This past weekend was, thankfully, pretty chill.
After weekends spent paddle boarding… and paddle boarding… and paddle boarding…
…and working on fire… after fire…
…I needed a break.
So, I spent this weekend doing nothing taxing and everything relaxing.
That means running our local urban trail system with Yukon. And taking (not teaching!) classes at the yoga studio. And going to the farmers market. And reading (and FINALLY finishing!) a book. And cooking.
And… learning how to knit!
Two of my good friends here in Flag, Lexie and Jane, are devout knitters. I’ve caught peeks of their projects over the past few years, since Jane likes to knit on her work breaks and Lexie likes to knit while camping.
A few weeks ago, Lexie invited me to join in on “national knit in public day,” where she’d be going to one of my favorite breweries to knit.
Given that I don’t know how to knit, I was kind of bummed.
So… I figured I’d learn how to knit.
Jane and Lexie came over on Saturday — with GIANT tote bags full of needles, yarn, patterns and also yes snacks — to teach me how to knit.
Lexie taught me how to cast on and showed me a few of her pattern books.
She explained a bit of the terminology, talked about yarn types and demonstrated different techniques for pulling yarn and creating tension while knitting.
I spent a few hours learning basic stitches, and practicing.
Oh, and drinking Jane’s amazing watermelon rosé slushies.
I got pretty good at casting on evenly, and quickly learned I prefer metal needles to wooden ones after trying both.
Jane was nice enough to lend me some of her yarn to practice my knitting on, and then on Sunday, she accompanied me to JoAnn’s (sadly, our local yarn store is closed on Sundays) to help me pick out my own yarn.
I ended up with some pretty olive yarn and some gray yarn so I can continue practicing… and maybe eventually actually make something?
I’m still obviously a novice — go easy on me! I just learned how to do this a few days ago!
But, I was pleasantly surprised to discover how soothing and relaxing the repetitive motion of knitting is.
And also, how sore it makes your fingers and hands?
Given that Ryan’s a little bit more of a fan of watching TV than I am (I prefer to read), this will be perfect for keeping my hands busy while he’s watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine for the 18th time. And, also, for keeping me from idly scrolling on my phone.
(To quote Lexie, “the only downfall of knitting is that you can’t knit and read at the same time.”)
Also, given that I’m pretty into sustainability, I’m really excited to advance this craft and start purchasing yarn from sustainable sources and (hopefully) eventually making some of my own clothing.
Anyway, that’s all! Back to my knitting.
