Knitting is my therapy. When we first sold our home and moved into a teeny apartment, I needed an outlet to help with the stress that comes from building a new house. My husband worked insane hours so that we could spend three full days a week building the house. So, in the evenings after our son was in bed, I had some time on my hands. I needed a hobby that didn’t require much space and was portable. I tried to crochet, but failed miserably. So, I decided to try knitting.
We are fortunate to have a local yarn shop in our county. I stopped by one Saturday morning and spent the better part of an hour with the shop owner talking about needles and yarn. She got me set up with a set of needles and a good reference book. Later that evening, I got to work attempting to cast on. I’ve learned that casting on is the hardest part of knitting. The pictures in the book are wonderful, but I needed to see how to do it. I’m thankful for the internet and YouTube. I quickly caught on and have been knitting ever since. One of my first projects was a pumpkin hat for our son. Each season, I try to knit new hats for my kids as well as gifts for friends. Now that we have two kids, my free time is limited, but I still try to carve out time to knit.
One project that is a quick and easy knit is a dishcloth. One of my fondest memories of my grandma is seeing her knit and crochet. The clinking of aluminum knitting needles to this day bring back fond memories of her knitting in her kitchen and watching the birds. She always had knit dishcloths on hand for gifts and even for a random friend who might stop by. When I got married six years ago, my aunt packed up some of her dishcloths in a gift basket for my bridal shower. My grandma passed away in 2005, so this was an incredibly special gift for me. I still use them to wash my dishes. And each time I use them, I think of her. I sometimes wish I had been interested in knitting when I was a child so that she could have taught me. I was in love with my horses, though, and the thought didn’t even cross my mind.
The dishcloth is a quick and easy knit. I knitted one while watching the Olympics. But, however quick and easy it might be to knit, it has a lot of power. It is not only a stress reliever for me, it connects me to my grandma and her memories. And that’s cheaper than any therapy.
Follow along on our journey at The House on the Hill WV and Facebook.