When I was really young my Nanna taught me how to knit. I remember loving it when I was however old I was, 9 or 10 probably, but for some reason I didn’t stick with it and now I’ve forgotten how it’s done. Similarly, only a year or two ago, my friend Alice taught me crocheting and I did it for a few hours, having the time of my life even though my square ended up being a triangle, but again, the next day it was over and I’d forgotten all about it.
Alice is really good at crocheting. Every time I see her, she tells be about the things she’s made and is going to make. I love it when people my age, or any age, really, are enthusiastic about such a simple pleasure, and I think creative things like sewing and knitting or crocheting or whatever are a great link between generations. People have been doing it for so long, it’s universal – anyone can learn it and I think most people would enjoy it. Young people take it for granted that we know how to work all the technology that our grandparents, even our parents, didn’t have when they were growing up, but if you think about it, it would be so much harder to learn the ins and outs of a computer than it would be to learn how to knit.
That’s why I was so happy to walk into the lounge to find all five of my housemates sitting around, chatting away and knitting. One of my housemates, Jess, is a bit like Alice when it comes to crafts, she always has something on the go. I’m always amazed when she comes out with things like, ‘I wanted something new to wear tonight, so I made myself a skirt,’ or when I see her starting to knit a scarf one day and seeing her finish it the next. In the meantime, the other four are struggling away with dropped stitches and in one case, a snapped knitting needle, but they’re all having fun. I think, now, a few weeks on, they’ve all just about given up, or perhaps they are making very slow progress (speaking of slow progress, my mum made me a jumper (which I love, even though my brother claimed he wouldn’t pay more than £1 for it in a charity shop), and it kept her occupied for almost two years) but what a nice thing to have learned how to do.
Also, you can’t imagine how much I laughed when my mum talked about joining a ‘Knit and Natter’ group but thinking back, that’s essentially what my house was when I was thinking how lovely it was for everyone to sit together and talk and knit.
Love. Travel. Revive. 