I went up to the LYS yesterday evening since I was bored and just needed to get out for a bit. I’m looking for yarn for a cap my daughter is dying for which would be a quick “in the waiting room” project and since I will be waiting quite a bit for doctors in the near future, I decided to pick up the yarn and be ready.
I mutter to myself when trying to make a decision. It helps me mentally winnow out the stuff I don’t want and narrow down my choices. My problem, she wants the cap in lime green (her fav color) and the ONLY choices of that color in the store were either the wrong type of yarn or of a fibre that my skin does not like. Commence filibuster muttering.
A young woman happened to turn on the aisle where I was trying to decide the lesser of two evils and heard me going over the pros and cons. After I chose that evil, I walked over to the needles and other accoutrement that go with knitting, looking for some new stitch markers. As usual I am muttering about the dearth of choices for needles. I’ve had to order most of mine online. If I could crochet my choices would be endless. Anyhoo, I noticed, tucked behind a set of crochet hooks, a cable set. So I dig it out and begin looking at it.
Finally the young lady who had followed me over there asked me if she could ask me a few questions. I said yes she could ask but I couldn’t guarantee I would have any answers. She told me she’s a student at one of the colleges here and saw a sweater when she was home and found out it was knitted by hand and decided then and there she would learn to knit so she could knit that sweater. I told her that knitting a sweater was a very ambitious project and that she should start on something simple like an afghan square or small scarf first, to learn her stitches. I pointed out some books of simple patterns, yarns, etc. We must have chatted for half an hour. Then I find out she’s never even knit a stitch. WOW! Ambitious indeed.
So, I wrote down the URL for this place and told her of the videos and that knitting videos were all over YouTube. She asked if I could teach her, and I told her that would not be a good idea. She asked why, so I explained that there are different types of knitting and that somehow I seem to do the most frustrating kind. At that point I managed to find a “How To Knit” book that showed the Continental method and told her to buy that book, some cheap acrylic yarn, some cheap needles and (I figured a size 10 would be great to learn on, big and yet not Big Red Chief stupid big). I gave her my email and she said she would let me see her progress.
I hope she sticks to it and knits her sweater. I promised to be her own personal cheerleader as she works on her skill. It was exciting for me to meet a complete newbie and guide her into the beginning of a life long love affair I’ve had with the craft.
OH - thank you. I read it like 3 times thinking - she is one strong woman !!! Still sorry to hear you will be spending lots of time in waiting rooms…
Sounds fun that you may have met a knitting friend at the LYS !
The doctor’s waiting rooms has to do with me getting fed up with 2 years of frozen shoulder syndrome on both sides and making them actually do something rather than just tell me “Well, physical therapy didn’t work. You’ll just have to wait a couple more years before you can actually sleep.”
No, my daughter is not dying, thank God. However, it is a close thing as I’ve seen her room is once again a toxic waste dump.
Hey don’t discourage a newbie who wants to make a sweater. That was my 2nd project - a top down raglan. I didn’t make a scarf for about 40 years, and have yet to make a dishcloth. Squares and rectangles are boring unless you do something interesting to them.
I figured it would be wiser to encourage her to learn the foundation and work up in a less than supportive community here than to try something like the sweater she described and give up out of sheer frustration.
I just got an email from her and she said she was doing the 10 square knit and purl squares I suggested to get to know her two most basic stitches down. She laughed that she has a nice pot holder, but no kitchen in her dorm room. She’s off to try a garter stitch scarf that can be done in an afternoon. She’s enthusiastic and I’m excited for her. She may become my knitting buddy.
uhg that must be awful about the frozen shoulder syndrome! i am so sorry to hear that you have had to deal with that…
also, i laughed out loud for way too long about the toxic waste dump comment… im 23 and i never ever ever clean my room… never have… my room is my place to be messy and not have to worry about cleaning, just relaxing… im ocd about cleaning everything else though haha… how old is your daughter? she may have a similar problem to me
every time someone sees me knitting they say no they would not like a scarf but would i like to make them a sweater?.. i reply with “absolutely not, i will not go through the hassle of measuring and making and everything and then find out you never wear it” sweaters is more than just knit purl knit purl… and there is a definite difference between long term and short term goals haha
Angie: I am happy for you that you made a new knitting buddy, and am also glad that your daughter isn’t dying…phew, had to read that twice, esp. since you mentioned hospital waiting rooms.
So sorry to hear about your shoulder problems. I had it once, and physiotherapy for 10 sessions (once a week) helped it go away. I do find that knitting aggravates it a bit, so I do some stretches every day, and also yoga once a week? Have you tried yoga?
Woodi, I do Yoga daily on my WiiFit and I am hoping to begin swimming in a month or so, once the doctor OK’s the plan I’ve come up with. My husband bought a membership for the family at the local Y and I’ve not been able to do anything more than walk on a treadmill. One shoulder is unfreezing, so that’s kind of exciting, but on the other arm, they think I may have torn part of my rotator cuff in my stretching exercises or sleeping (which is next to impossible when you like to lie on your stomach).
My new knitting buddy said classes start for her today, so I imagine she will be busy with school for a bit before she can get back to her needles. Maybe, by that time I’ll be working, for real, on my husband’s sweater and she can see how much work goes in to one and decide if she’s ready for that show. It would be cool if she is, and OK if she’s not. I hope she finds knitting as relaxing as I do. Honestly, it the best therapy in the world when you’re stressed.
