I am loving this knitting.
As I told you in a post last week, I just started
knitting. I’m really enjoying it.
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| See Chase Bird on the right side of the photo? He's sitting on the treat bag that he knocked off the table. |
When I think of my father’s
sister, my Aunt Esther, the first picture that comes to mind is of her sitting
in her house, holding a conversation while knitting away. I hear the click of
her knitting needles. I see the movement of her hands and arms.
She would glance at her work every
now and then. Otherwise, her focus was on the person she was talking to.
I still have the lavender sweater
and long stocking hat she knitted for me when I was a small child. I have the
afghan she knitted my parents. The work is beautiful.
Now I’m knitting, though not
nearly as well as Aunt Esther.
I find it challenging, especially the
purl stitch. My fingers still feel awkward with that stitch.
It’s also absorbing, holding my
attention even when I’m watching TV. It’s meditative. It’s soothing. I like the
rhythm.
And I like the freedom of creating
something. At first, I ripped out the whole piece when I made a mistake. I don’t
yet know how to fix a dropped stitch or other mistake, and I wanted to keep my
work “perfect.”
But that wasn’t any fun. And I decided that, by golly, I was going to
enjoy this. We need to enjoy what we do as much as possible. Do you agree?
So I stopped starting over and
just went on knitting even when I knew I had dropped a stitch or somehow added
one.
Chase Bird likes knitting, too.
Rather, he likes the yarn. He thinks it’s terrible that I don’t let him play
with it.
He makes flying leaps toward my
lap, his mouth aiming for the yarn. I tug it away from him. He jumps on my lap,
trying to get at the soft thread. Alas, I take it away again.
And to make matters worse, I then
takes pictures of him.
Maybe someday I’ll knit as well as
Aunt Esther. I’ll click my needles together and not even look down. Then Chase
Bird will have a better chance with the yarn.
What activity soothes you? Do you
practice any skill that an older relative also practiced?
i read, write, talk to my mom, paint my nails, clean my closet, take a walk, work outdoors in my yard, breathe, i do simple things - nothing totally out of the ordinary or exciting. what makes me happy. ( :
ReplyDeletetorture for chase bird; relaxation for you. :)
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother taught me to knit when I was eight, though I only started knitting regularly a few years ago. My other grandmother had a garden inside and out of her house. I had no interest in it at the time, but now I keep a large garden (though all outside -- I tend to kill houseplants).
ReplyDeleteI think crafts and hobbies are a great way to let go of perfectionism. Sometimes I can do everything right in the garden, and a plant still dies. Other times, I can do everything wrong, and the plant thrives. As for knitting, when I picked up the hobby after years of not doing it, I chose a really complex project. Over time, my projects are getting simpler and simpler -- something I can do and still chat with others. It's nice to just enjoy a hobby, and not try to turn it into another job! That's big growth for me.
Maybe you should get Chase Bird his own ball of yarn?? :)
ReplyDeleteThis post resonates with me -- and Lizzie! Oh, Mom has a hobby where Lizzie can play, too! But it hit for another way. About two years ago a good friend gave me a scarf pattern (450 stitches wide, six-balls, alternating every two rows, wide!). It's not a complicated pattern (though it takes FOREVER to do a row) but it's not one that comes as second nature. And with all those stitches, you're bound to drop and not realize it till an hour later. Like you, I started ripping it out to make it right. And eventually, I just stopped. I put safety pins on the dropped stitches and when I finish it, I'll tie beads to those and maybe some others. Lemonade from lemons. And it might even be prettier!
ReplyDeleteYES! Just keep going, perfect or not! Sometimes, I think it is the imperfections that makes things endearing to us. There won't be any other scarf that will look exactly like that because of the imperfection. And that makes it unique and special. Just like us. : )
ReplyDeletemy Auntie Ragna carded her own wool, I helped sheer and spin (sort of) I began knitting when I was 8, still knit, not perfectly I'm so far from a perfectionist it hurts, I would do me well to slide down that scale some toward a sort of perfect (i do know how to fix my mistakes), I think my mistakes are my signature tho so I don't fix them all. I put my wool in an empty plastic container , it exists through a small hole, this helps deter the cats but I don't think this will work with your Chase Bird...
ReplyDeleteOh Tina it is looking so good, I miss stitches and add stitches all the time and I had someone tell me that is the special part of you I like that so I knit on I am not going to rip out. I made my Mom a hat last night it looks like there are a few (?) mistakes but I am thinking she won't care. Keep knitting you and I need to relax:):) Chase Bird will get bored someday probably the day you will no longer need to look down:):) HUG B
ReplyDeleteOh Tina it is looking so good, I miss stitches and add stitches all the time and I had someone tell me that is the special part of you I like that so I knit on I am not going to rip out. I made my Mom a hat last night it looks like there are a few (?) mistakes but I am thinking she won't care. Keep knitting you and I need to relax:):) Chase Bird will get bored someday probably the day you will no longer need to look down:):) HUG B
ReplyDeleteHow nice, Tina! Chase Bird will be entertained as well, as cats love yarn...and the movements. :)
ReplyDeleteCross Stitch and swimming. I feel more at home in or around water.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.pinterest.com/pin/526850856380968508/ :-)
Oooh, I wish I could knit. I've tried it but I just can't figure it out. So I like to stick with cross-stitching - much easier for me to handle! :)
ReplyDeleteLove Chase Bird pics. I can just imagine how nutty that yarn must make him. :-)
Can you knit me a Christmas sweater since Christmas is going to be here in only 151 more days???
ReplyDeleteAs far as what activity soothes me, I have to say that hiking soothes me the most.
How wonderful that you've found something that is so relaxing. And yes, I totally agree! We need to enjoy what we do.
ReplyDeletePhotography is very meditative to me. And doubly meditative when I'm outdoors with my camera, preferably near water, or hiking through an area. Biking with a point and shoot camera hanging around my neck is my latest love.
You already know how I would answer both of those questions!!
ReplyDeleteI kinda like the mistakes as they tell a story about the creator!! The mistakes proclaim loud and clear that this beautiful item was not created by a machine!!
We have found the same love, I adore the color of the yarn you are working with!!
Tomorrow night, I am back on the farm for part two of my knitting in the round class. I am half way on my hat and I can't wait to finish it!! I am completely addicted!!
You are doing great! I have never learned how to knit, even though all of my female relatives do with much talent.
ReplyDeleteChase thinks you're doing it for him! My one cat wasn't to get under what ever I'm crocheting (I crochet, not knit).
ReplyDelete