Since I’m just that little tiny bit competitive, I really enjoy the contests on people’s blogs and swaps. (Okay – I can hear some of you snickering…)
The first contest for the Sock It To Me swap is to blog about our respective start in the wonderful world of knitting. I can remember my Mom trying to teach myself and my older sister how to crochet when I was 6 or 7, and then trying to teach me knitting when I was home sick from school when I was about 8, but neither of those attempts “took” with either craft. So, for my real start on knitting, let’s jump into the way-back machine to circa 1980.
I asked for a pleated skirt for my birthday that year. Some would call it a kilt, but as Mr. Me insists (vehemently) “Women don’t wear kilts. Kilts are for men!”
(yes, that really is Mr. Me on our wedding day with his groomsmen and best man)
For about 3 years when I was a teenager, I had a regular babysitting gig with our next door neighbours – every Wednesday night for bowling league, after school Thursday and Friday when Mrs. Neighbour worked part-time and then most Saturday evenings as well. Since I couldn’t exactly have any boys over for company with my Mom next door, I needed to find something to keep me busy during the long evening hours. When I found a book at the library about how to knit left handed, I decided to give it a try.
Not one to be cautious, I jumped in with both feet and my first project was a sweater! It was a plain stockinette stitch long sleeved crewneck sweater, in burgundy wool to match the skirt. C’mon, it was 1980 – preppie was “in”.
Was it perfect? Not by any stretch of the imagination, but I had knit a tension swatch, so it did fit reasonably well and I wore it for many years. Included in its imperfections was the fact that I didn’t know that you should always cast off ribbing in ribbing and it should be done LOOSELY. A certain amount of tugging was always required to get it over my head… But far and away the greatest imperfection was the fact that I wasn’t doing my purl stitches properly. What should have been stockinette stitch was in fact twisted stockinette stitch. I had purled through the back of all the purl stitches! At least it was uniform.
I no longer have the sweater, and can’t find either a photo of me wearing it nor the pattern leaflet. So in lieu of a photo of my first knitting project, I give you a picture of me from the same period of time. How do you like my glasses? The lenses were eventually used in the Hubble Space Telescope...
8 comments:
Ok, so I was drinking some Timmy's coffee. And since I was warned, it didn't spray out over the keyboard. But, the kilt photo had me laughing way more than your preppy look. I had some really bad glasses too, but mine were in 4th grade...so no one is interested much in those photos. You look like you're in high school.
Where'd you get married? The background in that photo look university-ish.
Oh Katie, That was a good story! Very ambitious, a sweater. Good groom/groomsmen photo! and LOVE those glasses. I had a pair, like that. My best friend had a pair too, and left them with me to donate to the Lions Club when she came up on a visit. She wears contacts, those were just in case, and she replaced them up here. They are so funny looking compared to today's styles! And yes, I'm in the false belief that I am of charge of Reggae. :-)
Mwa. Ha. Haha. Hahahahahahaahahahaa!
AWESOME photo.
Great photo! Love the lenses, how nice of you to donate them to science.
LOVE the glasses - I had a really big pair too, but that was because they came free (leftovers from the 80's?) with the eye exam with my parent's insurance at the time. The few days I couldn't wear my contacts to school I stayed home.
(Shameless plug) I have a contest running at my blog too - if you want to enter. Just leave a comment about the worst knitting disaster you've ever had. Pictures are a plus, but not necessary.
I was just looking at a photo of me in my 80's glasses with the huge bug lenses yesterday, and wondering how we could ever have thought that was attractive! Especially on someone like me with a tiny face.
OMG - thanks for the spray warning! I think that this is the funniest story about learning to knit that I have ever read!
As a big glasses wearer too, I can vouch for the lens and NASA.
I will have to read more of your blog! Your SITM Pal will have fun with you.....
Post a Comment