I was 8 when knitting became a part of my life. My mom had taught me to knit. She herself started as a young woman and was taught by her employer. I started with the Continental style of knitting and over time, I mastered the craft. Though it took good years to get at a comfortable "cruising speed". Years later since I started knitting, my mother told me she never understood my love of knitting but I was blessed that she share her skills of the craft with me. I never gave up knitting though it was for years that I never took up my needles.
Knitting came back in my life when I was pregnant with my first child. Though I was very young, I was very excited to have a child. I was eager to be a mother from an early age. Through the birth of two children, I took up several projects to knit sweaters, hats and mittens, in small sizes.
I never stopped knitting even when I underwent the whole ordeal of a bad marriage. After 16 years of marriage and a lot of drama, I called it quits. During the time of legalities and hardship, I knit 9 sweaters through the 18 months. I kept knitting even when I switched homes, took on a new job and had to suffer estrangement from my firstborn.
Seven years later, I met my second husband. The man was a widower, with a young daughter and I thought, we were a match "meant to be". In our time together, I successfully moved, did home renovations, changed schools and jobs, including the loss of a child. I was confident that we had the "stuff" to create a good life together, and unfortunately, I was mistaken. As it turned out, my second marriage was doomed from the beginning. My husband was living a secret life of dishonesty and complexity revealed by time and investigation. It became necessary for me to move on and obtain a second divorce. It was another painful reminder of loss. Again, I restarted my life, not without enormous sadness. I moved to a rural area and a new way of life.
Throughout the ordeals, the one constant was my knitting. I often had a pair of needles in my hand whenever I sat. By this time, my first daughter, had a baby and I was back to knitting. Once again I had the joy of creating small items for a much desired and loved child.
Knitting has saved my life more than I can count on and has always helped me to move forward. Knitting for the future, made me see that there was a future. Though it was a far different one than I had imagined, it was something to look forward to.
The simple act of making something is an act of hope. It means that someone will benefit from the time you invested in crafting something. Though the energy you spent in knitting comes with a dose of tears and pain, it brings a determination to move forward.
