To Knit or Knot
Don't think you will ever see me knitting in public, or shall I say it like it is, trying to knit, so one club or workshop I will never join, is knitting or crocheting.
Whyever not?
Well, I'd be the laughingstock of all the expert knitters and crocheters.
I can or used to be able to crochet, but only ever made one item with the crochet needle, so that kind of club is also not on my agenda.
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Why am I suddenly going down that road?
@mipiano wrote a fun piece about It's a fish... with a hole in its back, and gave me a much-needed pick-me-up after nostalgia hit me when going through Mom Lily's old photo albums looking for a photo of my Dad, for a Memoir Monday post that @ericvancewalton is running.
I urge you to take a peek at both posts.
Eric gives a topic every Monday, and we have a week to answer the question. This is a great way to store treasured memories forever on Hive.
Back to knitting and crocheting.
Being left-handed posed a big problem for my housecraft teacher in primary school (yes we had a subject like that, it was a looong time ago.) She tried her very best to teach me how to knit. I remember her trying to show me from all angles. The poor woman became confused herself, so imagine how I was battling to master the art of knitting, the opposite way to everyone else in the class!
Mom Lily used to say I looked so awkward knitting the 'wrong' way; Mom wasn't a knitter so did not have the patience to try and teach me.
All I wanted to do in any case, was read or play the piano if I wasn't getting up to mischief with my best friend, who Mom always blamed for being the naughty one. Her Mom likely thought I was the bad influence ;)
When in my teens, my aunt taught me how to crochet, so I made myself a shawl with tassels, which was the thing during the 'Hippie' era. It was a success.
I was not too excited about this hobby, so my crochet career came to an end, but the urge to crochet came back when I was expecting my first child.
I was determined to crochet a cardigan for my baby. In those days it wasn't the 'done thing' to know the gender of your baby, although it was starting to gain popularity, so I chose a pale green which could be for a girl or a boy.
The poor cardigan kept being put away to complete another day until it was too late.
Both my babies were in a huge rush to see this new world they were entering, and both came a week earlier than the expected date.
Not that I can use that as an excuse!
I asked my aunt to help complete the half-crocheted cardigan, but I always felt guilty, so...
When my son was around three, I decided to give knitting a go - it would be a jersey for my son!
My first attempt ended up way too big as the tension was too loose, so I gave that away to someone with an older child.
I did not give up this time, and the second jersey was a perfect fit.
That, however, was the end of my knitting career!
Being left-handed in a right-handed world can be full of challenges, but that's a subject for another day!
Come to think of it, perhaps I should rather try the art of knotting!
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Your knitting career at least brought one perfect jersey :))
Hahaha, your babies were in a rush to see this world and my one decided to postpone that experience as much as he could. I was in the hospital for days, waiting for him to decide to meet me. Maybe I had to start to knit then, I would finish a few cardigans hahaha (and as you read in my post, I don't know how to knit 😁 )
I am happy you got the vibe from that fish with a hole or bird with the eye post 😉
And I am sure if you start knitting, you will not be a laughingstock of the expert knitters. I started drawing on rocks and I am not good at drawing - but it is so much fun and enjoyment! 😇
Oh my word, your baby must have felt way too cosy inside! I can just picture an expectant Mom knitting cardigans till the baby decides to arrive.
Thank you for taking my mind onto some fun times, I'll remember the crocheted fish when writing that Memoir about my Dad.
Silverbloggers' #bom topic for this month is April Fool's jokes/pranks. I'm trying very hard to tickle my old brain so I can remember some of those.
Stone painting sounds more like my thing, I remember reading about it in one of your blogs;)
Oooooooh knitting! That's a sore subject for me 🙄❤️ my Gran taught me to knut when I was little and it was a, lovely thing we did together. I can still do it but I need help casting on and off. It's quite meditative once you get going! That being said, when I was pregnant with @matthew-williams I tried picking up the needles. I don't know what I was making... A scarf? The beginning of a blanket? Who knows. I got so frustrated I did more swearing than knitting and I bent my metal needles terribly because I was too tense. Oh dear. Haven't touched them since and Matthew is turning 12 this year. We actually have a lovely wool shop right next door to us. Perhaps I should pop in and try starting again, but this time just; for meditation 😊❤️
LOL, those blanket squares were very popular back in my 'heyday', and now seem to be making a come-back.
A good idea now that winter is looming!
Time to meditate, you've just invented a new meditation method @clairemobey;)
But jokes aside, I'm sure it's very therapeutic. However, you would have a good laugh if you saw me as I make giant sweeps with my left hand to get the wool over or under the needle, it's almost like I'm doing shoulder exercises;)
I hope to see your blanket or scarf soon 😉
and you're doing it left-handed!!! Wowee! I'll definitely make a post as soon as I get myself some needles and some yarn. I think you may have started something! Yes! I think I can handle the squares... or scarves? I don't think I'll have delusions of grandeur beyond that, but I think it would be lovely. Maybe I can teach the kids.... oh no... wait that sounds like the opposite of meditation 😂😂😂
Hey, you never know - we find some activities when we're at a place to find them. So maybe there just wasn't room for it in your life, when you tried before? Who knows? :)
As a fellow leftie, though, I totally feel you. I had similar difficulties trying to learn guitar. I think in the end, I learned (the little I did) the "right" way around (i.e. how right-handed people play it). It just seemed easier.
I'd like to knit to be able to make my own clothing. Especially when I see some of the wonderful things some gifted people make (I'm looking at you, @eveuncovered). But then, I remember the years of practice and that I'm not really in for that, so I quietly put the wish aside. :D
It's weird how I also do some things the "right" way, like eating with a knife and fork, but the spoon with my left hand, and the computer mouse with my right hand, don't know why! I tried using the mouse with my left hand when my right shoulder was injured, but it was really not easy.
My one brother also is left-handed and plays the guitar the "right" way, and used to kick the ball with his right foot which is unusual for a leftie.
I must check out @eveuncovered's work.
Maybe one day when I can't move around freely, I'll try my hand at a 'sedate' kind of handcraft;)
I don't know why these thins have gotten ingrained in our brains that way, I wonder about it too! Maybe it's 'cause that's how we're used to seeing people do it? I dunno. Anyway, looking forward to your knitting adventures, should they come in the future :D Hope you're well.
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STOPI'm not cut out for knitting, I tried when I was young, but nothing concrete came out of it. 😁 Knitting is an art like painting for example. I admire very much those who do it. I have a few little knitted things but they have been gifts. Those who knit say it's a way to entertain and de-stress. Good post yours and that of @mipiano. Regards.🤗🥰❤️
Yes I agree, we're not all cut out for knitting. I'd rather sew, work in the garden, or get stuck into baking.
Glad you enjoyed both posts @mamani
🤗🥰
I used to have a housecraft class in school... God, I hated it... I was never good at any knitting or anything! I did manage to knit a scarf, only I ran out of white wool so I continued with a bit of blue... It was so awful, I can still see it :))
I was the same, I only enjoyed it when we had to bake. We had to take housecraft in primary school, but when it came to choosing subjects in high school, housecraft was not on my list!
Oh my word, you sound like me when it comes to knitting. That first jersey I knitted was so big, yet I followed a pattern!
So, knitting I will
knotnot be doing;)I hated baking too. Luckily, one day I had a fainting spell and that convinced the teacher I was in poor health. Once I excused myself saying I had a doctor's appointment and ran home to watch a football (soccer, that is) game! Even remembering that moment makes me laugh.
Oh my word, was it a real fainting spell? Or did you fake it to go and watch football😂
You really did not like housecraft at all @ladyrebecca!
I enjoyed Maths till we got a grumpy old teacher who did not know how to teach so it became the subject I dreaded. I occasionally used to go to the sickroom if we were writing a test, faking sinus pain, my friend would use period pain as an excuse at times😂
Oh dear, I really enjoyed your post, I like to knit but with machine sewing it happens to me like you, my mom was a very well known manual arts teacher by the way but she couldn't teach me how to sew, no way I could get into it jjjjjjj. A nice day to you health.
Thanks @osismi, glad you enjoyed it. I still prefer doing other kinds of crafts, decor, gardening, cooking, and baking.
Have a great day further.