Knitting Lessons

My parents have lived in the same house since they were married. It is a simple, two story house. When we were kids, we would draw pictures of houses in school. Two parallel vertical lines, with a triangle on top. That is still how I would draw mom's house- because that is the way it looks. Except hers is in 3D. of course. :) For years the house was painted 'Harvest Gold'. You know-that 1970's gold. It has only been in the past decade that mom & dad put siding on the house and it is now tan.

The house was built sometime around 1900. I'm sure the deed gives the exact date. It was built by some of my ancestors, though I do not know which one. Grandpa referred to them as Drunk Dutchmen. Which is funny, because so far I have not found our Dutch roots. It wouldn't be surprising though, our area was settled by the Dutch. The house was built on what was originally the family farm. It has been in our family since it was built.

One of our 'next door' neighbors were Aunt Hazel & Uncle Sid. I put next door in quotes because they were not directly next to us. I grew up in the country. We lived in the village, but the houses on our street are still a little further apart. Aunt Hazel & Uncle Sid were the closest neighbors on one side of mom's house, but between the two houses was a brook and a field that was I remember as being several acres (in reality, it might be an acre or two-if that). Uncle Sid was Grandpa Wager's brother. He was actually our great-uncle, and Aunt Hazel our Great-Aunt.

Laura & I thought Aunt Hazel & Uncle Sid's place was the neatest thing. We were there a lot, but I don't think we ever went upstairs in the house. If we did, I do not remember it. I remember the living room, which was at the front of the house. There was a screened porch on the front of the house. Next to the porch was a large evergreen bush. Robins built nests in this, and in the spring when they were guarding their eggs, the momma robins would fly out and attack us if we went to the front door. Trying to avoid the robins, we usually went around to the back porch. Of course, in the summer that had bees. From the rafters of the back porch hung berry baskets, flat carriers to bring things in from the garden, and an assortment of yard tools. The kitchen was at the back of the house; the back porch led right into it. There was a dining room in between the kitchen and the living room; but it was always cluttered, so we didn't stay in there very much.

Aunt Hazel & Uncle Sid had a gun shop in their garage. They not only sold rifles, but also fishing poles and accessories for both hunting and fishing. Uncle Sid sold rubber worms. He ordered all kinds of colors and patterns. Whenever he got a new shipment in, he would call us. Laura & I would walk across the bridge and go pick out the worms we liked best. We didn't really fish. Both of us at one point had little fishing poles. I think I tried to fish in the brook a couple of times, and quickly bored of it. Laura tried a few more times; I remember her standing on the edge of the field with Uncle Sid, fishing poles in hand. But we would pick out these new rubber worms- pinks and purples and polka dots. I don't remember what we did with them, though.

The shop had an old time cash register. It had big round buttons that sat on little metal sticks. It made pleasant dinging sounds, and then the drawer would open. We loved to play with that. Aunt Hazel did leather work-she took pieces of leather, pounded designs into them with metal stamps, and turned them into purses and wallets. One area of the shop was devoted to her leather working. She had all kinds of metal stamps-- initials, animals, flowers. She would let us make designs on the scrap pieces of leather. She also had some way of darkening the indent left by the stamp. Laura would play in the shop with Uncle Sid, and I would play with Aunt Hazel's leather supplies.

Aunt Hazel also knitted. I must have taken an interest in her knitting at some point. When I was about 8, she taught me to knit. She would give me her leftover balls of yarn and an old pair of straight needles. She taught me to knit, and to purl. I never really made much- doll blankets and washcloths. The first ball of yarn she gave me was a day glow orange. How I remember that! I always wondered what she had made out of that color. She was patient. I have no idea how long it took to teach me. Under her tutelage, I never really mastered purl, but I did master the knit stitch. Everything I made as a child had the same pattern.

The busy life of a teenager kept me from knitting. Though I still enjoyed walking into the yarn section of the store, staring at the pretty colors, fingering the softness. As a teen my craft energy went into plastic canvas. I didn't give knitting a thought for years. Until, in 2006, my sister announced she was pregnant. I have a few aunts who knit or crochet, and I knew they would be making something for the baby. But I am the baby's only natural aunt- my brother in law has no sisters. I wanted the baby to have something from his or her own aunt. So I went to the craft store and selected a pattern book. I got a little scared when it said 'circular needles'. I didn't know such an animal existed. I went to the needle aisle, and looked at my options. Circular needles are needles joined by a cable. I read the book again, looked at the needles, and decided to go for it. I bought a lot of yarn-I knew I would have to make a practice blanket first. I worked on the practice blanket for several weeks. I had chosen a pattern that was probably not the best one for someone relearning to knit. But I was inspired, and I worked and worked. Once I knew I had the pattern down; I started the real blanket.

Honestly, at this point I have to say Thank God for the Internet. When I had problems, I would consult the 'net. I found several knitting sites, and found explanations of stitches, patterns, even how to change in a new ball of yarn. The blanket I made for Syd was beautiful-it is green and purple and white: alternating rows of purple and green, with white stitches in the rows to make it look like boxes. I was quite pleased with the result.

I gave it to Laura and Andy at their baby shower. When Laura opened it, everyone said 'You made that?'. My sister was so touched. People started asking me how I learned to knit. And then I remembered Aunt Hazel and the orange yarn. Laura declared the blanket was too pretty to use for every day. It would be the baby's keepsake blanket. Which prompted me to make another one for Sydney's Christmas- one that my sister could throw on the floor for playtime.

In the past four years, knitting has become a release for me. I made a blanket for my friend Patricia's granddaughter, Elia. I made blankets for 3 of the 4 dogs in the family (I still have to finish the one for Onyx, but she's not really into blankets). I made a blanket for my friend Barb's granddaughter Tori when she was born several months premature. This past Christmas I presented each of my parents with an afghan, and Aunt Arlene with a shawl. And I have more projects to work on.

My current project is another baby blanket. If you've been reading either of my blogs (and right now I don't know that anyone is), you know my sister is expecting a boy in September. Right now, I am working on his heirloom blanket. I was working on it at the allergy doctor's today, and a woman sat down next to me and watched. She said 'that looks like second nature to you'. I couldn't help but think that Aunt Hazel was smiling down on me. Thank you, Aunt Hazel, for giving me this precious gift.