Knitting: A Love Stoy

The art of knitting does not get enough credit. Every time I pull out some yarn and needles, my husband snickers and asks me if I need help to my rocking chair. My mother casts on two stitches --- five, if she’s really into it --- before putting it down and saying she can’t do something that doesn’t give her instant gratification. A lot of times, if I’m out in public, I get funny looks and a lot of questions that run along the lines of ‘You’re not old enough to be spending all of your time knitting’.
But there is so much more behind the yarn and the needles. For me, knitting is my therapy.
I first learned how to knit in February of 2008. I had recently graduated from college and could not find a job. My husband was working as a private investigator, but was only working a few hours a week. We had no money, our landlord was getting frustrated with us, and we were facing the harsh reality of having to move back in with my parents of something didn’t change soon. My days consisted of getting online and searching for jobs, then sitting on the couch and watching my husband play video games.
One weekend, my parents, sensing my growing depression, came up for a visit. My mom looks at me and says ‘What can I do to help you keep your mind busy so you don’t spend all of your time thinking about how bad things are?’ My response was immediate: I wanted to learn how to knit. A friend of mind had taught me how to crochet a year or so before, and I enjoyed it, but it seemed as though you could do so much more with knitting.
So we headed over to the local Wal-Mart, picked up some tasty-looking yarn, and grabbed an ‘I Taught Myself Knitting’ book and got to work.
This was before I had any idea that different yarns required different sized needles. But after a few hours, I had the basic knit stitch down. Purling was still a bit beyond me, but I didn’t care. I was so excited. I was knitting!
My first piece was pretty bad. Again, I wasn’t too sure about the purl stitch, so I did the whole thing in Stockinette. It ended up being a purse. While it was pretty bad as far as aesthetics go, I was so proud of that thing.
We ended up moving back in with my parents. I still couldn’t find a job. My husband did, and we didn’t even live together for a while. He worked nights, so stayed with his mother while working. I only saw him on days he didn’t have to work.
I continued to knit. That summer, while I was out of a job, I looked after my mother, who was recovering from surgery to correct a hernia that was blocking her bowels. Every morning, I would get up, make sure she didn’t need anything, then hop online to check and apply for jobs. I still was feeling pretty depressed. I started keeping a folder of all of the rejection letters I received. But if I wasn’t out in the pool with a book, I was inside, my needles clicking furiously. I tried to teach my mother --- after all, she couldn’t do very much --- and she realized she didn’t have the patience. She would stick to crocheting hats, thank you very much.
After a few months, I finally got a job, and was able to move in with my husband. It was crowded: me, Roman, his mother, his brother, his sister, and his sister’s boyfriend all living under the same roof. Privacy went out the window. I spent as much time as possible staying out of everyone else’s way and knitting.
Then something wonderful happened. One day, at work, two lovely ladies came waltzing through the door, plopped down at a table, and pulled out their knitting. I couldn’t stay away. I wandered over there to see what they were knitting and was amazed. It was beautiful! It was exactly the kind of thing I wanted to knit, but just couldn’t seem to get the hang of. I told them that I too was a knitter, and just wanted to ask them a few questions. After a few moments, they spoke those magic words.
“Are you on Ravelry?”
Ravelry? I had never heard of Ravelry. When I said so, they immediately jumped into action. “If you’re a knitter, you have to join Ravelry. Here’s the website, here are our usernames. It’ll take a few days before you can get on there, but once you do, you will be absolutely addicted. Make sure to look us up!”
Curious, I went home and found this website that they had made such a big deal out of. I signed up and decided to check back in a few days when I should be getting my invitation.
Three days later, I got my first glimpse of Ravelry. That was a year ago. Hardly a day goes by now without me getting on to scope out what’s new.
My knitting skill has quite literally exploded. I learned what garter stitch was, I learned how to purl (finally!), cable, sock knitting, knitting in the round… And I realized that there was other yarn besides what was at my local Hobby Lobby. I discovered Bliss Yarns, just up the road. I also learned that I was not the only twenty-four-year-old knitter.
I’m currently sitting on my couch, working on a sock in a yummy Deborah Norville yarn, one of many of my projects, which include a hoodie and a baby blanket. When I get upset, I lock myself in my bedroom and knit. When I have some extra cash, I go yarn shopping. I knit in the mornings before work, and in the afternoons when I get off. My husband complains about all the yarn lying around the apartment.
Yes, knitting is so much more than a hobby. For me, it really has become a way of life.