I started knitting in December of 2004 after buying a lovely Fun Fur scarf at a crap show. Having given up my photography hobby after starting a family, I never really figured my knitting would amount to much. After all, I’d tried it when I was younger, and I never could get the hang of the tautness of the yarn and the swivel of the needles. This time, though, I had the internet. I had online videos that were like having a teacher in front of me. I learned how to knit with the ‘throw’ method. I had the Stitch ‘n Bitchbook with its countless hints and pages of humor to help me realize (gasp!) it wasn’t just ME!I took to knitting like a spider to spinning. I loved it. I loved touching the yarn. I loved the gadgets. I loved all the different kinds of needles I could find on e-bay and in craft stores. I loved the patterns and started collecting them and binding them before I ever believed I could knit them. I knit loads of scarves, lots of hats , mittens, socks, purses, purses, purses (all felted, of course), a summer top, shawls, kids’ sweaters. When I learned my brother was expecting twins, I went crazy with booties, caps, anything tiny that could be knit up in an evening.
I learned the lingo. I have a “stash.” I’ve had to “frog” my work. I can pm, ssk, ktbl, ptbl, yo, and m1. It’s like another language, and I love it. I find I even like winding balls of yarn! Instead of dreading the monotony of garter stitch, I’ve decided to enjoy the process that lets me feel constructive yet allows me the luxury you might feel staring at a fire or watching waves washing up on the beach. It’s calming. It’s peaceful. It is rejuvinating.
And not a little bit time-consuming.
But now that I’m a little older (I turned 50!), I try to enjoy the moment. These are the good ol’ days.
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Well, this is Charlotte (surprise!). She came to our back door in July of 2005 about the size of a sunflower seed with legs, and she lived with us until December. (We did bring her inside and fed her crickets for awhile, but she still didn’t make it.) Charlotte is an Orb Weaver, and you can see why. Once I was able to get past the shivers whenever I looked at her, I started really examining and studying her and discovered she was actually pretty darned interesting. It would take her about 45 minutes to spin these webs, then she’d hang upside down and wait for her next meal. I learned that there were three types of silk that made up her web, and that only the ladder-style strings of silk were sticky. I was truly hoping to come downstairs one morning and see “TERRIFIC!” written inside her beautiful design. No such luck.
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