Jessie's Legacy

I remember watching my mom knitting. She had could work the patterns without looking at the pattern repeatedly. Mom would make sweaters with cables, honeycombs, bobbles: definately Aran. Mom never seemed to settle for stockinette. I would watch her knitting the current sweater and told myself I could never do the patterns she did. I was always amazed at the finished project. I have one of the last sweaters my mom made. It rests on my spinning wheel that she gave me. The sweater is a source of inspiration when I see it.

Mom taught me to knit and crochet when I was eight. I loved them both; but the aluminum needles she taught me on drove me nuts. I crocheted more than knit. I learned to spin when I was 16 but again didn't do much until now with spinning either. I still loved to watch Mom knit. She loved to use solids for her work and let the patterns tell her story.

I found the love of knitting when I was pregnant with my son at age 4o and was put on light bedrest. One can only crochet so much before one goes loopy - (yes the pun is necessary). Maybe it was the pregnancy. Maybe it was the fact that I was a grandmother 8 months before my son was born. Maybe it was all the books, magazines, afgans, and such that made me pick up a set of sticks and string. Knitting a sweater for the granddaughter caused me to knit things for "Bug" as he is called. Which lead to hats. Which lead to more needles. More patterns. More yarn...the circle goes round and round. Whatever it was I was hooked! I don't plan on stopping anytime soon!

I have yet to make a sweater like those my mom made. I find I let the yarn tell the story more than the pattern. Yet the desire is growing to knit a sweater - "just like mom". The sweater I'll make is for Tim. He deserves a sweater like that. He does so much for his family! He keeps me in fiber too!

I love the fiber, the tools of the trade, the patterns, the people that share my passion. My wooden/bamboo needles are my favorites. The yarn, whether it it's arcrylic, cotton, bamboo, silk or wonderful wools - llama, alpaca, sheep or angora goat or any other combo out there, or my own homespun: has such a hold of me that I knit/crochet and repeat daily!

To you, Mom, thank you!

Knitting Mojo

Knitting mojo...sometimes ya have it...sometimes ya don't.

Been knitting like a fiend. With knitting only from the stash. Knitting hats for mariners. Finishing works-in-progress - WIPs of knitting. I have spent anytime sitting down to knitting. If I'm sitting in the living room, I'm knitting.

The last two days I rarely picked up my sticks and strings. When I have knitted: I made tons of mistakes and that's not easy to do on a 2x2 rib. Not when you have made 14 hats in that pattern. Just can't get the groove going. I swear my "mojo" has upped and run off. I don't have an insane need to accomplish 2-3 inches in any given day. And that's a low estimate on the yardage I've knit.

It amazes me sometimes how I am so driven to knit and then like a switch, I'm not knitting. I'm thinking of patterns, reading how-tos, and even learning a new technique but not project knitting.

Hope to get the needles burning again so I can get these projects done, stash used up and be able to cast on a few projects I am itching to do. Yet, until the stash is down to a small tote and the WIPs are done, I won't start new projects. That is where my knitting mojo went. It's getting bored with what I'm doing I guess. Maybe casting on a totally new project would get me knitting like a crazed woman again. I tend to not "have fun" until the "chores" are done. Currently that is getting the acrylics for hats GONE, the WIPs put in the finished catagory, a large part of the stash used up I won't let myself play. Get a grip and cast on that Alpaca, that elastic yarn, that fantastic silk I'm wanting to be knit into a shrug.

Need to get the mojo back! Cast on and play!!!!