Knitting is Great!

Following a week of jokes about a knitted kangaroo and some people denigrating knitters, I have decided that it is time to tell my story.

My mother taught me to knit when I was four years old.  There was good reason for that.  I discovered her bag of odds and ends of wool!  By the time she had untangled them there were hundreds of short lengths.  Out came a pair of knitting needles and my lesson began.  Two squares of garter stitch in all colours of the rainbow, plus some.  Mum stitched them together, leaving the appropriate holes – a tea cosy for a small teapot.

A couple of years later I was in trouble at school.  We (boys and girls) were to be taught to knit.  Garter stitch of course and an oblong shape.  To be folded twice to make a purse with a strap.  (Green and red cotton yarn, I think).  I suspect it was meant to last for several lessons, but my flashing needles…..

I must have saved my parents a fortune with my knitting.  All of my sweaters and cardigans plus some for them and my young sister.  And, of course, I had the best dressed dolls in the neighbourhood.

I have also used knitting as a means of supplementing my income.

There is another excellent reason for me to be thankful to knitting.  When I developed Repetitive Stress Injuries in my wrists/elbows/shoulders, the rheumatologist told me that my fingers hadn’t ‘frozen’ because of my knitting – and playing the piano.

Unfortunately, due to the RSI I cannot knit as much as I used to, but wool sweaters are definitely warmer than flimsy ones in man-made fibres.

One thing I’ve never really mastered is crochet.  I have tried it but find it a bit too fiddly.

I can remember a great-aunt who always seemed to be crocheting.  We little girls in the family were very lucky – she would make us very pretty and very fancy socks.  Were they ever painful to wear!  But, of course, whenever we went to visit we had to wear them. 

Whether you knit, sew or crochet, I’m sure you enjoy your handicrafts as much as me.