Knitting to Rip

I had no clue of what people did once they retired.

When I retired, I figured women would knit and crochet for charity, and that was it.  That's what retirement was all about.

So that's what I did.  I joined a crochet group and a knitting group.  I went to meetings and made items for charity.  I hung out at yarn shops and fondled yarn.  I even attended conferences and got run over by women and their rolling luggage packed with yarn.

My three-year "career" as a charity knitter ended with one preemie cap.  I used Size 3 circular knitting needles, special baby yarn and followed a pattern.  After finishing that project, I didn't want to make another one.

Since I don't have children, I had no idea on how big a preemie's head would be.  I had to go to the supermarket and study the grapefruit display to get an idea.  By the time I donated my finished project, the preemie hat looked like it would fit a tennis ball. 

That was my sign.  I was done with charity knitting.

After I quit charity knitting, I made scarves because my knitting instructor told me that you can learn all kinds of stitches when you make scarves.  I made scarves for Christmas presents, but never saw anyone wear them.  I kept making scarves, and  made enough to outfit all the skiers in Lake Tahoe for years.

There's a problem with wearing scarves in Sacramento because it never gets cold enough.  If you look at most patterns for hats and scarves, the instructions ask for two strands of yarn.

But I get a lot of encouragement from knitters.  They tell me not to rush.  They tell me to take on a challenging pattern when I'm ready.  They tell me that all it takes is knowing how to do the knit and purl stitches.

Liars.

Most women learn to knit when they are four years old.  They teach classes.  They publish patterns and books.  And when they aren't teaching or publishing, they are taking classes from the experts and dropping names.

I am still a beginning knitter.  The truth is, I can only knit and purl.  I can't knit and carry on a conversation  at the same time.  Don't insult me and tell me it's easy to make socks.
 
 I "knit to rip".  I knit to relax, but if I don't like what I make, I rip it and start again.  You can say I am a "green" knitter because I can use the same skein of yarn over and over again.

Someday, I'll pick out some beautiful yarn, complete a sweater, show it off, and wear it. 

Someday.  But not now.