In the beginning...

About six years ago, I came back to my freshmen dorm room to find my roommate working with some strangely feathery string and two knitting needles. She explained she wanted to try knitting again, which her grandmother had previously taught her to do. Our friends and I watched in wonder as her work continued. A bit later, she noted that she may not quite be remembering correctly, and showed us an odd, fuzzy blob that did not resemble any type of garment/accessory whatsoever. We (including said roommate) were all on the floor laughing at the tiny, muppet-like creature she had created. Eventually, she tried again (maybe after looking up instructions) with some less challenging yarn, and what formed turned out to be a scarf! I was pretty impressed. Although there wasn't much need for a scarf in Santa Cruz, California (uniform for college student: hoodie/jeans in winter, tank top/jeans in spring), I kinda wanted to be able to do what she was doing.

I had tried crocheting in the past (my grandma turned out blankets like nobody's business), but I had only gotten so far as the chain stitch. Yeah, not much there. I had tried sewing, but couldn't be bothered with patterns or hemming anything, so I had created some shabby-looking things for my poor American Girl doll. I'm certainly not much of an artist, but something about this knitting thing made me want to try it. (I don't know, but looking back, I followed the lead on a lot of things this roommate did.)

I went home that winter break and had my aunt and my grandma teach me. It was a bit frustrating at first, with my aunt taking back the needles and yarn every time I wasn't sure what I was doing. (Totally understand that now- I've taught a few people, and I always have to grab it back to gain perspective. I think it's because the memory is in your hands more than in your head.) Once I got going though, it just worked. I didn't have a plan for creating anything, but I just went back and forth with those borrowed aluminum size 8 needles and that acrylic yarn, making little garter-stitch bumps over and over again. I didn't even drop any stitches!
I went back to school and started making garter stitch scarves. I went and bought Stitch and Bitch, as well as plenty of yarn. Following Roommate, I started to knit in the round, making hats for me to wear (did I need to wear them? no. but so fun!).

I have continued on knitting on my own, without Roommate to follow. I have taken a few hiatuses, and I haven't (until recently) tried many different types of garments/accessories, but I'm excited to be back in it now!

Roommate and I were never the absolute best of friends, and we had our roommate issues, but we had a lot in common. We actually lived together sophomore year too, in an apartment (with separate rooms!), but then we all went our own ways junior year, in terms of living situations. She graduated a year early, and went on to grad school. We haven't kept in touch much, but through the magic of facebook, we can follow each others' lives. I was so shocked and excited to find out she is now married and expecting her first baby this summer! I simply had to make something, so I looked up patterns and made these:As well as a hat, with adapted elements of the "umbilical cord knot" from the Stitch and Bitch book.Not the best photos ever, but I really like how the projects turned out. I'm planning on making more of this baby stuff so that I can potentially sell it on etsy and/or at an arts market. We'll see. Ooh, baby things are so fun to make- and really instantly gratifying. These have been sent off to the mommy-to-be, and I hope she really enjoys them. At least I know she'll appreciate the knitting!

Thanks, roomie, for getting me started!