How this story began

I love knitting and so do my cats

I learned to knit the summer before 10th grade. Every summer my parents put my brother and I into their station wagon and drove 18 hours to the edge of the country, right where the highway ends. The little fishing village where my grandparents lived had beautiful scenery, a rocky beach and frigid ocean water, but not very much to keep a teenager's days busy. On previous visits my grandmother had taught me how to sew and we had a fun time making clothes from commercial patterns. On a whim I asked my grandmother to teach me to knit. That was the beginning of the end for me, there was no going back, that summer day turned me into a knitter. I created a very misshapen piece of fabric and slowly began gaining new skills as I knit scarves, hats, socks, sweaters, skirts and dresses. As I worked through project after project, the process of wrapping the yarn around the needle and pulling the loop through turned into muscle memory.

I was privileged enough to have family members who encouraged my interest in knitting and sewing, who took the time to invest in my interests by buying my supplies, gifting me books and even sending me to workshops. I am so thankful to have the family I do.

Knitting has become a foundational part of who I am. It is a centering force in my life, when I am feeling unsettled and I need something to calm me down, knitting is one of my first thoughts. There is nothing like the calming effect of wrapping yarn around needles and the beautiful textiles that that creates.