Knitting

Life in my apartment is much easier and less stressful than caring for my previous Edwardian terraced house. It's smaller, more modern, no stairs (of course) and generally stays much cleaner, with very little dust. Added to that, before I moved, I'd massively decluttered from twenty-five years of accumulated 'stuff', so that everything now has its place and function, and there is just less of it. As a result, I seem to have a bit more time on my hands, especially in the evenings. By then my dry, sore eyes are usually too tired to read, and there's rarely anything that really attracts me to watch on TV. So my tendency was to sit in front of the computer - and I decided I was doing too much of that. I needed a new hobby. 

Now I've never been into 'crafts'; photography is my creative outlet. My mother aways reckoned she couldn't knit or sew and I've been a bit the same. I have in the past done a bit of sewing, even made clothes for me and my daughter when she was little. But knitting was never on the cards. My only foray into it was at primary school, when I got so bored knitting a scarf that I cast off after about nine inches. My teacher got really cross with me and even threw scissors! So that meant I have never since been attracted to try.

I have friends who knit; my daughter's paternal grandma was a competent knitter and I still wear a jumper she knitted for me. There are 'knit and natter' groups locally and the little craft shop just down the road was advertising a beginners' class. It seemed like a good place to start. 

Fast forward six weeks or so and I'm getting on a lot better than I anticipated. So far I've only done 'straight' things, no increasing and decreasing, but I've found a rhythm and the tension of my work is a lot better and neater than I predicted. I've made wrist warmers, a neck warmer and now a long scarf made up of sample panels of different stitches. I'm really enjoying myself, and it's a mindful activity too. I have to concentrate, can't think of anything else, so that's very calming. 

I've also already got a box full of lovely yarn and started accumulating all the necessary paraphernalia. It seems quite an addictive hobby! Whereas once I'd be attracted to stationery stores and book shops, now, all of a sudden, it's yarn shops that emit the siren call. 

Having finished the scarf, I'm wondering what to try next... My church has just started a 'baby bank' market stall, supplying free clothes and other baby items to those who need them. I think there's plenty of scope in that direction, baby things being smaller and quicker to knit up than adult knitwear. Hopefully this new-found hobby will become a real part of my life. 

When I told my daughter I was learning to knit, her response was 'next Gran level unlocked', which amused me a great deal.  💪