Thirty Days of Thanksgiving: Day 21, knitting

I am thankful that I knit.  Knitting has calmed me, frustrated me, and excited me-- sometimes all withing the same project, hour, row.  Knitting has brought me closer to people and brought new people into my life.  I think it is fair to say that knitting has changed my life.  I know that I wouldn't have some of the friendships I have right now without knitting, and those people are very important to me.  There is one person in particular that I am close to because of knitting-- she wanted me to teach her how to make socks-- but has moved to be so much more.

I taught myself to knit from a Leisure Arts booklet.  I was waiting tables and mentioned that I wanted to learn to knit.  I was twenty-two years old.  My mother didn't knit.  My Gramma didn't knit, and although her mother did, I never met my Great Gramma Irene.  I have no idea why I wanted to learn how to knit, other than that I wanted to have a certain kind of creative life and felt that knitting might be an interesting and fun creative endeavor.

A co-worker brought in the Leisure Arts booklet, and the boss brought me in some yarn and needles.  I wish I could say that I took to it like a duck to water, but I didn't.  It was really difficult for me, and I didn't have anyone to ask.  Mary Ellen brought me in the booklet because she didn't knit anymore, and could barely remember doing it.  And the boss?  Well, I wasn't going to ask her!  (Like I said, I was 22 years old.  Bosses held more reverence then.)

I spent years only knitting very simple things.  I bought horrible, crappy yarn that hurt my hands to work with.  This was before the internet, or I'm sure I would have spent hours reading blogs about knitting.  I stayed with it, though.  When I moved, I moved my yarn and tried to keep at it.  Knitting was going to a part of my life!

Eventually it happened.  I became a knitter.  I got to the point where I knit more days than I didn't.  I bought good yarn and realized that it really is worth it.  I started this blog--twice-- with the intent of it being mostly a knitting blog.  (I think that the blog is still finding its way.  Time will tell how this falls out.)  But I'm still knitting.  And it still frustrates me sometimes.  But it also challenges me in a good way.  I love the fact that I can start with what looks like a pile of string and end up with a sock.  I hope that I am able to continue "this knitting thing" for a long time.

Still fooling around with PicMonkey.