For a long time I avoided knitting - I was used to picking up crafty things quickly, and was frustrated by all the mistakes I made. My grandmother taught me when I was little, but I never really got it. So I stuck to sewing, while wistfully admiring the things people like Kat made.
And then one day in Tokyo I picked up a knitting book on sale in an English bookstore there. And realised that knitting scarves was really quite meditative and relaxing. But, I thought, I would never want to try anything as complicated as a garment, with all that fiddly pattern-reading and seaming and yarn substitution.
And then I was pregnant, and my sewing stuff was all in storage because we'd just moved back from Japan, and knitting seemed like a nice, compact, portable thing for me to work on while I fretted through my first trimester. I bought another book and started making very simple baby garments. Patterns weren't that hard after all. But, I thought, I would never ever try anything as complicated as an adult garment. Or lace. Or socks. People who attempted such things were obviously either extremely gifted or crazy and I would leave them to it.
And then along came Ravelry. Suddenly there were beautiful knitted things everywhere. And free patterns. And the yarn substitution wasn't so hard anymore, because I could see what other people had used. And I started to think that maybe I could make something for myself, after all.
So this February Lady Sweater, while it's a fairly simple knit and not perfect by any means, represents the end of a whole lot of knitting neurosis for me. It's adult sized, it involves lace, and I finished it. Even if it only gets worn around the house, I am very pleased. And now, having conquered a whole lot of my knitting phobias, I see inspiration for other things for me everywhere. There's even a sock on the needles. And I am dangerously tempted to try crochet.
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Details:
It's the February Lady Sweater in Bendigo Luxury 10ply (Koala).
The buttons are vintage bakelite - I picked up a bag for 50c at a neighbourhood garage sale.
More here.
