I had the best possible introduction to the world of knitting, I was 6 or 7 years old and it was a magical and fun time with my nana (grandmother). During school summer holidays I went to stay with her and my granddad in Sandbach, Cheshire. My dad would drive me there it was only about an hour away but to me it seemed a lot further, an adventure! They lived in the countryside and we lived in a busy town so it was like another world to me. Dad was a butcher and we lived above his shop on a busy main road, my Nana and grandad lived in a quiet village, in a house with a garden …. Heaven!
She’d always been a knitter had even owned a wool shop at one time and neighbors were always calling around and bringing with them their latest projects, usually for my nana to fix, and she always somehow turned it from a mess into a masterpiece with no problem at all. She was a great nana and sat patiently with me, hours upon hours, under the huge sycamore tree in her backgarden that shaded a huge part of it. She was always knitting, and knitted for everyone family and friends alike for nothing other than the joy of it. She had an endless supply of patience as she taught me to knit (and i’m sure she needed it) i can still hear her voice as she held my hands guiding them and repeating the ryhm over and over -
In through the front door
Once around the backOut through the window
And off jumps Jack.
She gave me plenty loving encouragement which was often needed especially when signs of frustration reared it’s head and i couldn’t quite get it right. And always magically, at the end of the summer hols and it was time to go home, I'd have a new scarf or dress ready for my doll and couldn’t wait proudly show it off to my family and with great pride would tell my friends that I had made it. I still have that love of knitting and the same sense of accomplishment when i say 'I made this’. Unfortunately my parents divorced a few years later and the visits stopped and sadly i didn't see her and lost touch. But many years later when my daughter was 18months old, i did manage to find her again. Guess what she did! she knit my daughter the most beautiful teal blue aran jacket, her aran knitting was always beautiful. Not long after that she died. I'm just so happy that we got to see each other again and that she got to see her great grand daughter, and i think of her often when i'm sat knitting.
Now I‘m about to become a Nana myself very soon and am busy knitting in preparation for the arrival of my grand daughter and look forward to teaching her and passing on my knitting skills.
Did you learn knitting to a ryhm? Maybe it was different to mine, if so let me know what it was i'd love to see all the different ones.