Knit Wit:: The beginnings

I first learned to knit when I was about 9 or 10.  I got a children’s knitting kit with little blue plastic needles for a birthday or Christmas and my Granny taught me how to use them.

Granny kept her knitting in a nice bag to the side of her chair and like most grans she was a master and her needles flew at a speed I could hardly comprehend!  Funnily enough I don’t remember anything she was knitting, just the act itself.

My Granny on the Isle of Skye where she grew up. She passed away in 2000 and is sadly missed.

I was too impatient, I wasn’t instantly brilliant at knitting and so gave it up quite quickly.  My stitches were so tight that i could barely get the needle into them and my fingers hurt from the effort of pushing the stitch off.  The wool I had was a nasty ‘farmer’ green shade and I wanted to knit my Dad a scarf.  I never got further than 6 inches before giving up.

I also remember in Primary School taking part in a Blue Peter appeal for knitted squares.  Again I didn’t like my wool and it was too much of a struggle.  I think I finished a square but knitting went straight back out of my mind.

boys never get to wear their own jumpers!

Years later, around 2007, I was staying with Jamie (Mr Kapow’s civilian alter ego) at his Mum’s house in East Yorkshire.  Chrisy and i hit it off immediately and spent a lot of time together chatting like old friends.  I soon discovered that Chrisy was a genius knitter and Jamie spent a lot of time on his own that weekend wearing his favourite Dennis the Menace style jumper which his Mum had made for him.

I can’t quite recall what she was making at the time but she had something on her needles and I was captivated!  The next time she visited she brought me a present which turned out to be a knitted handbag!  It was triangular and made from purple, pink and yellow ribboned wool.  I loved it but what i loved the most was the fact that she had made it specifically for me!  I spent hours examining it, turning it inside out and stretching the fabric, pulling it gently to see how the stitches were made…wow!

My bag from Chrisy

A few days later I spotted another kiddies knitting kit in a shop and took it as a sign!  I knew I’d be able to remember how to knit but I couldn’t for the life of me cast on!   In frustration I called Chrisy who was at work and she talked me through it sitting at her desk using two pencils as props!

After that I was off – NOT!

I watched video after video on the internet of how to knit and enlisted Jamie’s help to work out where I was going wrong.  The woman on one particular video had a very annoying habit if saying “scoop (scyooooooooop) up the wool.”

Eventually though I got to a stage where I was able to knit rows of garter stitch by wedging one needle in my hip (yes?) and slowly winding the wool round with the other hand.  Of course, this meant that I was only able to do it on the couch with my feet up and my tongue hanging out!

I bought Stitch n Bitch by Debbie Stoller and pretty soon was able to understand the principles of garter stitch.  utterly impetuous and impatient as I am however, straight away I wanted to see a ‘thing’ knitted rather than rows and rows of boring garter stitch so I made up my mind that I was making a handbag!

Jamie came home from work and tipped a carrier bag full of wool over my head, all bright and bold colours!  I started with red and every row was a marvel.  Each time I turned the needles I paused to gaze in awe at the way these stitches were forming fabric.  FABRIC.  Wowzers.

The turning point came in May 2008 when Jamie and I travelled to Manchester to see Bruce Springsteen at Old Trafford.  No Bruce doesn’t knit as far as I know but we stayed in nearby Cheshire with Jamie’s Auntie and Uncle Margie and Roy and spent a day in Shrewsbury visiting his Nanna.  I had never met Nanna before but I knew she was a prolific knitter and so took along ‘my work.’

Nanna was gleefully mocking of my efforts and with a wicked glint in her eye she ripped out my entire handbag and forced me to start again!  Nanna was understandable appalled and bemused by my ‘leg wedge’ technique and before the afternoon was out had taught me how to hold the wool between my fingers and wind it round without taking my hand off the needle.  I still had to anchor the needle under my arm like a bagpipe though and my enduring knitting style which Vonnie at The Life Craft finds so amusing was born!

me and Nanna, Ooh she's evil!

 

So I finished my bag at last and then immediately made another one in purple and yellow for my friend Lindsey!

My first knitted 'thing'