Knitalittle's story

It's been over a year since the project was last updated; it's entirely my fault!  I admit it!  However, I bring to you a fresh story with the hopes of a fresh start.  Enjoy KnitALittle's knitstory:

I come from a none knitting family. My mother had to work out side the home and never took up knitting. My grandmother sewed beautifully but didn’t knit. So why did I become a knitter/crocheter. It started when on one of my mums days off she took us to the park. While played I spotted a woman knitting. Back when I was a girl some years ago you cold talk to strangers. I asked her what she was doing like any nosy girl and expected her to shoo me away. She didn’t and told me she was a knitting a vest for her son. I still remember the brown yarn how she worked it, the feel of the wool. When I returned to my mother I asked her to teach me to knit. She admitted to me that she didn’t know how. Well I asked my mother over and over how I could learn to knit, a real pest I was when I wanted to do something. My mum put up with my harping and one summer a friend of her’s came over with a crochet hook. Crochet I didn’t want to crochet at first. Peggy Tippy was her name and she promised to teach me to knit if I learned to crochet first since she was better at crochet and thought I would like it as much as she did. Well I did like crochet and made progress. A month before we went back to school Peggy taught me to knit. I loved it. The next summer I thought I would continue my lessons only to find out Peggy had passed away. I was heart broken. She was the only person who could help me. For years I knit what I could and taught myself how to fallow a pattern. I was a knitter who just happened to like to crochet too. It was only when I got married years later did I really become addicted. I had married the son of a knitter and she taught me how to turn a heel. Later on when I came into my own right as a knitter I learned how to turn a heel using short row and showed my mother in law a turn achievement for me.

I am now the lady on the bench knitting and answering questions. At my youngest school the kids come up to me and ask me what I’m knitting. Just in the last few months the kids have asked to start a knitting club. I was asked to teach each of the girls and boys to knit. We use chop stick slightly sharpened and sanded and yarn from my stash is wound up in balls and ready for the kids. They have name the club the chop stick knitting club. A great bunch of knitters they are turning into.

Knitstory 6: DeeAnn's Story

DeeAnn hails from Ohio (I give her a shout out because I live in Kentucky!)  She can be found on Ravelry as SmurfyKnits.

Well, as with most knitters, I learned how to knit from my grandmother a very long time ago. Of course, I was young and the lessons didn’t last long but somewhere in my being I must have stored those lessons and the joy of the yarn moving through my fingers. A lifetime must have passed and I found myself faced with a diagnosis of breast cancer. I decided that my daughter, who was 10 at the time, and my mother, and I, needed to join a “learn to knit” group. I thought knitting would provide me with something to do with my hands and mind during difficult times ahead. I think my daughter and mother put up with my idea because of our fragile situation and the desire to spend whatever time together that we could.

Little did I know that 5 years later, we would all still be knitting! We belong to a wonderful Saturday knitting group that keeps us all very busy. It has provided us with a place to share joys and sorrows but more importantly it has given us the craft of knitting and the bond that only women can share.

I have the wonderful position of watching my beautiful daughter, who is now 15, and my mother have a bond that will last both of them a lifetime. I have the joy of sharing endless knitting adventures with my daughter and the joy of watching other women influence her in ways that I would never have imagined possible. These wonderful women with needles and yarn in hand have helped me to survive breast cancer but have also helped me to raise a child into a young woman.

Who would have thought that those knitting lessons of long ago would have reached out to become the fiber of our lives - joining my grandmother, my mother, me and my daughter - together - with the love of knitting.

Knitstory 5: Cindy's Story

Here's a short history from Cindy.  Her name on Ravelry is cbag.

I learned to knit at 8 or 9 from my English grandmother but never got past a narrow blue scarf.  At about 27/28 I took a knitting class from Lewiscraft and made one purple cardigan. Then in 2005, I got a Yorkie and a magazine with a really neat dishcloth pattern that I thought would make a nice Christmas gift for my Mother-in-law as face cloths with a fancy bar of soap. And my yorkie needed a coat. The knitting bug took hold hard and I knit daily now and have started a knitting group a my work where I have 2 ladies who are just learning. So with grandchild number two 4 weeks away and so many awesome patterns and SO MUCH yarn in my stash I foresee a LONG future of knitting ahead.

Knitstory 4: Kathy's Story

Here is KathyKOL's contribution to the Knitstory Project.  Kathy is the founder of the Out Loud audiobook company, and also maintains her blog, Knitting Out Loud.

I was taught to knit by my German grandmother, who escaped from Germany just before WWII. She was the most beautiful woman I have ever known, elegant and dignified, and a Freudian psychoanalyst. I was a little afraid of her. Knitting was the only domestic thing she did. She knit almost all of her clothes (suits, dresses, coats, many of which I now have), and she knit all day long while she listened to her patients. Freud’s daughter Anna was a famous knitter, and many of the women psychoanalysts knit. I knit off and on for many years, and ended up living in Maine. Maine is the perfect knitting state, I think of it as a wooly state, lots of wonderful fiber here! I started a literature program in the public schools, telling the major stories of western literature (Odyssey, Hamlet etc), bringing objects from the period for kids to touch, maps to color, art to look at, clothing to try on. This program was funded by a company which, after 10 years, was bought by another one not interested in local affairs, and the funding ended. While I was thinking what I would do next, I went to a yarn shop to buy some yarn - and oh my goodness!!! The explosion of varieties and colors was amazing! I was hooked. Then I went to the library and came home with armloads of knitting books. I loved them, but what I loved most was the stories of knitting in them. An author would tell her/his personal knitting story in the Introduction. I started reading histories of knitting. Heaven! Then I found a book which was all knitting stories. It was Knitting Lessons, by Lela Nargi. Lela Nargi lives in Brooklyn and on 9/11 wandered into her local yarn shop and saw women there who had walked across the bridge from Manhattan after the disaster and were quietly knitting. She decided to talk to knitters across the country to find out why they knit and what it means to them. I loved this book, but it made me want to knit. I thought it should be on audio, so I could knit and listen. So I started the audiobook company Knitting Out Loud. It is a labor of love. I believe profoundly in the value of these stories. They are the small stories of life, the stories in which we share our joy and our sorrow, and through them we learn from each other how to get through life. I believe in the significance and value of the small everyday things we do (I also love to cook and garden). Because life is very hard, we need that little bit of joy, calm, centering, everyday. Just looking at yarn makes me happy. And when I am stressed during the day, I pick up my knitting and knit a few rows. Knitting is different from any other activity I do, not sure why, but it is intensely comforting.

Knitstory 3: Stephanie's Story

RedYarnMama Stephanie's story...

My mother was English and knitted all the time. She made us beautiful items of clothing, doll clothes and toys. She taught my older sister at a fairly young age, and she too was quite talented with needles and picked it up quickly. I was quite the tomboy and also a little awkward, so the rhythm of the needles did not come easy for me. I found it more of a chore or punishment when I was young to try to learn and finally my mother gave up trying to teach me.

However, even as a youngster I was fascinated with my elderly neighbor lady’s crochet items. I don’t know if it was easier to learn or just being removed from the head butting with my mother, but I picked up on the crochet very quickly. I would love to go to Idabelle’s house and make Grannys with her. Not until recent years did I move too far beyond grannys and ripples, but always enjoyed it and found it relaxing. Since Ravelry, I have learned even more about crochet and like trying new things.

However, now I also love to knit. When my daughter was around 8 or 9, the library started a free Knit In program once a month for all age groups. My daughter enjoyed it a lot and I loved the time spent together and sharing her joy in crafting. Started making doll clothes and accessories and lots & lots of scarves. I was able to reconnect with my mother for a few years before her passing and share our love of fiber together. She also gave me her knitting books and magazines from 60+ years of the craft, which I dearly treasure now. My daughter is now almost 18 and still loves to knit and has the ability to see a picture and make her own pattern for the item. I still consider myself an advanced beginner, but enjoy the pleasure it brings me. I always have a “busy bag” of either knitting or crochet with me for any down times that might occur, as I hate to just sit and do nothing. I also love the community of fiber artists and also meeting new people through the craft.

Knitstory 2: Tina's Story

Our second contribution, from Tina...

I am a 60 year old mother of 7 (not all biological), grandmother of 13, and great-grandmother of 5. I am married and teach mentally ill children in a residential treatment center.

When I was about 6 years old my mother, who was mentally ill and had physical handicaps as well, wanted to share her talent for knitting with me. She didn’t have a lot of patience but she tried. By the time I was old enough, I joined a 4-H knitting club and learned how to perfect what Mom had started. During my 4-H years (9-17) I made everything from scarves to a full length jumpsuit. I continued to knit as a hobby and I had my first child (her christening gown was hand knitted lace) at age 19. At first I just made things for friends and family. By the time I was about 23, people asked if I would knit things for them if they paid me. My husband died when I was 23 leaving me with two small children. Therefore, I got my needles out and made some extra money.

I continue to sell my knitting. I have not made anything for myself for a very long time. I have yarn for a sweater coat (heather gray) and for a sweater (burnt orange) for myself and when my stash gets lower I will get to work on them. I am retiring from special education within the year and am going to work more hours on my side job as a tailor/designer. I did an apprenticeship when I was in college and have been a master tailor since 1978. I am excited about this new step in my life.

In addition, I have enjoyed teaching my special education students how to knit. I work in a treatment center and many of the boys don’t have families. I have enjoyed watching them create beautiful scarves and blankets. I have no idea what I would do if I didn’t have knitting as a way to relieve stress. At our local yarn shop most of the knitters who drop by and sit to chat are either teachers or retired teachers. A therapist could have fun researching that fact.

 Find Tina on Ravelry!

First Post: Voices From Abroad

Our first Knitstory comes from Ashley, an ex-patriot living in Japan.  She also maintains a blog, Whirling Woman: Excuse Me While I Dirty My Rice, about her life in Japan.

I learned from my Nana many years ago, though I don’t remember my age, I still remember it was with ugly olive green wool on gray plastic needles. It started out as a narrow scarf and quickly morphed to three times it’s initial size due to my knack of finding extra stitches along the row. A few other unfinished scarves came into my life though knitting never really stuck with me.


Until I moved to Japan. I heard that there was a SnB group, about once a month we’d travel to a cafe near someone, stitch, bitch and eat cake . Nothing is better for ex-pats living abroad than a regular social meet-up. I joined up as soon as I could. I vaguely remembered how to knit and then I learned how to cast on, and purl! Then cast-off! This was compelling stuff.


I got ambitious, I had visions of a big blanket made of ribbed squares in contrasting colours. I got the yarn and with no thought was so ever to gauge, needle size (they make a difference?) I set out.


Then culture shock hit that fall. Living abroad takes a lot of energy out of you. Even buying salt or picking up dry cleaning is more complicated and I hated everything. I resented being stared at, I resented that I needed help determining what was fabirc softener and what was detergent at the store, I resented being babied and what I felt was patronized for my ability to use chopsticks - Hey! I was a university graduate - I’m a grownup!


For many weeks I shut myself up in my apartment and I knit on my squares. I could finish one in an evening or two now I was getting pretty good at casting on and casting off. Japan has no central heating and when they were pieced together my squares became a very cozy lap blanket to keep my knees warm, and then my feet warm too. While I was knitting I felt like I was accomplishing something, not going quite insane yet, keeping calm.


The squares became a rather impressive blanket I feel. It’s on my bed now. I’ve got a few more projects and skills undermy belt as well. to say nothing of slices of cake from out knitting parties.


A new blanket in progress is lying on my lap now as I type this. Lovely with cables on thick chunky yarn. I’m still in Japan too. I still go to Stitch n Bitches and I enjoy teaching new comers how to knit and help them pick out projects.


It can be really isolating living abroad, but knitting, and our monthly meets help us keep together.

 You can also find Ashley on Ravelry, under the name WhirlingWoman.