1 year of knitting invisible nets of love

january 31st 2009 is the day i learned to knit. a wonderful woman named diane taught me at close knit yarns. i started making a scarf. this is how far i've gotten.

it's 10.5". i am the slowest knitter in history. i think the pattern was too hard for my first time. i am a very hands on learner, i'm ambidextrous, i'm a potter, a glassblower, an overachiever. i'm good with my hands soooo i think i fooled diane. she was impressed with how fast i picked it up so she said try this, you can do it. and it's true i can do it. just not quick, not at night when i'm toast, not when someone is talking to me, including the tv and definitely not a few knits here or there. (knits... what is it even called when you do like 2 little loops? a knit? a stitch?) i keep losing track and have to count to see if i am P or K. it is an easy pattern though, it's just ribbed, it was in a free book at the store. i'm using size 7 needles. i cast on 44 stitches. (which i don't even remember how to do anymore) and then the right side is K2, P1 (K2, P2) then last 3 are K2, P1, K2 then the wrong side is K3, (P2, K2)then last 3 are K3. i'm using cascade yarns 109 tweed orange LE.

so my progress is slow, yes. and my cousin tonya said to try something easier, she is right and i've been planning on starting another thing. i just have not got back there to have some one help me pick something out and help me remember how to cast on.

BUT i love the experience, i really loved sitting in the knitting store surrounded by all the yarns, and textures and women knitting. i love the feel of the yarn in my hands, it feels warm and safe and comforting. i love the orange. when i had my first baby, my son who is now 4. i had a bit of a rough time. my midwife, doula, lactation consultant and cranial sacral therapist saved me, us. i felt like i was falling. i didn't know what to do. these women banded together and caught me, helped me, taught me, supported me and my husband. they caught us. whenever i closed my eyes during that time i felt like they were this huge, fuzzy orange net. they were there so we wouldn't fall. this orange, the yarns, the circle of women in the knitting store.... it all feels very similar. i believe in circles of strong women supporting one another. i came across this quote during my second pregnancy and it reminded me of my warm, orange net of women. "i believe that these circles of women around us weave invisible nets of love that carry us when we're weak and sing with us when we're strong" by sark from "succulent wild women". so yes i've knitted 10.5 inches but it's ok. because i love it, i love thinking of the circles of women through history and i've loved holding that yarn. something about my studio calls me, the studio where i make glass and ceramics. but it's cold there. the place is cold, the materials are cold. i like the warm of the yarn. i like sewing and knitting in my house, near my family. so this scarf may be taking a long time, but it's changing things along the way...i may be transforming more then the yarn.