I recon I learnt how to knit around P3-4 and actually continued to develop there onwards. It was around the time when our auntie Janice first started looking after us, when our parents were away, that I began to knit and my sister too. She always had wool and knitting needles laying around her house – which I love – and whenever I’d go too hers would spend the evening knitting! I had a profound interest in this craft as she seemed to invest so many hours into it; so once she’d gone to sleep that night I decided to sneak out of bed and into her stash.
The room emitted in warm the orange glow of neighbouring street lights, I carefully pulled back the covers. Listening closely for the sound of minute snoring coming from the next room. Cautiously I made my way out the bed creeping quietly round the laundry littered room and reaching for the door. Which I helpfully left open a crack incase I needed the toilet.
I quickly snuck out across the landing – in fear of being discovered. Luckily my aunties a heavy sleeper, and still too this day doesn’t know the full of what happened. Haphazardly, I made my journey down the stairs, doing my best not to trip and fall wearing those no good fleece socks that every 5 year-old seems to injure themselves in… Or to fall over on the battalion of stief bears, or my auntie’s ceramic yellow Labrador – Goldie – guarding the steps.
Somehow I made my way down, flipping the lights on at the bottom. Nervously I glanced around. Being sure not to wake my auntie in the room above, I cautiously pushed open the living room door and bee lined over to her knitting cupboard. Delicately, I pulled open the door an gazed Upon the marvellous contents inside.
Being as young as I was, I had the comical notion that all you had to do to knit was move the needle tips against each other and wrap wool round them, but boy was I wrong. After around half an hour trying and getting nowhere, with a piece of her raspberry scarf she was currently making, I edventually gave up and went back to bed, disappointed. I had wanted so bad to give her a surprise like the elves and the shoe maker and have finished her scarf by time she got up. it was at that point I realised knitting was gonna be a lot harder than I thought.
The next morning I proceeded to approach my Auntie over breakfast .
And after a little anger over the bit of the scarf I had accidently unravelled the night before… which I lied my way out off by the way , she offered to show me how.
We worked with just the basics, garter stitch and casting off at first, but I continued to practice and even challenge her on her teaching over the up coming years. In the end all she actually taught me was how to purl, gartherstitch, cast on and off a godsend really. The rest I learnt through books and YouTube when ever I got stuck.
I personally developed my skills from a bunch of knitted animal books. By buying in different levels of knitting books; by different authors, I found my self able to progress from the simplest of books: …. to the hardest such as … or …picking up a wide variety of new techniques along the way until eventually I could knit things my Auntie couldn’t.
However there was some really bad (knitted) childhood creations I must share with you sometime, when I get the chance.
Tell us your knitting stories in the comments down below
Hand Made With Love – Catsith Craftsxx