Knitting

I have the fortune of having my Mom’s parents still alive (My Dad’s parents passed away before I was born so I never had the pleasure of knowing them.)  My Nanny and Papa BOTH knit.  My Grandmother taught my Papa to knit after he retired and the two of them knit every one of their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren and all the significant others slippers for Christmas.  (I think we are close to 50 now) Every Christmas everyone looks forward to their Nanny and Papa slippers.  One time when I was about 8 years old my grandmother spent the day with us and showed me how to knit.  I never actually created anything usable while knitting, until this summer.  This summer I made a scarf!  I remembered how to start the knitting and I bought some yarn on clearance at Michaels and I attempted to knit every night while watching TV.  In the beginning it took me a lot longer then I expected but once I got the hang of things I was able to speed along.  I was so excited when I completed the scarf!  I tried to make a thin, long scarf that would be perfect for Fall time before the super cold weather set in.  This project is fun for numerous reasons: You can find someone to teach you to knit and make a day of it; Grandparents are great for this (if they knit!) Crocheting would be fun too!  It’s nice to spend time with your family and learning to knit from a matriarch allows for great story telling and makes for a wonderful way to spend the day.  (If that’s not your bag YouTube has some great instructional videos.)  It’s fun to make something useful all on your own.  It took me one spool (not sure if that is the technical term) of yarn that I bought on clearance for $1.  The knitting needles cost me about $4 as I couldn’t find the ones I had as a child.  It was very cathartic and gave me/my hands something to do other then mindless snacking while watching TV.  Now that Winter is finally upon us, I am hoping to attempt another scarf and then maybe a baby blanket for my favourite cousin who is having a baby girl late Spring!