In the beginning…
..there was crochet. Arrgh! I do not like to crochet. But in response to Zarine’s question a couple of days back, I have to admit, I came to knitting via crochet. And now I use a crochet needle only if I absolutely have to. For chain cast ons, weaving in ends and for some borders. Seriously, knitting is so much nicer to do. Anyway, I digress. I thought this would be a nice way to pay tribute to the folks who taught me this wonderful craft.
I fell out of a tree at approximately age seven. My mother decided I needed some feminising influences and carted me off, scraped knees and all, to Sushila Raichur, one of the teachers on our school campus who knew how to crochet. I actually remember walking over there with her, red acrylic yarn and a crochet hook in hand. I made a small red and white tank top that Aai kept for years.
A couple of years later, as part of "hobbies" class in school, Mary Aranjo, one of the most accomplished knitters in the world in my firm opinion, taught me to knit my first garter stitch hairband. Mary-teacher as we called her has never been seen in public without her needles; she knit *everywhere* and knit a lot; like most knitters in India she was not tied to a written pattern but basically created her own with every garment. It is thanks to her and my Aai that I graduated to socks, baby sweaters and hats from the hairband. I still take many of my projects back to her for approval.
Cut to college, where Anagha Patwardhan persuaded me to knit the "boyfriend sweater". As is well known (but wasn’t to me then), this is an ancient curse! As it turned out, it was a blessing for me, plus after making the sweater four sizes too large for the intended wearer, I learnt that size can matter. But years after browsing the outdated British knitting mags that sold for a rupee or two on the footpaths at Lakdi pul and Camp in Pune and the vast wool markets of Lajpat Nagar in Delhi, I never learnt to read the instructions and size the damn garments properly.
Thanks to the women at Knitting.about.com, especially the patient and cheerful help of Megan Mills and Nancie Kremer (IslandKnitter) and Fran Marrs at Knitter’s Review, I started by asking about WS (wrong side!) and never looked back! It’s been several years now, and knitting is truly one of the things I love about living in the States. The techniques, the yarns and the possibilities are great and it almost makes the cold weather tolerable.
I always love to hear how people started knitting. Thanks for sharing your story!
I think it’s good to know that some curses are international.
It’s interesting that other inspiring knitting can really amplify your interest in the craft. I mean, I think that my interest has grown a lot in the last few years, and that part of that is because of other knitters (including you), and insiring materials, like Laura’s yarns.
All this knitted stuff must have come in quite handy during the current snowstorm, right?
I agree with Spud.
Having a role model knitter or other teacher can really enhance your craft experience in a way that is hard to duplicate in a book. This is why its good to advocate for knitting in public and knitting groups which help us to build and maintain community. With the preponderance of blogs and web based knitting it can be easy to forget this is a tactile and “in person” kind of craft.
Good post.
thanks, bev! you’re right, my interaction with fellow knitters (like spud) has not only made me a better knitter, but also more interested in the craft. it’s not validation of one’s interest, necessarily, but sharing ideas and feedback is very productive.
spud, that curse is around everywhere for a good reason, no doubt.
Hello!
Just writing in to say thanks for this post, responding to my query:-) I saw a lot of embroidery in India and yes, crochet but not a lot of knitting (ok, maybe I was also not looking enough).
Also, thanks for your comment on the Dalit issues thread over at AS. I have been meaning to look up some Dalit studies folks, so that was useful.