My Knitting Story

When I was in college, my mother took a job working at the local (well not quite local) needlepoint shop, Fundamentally Needlepoint. While I was home one summer, I visited her shop only to fall in love with the beaufiful designer yarns that they sold along with the needlepoint canvases and needlepoint wool. I looked through some of the pattern books and found a pattern I loved. I decided I was going to learn how to knit, and that was going to be my first project. I bought all of the yarn for that project (and a few others) that day and set to learn.

Mom patiently taught me how to cast on, then knit, purl, and finally, bind off. After I felt I had sufficient practice in square, I set to work on my dress. It was going to be beautiful. I bought some soft purple yarn and dark purple fake fur and I was ready to go. Looking back I have to ask myself, what the heck I was thinking...

There was no way that was going to turn out well, and there was no way that was going to look good in purple. I still have the yarn and I hope to find something to use it for some day, but for now, it sits in my stash waiting for me to find some inspiration.

Througout the rest of college, I knitted a good amount. I gave scarves for Christmas one year. They were all quite appreciated. I bought tons and tons of yarn. I just knew I'd have something that I could make with it. And then I kind of forgot about knitting. I'm not sure if I got too busy or if I just got frustrated, but somehow I ended up with boxes of yarn and no ambition.

I briefly took knitting back up at random times, only to get bored or uninspired and go back to something else. At least, until I found Ravelry. A friend of mine suggested it as a way to keep my knitting projects organized. I went through all of my yarn, took pictures, and cataloged it on the website. That's when I realized I had way too much yarn that I was never going to get through. I vowed then and there that I would clear out some of my stash. Some of it was given away to those who would appreciate it more, but most of it lingers waiting for me to create something beautiful with it.

As you can see on my projects page, I've gotten a lot of knitting done in the last six months or so. I've knitted a ton of socks, a few teddy bears, and other odds and ends, and I have a handful of projects on the needles. Unfortunately, through all of this, I think that my stash has still grown rather than shrunk. One step forward, two steps back, I guess.

My latest story doesn't have a happy ending. It actually doesn't have an ending at all yet, though I can't do anything with it. Another pattern that I fell in love with that first day, and bought yarn for became my knitting baby lately. I was on a roll to finish it, and I worked diligently to that end. Sadly, the end of my yarn arrived before the end of the project. I have about 3 inches left of the sleeves, and I have to complete the trim, and I have no more yarn. Worse yet, the yarn has been discontinued, so I haven't been able to find any more. My project will sit in its current state until I either find the yarn or figure out an alternative to completely ripping it out. It was fitting so beautifully too.

Not all projects end in tears though. While I'm kind of bored with socks, I've had very good luck with them. I completed a beautiful set for my friend's baby girl. I'm working very nicely on two lace shawls even though lace still scares me quite a bit. I also have two pairs of socks for a Christmas present and another project for a birthdya present that I'm working on. To me though, the important part is that I'm knitting almost every day, even if it's just for half an hour.