beginnings

Who doesn't love a beginning?  They're so full of promise.  That new car smell.  A freshly sharpened box of pencils on the first day of school.  A newborn baby.  You don't know what it is, or what it's going to be, but it's full of possibilities.  And what could be better than fresh yarn cakes?  mmmm. 

This fresh batch of green wool came from Wales.  Or at least that's where the sheep who wore it roamed.  Midwinter Yarns, the yarn company, is run by a lovely Swedish lady.  It was sent to me for my first commissioned pattern for publication from Pom Pom Quarterly's office in London.  Incredible how a single pattern can become a global collaboration.  I have a pretty good idea what this yarn will become.  Especially since I've already made it.  So excited,  but shhhh.  I can only show the barest sneak peak of my swatch until the magazine's released.

in honor of being published, i started this little blog - because what the world needs now - is another knitting blog.  (0;  

As for beginnings, i'm not exactly a knitting newbie anymore.  Ten years ago on Valentine's Day, my husband gave me what seemed at the time like a completely random gift - Stitch 'n Bitch by Debbie Stoller.  That's where the party started.  

One of my first projects was the ever useful iPod cozy.  i was on a plane to California and I had just learned seed stitch. I was absolutely fascinated working with variegated yarn.  I loved how each little purl bump emerged a different color and watching them stack up up was incredibly entertaining. Well, maybe I don't get out too much.  Looking back at my first projects, it's a mystery to me why I continued to knit (and knit and knit and knit), except that once I got into the rhythm of knitting, I felt an overwhelming sense of calm. That combined with the fact that I was actually accomplishing something while my mind wandered - was utterly addictive.  

I actually learned how to knit when I was a little girl.  Like so many others, I was taught how to knit and crochet by my grandma.  She was a phenomenally talented piano player who also knit.  She produced big, thick striped blankets for my brother and me, as well as a legendary 5 ft long striped stocking cap, which was all the rage in the 70's.  Perhaps that's where my fondness for stripes began. i was a crafty kid, but I never finished a single knitting or crochet project I started back then.  The only things I managed to complete took 20 minutes, or came in the form of a kit and had clear instructions with a beginning, middle and end.  i was absolutely thrilled by hooking rugs, made endless zig zag chains out of chewing gum wrappers, and I baked an ungodly amount of shrinky dinks and brownies in my neighbor's easy bake oven.

It's a different story these days...  I will happily work all day every day on a project I am in love with.  People think I have an inordinate amount of patience, which is truly not the case, (ask my kids). However, I will admit, it must look that way.  I find tremendous pleasure in making things with my hands.  From knitting to cooking to gardening. But the true thrill is designing.  More on that to come.

And bam!  There you have it.  Another knitting blog is born.