Day 1; Starting Out
How and when did you begin knitting/crocheting? was it a skill passed down through generations of your family, or something you learned from Knitting For Dummies? What or who made you pick up the needles/hook for the first time? Was it the celebrity knitting ‘trend’ or your great aunt Hilda?
There are 2 parts to this story. The first took place back in the 1980s when I was a teenager, and I took my first steps in learning how to knit. My Mum taught me and my sister and we spent ages choosing wool and knitting up a jumper each. It took a while, but I enjoyed making it and was proud of what I'd accomplished.I found an old photo; here I am, aged 16 or 17, resplendent in the self same jumper!
Very stylish! After this, the knitting seemed to stop, I'm not sure why but I think that at that tender age, I probably didn't have the patience to see another project through to the end, or the time, with schoolwork and all my burgeoning musical activities.
So that was the beginning, then there was a hiatus of 25 years. A different world, I now had a computer and the internet, and all that technology opened up new opportunities, a wealth of knowledge and online shopping! It was all these things and the advent of blogging that got me back to all things woolly. After reading many crafty blogs, I decided to pick up my needles again. I won a huge parcel of assorted needles on Ebay, got myself some wool and started to knit again. Scarves, cardigans, hats, squares to make blankets, I knitted them all. I practised stitch patterns galore, I acquired a stash and I was enjoying it tremendously. Then I stumbled upon a few blogs which were written by crocheters. I loved the patterns they were making, granny squares, hexagons, ripples; pretty and a bit different. I thought I'd like to try it and made a shaky start, deciphering those pictures in the books were not as easy as I had thought; then a helpful friend showed me the basics, and with a lot of practice, slowly but surely, I taught myself how to crochet. Something about crochet has struck a chord with me, I get such a buzz from it. It is the perfect way for me to unwind after a busy or stressful day. Now, just over a year after starting out, I'm a serious hooker, I try to do a little (preferably as much as I can) each day, I have an impressive (some might say excessive) stash and collection of hooks and lots of pattern books. I love how you can make such beautiful designs just with a ball of wool and a small metal hook. My perfect day would be spent with a crochet hook, some beautiful, colourful wool, a never-emptying pot of tea, the sun shining and the radio on with something interesting to listen to while I crochet away the time. I still like to knit every now and then, but crochet seems to suit me better - I really am HOOKED!
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