Introducing Anne!

This is not Beverlyanne writing, it’s her daughter, Anne. I’m the cause of the family crisis that kept her away for so long (A word of advice: try to avoid spending 28 days in the hospital if you possibly can. It sucks.) and the mother of the new granddaughter. I’m also a knitter and will be doing occasional guest appearances on this blog.

I’m the youngest of at least three generations of knitters in our family. I was taught to knit by my mother, so, like her and the aunt who taught her, I knit in a peculiar left-handed manner, throwing the yarn with my left hand even though I’m right-handed. I seriously have no idea how people can throw with the right hand; I tried it once and ended up dropping my needles on the floor.

Our shared odd knitting style is where the similarities between my mother and me as knitters begins and ends. There are a lot more differences; here are a few of them:

• My mother is a total yarn snob; I am not. I have no problem with acrylics as long as they’re soft enough. I have no compunctions about buying mass-produced yarn at major chain retailers. My yarn choices are often influenced by what’s on sale. Right now, the project I have on the needles is being made with a Jo-Ann Fabrics house brand in a wool-nylon brand that I got on sale for a buck fifty a skein. I doubt my mother has ever bought a house brand.

• I am a much lazier knitter than my mother is. I loathe making gauge swatches (why do the work of knitting one when you don’t end up with a useable product?), so I avoid projects that really require them whenever possible. I’ve never knitted a sweater for an adult because (A) It would take too long, and (B) I’m worried it won’t be flattering, and I will have spent all that time knitting something unusable.
  

I don’t like to spend more than a week or two on a project. Generally, I prefer scarves, hats, and baby items. Small projects are almost like instant gratification! I guess I’m just one of those members of the MTV generation with a short attention span. I’m trying to get past this to try more interesting and challenging patterns.

• I don’t share her obsession with buying knitting books and magazines. I do love my trusty knitting stitch dictionary, but I think that’s the only book I really need. With websites like Ravelry and Knitty, I figure I can fill 90% of my pattern needs for free online. The rest of my patterns come from books from the public library. I am a librarian, and let me tell you: libraries buy tons of knitting books, and we’re eager to have you come and check them out.

So I’ll leave you with a picture of my current project. It’s a scarf, made in a super-simple 2x2 rib (I prefer patterns simple and mindless enough to be knitted while watching TV) in that Jo-Ann house yarn. I actually really like it, although I’m hoping that I can block it so the rib texture is less scrunched together than it is right now. It’s for my father-in-law; do you think it’s manly enough?