Cold weather and yarn just seem to fit like a hand in a glove!
Without a doubt knitting is my favorite hobby. When the days grow short and the nights grow long, you’ll usually find me with a skein of yarn close by!
When I knit, I think about my grandmother, a blessed memory, sitting patiently beside me, helping me to wind each ball of yarn, unravel tangled messes, and redo rows of stockinet stitch…the endurance that she demonstrated as I learned to wrap a skein around the backside of a chair into a perfectly wound ball of yarn.
I recall booties that my mother helped me knit for our neighbor’s new baby, tiny white socks that were barely larger than my mother’s thumb. She showed me how to edge white satin through the eyelets, and shared my joy as we handed the paper wrapped package to our neighbor and her newly adopted infant.
I recall the multi-striped mittens that I knit from scraps of yarn, lovingly woven for the hands for cousins I never met.
I remember, My First Book of Knitting, with the slippers that lived up to their name.
When I lived in the States, I enjoyed the thick plush skeins of yarn that I purchased at discount prices… the way the colors mixed like a perfect water color, a setting sun, a seaside paradise.
Now, across the ocean, I use heavier yarn in solid colors, purchased in novelty shops. I enjoy increasing the stitches as I work the ply in an unbroken chain, a triangle shawl that will eventually be bound off and fashioned with fringe.
Knitting allows me peace of mind. It keeps my hands busy while I wait in the post office. It allows a restful retreat from the activities of the day. I can knit and talk with my husband, watch a romantic movie, and listen to the icy rain falling outside.
Yes, knitting is one of my favorite winter activities. A hobby that I share with my daughter. I love showing her how to create an original article . Hopefully, one day, I will teach our granddaughter.
As budgets grow tight and days grow cold, knitting allows me the perfect winter oasis in a blustery world. Knitting, a timeless craft, a cold weather hobby, a means for binding fringe to scarf, mind to heart, generation to generation…