From the beginning

I have a friend in my Etsy Knitters Team that does a feature article each week on Etsy Knitters and she interviewed me a few months back which motivated me to find a vintage (doesn't vintage sound so much nicer than old) photo of myself that my mother had taken when I first started knitting. I can only estimate that it was taken in the Summer of my 9th or 10th year. I truly love this photo as it captures that little girl image before we become consumed about all of those teenage matters that will later pop into our heads. As a side note here to the females reading this look through VINTAGE or for the younger females recent photos of yourself at the age of 9 or 10 and frame this to display on your dresser or nightstand or perhaps next to your favorite chair. It will remind you of an innocent time when you were full of life and when you hopefully thought that you could do or accomplish anything! I think we all need reminders of that vibrant spirit that once lived within us and maybe it will help us to remember that lovely, courageous, little girl that is truly who we are. Anyway, you can find my friend that takes the time to feature Etsy Knitters at TheHighPlainsKnitter.etsy.com check out her beautiful shop and read her Profile to learn a little about this gifted lady.

So back to from the beginning. My cousin named Debbie who lived next door to me while we were growing up was the person that I can thank for teaching me to knit. We were the best of friends born 10 months apart from each other. She and her sister were the closest that I came to having sisters as I was blessed to live in a home with three brothers. And I truly mean that though at the time of growing up perhaps there were more than occasional protests of all of the boys in my home! I did yearn for that bond that sisters have and having my cousins next door was the best substitute that I could find. At her house they did girley kinds of things like talk about boys, and curl their hair, and dress pretty and knit together with my Aunt. At my house there were trains, and I played baseball with my brothers, and my brothers and I shared paper routes and I truly thrived on all of those things but when it was time to search out some girl time thankfully I could go next door. Debbie taught me to knit while we were sitting on her front porch and though it wasn't entirely love at first sight because those painfully slow stitches surely ripped out at lightening speed. Over and over again! It did become such a part of me that I would feel lost without my knitting. There have been times throughout my life that I did tire of it and need a break of a few years from it. But then my fingers would begin to yearn once again for the tactile and a new project and the softest of yarns would again fill my hours.

That describes the beginning for you and I hope you enjoy the photo that I am ever so grateful that my Mom captured on that Summer day of me knitting on my back porch with the assistance of my cat. I was making slippers for my grandmothers to give them as Christmas gifts and believe me knitting them starting in the Summer was a good idea! Four slippers is a time consuming project for a beginning knitter!