serena
After swearing off knitting for a while, this post on soulemama made me pick up the needles again. This is the Pebble vest, a free pattern from the Thrifty Knitter. The yarn was bought at a thrift store for a dollar, and the buttons came from my stash of odd buttons collected over the years. It is also a breakthrough project for me because it is the first “real” piece of clothing I’ve completed.
Knitting and I have a checkered past. I remember as a young child watching my great grandmother knit a cardigan for me. It was brick red, with a cream colored border, and red glass buttons that reminded me of hard candy. I watched her work what appeared to be magic, producing a garment out of two sticks and some red yarn. I wish I had the opportunity to learn from her before she passed away, but I was very young at the time.
My aunt E was the one who taught me how to knit when I was a bit older. She gave me a pair of knitting needles and taught me how to knit and purl. I remember making a small peach colored scarf riddled with holes from dropped stitches.
Over the years, I’ve picked up knitting now and again but was never happy with the results of my efforts: some funny looking scarves and hats. After taking a hiatus from knitting, and only after O was born, did I start feeling a longing to make something for him. As I worked through the pattern stitch by stitch, I thought of my great grandmother and the red cardigan, and how nice it would have been to work with her over a cup of tea.