first time for everything

Learning to knit.......... Hmmmmmm, let's see.....must have been around 1966or 67... I was in

4-H. Head, Heart, Hands, Health.







I have only little flashes of memory about it.......the knitting teacher was a Swiss woman, and her accent was thick. Her house was in the back of a cheese factory, my Dad tells me her husband made wonderful cheeses. The house was a little dark and scary. Someone in the home must have been a smoker, the smell of cigarettes lingered and was quite exotic to me. Remembering these details may seem strange to you, especially since most of you know that quite often I can't recall what I ate for lunch only an hour earlier !



We knit on Wednesdays after school...... maybe my first project was a scarf, my memory doesn't include the details of any projects. The feeling and experience of Knitting is a strong memory. Making something useful , maybe beautiful,,,,,, from seemingly nothing,,,,,, was, and still is, magic to me. I loved those knitting lessons. The lessons did not last long, and we met for just a few weeks....



My next memory of knitting is a year or two later. My friend Keith told me that his aunt could knit hats. I boldly asked him to ask his aunt if she would knit one for me.......I had plenty of hats, I just wanted to see a hand knit one, and how it was made and maybe take it apart.................. Keith's aunt did knit me a hat, a beautiful red beret with cables. Sadly,I never wore it, and it was way too complicated for me to copy or learn from independently.



Then when I was thirteen or so, my parents gave me a "Learn to knit kit" for Christmas. Everything I had learned in 4-H came back easily and I from then on I taught myself.

The magic of knitting and creativity is so important to me now, I wish I could thank everyone who helped me in my youth,..........Maybe I can influence some kid..