While I was searching for some old pictures, I pulled down a big Frye boot box from the top of my closet. Inside I discovered the purple sweater that my Nana knit, probably around the turn of the last century. It was chock full of cables, an Aryan style, and since I knew it was a tight fit at 16, almost six decades later I didn’t have to try it on. I want to give it to the Bride; and I want to teach the Love Bug how to knit like a laidback knitter when she gets older!
Yesterday I walked into the Haus of Yarn in search of a certain size needle and walked out with this book, “10 Secrets of the Laidback Knitters, A Guide to Holistic Knitting, Yarn and Life,” by Vicki Stiefel and Lisa Souza. Post Christmas sales were in the air, (as in, “Come back on Wednesday when everything is half off”) and a woman was delivering a big box from Nothing Bundt Cakes, http://www.nothingbundtcakes.com I love this knitting store, they had fudge in the back and invited me to their Thursday night knit club. Back to the book, there are all different kinds of knitters, on a spectrum from the up-tight anxious type seeking perfection all the way to someone who knits in a recliner and doesn’t mind a dropped stitch.
I have to admit, I don’t like making mistakes, but I’m aware that what I want to be is a laidback knitter. And now I know how! I may never do any spinning or roving, but I do know where most of the yarn I use comes from. And I can still walk down the road to the Rivanna River Alpaca farm and say “Hey” to my friend DeeDee. Her animals make the softest fiber in the world. Thanks to The Knitting Lady, I don’t fear dropping stitches or even ripping out rows of wool with abandon. I can say with satisfaction, I am the slowest knitter ever! “Slow” in the sense of the slow food movement; and to be fair, in the sense of time spent on a project…
Have a slow moving Sunday y’all. As our President said, “Drink some eggnog.” I’m working on a rosy pink dress for my little Bout de Chou – translation “tiny piece of cauliflower!” I intend to keep knitting…and writing about gun control, in light of the tone deaf statements of the NRA. Let’s bring our voices to Washington via petitions, phone calls and those really hard to ignore, snail mail letters. Slow and steady will win this race.
MountainMornings 
No need to hurry a project. Patience makes it better. I am not a speed knitter, and have several projects going at a time. Nice to knit for the little ones as the projects are smaller , but then again- they won’t wear them for long!
Lisa that us too true. I’m doing this in a 24 month size, so plenty of time, I hope!
Chris Sent from my iPhone
Darling baby!
NRA’s latest statements are so off it’s laughable, except it’s not laughable at all.
Thanks Barbara, did you notice the little bow? Your tiny reindeer is so adorable, have a wonderful visit!
Chris Sent from my iPhone
Sweet baby! š
I never became a really dedicated knitter. I made a few rather simple projects years and years ago. The first project I made was a scarf (of course!) when I was about 14 years old. I knit it when I was sick in bed with the flu. I knit the whole time I lay there and the scarf grew to over 6 feet long! I gave it to my brother and he laughed his butt off as he wrapped it around and around and around his neck. Good memory. He loaned it to me a few years later to wear as I went snowmobiling… anyone who is reading this and understands the stupidity of that might like to know it ended ALMOST as badly as you might have guessed. The scarf ended up shorter and my neck ended up slightly longer. oopsie.
I started crocheting when my daughter was born and enjoyed making tiny caps, sweaters, etc. I am a TENSE crocheter. Everything ended up a size or two smaller than it should have. I don’t know if I had continued knitting or crocheting if I ever would have become relaxed. Maybe now is a good time to try again. I love that you are able to enjoy the entire process… even knowing where the yarn comes from. Very nice. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, and the darling picture!
(Oh, and hang onto that sweater. You’ll be able to pass it on, I’m sure.)
Thanks Patti. I think our different stages of life require different relaxing hobbies. When I was younger, meditative was not in my vocabulary. I did needlepoint and even quilted, but was always drawn to fiber. You absolutely should take up the yarn again. I had a 20 year hiatus between knitting….
But if I were you, I would just do “shorter” pieces š