The Writing Mamas Daily Blog
Each day on the Writing Mamas Daily Blog, a different member will write about mothering.If you're a mom then you've said these words, you've made these observations and you've lived these situations - 24/7.
And for that, you are a goddess.
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Knitting
Emma, my daughter, is learning to knit. She started out with hand-knitting, and moved on to knitting needles.
When I was a kid, I learned to knit,too. My first project was a scarf. It had multicolored yarn at the borders and the rest was solid blue. That scarf was extra long, and it was wide and uneven. I made it for my mother; she may have worn it a few times out of kindness. One year I found it in the attic and took it with me to college, where anything “out” was “in.”
My second project was a pea-green sweater. This one involved knitting and purling (whatever that is). I completed the front, and then lost interest. After that, any time I’d say to my mom, “I’m bored. What can I do?” She’d always answer: “Why don’t you work on your sweater?” I never wanted to do that!
My daughter has a friend whose mother is a great knitter. I watched her work on beautiful sweaters of luxurious yarn for herself and her daughter. I wondered about returning to the craft myself, undaunted by my past. When Emma started knitting, I decided to try again and went to the fabric store.
“Do you have any knitting kits?” I asked. Yes, they did. They had a kit for a blue scarf. The salesperson took it out of the box and showed me how to cast on. Her approach was very complicated, but there were instructions. Then she showed me how to knit. This was more familiar. I could do this! I bought the kit.
The border for this scarf was made of boa-type yarn. I spent hours untangling it so I could just get started. Fortunately, Emma knew had to cast on, and in a much simpler way.
At night, watching the Tour de France, I knit away. Unfortunately, the yarn got tangled again, so there I was, up until midnight, cross-eyed, trying to wind it into a ball.
Okay… I finally finished with the boa-yarn, and could use the regular stuff. I knit many rows and they looked pretty good. The only problem was that the scarf kept getting wider. Somehow I was adding stitches to each row. Oh well. Now it was time to let Emma work on the scarf.
So Emma knit away, but there were some holes in the scarf where she’d made mistakes. It’s just for learning, I told myself. And yet I couldn’t let it be. I ripped out the rows and started over again. I know the experience is more important than the result, and yet the perfectionist in me just couldn’t let go.
Will I ever finish the scarf? Will I let Emma learn and simply enjoy the process? Will I have another loooong blue scarf that gets wider and wider? I don’t know. I’ll have to take it one row at a time.
By Nina Katz
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When I was a kid, I learned to knit,too. My first project was a scarf. It had multicolored yarn at the borders and the rest was solid blue. That scarf was extra long, and it was wide and uneven. I made it for my mother; she may have worn it a few times out of kindness. One year I found it in the attic and took it with me to college, where anything “out” was “in.”
My second project was a pea-green sweater. This one involved knitting and purling (whatever that is). I completed the front, and then lost interest. After that, any time I’d say to my mom, “I’m bored. What can I do?” She’d always answer: “Why don’t you work on your sweater?” I never wanted to do that!
My daughter has a friend whose mother is a great knitter. I watched her work on beautiful sweaters of luxurious yarn for herself and her daughter. I wondered about returning to the craft myself, undaunted by my past. When Emma started knitting, I decided to try again and went to the fabric store.
“Do you have any knitting kits?” I asked. Yes, they did. They had a kit for a blue scarf. The salesperson took it out of the box and showed me how to cast on. Her approach was very complicated, but there were instructions. Then she showed me how to knit. This was more familiar. I could do this! I bought the kit.
The border for this scarf was made of boa-type yarn. I spent hours untangling it so I could just get started. Fortunately, Emma knew had to cast on, and in a much simpler way.
At night, watching the Tour de France, I knit away. Unfortunately, the yarn got tangled again, so there I was, up until midnight, cross-eyed, trying to wind it into a ball.
Okay… I finally finished with the boa-yarn, and could use the regular stuff. I knit many rows and they looked pretty good. The only problem was that the scarf kept getting wider. Somehow I was adding stitches to each row. Oh well. Now it was time to let Emma work on the scarf.
So Emma knit away, but there were some holes in the scarf where she’d made mistakes. It’s just for learning, I told myself. And yet I couldn’t let it be. I ripped out the rows and started over again. I know the experience is more important than the result, and yet the perfectionist in me just couldn’t let go.
Will I ever finish the scarf? Will I let Emma learn and simply enjoy the process? Will I have another loooong blue scarf that gets wider and wider? I don’t know. I’ll have to take it one row at a time.
By Nina Katz
Labels: Nina Katz
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