Finally!
11 July 2002, 2:26 PM

I can knit! I can KNIT!!!

I knit a bootie. :-)

You have NO IDEA how happy this makes me. Really. I've always thought it was an utter tradgedy that I couldn't seem to remember how to knit, no matter how many times my mother showed me.

She's from Finland, and all she has to do is blink and she's created this faboulous nordic designed sweater. Of course. Most of my female Finnish ancestors could knit, and I know that my great grandmother could spin. I so desperately want a replica of the kind of spinning wheel she would have used.

In the meantime though I'm going to relish my little victory. I don't know why I couldn't seem to remember the difference between knit/purl stitches when I was a teenager. Mom would show me how to do it and I'd start plugging away just fine. That is, until I put it down.

*sigh*

And then - for the life of me - I couldn't remember how to continue when I picked it up again. Either I'd forget how to purl or I'd forget how to knit, or I'd forget how to tell which one I needed to do! I finally gave up and moved on to cross stitch, embroidery, and crewel.

But I finally did it. I decided to give it one more try, and this time what she showed me actually stuck! The directions in the books make perfect sense, and I don't think I'll have any trouble following a pattern. I'm still getting the hang of figuring out a size. I figure I'll experiment on myself and knit my first sweater for me. That way I won't be hurt/offended if I don't like it or disappointed if it doesn't fit. :-)

Right now I'm just working with some cheap acrylic yarn. I've got some heavenly alpaca wool yarns (damn expensive, but ooooooohhhhhhh so soft) and some merino wool yarns that I'll try later when I'm feeling more confident in my skills.

After that? Watch out! Everyone I know is getting a sweater.