitch. 

I've been blessed over the past year a neice and a great-nephew.  Miss Rylee Mae is sporting her Oklahoma University hat her auntie (me) knitted up for her on a circle loom.



Dare yarn knitted with size 35 needles


Now here I am in that "50" something generation and have become addicted to yarn...LOTS of yarn.  I love the natural fibers...cotton, wool, and bamboo.  I can browse a yarn shop for hours....so many colors, textures, weights.  I marvel at the items made by experienced knitters and crocheters.  I am intrigued by the knitters and crocheters whose fingers fly as they work on a project, all the while discussing their craft, ideas, interests and their lives.

This past winter, I discovered a charming yarn shop in Winfield, Kansas.  I loved right away how the owner just let me wander, feel and look at the yarn.  I bought a learn to knit book from IYARN, a skein of yarn and knitting needles.  She was very patient and explained to me the stitches she used on a beautiful, chunky scarf.  I was quite amazed at my confidence.  I was even more amazed when my scarf turned out just like the one on display.   I soon visited her a second time and expanded my inventory of needles and yarn.  She printed me out a pattern from http://www.ravelry.com/ and soon I successfully knit a lace scarf. 

There's no question that I am a beginner in this craft.  I have discovered that I now love to watch the telly with my husband in evening and feel like I've also done something productive. 

My daughter-in-law has a real talent for taking pictures.  She has taken many photos of infants and it has been a delight to see the demand for her skills take off.   Last month, she was heading out of state to take pictures of a new born in her family and came to look at what yarn creations I had that might work for her photo shoot.  She picked out the 70" scarf made in neutrals Dare yarn. 

It was the perfect yarn to use.  Isn't this a sweet picture? 

Over the next several weeks I knitted cotton dishcloths.   I have several bridal showers to attend this year and thought they would be a nice addition to a gift.  My daughter has loved being the official tester.  She lets me know which yarn "holds up" and gets the pans clean!  Dishcloths are a great way for me to learn new stitches and improve my skills.  The Grandma's Favorite pattern taught me to increase and decrease while I knit a practical item.

As I knit, I think about the person I am knitting for.  I want the yarn to be soft and something they will use or wear. 

On a recent trip to Wichita, my daughter and a friend went to a yarn store with me.  I had "googled" yarn on the internet and Malbringo yarns came up.  I loved the looks of their yarn and wanted to see it and feel it.  We visited a shop named Heritage Hut and found they carried Malbringo. 

My daughter really liked a colorful hank of yarn.  The yarn worked into a beautiful scarf.  The downfall of the yarn was that my husband's cat also really liked the feel of the yarn.  He likes to lay beside me when I'm knitting and when I went to knit a stitch, the scarf gave a tug.  I realized he had it and then I realized he had chewed through the yarn.  Next lesson, how to fix a hole in a scarf.  Since this mend, I've watched mending videos on http://www.dailyknitting.com/ and now have a better skill set to repair the next mishap.

I've introduced my male corgi, Cooper in another blog.  He seems to think he needs to be on my lap when I'm knitting.  Between him and the cat, some evenings it becomes a challenge to get much done.  Sadly, I left my latest project on the couch the other evening.  A beautiful cardinal red, egyptian cotton lace scarf.    I grabbed it the next morning only to find the yarn was seperate from the project.  The cat had struck again.  I've learned my lesson!  My projects now get put away, out of his reach.  I do have a scrap jar though and will soon be making him a new catnip mouse :-) 

My life is now at the point I can enjoy the art of knitting and/or crocheting.  I look forward to improving my skills and giving gifts of home made items.  I now understand that when Bob's grandmother knitted the wedding afghan, when grandmother's and good friends knitted or crocheted baby afghan's to welcome my children, that it wasn't just the gift of the yarn.  Each stitch was filled with love, hopes and dreams as the item was created and prayed over.  If you haven't ventured into yarn I encourage you to take courage and try.  There are those out there willing to share their love and skills.  I hope to be the grandma that teaches my little granddaughters to knit and crochet.  Our little Bri has already shown an interest.  It's a timeless art but of the fibers we work with today are treasures!  When my workshop is open, bring your project and let's work on it together.  If you don't have a project but want to learn, I've always got looms and yarns to make hats for charity. If you've ever received a soft, hand knitted or hand crocheted gift you'll know the feeling of receiving something very, very special.  Knitting for charities is a way to share with individuals that need to know that very special feeling. 

And Susie at IYARN, speaking of special feelings; I thank you for the conversation when you shared with me that my mother-in-law had been your Sunday School teacher.  It was her mother, Grandma Ritter that gave Bob and I our beloved wedding afghan more than 30 years ago.  Daily, we remember each of these strong, talented women with much, much love.  I choked as I left your shop that day knowing that it's the gift of friendship that means the most of all.  May God bless you on your new shop endeavors. 



In Loving Memory of Margaret Ritter