A Lifetime of Knitting

I taught myself to knit from a book at seven years old. I was not really a play outside kind of child, and could amuse myself in my room reading a book, or doing some kind of craft. Both my grandmothers knit continental, which I could not pick up. The knitting skipped a generation with my mom. She does have plenty of hand knit sweaters, that I have made her over the years. I would often hand her a magazine and have her pick out what she wanted, and sometimes she chose patterns intended for "expert" knitters. "Well, aren't you?" would be her comment when I pointed out the difficulty level of a pattern she liked. This is my mom in the photo, taken a few weeks ago, wearing a sweater that I must have made for her when I was in high school, over thirty years ago. This is the time when the LYS was a rare thing, and yarn was mostly procured at a department store. Not being educated at all regarding fiber, I just chose yarn for color. I became a fan of the animal fiber when I happened to make the observation that my knitting looked better with the wool, rather than acrylic. I have no idea what yarn this sweater was knit from, but it is a combination of "space dyed", the precursor of the handpaints that I love now, and a solid color. I love that so many years later, the sweater is still alive! That, I think, is what all knitters want when they make a garment for others, to know that their hard work is truly appreciated.