babbling brook

just random thoughts on knitting, reading, life & other things I like

Sunday, January 21, 2007

How did this happen?

I had a very nice weekend with my mom & grandmother. But I made a stunning realization.

I know more about knitting than my mom & grandmother.

I feel really odd saying that. And a little...guilty for some reason. These are women who have been knitting for over 40 years (in my grandmother's case, more than 60 years!) and I'm still a newbie at 5. I'm not saying I'm a better knitter, just more knowledgeable about construction & technique. Maybe it's a bit much saying I know more about knitting, but there was a couple of interesting comments made.

Case #1: We're sitting watching The DaVinci Code (eh.) with CoffeeBoy & I decide to make some booties/socks for my niece.
"What are you making?" my mother asks
"Oh, I have so much of this pink yarn I won't use for anything I thought I'd make some booties for Baby M. to go with her hat."
during the movie, I finish one and get up to go to the bathroom. As I come back, I hear my mom & grandmother talking.
"What's that?" my grandmother ask.
"It's a sock that Stacey just made."
"Oh what pattern did she use?"
I come back into the room. "Stace, what pattern did you use? It's really cute." my mom asks.
"Oh just a typical sock pattern, I just modified it for a baby."
"Just from memory?" My grandmother is surprised.
"Oh, yeah, it's a pretty easy construction."
"Wow. " My mom looks at it again. "I can't believe you remember these things. I've always find that socks are really difficult"

Am I weird? I guess I just "get" how socks are made. I was always under the impression that they were easy, they made sense.

I finished the other sock after they went to bed - CB & I stayed up to watch The Colbert Report (with Bill O'Reilly - I don't always love Stephen Colbert - my love is saved for Jon Stewart - but I do love how he can get little zingers in at O'Reilly while never breaking character). I left both of the booties out and the next day, my mom went on & on how impressed both of them were with the fact I could knit without a pattern, something that they couldn't do.

Case #2 The next night, CB back to Portland & we all watched Batman Begins (yes, we're a bit boring with the movie watching - I love that movie though) I decide to now make thumbless mittens for Baby M (inspired by a recent post by Subway Knitter) My mom takes out her knitting - this gorgeous bamboo yarn (I can't remember the name, sorry, but I am in love with it - silky smooth & soft) she's making into a scarf. It has an interesting construction - garter with one colour, stockinette with the other - the pattern was in a fall knitting magazine - maybe Knit It or something, not one I ususally pick up. In any case, she shows it to me.
"I hate that the yellow curls on the sides, it's really annoying."
"Oh?" I look at it. "Well, stockinette curls on the edges." I show her my rolled brim hat. "See? That's why it's rolling"
"Oh, maybe I can block it out...?"
"Maybe...I usually keep the edge in garter though, that would help."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I just knit the first & last stitch of every row, even on the purl side."
She studies her scarf again. And then starts frogging like 40 inches of knitting! Eek!
"Mom!"
"Well, I don't really like it, so I'm going to redo it."
"But..."
"You know what you're talking about, so I'm going to listen to you, not this pattern."

And yes, it did work, so we're all happy. But it just feels...odd that I would know something (to me) simple like that & my mother wouldn't.

But I guess that's my mindset - when I become interested in something, I read & study everything about it, live & breath it for awhile before the next big obsession (to be honest, the knitting one has been going on for quite awhile now, previous obsessions have been films, women's studies, politics, food, psychology, history, painting...the list goes on.). Discovering the knitting blog world has fueled the obsession as well - do you see my bloglines list? I read them all, and 98% of them are knitting. And I'm constantly on the Knitty or get stitchy boards, learning new things, getting ideas, finding new yarn to become obsessed with.

That is the reason I know so much about knitting...so thank you.

It still feels really weird.

Stay tuned for new yarn purchases...when I fall of the wagon, I fall off in a big way. But I couldn't pass up a big Cascade 220 sale...enough yarn for a sweater for a mere $15!

But first, a picture of one my mom's cute kitties.This is Jafar. (My mom & my sister are big at naming animals after Disney characters...my mom's other cat is Mulan, my sister has had cats names Timon & Tigger, a bunny named Belle and a iguana named Hugo - after one of the gargoyles in Hunchback.) Jafar is big fat baby, so sweet & cute & loving. Nothing like his namesake. His most annoying habit is running into the bathroom with you so you'll turn the water on in the sink for him. If he does not manage to get into the bathroom with you, he will scratch at the door until you open it again. I love him to death though.

2 Comments:

  • At 8:55 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Apollo has that same habit, although I won't go so far as to say it's his most annoying. He has others that are much worse.

    I think being a part of an online community makes a big difference in knowledge and confidence with a craft. I love that I can get advice about knitting any time without having to expose myself to embarrassment, and I can read about what others do in topics that interest me. It's a big searchable knowledgebase.

     
  • At 4:17 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I've had a similar experience. I have a friend who started knitting a few months before I did and I now know a lot more about knitting than she does. That's because I've become totally obsessed and read everything I can about the subject while she knits more as a casual hobby.

    I still need a pattern to knit most things though, so I'm impressed that you can knit socks without one!

     

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