Both my granny and aunty were knitters but I actually didn't learn until first lockdown last year. I was annoyed that I couldn't do my pottery so my housemate gave me some yarn and needles so I could continue making albeit in a new medium. I really really took to it and I knit every day now. Knitting brings me so much joy. Being able to make what I want is so exciting and empowering. I really appreciate podcasts and UA-cam like yours, as a learner it's so good to be able to look at lots of different videos if you get stuck. 💚
I learned to knit when I was about 8 years old. My mom showed me the basics but nothing beyond making a scarf. Around this same time my grandmother lived a few houses down from my house. I spent a lot of time with her. She taught me how to cross stitch and crochet. Much like you… life happened and there were some years in between where I didn’t do much of knitting or crocheting. For the last few years I have picked it up again. I have used UA-cam as a way to improve my skills. I’ve made hats, socks, and a sweater or two. I’m just glad both my mother and grandmother had the patience to teach me. I have wonderful memories of the time I spent with my grandmother. She looked forward to my visits and so did I.
Hi Anushka! I first learned to knit during college, but the hobby didn't stick. I picked up my needles again when I lost my 3rd hat in a winter during grad school. I haven't stopped since. UA-cam creators like you are my teachers! So thanks for all the podcasts and tutorials. They really help deepen my knowledge and keep me inspired ☺️
Hi, I discovered you and your podcast last month as I took up learning about crotchet. You are very inspirational and I am trying to catchup with all your podcasts going back. They have been my highlight of the day. I learnt my basic knitting from my mother as she made jumpers for us when we were in primarily school back in the late 60s. She also made tank tops for us, and we called them the warm and snuggly brand. We wore them till we grew out of them in those days. I look forward taking up those knitting needles again and learn to knit from patterns. Thank you for your lovely tips and inspirations.
Congrats on the 50! I've been watching you for a while and I enjoy your videos. I learned to knit this year at 62. I had attempted to do so a few times over the years but nothing took. I have been crocheting since I was 9 and sewing since I was 6. My first knitted object was a pair of socks, toe-up with a fish lips kiss heel. Since then it's been baby blankets, cardigans, and scarves, more on the horizon. Love the little beastie😊
I started knitting in the first lockdown! Thought I might be stuck inside for two months or so (ha!) and resumed to knit a shawl. Knit a huge half moon shape with 1500 m of worsted weight - now I have learned a ton from many project and have just separated for the sleeves of my first colourwork sweater! Thank you so much for all the company while learning a skill for life!
I learned to knit at about 7/8 in 2003. I had two teachers that year and one of them was pregnant. My math teacher was knitting her a baby blanket and taught our entire class the basics. I fell in love and continued to learn through the knitting club that my elementary school had. When I reached middle school I took a break from knitting and didn’t get back to it until I was in college. I started a gigantic double knit blanket in 2014 and haven’t looked back since then. Thank you so much for what you do!!!
The little doggie is lovely, a beast is an animal that would rip and shred the place up. He is calm, does not bark and loves a cuddle. I would definitely take a doggie like him. Beautiful doggie.
I’m a life long crocheter but I taught myself to knit during the beginning of our on going pandemic. I always love the look of knitting but I never knew any knitters so just thought I couldn’t learn without help. I ended up just learning through UA-cam. Now I do color work, knit socks and the whole thing. I’m completely obsessed and can’t go a day without knitting! 💗
I had never even heard of crochet all my life and one day a random crochet video popped up on my UA-cam feed. I was literally and figuratively hooked! Took to crochet like duck to water. It came quite easily to me and very quickly had a huge pile of scarves and blankets. This was in October 2018. A year into crocheting, I wanted to learn knitting as well as I loved every thing related to yarn. Knitting has been a steeper learning curve, I’m knitting my first sweater right now. flax by Tin Can knits. I have crocheted or knit for every single day for the last 3 years. It gives me something to look forward to every day! So grateful to technology that I could learn these fine crafts! Enjoyed listening to your knitting and crochet journey Anushka and reading other viewer’s stories too! ❤️
Congratulations and thanks for 50 fabulous episodes. I have been knitting for 50 years. My super patient mum taught me (including, it turns out, idiosyncrasies and bad habits). But in 1970s primary school we knitted a random ‘wool’ tank top in lessons. Random is still my favourite to this day! I can chart my life history through my projects - surely everyone knitted 10 pairs of fingerless gloves in neon shades after Madonna’s first appearance on Top of the Pops? Good luck for the future of the Crimson Stitchery.
Thank you, Anushka, for 50 lovely episodes! I'm so glad you're able to keep making more. I learnt to knit from my mother when I was five, I made a scarf, at least I started a scarf, but I don't remember finishing it. I did a lot of different crafts as a child, but from around 15 it has been mostly knitting. It took ten years from I first learnt to knit till I made my first jumper. That was a left over project with stripes all over, which now belongs to my mother.
Lovely to catch up with you this morning (sadly without red wine :D)... I learned to knit from my grandma who I remember always having a basket of knitting around their house. She would teach me to make these garter stitch doll scarves (that inevitably grew wider and narrower as I dropped and/or added stitches) but refused to teach me to knit socks in the round (like her) for a long time. Eventually she complied and years later, on a bit of a soul searching trip in SE Asia I decided to knit again. This time she properly taught me how to knit socks and garments and I've been knitting ever since. As my grandma sadly passed away last year, I feel like I have knit of continued her tradition in our family now..
I'm a crocheter but enjoy your videos and loved see your crochet sweater this time. I learned to crochet about 10 years ago when I was in college. Partially self taught. My mom helped me a little. I tried to learn knitting earlier this year but it didn't quite take. Instead I do tunsian knit stitch whenever I want something crocheted to have a knitted look.
I bet you’re a great dog parent ! I learned to knit while in elementary school when my mother arranged lessons for me through an LYS. This was in the 1960’s. I started a sweater then, never finished it, but from there I’d pick up needles and acrylic yarn every few years or so to knit a pair of slippers. Fast forward many, many years to around 12 or so years ago when I became interested again and started going to knit night at a nearby shop. I knit all the time now and have made many good and close friends whom I see regularly. In fact, tmrw we’re meeting in a local park to enjoy our beautiful Fall weather and knit. I enjoy your channel, Anushka!
i learned during quarantine last year from a best friend, and practiced new skills by learning from youtube :) i LOVE knitting / crochet and don’t know how i lived without it before. i can’t wait to get better at it - i’m still nervous to try new skills and challenging projects.
My mother taught me to knit when I was 8. Love it and have knitted all my life. Strangely my mother never knitted anything. I taught myself to crochet in my early 20. Friend had lost there grandmother and she had been making a blanket for each grandchild l finished her last project by taking stitches apart and then redoing until I could duplicate what she had done. Have been crocheting every since then. I am in my middle 70’s now can’t imagine what life would have been like without busy hands
I remember learning to knit for Brownies. I was likely about 10 years old. We had to knit a square as part of the requirements for our Golden Hand badge. I went on to get my knitters badge by knitting a headband for my dad. When I was 16, my Grandma, who was a wonderful knitter and crocheter, taught me how to tension the yarn in my right hand, instead of stopping to wrap the yarn around the needle for each stitch. What a game changer! It made my knitting so much more fluid and faster. Now, at 65, not a day goes by without knitting, and thinking of my grandmother with gratitude.
I only learned to knit in August 2020 from watching you tube videos. My first knit was a cowl and then I learned to knit socks! This year I have progressed on to knitting mittens and shawls and a blanket.
Hi Anushka, congratulations for your 50th milestone! I really enjoyed your video as always. Loved that we got to see your “Beast” longer in this episode😊 I learned to cast on, knit and purl to make a scarf at my junior high school in Japan (in 2000) as an assignment. Then I didn’t knit anything at all for a long time. When I was 18, I learned to make some crochet stuffed animals from a book, I very much enjoyed it but didn’t continue for long either. Then in 2018 or so, I picked up crocheting again for some reason and started to have interest also in knitting. I found lots of good tutorials on youtube and decided to give it a go and knitted my first pair of socks. Since then, I got so much into knitting, and started to knit more socks, hats, jumpers, etc. I’ve been told that my grandmother was a big knitter/crocheter but sadly I never had a chance to see her knitting or learn anything from her. I am very much looking forward to see your granny square Haori one day, it sounds very nice! I am also making a lot of granny squares to use up my yarns these days, I thought making a blanket out of them but making a garment sounds like fun as well!
Great episode as always 😊 My grandma showed me how to cast on using the long tail cast on method and I remember casting on stitches on the straight needles till they would not fit anymore and than I would unravel all and do it again. Till today the long tail cast on is my favourite 😍 Then she showed me the knit stitch and this was an eye opener I made tops for my barbie dolls I think I was about 8 or 9 and this was back in the early 1980. But I did not knit for a long time after that and then picked it up again after I had my daughter. Thank you for bringing this topic up 😊
I started crocheting when I lived alone in Germany. I just decided to try it out after spotting the Happy Hooker in a German book shop. At that time they had a much more visible crafting presence in shops than in the UK with lots of craft magazines and more yarn in shops. I deliberately avoided knitting for a few years for some reason but then decided to try that as well. Now I do both. I am also self taught from books and magazines and like trying out new techniques through trial and error. I was always inspired by my two grandmothers who were knitting experts but who never had a chance to teach me.
Hi Anushka, I hope you're OK. Love the Beast, he looks so cute.!!! Gosh you've just made me feel quite old (67)!!! I learnt to knit when I was about 6/7 remember my first item was a scarf. At school first thing was a Cotton Dish Cloth, then a square which was turned into a hat. As you know I've had to stop knitting due to arthritis in my hands. But have actually taken up a crochet hook up and been busy making Scratch mitts for my 3mth old Grandson. I love your Gloves, they look so warm and cosy. Love the colour if your sweater can't wait to see it when its finished. Take care and stay safe . Lots of love to you and "the Beast" Jen xxxx ❤💖♥💕
My mother taught me how to knit when I was a kid. Much later I took a community college course. I also had a wonderful woman in a lys that helped me a lot much later on.
I don't knit, started crochet in 2005 but only really got into it in 2020. Rescue dogs are challenging, keep faith in your pup and work on communication, understanding them and letting them know when you're happy w their behavior. Consent is important if they have some trauma. Mine had issues w nail trims (after being fine she was growling and biting, getting worse) We made it into a game, Toes For Treats, it took a couple months of treats/dance parties for letting me touch her feet at all, sitting near the trimmers, watching me trim the other dog's nails, and me doing my toes w her. Now she shows me which paw to start and gets 1 treat for each full paw completed. When she's done we stop, consent can be revoked any time.
I learned to knit initially when I was about 5 years old, from my Nan (which was the early 90s). My Mum refreshed the learning when I was about 10 years old (late 90s). I then picked up knitting myself properly when I was about 14 years old (2003ish) when I was a little ball of anxious and the school counsellor suggested knitting or crochet as a "moving meditation". I churned out rectangles/scarves through the rest of high school, swapped to crochet for a few years when I was about 18/19, and started knitting in earnest as my primary crafting method at about 24 years old. I've also cross stitched & sewed on and off since I was about 6yo, and have recently started sewing my own clothes now that I have finally (at 32yo) managed to have a dedicated craft room with a large table for pattern cutting :)
Hello. This is the first time i have been here. I love your you tube video!!! My name is juanell. I am definitely better at crochet; ive been crocheting for 40/41 years. I taught myself lace crochetr from reading a pattern or following a diagram. I started knitting just a few yrs ago, I definitely could be better at knitting, but i was always busy with crochet 24/7. I have recently been hard on myself; for not being able to knit better than i do. I have made all of the simple knitting projects. I am ready to knit socks, beanies, and sweaters! I have/can hand quilt, embroider, counted cross stitch, punch embroidery, sewing clothes by machine, making candles, making soap. It was so nice to meet u and i loved your video
Hi Anushka! When you mentioned that it's a little funny that people lurk and don't comment I figured I'd leave a comment, so now I guess it's just a bonus that there might be a chance to win some patterns! Anyway, I just wanted to say that I have been watching for ages and just never commented, but you were the first UA-cam knitting channel I found that I actually liked, and to be honest you were most of the reason why I decided to start my own UA-cam channel 😊. I hope everything's going ok with you - selfishly I'm glad you're in a good enough place to start posting more videos again, but just in general I'm glad things seem to be looking up. Also I'm not a pet person at all but your experience with your dog and its mercurial moods seems sort've similar to my current experience with my two year old, so I can commiserate 😅. I had a bit of a giggle when you said Australia and NZ are the only countries that seem to be taking Covid seriously now - four months into lockdown in Sydney I guess I'll take whatever positive spin I can on it 🤣. I learned how to knit when I was in primary school - I think someone at my afterschool care taught me the knit stitch and when mum saw me doing it she taught me how to cast on and off and how to purl, and I just sort've took off from there. This was in the mid-90s and I also hit uni in the late 2000s/early 2010s so my experience with being self-taught from blogs before things took off on Insta and UA-cam sounds pretty much the same as yours! Anyway I should stop rambling, but thank you again for everything you do 💜
I tried knitting a few times over the years but always scarves i never finished. I got into crochet in my 20s and made rather a few blankets Then lockdown hit just as I really wanted to make some socks. So I sat in my garden in the sun and got a strange sunburn practising one day and havent really stopped since. Discovered this whole knitting world on the internet which is awesome, knit tons of socks, and havent stop. I love that knitting can be mindless and mindful depending on what you make. Id like to make a sweater next.
Hello and congratulations on Episode 50! I learned to knit in 2016, starting my 30's. I come from a tropical country, so woolly items were not a feasible wardrobe option. However, I have been living in France for a few years now. So... In 2016 I was starting my PhD and thought that I needed to balance the long-haul intellectual work with a very concrete hobby, so I gifted myself a knitting course in one of our local yarn stores. I haven't looked back since!
Hello Anushka! Congratulations on Episode 50!! I tried to get my grandmother to teach me as a little girl, but as I am left handed it was very difficult and we gave up. It wastn´t until my last year of secondary school (in 2016) that I took another chance with the needles, this time being taught by my sister in law. We were successful and I became obsessed with it!! Nowadays I`m getting much better at knitting, but I still have a lot to learn. I apologise if my english is not spot on, hope its understandable!!
So I actually learned to crochet first from my grandma. Both of my grandmas and my late great grandma crocheted or knitted. I was around 8 years old when I picked up my crochet hook for the first time in 2004. We ended up moving into a house and finding a new church, and one of the ladies there saw me crochet and asked if I had ever knit. She showed me the knit stitch, yarn over increase, and how to knit 2 together. I made my first washcloth and the rest is history. From then on I've been self taught with any other skills and I'm currently knitting my first cardigan for a friend of mine!
I was 11 when my mom taught me to knit. At the beginning I was knitting for my Barbie dolls with the leftover yarn of my mum. We were living in Hungary it was in the 80’ and everyone was wearing some oversized V neck sweaters what was were available only in two colours: in bright pink and flashy turquoise ( we hadn’t too much choice in the shops). I wanted a sweater like this but a little bit different. So I knitted my first garment: a V neck oversized sweater in blue with a different pattern. I stopped knitting during university and I restarted when I had my first child 19 years ago and I never stopped since then. Now I live in France but I knit always the same way (continental style with Eastern European purling) but I learned many new techniques with internet and my knitting friends. Your channel is always a source of inspiration for me also on a philosophical and historical level about fibre arts. Thank you so much for your generosity to sharing your reflections and your experience ☺️
I learned to knit when I was 6 (1969) - picture bouffant hairdos, mini mini dresses and skirts, gogo boots etc etc. My parents gave me big wooden knitting needles and some thick yarn. My mother taught me the basics and I continued to do basic stitches in many different garments. I was terrified of anything with cables until one day my Mother bought me a cable needle. The pressure was on. I had to at least try it. The rest is history. Now at 58 I am a fearless knitter and try anything - allover lace sweaters, brioche hats, bobbles, yarn dyeing, etc etc. I taught my daughter to knit when she was little and she continues to amaze me with her talents and creativity. My 3-year old granddaughter loves “to knit” and has her own needles and ball of yarn that she gets to experiment with and loves to explore in my craft bags and room for what we’ll learn and do next. Thanks to podcasters like you, the knitting and crafting world is our oyster.
I learnt from my Grandma when I was about 10 or 11 (2010 ish), I remember taking my knitting into primary school and being told to put it away at lunch (apparently knitting needles are a potential weapon!) I fell out of knitting after a few years full of dozens of failed projects. I basically got frustrated that I wasn't immediately very good at it. Instead, I taught myself to crochet with the support of two of my aunts, who are also very crafty. I only picked up knitting again about a year ago when my aunt thrusted a ball of sock yarn into my hands and encouraged me to try sock knitting - and I loved it! Got into the online knitting scene around the same time, and I've made so much progress since with the techniques and patterns I've been trying. Just starting to reach out to my local shops, and the people are so nice. I still consider myself a "beginner" since I've only been knitting regularly for a year or so, and crocheting for a few years. I'm always eager to learn more and try new things, and I look forward to my future projects!
i knit a simple hat and scarf a few years back following some youtube tutorials but i havent gotten INTO knitting until earlier this year! just learning more about the different features and strengths that different crafts have to offer made me want to pick up knitting again and experiment with what those fabrics and projects look like vs the crochet ive been doing for many years. i learned just by following a few video tutorials and then moving on to written patterns and just googling anything i dont understand lol, ive been having a lot of fun with it and im looking forward to knitting more (-: my hair nowadays is shoulder length and bright blue! i started growing it out last febuary and its the longest its been since i was a kid
Looking over Ravelry, I apparently started knitting in January 2010, so I was 29 at the time and was teaching math at the university that I had attended. My first project was knit in remembrance of Kim A. who was the Music Department's secretary, but died from colon cancer. There are three aspects of this project that are symbolic. It is bright red to symbolize Kim's cheerful, joyous personality and enjoyment of life to its fullest. You just felt better after every conversation with her than you did before it. The dishcloth has a treble clef on it because music was very important to her, almost as important as her faith. She was also a soprano, so treble clef instead of another clef. The project is a dishcloth because it is a very helpful, useful item, and Kim always did whatever she could to help you. Since the dishcloth is in memory of Kim, the pattern had to be just right. I couldn't find one that I liked, so I took aspects of two dishcloths and a set of fingerless gloves and adapted the treble clef.
I started knitting and crocheting as a kid , when I was 6 or 7. When I was 12 I got this kit to crochet some animals with the yarn to make a fids and a fox. I think I remade the fish about 5 times before I finally worked out how to make it. A year later they started a knit club in my local library so I went. I was the youngest there and a lot of older ladies really helped me to learn to cast on again and how to knit. The rest is history. I'm now 19 years old, starting my second year at university and learning to knit colourwork.
I don't knit, but I learned to crochet when I was about 7. I didn't really keep up with it, until the first lockdown when I needed something to keep my mind busy. I can't read patterns very well, but I love writing them and using crochet thread!
I remember my paternal grandmother was a bigger knitter, but we didn’t like her, so we resisted being taught as a child. Then in 2011 (aged 15) I did my work experience at a library, and found the charmed knits book by Alison Hansel (aka knitting patterns based around THAT boy wizard series), and I decided I wanted to knit myself a Ravenclaw scarf. I taught myself using UA-cam and this book, and it took me a year to knit. But I didn’t really start knitting fully until I was in my second year at uni and discovered knitting podcasts, and that knitting was so much more than scratchy jumpers and twee dolls clothes. I taught myself to knit socks and haven’t looked back! I even wrote my MA dissertation on the history and relevance of knitting
I learned to crochet at 24 when I was miserable and bedridden after having major surgery, being bored and needing something to do with my hands I coerced a friend of mine to kindly donate one of her many balls of yarn, a few hooks and a few recommendations for some tutorials. I learned to knit 2 years later when I was adamant about having my own pair of hand knit socks, so out of sheer stubbornness and a little pinch of spite I managed to knit a pair of socks as my first knitting project. It was immediately followed by a jumper!
I theoretically learned to knit in primary school but I hated it, because our teacher would make me sit on her lap in order to show me how to hold the needles etc, and I was very uncomfortable with that. So I avoided knitting until my early twenties (about 10y ago), when I wanted to try it again. I remembered that my Dad used to knit rainbow-coloured sweaters for me and my sister, so I asked him if he could teach me. That year on Christmas, on our family visit to the cabin in the mountains, he gifted me some yarn and needles and he and my step-mom taught me to knit during those Christmas holidays. My first scarf went quite wrong but I still keep it for sentimental reasons. ;) I'm a first time commenter here and only very recently discovered your channel, and I'm really enjoying your content. I especially appreciate your natural way of talking in front of the camera, and I relate to so many thoughts and emotions you express in your videos. I've recently rediscovered my love for knitting because it helps me recharge my batteries during an exhausting time in my life (working, PhD, and two little ones), so I've taken to knitting and listening/watching your videos, it's like knitting with a friend. ;)
My mom taught me to knit when I was 5 years old. I knitted on and off through my early 20s, then did a bit again in my early 30s. Set it aside while raising three children and finishing my masters degree AND working. Picked it up again a few years ago. Also, along the way I learned to crochet. Now I do both.
Your precious Beast reminds me of my late Mother’s long ago dog. It was wonderful to hear your knitting story! My motivation to learn (self-teach) knitting was to make myself socks, (it was 2004 and I was late 30’s) I remember going to the library to take out a book and then going to a big box store to get yarn (worsted weight) to practice with till I got really good at it and I was so sure hahaha 🤣 that I’d totally figure it out because I had been crocheting since I was a small child - I actually couldn’t grasp turning the heel and had to take a year off from socks BUT in the meantime I decided to get really good at the basics of knitting and then one day I discovered online the Silver’s Sock Class AND finally turning the heel just clicked and I was finally able to make a pair of socks. And once I came up with a really good sock recipe for myself I’ve knit nearly a hundred pairs of socks; and socks are still my favorite thing to make. Surprisingly, I never thought I’d ever be a garment knitter, AND this year I finally made a couple pullovers that fit really well and I’m so proud to wear!
My grandmother taught me to make a basic scarf when I was little. But I really didn’t try to progress my skills until the era of Stitch and Bitch (the kitsch appealed to teenage me as well!). I took another step up again a few years back when I realised I had the discretionary income to afford nicer yarn and could make exactly what I wanted!
My mom taught me how to knit when I was 9 and the first thing I made was a small scarf for my stuffed animal. I enjoyed it a lot, but dabbled around for a while. I remember making a drawstring bag and legwarmers in middle school and a handful of scarves and hats in high school. Then I stopped doing it, because college took up a lot of my time. Then 2020 happened and I got diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety and one of the things that helped was knitting. I have since knitted baby sweaters, baby booties, small stuffed animals, a handful of hats, and have plans for my first sweater (the yarn is bought, but I want to finish a few things first). In the early years, I think I was twelve, I taught myself how to crochet and made flowers and hotpads/trivets (which I still make for friends as wedding gifts).
Your story of good you learned to crochet is so similar to mine that I just had to share. I was in a sad place in life and had a Readers Digest Needlework Dictionary book that my grandmother had given me for Christmas a couple years earlier that I happened to come across. And just like that, at 22 years old and on a whim I looked through it and decided I was going to learn to crochet, so I did. I learned to knit several years later. I had no living relatives to teach me so I learned through books and the internet as well.
I learned to knit when I was 9 in day care lol. I don’t know how it came up but one of the 20-something teachers taught me. I did not learn more or finish anything though until I got back into it when I was 16/17 in 2010/2011. My friend did a project for school where we knitted prayer shawls, so we all learned and I ran with it! I’ve been knitting, but mostly crocheting, ever since!
I learnt when I was 8, almost 9, in 1995. School made us do summer projects over every summer, that year our assignment was to make something so my grandma taught me to knit. I did a couple of scarfs and handbags made of rectangles sewn together, then stopped. I took it back up after a really stressful time at work in my twenties - I bought some wool and needles and knitted hats for innocent smoothie hats. I have been knitting ever since- although sometimes with long gaps thanks to a lack of knitting mojo.
I learned to knit when I was maybe about 7 or 8. My grandma taught me just a few years before she died, and because I was so young I never really finished anything - I had a half-finished scarf that sat around for about 10 years I think! And then when I was in uni, I met my partner and he's a knitter and inspired me to get back into it. I found some UA-cam channels (Sheep & Stitch) and finished my very first project - a super chunky garter stitch cowl that I'm still loving and wearing as soon as it gets cold enough to! So I guess I kind of learned to knit in two stages 😅 but over the past four years I've been trying to learn lots of new techniques - I've discovered that I love knitting socks and lace. Your series on alterations has made me feel more confident about getting more into garment knitting and I'm about to finish my second ever garment! Knitting has helped me reconnect with my creativity, which is such an innate part of me but something I've had a very fraught relationship, thanks to A-level art and an onslaught of perfectionism from myself, parents, and teachers. Even though I've only been knitting consistently for about 4.5 years, it really is a part of me and something I think I'll do forever!
I hugely relate to your point about reconnecting with creativity after developing a fraught/perfectionism-riddled relationship with it. (And I also learned at about 8 and then re-learned properly at uni!) When I first picked knitting up again, I was too scared to rip out sections or to frog something if I didn't like how it was turning out and repurpose the yarn for something else. So then I would have FOs that bothered me because I didn't go back and edit, and abandoned WIPs guilt-tripping me from the back of my closet. Over time, I learned the skills and the patience required to do all of those things -- and to make peace with imperfections that I have consciously chosen to leave as well -- and it's been such a game changer for my creative confidence. Now I'm working on applying those lessons learned while knitting to old creative pursuits that I abandoned because school sort of scared them out of me.
My grandma taught me the basics of knitting when I was about 10/11 and then the internet taught me everything else lol! I counted back and it’s been 15 years of knitting which seems crazy!! It was a very casual hobby until the pandemic started and I couldn’t work for a very long time. Now it has become an obsession and something to focus when the world gets to be too much.
Because he's a smaller dog, I want to call the Beast "Little Beastie" whenever I make a comment on your videos haha! I'm sorry things are tough with him right now, and I hope you get to a good point soon. My boyfriend and I have had our rescue pup for about 3 weeks now, and we're realizing new things about him all the time (for example, he doesn't respond to stern commands, especially from my boyfriend -- we think he has a problem with an authoritative male in his previous home). All I can offer in the way of advice is just to enjoy the good times, even if they are short and infrequent, until you get to a point where the good times happen more often. Ooooh I love the sneak peek of your yellow sweater! Can't wait to read the next installment about it on Patreon when you publish it! I learned to knit in January 2015 because I wanted to make the knitted cowl/vest worn by Katniss Everdeen in the Hunger Games: Catching Fire, and I couldn't afford a ready-made one. At the time, I had very bad hair because I had just gotten out of my first serious relationship and thought I would get a perm AND dye my hair -- BAD idea. I had actual yellow hair instead of blonde, and it was super frizzy and curly. I had to chop my hair off to above my shoulders in order to remove most of the damage, and have since sworn off perms lol! At this time, I already knew the knit stitch from previously dabbling in knitting when I was in my teens, but when I asked my knitting aunt to show me the purl stitch, she said, "oh just give it to me and I'll do it." NOT the response I was hoping for! I think she thought I just wanted to make one project, not learn for good in order to have a new hobby. So instead of getting her help, I went to UA-cam to learn the purl stitch, and now 6 1/2 years later, I'm just as skilled as my aunt, and sometimes I teach her things hee hee!
I first tried to knit a few years ago when my mom and I attempted to learn together in an afternoon by watching a UA-cam video. It made no sense to me at first and I ended up somehow trying to hold one of the needles with my chin! I knew that couldn't be right, but there we were. So that was discouraging, and neither of us did much with it for awhile. I decided to give it another try later and stumbled on continental knitting and all the light bulbs lit up. I had been an avid crocheter since I was a teen, so that method was much more natural to me, and I didn't need to use my chin anymore lol. Since then I've knit a sweater for me and a matching one for my baby, as well as a dress for her and a few accessories.
The first time I tried knitting I was around 10 years old. My grandmother taught me, but I never really made anything out of it as far as I can remember. Then last year during lockdown I picked it up again. I immediately loved it, and haven't stopped knitting since. I very much enjoy watching knitting podcasts (yours was the first one I found!) and getting inspiration from seeing what others are making online. Congratulations on 50 episodes!
Thank you for making these videos. I started knitting during the first lockdown so I was 20. I remember when everyone was buying toilet paper but I bought knitting needles. However this was not the first time working with yarn since I have been crocheting for the past seven years.
I can not relate to the rescue pet (although I do have a 9 year old golden retriever,) but I am an adoptive mother of three girls who are now 18, 19 and 21. I feel like I was not prepared for how hard raising children, and specifically adoptive children, is in reality. So, like you with your pet, I have always appreciated those who have been real with how to deal with the difficulties faced in this “rescuing” of children. Tie in to your question - I started knitting because of my daughters. I have always been a creative/crafty person: embroidery, counted cross-stitch, quilting, scrapbooking, sewing doll clothes, etc. I had not been drawn to the yarny crafts even though my mother and my sisters all knitted and crocheted. When my daughters were in their middle school years, they all took interest in knitting due to school influence. They would get stuck and need help and I didn’t know how to help them, so I decided to learn how to knit to help them out. So, at age 57, I got a little help from a friend and a lot of help from the internet and eventually UA-cam, and I learned to knit and became very quickly addicted. Two years later I learned to crochet through UA-cam, because “Why not?” Ironically, none of my girls are currently interested in yarn crafting, but, now at age 62, I continue to be totally addicted. I love the sayings, “I knit so I don’t kill people, I crochet so I don’t choke people, buy yarn, save lives!”
I learned to knit from my mother (when I was 9) after I found out that someone I wanted to be friends with was also learning to knit. My mum only knew how to do knit and purl but took me to the library so I could get some books with more details. I still thank her for taking the time to do this by making her various small things as gifts. Also I did successfully befriend the person, until she moved away 2 years later and we never talked again :( I only did small things until I went to uni were I decided to make a cardigan, then the bug caught hold again...
Both my grandmother and my mother used to sew, knit and crochet, and i actually asked them to teach me when i was about ten or twelve, i believe (knitting was a no-no because my mum thought the big needles might be more dangerous than the hook -go figure!). I wasn't good at keeping good tension, tried making a miniature scarf and got bored. But four years ago i had a boyfriend who was a knitter, so i made him teach me the basics, and here i am, a knitting addict. I guess i'll keep on knitting till the day i die (yes, my stash is quite big, and i'm not allways able to restrain from buying more yarn, so it's a life-long endeavour trying to use up all that yarn :D ).
my granny taught me to knit when I was about 5 years old (early 2000s) and I made some very simple stuffed toys and then used to make little scarves for my teddies (extremely slowly, I must add!) I then only just picked it back up early this year! I've since then learnt many new techniques I never tried back then, and particularly love knitting socks, but want to get more into making garments as well (so far I've made 3). it's really interesting because I've found it comes so naturally for me, maybe because I learnt at such a young age? or maybe it's in my blood! but interestingly when I re-learnt this year I had much more success doing continental style, which I'd never done before, I think because of my crochet experience? I first learnt to crochet when I was 11 (late noughties) when my school set up a crochet club to make granny squares to eventually form a blanket to send off to our partner school in Uganda I believe. me and my friend picked it up the quickest and ended up coming back to the club to teach the younger kids the following year! I've since dabbled in crochet on and off, had a little amigurumi phase a couple years ago, and then decided I wanted to make garments and socks this past winter in lockdown, which is what eventually led me back to knitting. I currently primarily knit, mainly because it uses so much less yarn, and I like to buy a lot of indie dyed/ethically produced/natural yarns which have a lot higher price point! anyway, that's my little story, I also got into spinning a few months ago as well which has been super rewarding. I am definitely firmly entrenched in the fibre world now!
I learned to knit while quarantined at the beginning of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. 1st project was a cotton vest knit, 6 finished projects and 4 wipes. I thinks they call that Hooked! Lol
When I was 10 years old, (2007?) I went to a overnight crafting camp through Girl Scouts. There, a whole host of wisened women taught us girls how to knit, crochet, and sew! I took to crochet like a fish to water. BUT, I promptly forgot how to purl 😅 so after years and year of knitting wrong, last year I finally sat down and re-taught myself how to knit correctly. Haven’t put my needles down since!
Thank you for the video! What you told about your struggle with your beast definitely hit home for me. I adopted a rescue dog last year and it's been hard. I had dogs for my whole life and considered myself quite experienced, but well... Apparently I still have a lot to learn. I love my dog but I'm still sometimes mad I have to fix the mistakes of her horrible previous owner. As for your question, when did I learn to knit... Two times, actually. The first time was in elementary school. At this time it was still mandatory for children to have textil arts as a subject in Germany. I didn't really take to it, which could be attributed to the absolutely nasty teacher. Gladly, I tried again in my twenties, when a friend teached me how to knit socks. That was probably around 2013, so I've been knitting for 8 years now. This time I dived into the whole fiber arts thing. Knitting led to crochet led to spinning... As for my hair, make up and clothes, at elementary school age I was wearing pigtails, no make up and I had a thing for neon orange. The 90ies were wild. :D
I crochet and am a beginner knitter. My grandma crocheted, as did my great grandma. It came very naturally for me and I’m very good at it. Knitting I just picked up. I’m making a cardigan now. The first 1/4 of the cardigan went perfectly. But I’ve just started making a ton of mistakes and I feel so frustrated. With crochet, it’s easy to fix mistakes. So I’m taking a small break and crocheting something to boost my confidence. I think I just have to realize... I have to take knitting slower than crochet.
I actually taught myself to knit using a pamphlet, worsted weight acrylic yarn, and 6.5mm straight aluminum knitting needles, all purchased at Walmart. It was around 2005 or 2006, when I was in 11th grade, my mid/late teens. My grandmother was a quilter and embroiderer, and my mother's domestic skill was more kitchen-oriented, so I didn't have anyone at home who could tell me if I was doing things right. I didn't move beyond garter stitch scarves for a few years because I didn't feel confident in my ability to teach myself stitches beyond the knit stitch.
Congratulations on 50 episodes! As for my knitting origin story: I did 'french knitting' (using a knitting 'jenny') when I was 9; but learned to do regular knitting in 2004, in my mid-20s. I was living in Japan at the time and found the book 'Stitch & Bitch' at an English language book shop. My darling mum then came to visit me and she showed me how to cast on and how to do the stitches. So gosh, that was 17 years ago! I'm sorry to hear that you're not yet feeling like yourself. May you continue to heal and process, as you need to. All the best with your ongoing journey with The Beast. He's so beautiful. Is he food motivated? If so, you could try putting some peanut butter on something, so he can access that for licking, while you brush him. It depends if his anxiety is lower than his food drive in the moment though. Good luck, with whatever option you go with though.
I first learned to knit when I was about 8 years old in the mid 2000s. My family had moved to Cape Town, South Africa for a semester while my dad was working on a project for his Masters degree and my mom was doing a teaching exchange at a school there. I attended the school and was surprised when, at break on my first day, many of my classmates brought out knitting projects to work on while chatting and listening to music - I remember they were all particularly obsessed with Shakira at the time! :) My grandfather had recently passed away, so my grandmother came along for the adventure and change of pace -- and to keep an eye on my brothers and I while my parents were working. I had seen her knit before, so when I got home from school, I asked if she would teach me so I could join in with my classmates. I stuck with it while in South Africa, but once we moved away again, I lost interest, having only learned the knit stitch. Fast forward a decade, and one of my American cousins came to visit me in Scotland, where I had been living for about a year. She grew up on a sheep farm and loved spinning and knitting, and she wanted to find some raw fleece or batts/roving from Scottish sheep that she could take home and spin and knit into a souvenir. We spent a day wandering all over Edinburgh looking for a small yarn shop that would sell it, and finally, we found one! We had been talking knitting and visiting lovely, inspiring shops all day, and at this final shop, I decided I wanted to try again. My cousin recommended that if I wanted to stick with it, I should pick a project because I liked it and not because it was expressly simple or 'beginner friendly' - and that I could learn the required skills along the way (I believe I've heard you recommend the same). She showed me how to find patterns on Ravelry and use UA-cam tutorials to work my way through them. That proved to be hugely useful advice, and I fully caught the bug! Woolly, knitted garments are the perfect combination of "beautiful and useful" here in Scotland, so I imagine this hobby that's lived on for the past 6 years will last a lifetime! As a side note, I'm jealous that your school had so many wonderful craft-based programs! We had a good drawing & painting program, and we occasionally had ceramics units, but there was nothing textile, cooking, etc. related. I think more schools should teach practical, hands-on skills like yours did - it's so great for teaching patience and the value of the physical items we use -- and improving mental health.
I learned to knit when I was 19 in 2013 during the summer after finishing school. I'm from Denmark but was never taught in school. My aunt, who's a very skilled knitter had failed to teach me several times as a child. At 19 I must have been ready to take it in. I'm very left handed so my aunt ended up showing me the knit stich sitting across from me, so that I could mirror it. Purling was more difficult. But with the help from a woman online who send us a video I finally learned! I knit a cowl and a few hats over the next years and. In 2017 I knit my first sweater, discovered knitting UA-cam and Instagram. But that is whole other story.
I got a knitting kit from my grandma around age 12 and I remember knitting a few scarves but never finishing them. I recently got back into it (and cross stitching) this past year as a way to get through the PNW winters...still haven't finished any pieces besides a basic blanket though
I come from a strong female tradition of making, mostly seamstresses but capabilities expand to fulfil need… My great aunt taught me to knit when I was about 4 (about 1969…), then at my English primary school aged 7 we learnt both to knit and and embroider. In the middle of that we moved abroad. I‘m an only child and so often had to entertain myself, so kept up knitting „purses“ with a Brownie handbook and a passed-down 1940‘s girls‘ knitting book as support. My mother never mastered knitting but taught herself to crochet when she stopped smoking so I learnt to crochet flouncy skirts for my dolls at that point, about 1974 (wearing smock tops and check trousers lol). Myfirst knitted garment was a lilac cape with a hood for Sindy when I was 11 and would spend summers in the UK going through Granny‘s Family Circle magazines looking for crafts to make… As a teen, again in the UK, I knit both from English and German magazines - the 80s in German-speaking countries was knitmanic and people knit in school, at uni, everywhere, much to our amazement (noimagining what our 6th form teachers would have said if we had tried anything so frivolous lol). My friend and I were the only English girls Iknew who knit, the little wool shops were very fuddyduddy to us and dying out - we got our supplies from WH Smith in those days (oh yes!!). When I returned abroad, my local friends who had all learnt to knitat school, insisted I needed to learn the „right“ way to knit, having laughed at my „odd“ English ways 🤣 such a Swiss attitude! I had ny daughters young and knit for all of them, lots of picture jumpers etc. and lacy cotton socks, it never occurred to me that anything might be difficult, I just followed the instructions and it turned out fine. I didn‘t knit for about 10 yrs 1996-2006 when I discovered knitting had gone global online, the Yarn Harlot was the first knitting blog I found, what a revelation…. Rav started and it‘s just gone up and up from there, I knit more than ever now, rhough I‘ve become more particular about what I knit and my supplies, there‘s simply so much choice. Fortunatelx my grandchildren like wearing the stuff I make and I try to make it contemporary. Two of my daughters knit (of whom one sews a lot), the third is a professionally trained seamstress - and my mother still crochets…. 🧶🧶🧶🧵🧵🧵🪡🪡🪡
Hello Anushka! I started knitting with my mother but she wasn’t keen, she preferred sewing, so my skills remained basic until I took it up again in my early 20s (in the 70s!). I only did sewing at school. Oh and my hairstyle was long straight hair in the 70s! 😂 (but no flowers in my hair…) About the Beast, I’m not surprised it hasn’t been easy, Bichons are very strong-willed, I remember mine literally sitting with her back turned to me, showing her discontent because I had told her off. But she was good company and I miss her. Lovely as always to watch your videos!
I guess I'm getting old, because I started knitting in the late 70's😳 Learned knitting from my mom (she comes from a long line of knitters). And I learned crocheting from my fathers mom in the early 80's (her side of the family was allways into crochet and sewing).
Hello there. Enjoying your content. Mostly coming here in autumn and watch all the content from throughout the year :) I have a little tip: a red border at the bottom of the thumbnail makes videos very easy to be confused with already seen ones as youtube makes a red border there also :) I was a bit confused scouting through the video list :D
I learnt to knit when I was around 8. My grandmother taught me. I found it super fiddly and kept ending up with weird shapes. One day I was showing my other grandmother who also knits and she asked me why I was knitting left handed? Turns out the grandmother who taught me was left handed and once I turned it around I was able to knit so much easier 😂
i am still learning to knit :) i started a few months before the pandemic to help with my anxiety in environments in which i felt i had limited control in making more palatable as it happens that also helps with situations- such as the pandemic !
I learned during the summer of 1984, when I was 10. I was visiting my grandparents and we had gone shopping at a department store and i saw this learn to knit set designed for kids. It had horrible acrylic yarn and extremely cheap/crappy plastic needles. I read the directions and it made no sense. So I was taught how to knit by my grandfather and my grandmother's sister ( who also happened to be visiting at the time. I could not knit anything square/rectangular due to dropped stitches and the fact that I really had no clue what I was doing. The next school year we had as part of art/social studies (we were doing something that had to do with the settling of western Canada) a unit on knitting, where we were making a snowman. Here I actually learned to knit a square, purl and bind off. I knitted for a bit after that but stopped and then didn't take it back up again until into the late 2000s and have been an active knitter ever since.
My "learning to knit" story is kind of funny. My older sister was starting to knit when I was about... nine, I think? Maybe eight? And I started crying to my mom that I was "the only woman in this house who can't knit". (Weird, I know!) So she sat me down in front of her and guided my hands with hers until I knit a very loose swatch with some pastel rainbow acrylic. I still have the swatch somewhere. I didn't do anything more than garter stitch until I was a teenager, though, when my mom let me choose what I wanted out of the yarn she wasn't able to sell at our yard sale. My first attempts at ribbing were a disaster, but I quickly learned from my mistakes.
Regarding being inspired by the clothes in Friends: I watched the modern (80s style) remake of The Turn of The Screw called The Haunting Of Bly Manor and it features perfectly iconic 80s clothes. I highly recommend it if you are looking for something spooky with some great outfits!
Have you tried knitting your cuff on a circular needle with a short cable? I find them easier to use for knitting hats and fingerless mittens. Also you are not in any danger of losing your stitches on dps
i started knitting in 2019, at age 24! my ex-boyfriend actually taught me how! i knit a long rectangle in this horrible pink acrylic yarn that he had lying around (and i still have lying around somewhere) and then i ended up putting it down. he broke up with me soon after (about a month or so?) and i went home to visit my family because i was sad, and my friend (who had just started getting into knitting as well) and i went to visit an ArtFest that was happening in my hometown. there was a roaming wool/knitting shop in this caravan there, we went in and i bought some yarn and a pattern and made my first project -- the Turbulence Cowl by Laura Chau! looking back i can't believe that was my first project, with all the short rows, haha. but i found i took to it very naturally and that it was super exhilarating to create something with my own hands. i quickly became obsessed and literally knit constantly when i was home/in my down time. i've slowed down a bit recently since i've gotten back into reading but now i would say i am quite a proficient knitter! so i guess i have one good thing to thank my ex for at least haha
I really like Classy Cabled Gloves pattern by Kaitlyn Yeager. I have knit in different weights and made it fingerless etc. it is my go to glove pattern
I taught myself to knit just this year! Loads of crochet but just leard this year to knit. Eta: I've gone back and I can't seem to find the shade name for that Black Isle "Killen" yarn. If you could share the shade name I'd love to buy some!
The colour of that sweater though 😍 One of my teachers taught me to knit! It was the mid 2000s so my hair was crimped and filled with butterfly clips lol. I would finish my work much faster than my classmates and was a bit of a nuisance to the rest of my classmates looking back now. So she taught me in hopes that it would keep me occupied, which it did! I picked up crochet during 2018 when my sister had her baby and I wanted to make baby toys, but knitting them took forever so someone suggested I crochet them instead.
Grooming fluffy dogs is always a hard one so I"m sorry you are having difficulties. I'd get some advicew from your vet on how to approach that because you need to work psychologically on the dog to overcome the issues. I have a dog that needs grooming but I knew that when I got her as a puppy. we started slowly with her and started very early to touch all of her when we were petting her around her bottom and under carriage her legs in a soft gentle way and for very short periods and always praising her for being 'a good girl 'hehehehehe. When she sat with us on the loung, I'd just brush a few strands on her back and used an encouraging voice with her because dogs like her and your dog can't go long without a brush or the job is worse, the hair becomes dreadlocked and it's a huge ordeal. We keep Hunni shorter which would be good for your dog too, and maintain that and it's made it so much easier. I'd take your dog to a proper groomer to start with and stay with the dog while it was groomed and go though the issues with them. they are the BESt ones to help you learn how to handle your dog. I did think when i saw yours that it was going to be a job with all that fur and it gets matted if you don't maintain it. Dreadlocks HURT a dog when it rolls on the ground because all that hair is knotted anyway and has no give. Good luck and seek some professional help - we get Hunni groomed once a month - it's just part of the cost of having an animal so we accept that. I know I can't groom her myself but she's kept shorter now and it's awesome and so much easier to brush her in the cay. Lu
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Both my granny and aunty were knitters but I actually didn't learn until first lockdown last year.
I was annoyed that I couldn't do my pottery so my housemate gave me some yarn and needles so I could continue making albeit in a new medium. I really really took to it and I knit every day now. Knitting brings me so much joy. Being able to make what I want is so exciting and empowering.
I really appreciate podcasts and UA-cam like yours, as a learner it's so good to be able to look at lots of different videos if you get stuck. 💚
I learned to knit when I was about 8 years old. My mom showed me the basics but nothing beyond making a scarf. Around this same time my grandmother lived a few houses down from my house. I spent a lot of time with her. She taught me how to cross stitch and crochet. Much like you… life happened and there were some years in between where I didn’t do much of knitting or crocheting. For the last few years I have picked it up again. I have used UA-cam as a way to improve my skills. I’ve made hats, socks, and a sweater or two. I’m just glad both my mother and grandmother had the patience to teach me. I have wonderful memories of the time I spent with my grandmother. She looked forward to my visits and so did I.
Hi Anushka! I first learned to knit during college, but the hobby didn't stick. I picked up my needles again when I lost my 3rd hat in a winter during grad school. I haven't stopped since. UA-cam creators like you are my teachers! So thanks for all the podcasts and tutorials. They really help deepen my knowledge and keep me inspired ☺️
Hi, I discovered you and your podcast last month as I took up learning about crotchet. You are very inspirational and I am trying to catchup with all your podcasts going back. They have been my highlight of the day. I learnt my basic knitting from my mother as she made jumpers for us when we were in primarily school back in the late 60s. She also made tank tops for us, and we called them the warm and snuggly brand. We wore them till we grew out of them in those days. I look forward taking up those knitting needles again and learn to knit from patterns. Thank you for your lovely tips and inspirations.
Congrats on the 50! I've been watching you for a while and I enjoy your videos. I learned to knit this year at 62. I had attempted to do so a few times over the years but nothing took. I have been crocheting since I was 9 and sewing since I was 6. My first knitted object was a pair of socks, toe-up with a fish lips kiss heel. Since then it's been baby blankets, cardigans, and scarves, more on the horizon. Love the little beastie😊
I started knitting in the first lockdown! Thought I might be stuck inside for two months or so (ha!) and resumed to knit a shawl. Knit a huge half moon shape with 1500 m of worsted weight - now I have learned a ton from many project and have just separated for the sleeves of my first colourwork sweater!
Thank you so much for all the company while learning a skill for life!
I learned to knit at about 7/8 in 2003. I had two teachers that year and one of them was pregnant. My math teacher was knitting her a baby blanket and taught our entire class the basics. I fell in love and continued to learn through the knitting club that my elementary school had. When I reached middle school I took a break from knitting and didn’t get back to it until I was in college. I started a gigantic double knit blanket in 2014 and haven’t looked back since then. Thank you so much for what you do!!!
The little doggie is lovely, a beast is an animal that would rip and shred the place up. He is calm, does not bark and loves a cuddle. I would definitely take a doggie like him. Beautiful doggie.
I’m a life long crocheter but I taught myself to knit during the beginning of our on going pandemic. I always love the look of knitting but I never knew any knitters so just thought I couldn’t learn without help. I ended up just learning through UA-cam. Now I do color work, knit socks and the whole thing. I’m completely obsessed and can’t go a day without knitting! 💗
I had never even heard of crochet all my life and one day a random crochet video popped up on my UA-cam feed. I was literally and figuratively hooked! Took to crochet like duck to water. It came quite easily to me and very quickly had a huge pile of scarves and blankets. This was in October 2018. A year into crocheting, I wanted to learn knitting as well as I loved every thing related to yarn. Knitting has been a steeper learning curve, I’m knitting my first sweater right now. flax by Tin Can knits. I have crocheted or knit for every single day for the last 3 years. It gives me something to look forward to every day! So grateful to technology that I could learn these fine crafts!
Enjoyed listening to your knitting and crochet journey Anushka and reading other viewer’s stories too! ❤️
Congratulations and thanks for 50 fabulous episodes. I have been knitting for 50 years. My super patient mum taught me (including, it turns out, idiosyncrasies and bad habits). But in 1970s primary school we knitted a random ‘wool’ tank top in lessons. Random is still my favourite to this day! I can chart my life history through my projects - surely everyone knitted 10 pairs of fingerless gloves in neon shades after Madonna’s first appearance on Top of the Pops?
Good luck for the future of the Crimson Stitchery.
Adore your channel! You are a wealth of information and a joy to watch. Thank you! 🥰
Thank you, Anushka, for 50 lovely episodes! I'm so glad you're able to keep making more. I learnt to knit from my mother when I was five, I made a scarf, at least I started a scarf, but I don't remember finishing it. I did a lot of different crafts as a child, but from around 15 it has been mostly knitting. It took ten years from I first learnt to knit till I made my first jumper. That was a left over project with stripes all over, which now belongs to my mother.
Lovely to catch up with you this morning (sadly without red wine :D)...
I learned to knit from my grandma who I remember always having a basket of knitting around their house. She would teach me to make these garter stitch doll scarves (that inevitably grew wider and narrower as I dropped and/or added stitches) but refused to teach me to knit socks in the round (like her) for a long time. Eventually she complied and years later, on a bit of a soul searching trip in SE Asia I decided to knit again. This time she properly taught me how to knit socks and garments and I've been knitting ever since.
As my grandma sadly passed away last year, I feel like I have knit of continued her tradition in our family now..
I'm a crocheter but enjoy your videos and loved see your crochet sweater this time. I learned to crochet about 10 years ago when I was in college. Partially self taught. My mom helped me a little. I tried to learn knitting earlier this year but it didn't quite take. Instead I do tunsian knit stitch whenever I want something crocheted to have a knitted look.
I bet you’re a great dog parent ! I learned to knit while in elementary school when my mother arranged lessons for me through an LYS. This was in the 1960’s. I started a sweater then, never finished it, but from there I’d pick up needles and acrylic yarn every few years or so to knit a pair of slippers. Fast forward many, many years to around 12 or so years ago when I became interested again and started going to knit night at a nearby shop. I knit all the time now and have made many good and close friends whom I see regularly. In fact, tmrw we’re meeting in a local park to enjoy our beautiful Fall weather and knit. I enjoy your channel, Anushka!
i learned during quarantine last year from a best friend, and practiced new skills by learning from youtube :) i LOVE knitting / crochet and don’t know how i lived without it before. i can’t wait to get better at it - i’m still nervous to try new skills and challenging projects.
My mother taught me to knit when I was 8. Love it and have knitted all my life. Strangely my mother never knitted anything. I taught myself to crochet in my early 20. Friend had lost there grandmother and she had been making a blanket for each grandchild l finished her last project by taking stitches apart and then redoing until I could duplicate what she had done. Have been crocheting every since then. I am in my middle 70’s now can’t imagine what life would have been like without busy hands
I remember learning to knit for Brownies. I was likely about 10 years old. We had to knit a square as part of the requirements for our Golden Hand badge. I went on to get my knitters badge by knitting a headband for my dad. When I was 16, my Grandma, who was a wonderful knitter and crocheter, taught me how to tension the yarn in my right hand, instead of stopping to wrap the yarn around the needle for each stitch. What a game changer! It made my knitting so much more fluid and faster. Now, at 65, not a day goes by without knitting, and thinking of my grandmother with gratitude.
Congrats on your 50th episode, definitely need to be a birthday cake episode.
I only learned to knit in August 2020 from watching you tube videos. My first knit was a cowl and then I learned to knit socks! This year I have progressed on to knitting mittens and shawls and a blanket.
Hi Anushka, congratulations for your 50th milestone! I really enjoyed your video as always. Loved that we got to see your “Beast” longer in this episode😊
I learned to cast on, knit and purl to make a scarf at my junior high school in Japan (in 2000) as an assignment. Then I didn’t knit anything at all for a long time. When I was 18, I learned to make some crochet stuffed animals from a book, I very much enjoyed it but didn’t continue for long either. Then in 2018 or so, I picked up crocheting again for some reason and started to have interest also in knitting. I found lots of good tutorials on youtube and decided to give it a go and knitted my first pair of socks. Since then, I got so much into knitting, and started to knit more socks, hats, jumpers, etc. I’ve been told that my grandmother was a big knitter/crocheter but sadly I never had a chance to see her knitting or learn anything from her.
I am very much looking forward to see your granny square Haori one day, it sounds very nice! I am also making a lot of granny squares to use up my yarns these days, I thought making a blanket out of them but making a garment sounds like fun as well!
Great episode as always 😊 My grandma showed me how to cast on using the long tail cast on method and I remember casting on stitches on the straight needles till they would not fit anymore and than I would unravel all and do it again. Till today the long tail cast on is my favourite 😍 Then she showed me the knit stitch and this was an eye opener I made tops for my barbie dolls I think I was about 8 or 9 and this was back in the early 1980. But I did not knit for a long time after that and then picked it up again after I had my daughter. Thank you for bringing this topic up 😊
I started crocheting when I lived alone in Germany. I just decided to try it out after spotting the Happy Hooker in a German book shop. At that time they had a much more visible crafting presence in shops than in the UK with lots of craft magazines and more yarn in shops. I deliberately avoided knitting for a few years for some reason but then decided to try that as well. Now I do both. I am also self taught from books and magazines and like trying out new techniques through trial and error. I was always inspired by my two grandmothers who were knitting experts but who never had a chance to teach me.
Hi Anushka, I hope you're OK. Love the Beast, he looks so cute.!!!
Gosh you've just made me feel quite old (67)!!! I learnt to knit when I was about 6/7 remember my first item was a scarf. At school first thing was a Cotton Dish Cloth, then a square which was turned into a hat.
As you know I've had to stop knitting due to arthritis in my hands. But have actually taken up a crochet hook up and been busy making Scratch mitts for my 3mth old Grandson.
I love your Gloves, they look so warm and cosy. Love the colour if your sweater can't wait to see it when its finished.
Take care and stay safe .
Lots of love to you and "the Beast"
Jen xxxx ❤💖♥💕
My mother taught me how to knit when I was a kid. Much later I took a community college course. I also had a wonderful woman in a lys that helped me a lot much later on.
I love love love your sweater! So colourful ❤🧡💛💙💜
I don't knit, started crochet in 2005 but only really got into it in 2020. Rescue dogs are challenging, keep faith in your pup and work on communication, understanding them and letting them know when you're happy w their behavior. Consent is important if they have some trauma. Mine had issues w nail trims (after being fine she was growling and biting, getting worse) We made it into a game, Toes For Treats, it took a couple months of treats/dance parties for letting me touch her feet at all, sitting near the trimmers, watching me trim the other dog's nails, and me doing my toes w her. Now she shows me which paw to start and gets 1 treat for each full paw completed. When she's done we stop, consent can be revoked any time.
I learned to knit initially when I was about 5 years old, from my Nan (which was the early 90s). My Mum refreshed the learning when I was about 10 years old (late 90s). I then picked up knitting myself properly when I was about 14 years old (2003ish) when I was a little ball of anxious and the school counsellor suggested knitting or crochet as a "moving meditation". I churned out rectangles/scarves through the rest of high school, swapped to crochet for a few years when I was about 18/19, and started knitting in earnest as my primary crafting method at about 24 years old.
I've also cross stitched & sewed on and off since I was about 6yo, and have recently started sewing my own clothes now that I have finally (at 32yo) managed to have a dedicated craft room with a large table for pattern cutting :)
Hello. This is the first time i have been here. I love your you tube video!!!
My name is juanell. I am definitely better at crochet; ive been crocheting for 40/41 years. I taught myself lace crochetr from reading a pattern or following a diagram. I started knitting just a few yrs ago, I definitely could be better at knitting, but i was always busy with crochet 24/7.
I have recently been hard on myself; for not being able to knit better than i do. I have made all of the simple knitting projects. I am ready to knit socks, beanies, and sweaters!
I have/can hand quilt, embroider, counted cross stitch, punch embroidery, sewing clothes by machine, making candles, making soap. It was so nice to meet u and i loved your video
I learned to knit in september 2020 with youtube tutorials from a variety of different channels. Still learning new techniques the same way!
Hi Anushka! When you mentioned that it's a little funny that people lurk and don't comment I figured I'd leave a comment, so now I guess it's just a bonus that there might be a chance to win some patterns! Anyway, I just wanted to say that I have been watching for ages and just never commented, but you were the first UA-cam knitting channel I found that I actually liked, and to be honest you were most of the reason why I decided to start my own UA-cam channel 😊. I hope everything's going ok with you - selfishly I'm glad you're in a good enough place to start posting more videos again, but just in general I'm glad things seem to be looking up. Also I'm not a pet person at all but your experience with your dog and its mercurial moods seems sort've similar to my current experience with my two year old, so I can commiserate 😅. I had a bit of a giggle when you said Australia and NZ are the only countries that seem to be taking Covid seriously now - four months into lockdown in Sydney I guess I'll take whatever positive spin I can on it 🤣. I learned how to knit when I was in primary school - I think someone at my afterschool care taught me the knit stitch and when mum saw me doing it she taught me how to cast on and off and how to purl, and I just sort've took off from there. This was in the mid-90s and I also hit uni in the late 2000s/early 2010s so my experience with being self-taught from blogs before things took off on Insta and UA-cam sounds pretty much the same as yours! Anyway I should stop rambling, but thank you again for everything you do 💜
I tried knitting a few times over the years but always scarves i never finished. I got into crochet in my 20s and made rather a few blankets Then lockdown hit just as I really wanted to make some socks. So I sat in my garden in the sun and got a strange sunburn practising one day and havent really stopped since. Discovered this whole knitting world on the internet which is awesome, knit tons of socks, and havent stop. I love that knitting can be mindless and mindful depending on what you make. Id like to make a sweater next.
Hello and congratulations on Episode 50! I learned to knit in 2016, starting my 30's. I come from a tropical country, so woolly items were not a feasible wardrobe option. However, I have been living in France for a few years now. So... In 2016 I was starting my PhD and thought that I needed to balance the long-haul intellectual work with a very concrete hobby, so I gifted myself a knitting course in one of our local yarn stores. I haven't looked back since!
Hello Anushka! Congratulations on Episode 50!!
I tried to get my grandmother to teach me as a little girl, but as I am left handed it was very difficult and we gave up. It wastn´t until my last year of secondary school (in 2016) that I took another chance with the needles, this time being taught by my sister in law. We were successful and I became obsessed with it!! Nowadays I`m getting much better at knitting, but I still have a lot to learn.
I apologise if my english is not spot on, hope its understandable!!
So I actually learned to crochet first from my grandma. Both of my grandmas and my late great grandma crocheted or knitted. I was around 8 years old when I picked up my crochet hook for the first time in 2004. We ended up moving into a house and finding a new church, and one of the ladies there saw me crochet and asked if I had ever knit. She showed me the knit stitch, yarn over increase, and how to knit 2 together. I made my first washcloth and the rest is history. From then on I've been self taught with any other skills and I'm currently knitting my first cardigan for a friend of mine!
I was 11 when my mom taught me to knit. At the beginning I was knitting for my Barbie dolls with the leftover yarn of my mum. We were living in Hungary it was in the 80’ and everyone was wearing some oversized V neck sweaters what was were available only in two colours: in bright pink and flashy turquoise ( we hadn’t too much choice in the shops). I wanted a sweater like this but a little bit different. So I knitted my first garment: a V neck oversized sweater in blue with a different pattern. I stopped knitting during university and I restarted when I had my first child 19 years ago and I never stopped since then. Now I live in France but I knit always the same way (continental style with Eastern European purling) but I learned many new techniques with internet and my knitting friends.
Your channel is always a source of inspiration for me also on a philosophical and historical level about fibre arts. Thank you so much for your generosity to sharing your reflections and your experience ☺️
I learned to knit when I was 6 (1969) - picture bouffant hairdos, mini mini dresses and skirts, gogo boots etc etc. My parents gave me big wooden knitting needles and some thick yarn. My mother taught me the basics and I continued to do basic stitches in many different garments. I was terrified of anything with cables until one day my Mother bought me a cable needle. The pressure was on. I had to at least try it. The rest is history. Now at 58 I am a fearless knitter and try anything - allover lace sweaters, brioche hats, bobbles, yarn dyeing, etc etc. I taught my daughter to knit when she was little and she continues to amaze me with her talents and creativity. My 3-year old granddaughter loves “to knit” and has her own needles and ball of yarn that she gets to experiment with and loves to explore in my craft bags and room for what we’ll learn and do next. Thanks to podcasters like you, the knitting and crafting world is our oyster.
I learnt from my Grandma when I was about 10 or 11 (2010 ish), I remember taking my knitting into primary school and being told to put it away at lunch (apparently knitting needles are a potential weapon!) I fell out of knitting after a few years full of dozens of failed projects. I basically got frustrated that I wasn't immediately very good at it. Instead, I taught myself to crochet with the support of two of my aunts, who are also very crafty. I only picked up knitting again about a year ago when my aunt thrusted a ball of sock yarn into my hands and encouraged me to try sock knitting - and I loved it! Got into the online knitting scene around the same time, and I've made so much progress since with the techniques and patterns I've been trying. Just starting to reach out to my local shops, and the people are so nice. I still consider myself a "beginner" since I've only been knitting regularly for a year or so, and crocheting for a few years. I'm always eager to learn more and try new things, and I look forward to my future projects!
i knit a simple hat and scarf a few years back following some youtube tutorials but i havent gotten INTO knitting until earlier this year! just learning more about the different features and strengths that different crafts have to offer made me want to pick up knitting again and experiment with what those fabrics and projects look like vs the crochet ive been doing for many years. i learned just by following a few video tutorials and then moving on to written patterns and just googling anything i dont understand lol, ive been having a lot of fun with it and im looking forward to knitting more (-: my hair nowadays is shoulder length and bright blue! i started growing it out last febuary and its the longest its been since i was a kid
I learned to knit in my mid 20s. in the mid 2000s. i was taught the knit stitch then figured the rest out by watching videos.
Looking over Ravelry, I apparently started knitting in January 2010, so I was 29 at the time and was teaching math at the university that I had attended.
My first project was knit in remembrance of Kim A. who was the Music Department's secretary, but died from colon cancer.
There are three aspects of this project that are symbolic. It is bright red to symbolize Kim's cheerful, joyous personality and enjoyment of life to its fullest. You just felt better after every conversation with her than you did before it. The dishcloth has a treble clef on it because music was very important to her, almost as important as her faith. She was also a soprano, so treble clef instead of another clef. The project is a dishcloth because it is a very helpful, useful item, and Kim always did whatever she could to help you.
Since the dishcloth is in memory of Kim, the pattern had to be just right. I couldn't find one that I liked, so I took aspects of two dishcloths and a set of fingerless gloves and adapted the treble clef.
I started knitting and crocheting as a kid , when I was 6 or 7. When I was 12 I got this kit to crochet some animals with the yarn to make a fids and a fox. I think I remade the fish about 5 times before I finally worked out how to make it. A year later they started a knit club in my local library so I went. I was the youngest there and a lot of older ladies really helped me to learn to cast on again and how to knit. The rest is history. I'm now 19 years old, starting my second year at university and learning to knit colourwork.
I don't knit, but I learned to crochet when I was about 7. I didn't really keep up with it, until the first lockdown when I needed something to keep my mind busy. I can't read patterns very well, but I love writing them and using crochet thread!
I remember my paternal grandmother was a bigger knitter, but we didn’t like her, so we resisted being taught as a child. Then in 2011 (aged 15) I did my work experience at a library, and found the charmed knits book by Alison Hansel (aka knitting patterns based around THAT boy wizard series), and I decided I wanted to knit myself a Ravenclaw scarf. I taught myself using UA-cam and this book, and it took me a year to knit. But I didn’t really start knitting fully until I was in my second year at uni and discovered knitting podcasts, and that knitting was so much more than scratchy jumpers and twee dolls clothes. I taught myself to knit socks and haven’t looked back! I even wrote my MA dissertation on the history and relevance of knitting
I learned to crochet at 24 when I was miserable and bedridden after having major surgery, being bored and needing something to do with my hands I coerced a friend of mine to kindly donate one of her many balls of yarn, a few hooks and a few recommendations for some tutorials. I learned to knit 2 years later when I was adamant about having my own pair of hand knit socks, so out of sheer stubbornness and a little pinch of spite I managed to knit a pair of socks as my first knitting project.
It was immediately followed by a jumper!
I theoretically learned to knit in primary school but I hated it, because our teacher would make me sit on her lap in order to show me how to hold the needles etc, and I was very uncomfortable with that. So I avoided knitting until my early twenties (about 10y ago), when I wanted to try it again. I remembered that my Dad used to knit rainbow-coloured sweaters for me and my sister, so I asked him if he could teach me. That year on Christmas, on our family visit to the cabin in the mountains, he gifted me some yarn and needles and he and my step-mom taught me to knit during those Christmas holidays. My first scarf went quite wrong but I still keep it for sentimental reasons. ;)
I'm a first time commenter here and only very recently discovered your channel, and I'm really enjoying your content. I especially appreciate your natural way of talking in front of the camera, and I relate to so many thoughts and emotions you express in your videos. I've recently rediscovered my love for knitting because it helps me recharge my batteries during an exhausting time in my life (working, PhD, and two little ones), so I've taken to knitting and listening/watching your videos, it's like knitting with a friend. ;)
My mom taught me to knit when I was 5 years old. I knitted on and off through my early 20s, then did a bit again in my early 30s. Set it aside while raising three children and finishing my masters degree AND working. Picked it up again a few years ago. Also, along the way I learned to crochet. Now I do both.
Your precious Beast reminds me of my late Mother’s long ago dog. It was wonderful to hear your knitting story! My motivation to learn (self-teach) knitting was to make myself socks, (it was 2004 and I was late 30’s) I remember going to the library to take out a book and then going to a big box store to get yarn (worsted weight) to practice with till I got really good at it and I was so sure hahaha 🤣 that I’d totally figure it out because I had been crocheting since I was a small child - I actually couldn’t grasp turning the heel and had to take a year off from socks BUT in the meantime I decided to get really good at the basics of knitting and then one day I discovered online the Silver’s Sock Class AND finally turning the heel just clicked and I was finally able to make a pair of socks. And once I came up with a really good sock recipe for myself I’ve knit nearly a hundred pairs of socks; and socks are still my favorite thing to make. Surprisingly, I never thought I’d ever be a garment knitter, AND this year I finally made a couple pullovers that fit really well and I’m so proud to wear!
My grandmother taught me to make a basic scarf when I was little. But I really didn’t try to progress my skills until the era of Stitch and Bitch (the kitsch appealed to teenage me as well!). I took another step up again a few years back when I realised I had the discretionary income to afford nicer yarn and could make exactly what I wanted!
My mom taught me how to knit when I was 9 and the first thing I made was a small scarf for my stuffed animal. I enjoyed it a lot, but dabbled around for a while. I remember making a drawstring bag and legwarmers in middle school and a handful of scarves and hats in high school. Then I stopped doing it, because college took up a lot of my time. Then 2020 happened and I got diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety and one of the things that helped was knitting. I have since knitted baby sweaters, baby booties, small stuffed animals, a handful of hats, and have plans for my first sweater (the yarn is bought, but I want to finish a few things first). In the early years, I think I was twelve, I taught myself how to crochet and made flowers and hotpads/trivets (which I still make for friends as wedding gifts).
Your story of good you learned to crochet is so similar to mine that I just had to share. I was in a sad place in life and had a Readers Digest Needlework Dictionary book that my grandmother had given me for Christmas a couple years earlier that I happened to come across. And just like that, at 22 years old and on a whim I looked through it and decided I was going to learn to crochet, so I did.
I learned to knit several years later. I had no living relatives to teach me so I learned through books and the internet as well.
I learned to knit when I was 9 in day care lol. I don’t know how it came up but one of the 20-something teachers taught me. I did not learn more or finish anything though until I got back into it when I was 16/17 in 2010/2011. My friend did a project for school where we knitted prayer shawls, so we all learned and I ran with it! I’ve been knitting, but mostly crocheting, ever since!
I learnt when I was 8, almost 9, in 1995. School made us do summer projects over every summer, that year our assignment was to make something so my grandma taught me to knit. I did a couple of scarfs and handbags made of rectangles sewn together, then stopped. I took it back up after a really stressful time at work in my twenties - I bought some wool and needles and knitted hats for innocent smoothie hats. I have been knitting ever since- although sometimes with long gaps thanks to a lack of knitting mojo.
I learned to knit when I was maybe about 7 or 8. My grandma taught me just a few years before she died, and because I was so young I never really finished anything - I had a half-finished scarf that sat around for about 10 years I think! And then when I was in uni, I met my partner and he's a knitter and inspired me to get back into it. I found some UA-cam channels (Sheep & Stitch) and finished my very first project - a super chunky garter stitch cowl that I'm still loving and wearing as soon as it gets cold enough to! So I guess I kind of learned to knit in two stages 😅 but over the past four years I've been trying to learn lots of new techniques - I've discovered that I love knitting socks and lace. Your series on alterations has made me feel more confident about getting more into garment knitting and I'm about to finish my second ever garment!
Knitting has helped me reconnect with my creativity, which is such an innate part of me but something I've had a very fraught relationship, thanks to A-level art and an onslaught of perfectionism from myself, parents, and teachers. Even though I've only been knitting consistently for about 4.5 years, it really is a part of me and something I think I'll do forever!
I hugely relate to your point about reconnecting with creativity after developing a fraught/perfectionism-riddled relationship with it. (And I also learned at about 8 and then re-learned properly at uni!) When I first picked knitting up again, I was too scared to rip out sections or to frog something if I didn't like how it was turning out and repurpose the yarn for something else. So then I would have FOs that bothered me because I didn't go back and edit, and abandoned WIPs guilt-tripping me from the back of my closet. Over time, I learned the skills and the patience required to do all of those things -- and to make peace with imperfections that I have consciously chosen to leave as well -- and it's been such a game changer for my creative confidence. Now I'm working on applying those lessons learned while knitting to old creative pursuits that I abandoned because school sort of scared them out of me.
My grandma taught me the basics of knitting when I was about 10/11 and then the internet taught me everything else lol! I counted back and it’s been 15 years of knitting which seems crazy!! It was a very casual hobby until the pandemic started and I couldn’t work for a very long time. Now it has become an obsession and something to focus when the world gets to be too much.
Because he's a smaller dog, I want to call the Beast "Little Beastie" whenever I make a comment on your videos haha! I'm sorry things are tough with him right now, and I hope you get to a good point soon. My boyfriend and I have had our rescue pup for about 3 weeks now, and we're realizing new things about him all the time (for example, he doesn't respond to stern commands, especially from my boyfriend -- we think he has a problem with an authoritative male in his previous home). All I can offer in the way of advice is just to enjoy the good times, even if they are short and infrequent, until you get to a point where the good times happen more often.
Ooooh I love the sneak peek of your yellow sweater! Can't wait to read the next installment about it on Patreon when you publish it!
I learned to knit in January 2015 because I wanted to make the knitted cowl/vest worn by Katniss Everdeen in the Hunger Games: Catching Fire, and I couldn't afford a ready-made one. At the time, I had very bad hair because I had just gotten out of my first serious relationship and thought I would get a perm AND dye my hair -- BAD idea. I had actual yellow hair instead of blonde, and it was super frizzy and curly. I had to chop my hair off to above my shoulders in order to remove most of the damage, and have since sworn off perms lol!
At this time, I already knew the knit stitch from previously dabbling in knitting when I was in my teens, but when I asked my knitting aunt to show me the purl stitch, she said, "oh just give it to me and I'll do it." NOT the response I was hoping for! I think she thought I just wanted to make one project, not learn for good in order to have a new hobby. So instead of getting her help, I went to UA-cam to learn the purl stitch, and now 6 1/2 years later, I'm just as skilled as my aunt, and sometimes I teach her things hee hee!
I first tried to knit a few years ago when my mom and I attempted to learn together in an afternoon by watching a UA-cam video. It made no sense to me at first and I ended up somehow trying to hold one of the needles with my chin! I knew that couldn't be right, but there we were. So that was discouraging, and neither of us did much with it for awhile. I decided to give it another try later and stumbled on continental knitting and all the light bulbs lit up. I had been an avid crocheter since I was a teen, so that method was much more natural to me, and I didn't need to use my chin anymore lol. Since then I've knit a sweater for me and a matching one for my baby, as well as a dress for her and a few accessories.
The first time I tried knitting I was around 10 years old. My grandmother taught me, but I never really made anything out of it as far as I can remember. Then last year during lockdown I picked it up again. I immediately loved it, and haven't stopped knitting since. I very much enjoy watching knitting podcasts (yours was the first one I found!) and getting inspiration from seeing what others are making online. Congratulations on 50 episodes!
Thank you for making these videos. I started knitting during the first lockdown so I was 20. I remember when everyone was buying toilet paper but I bought knitting needles. However this was not the first time working with yarn since I have been crocheting for the past seven years.
I love it!
I can not relate to the rescue pet (although I do have a 9 year old golden retriever,) but I am an adoptive mother of three girls who are now 18, 19 and 21. I feel like I was not prepared for how hard raising children, and specifically adoptive children, is in reality. So, like you with your pet, I have always appreciated those who have been real with how to deal with the difficulties faced in this “rescuing” of children. Tie in to your question - I started knitting because of my daughters. I have always been a creative/crafty person: embroidery, counted cross-stitch, quilting, scrapbooking, sewing doll clothes, etc. I had not been drawn to the yarny crafts even though my mother and my sisters all knitted and crocheted. When my daughters were in their middle school years, they all took interest in knitting due to school influence. They would get stuck and need help and I didn’t know how to help them, so I decided to learn how to knit to help them out. So, at age 57, I got a little help from a friend and a lot of help from the internet and eventually UA-cam, and I learned to knit and became very quickly addicted. Two years later I learned to crochet through UA-cam, because “Why not?” Ironically, none of my girls are currently interested in yarn crafting, but, now at age 62, I continue to be totally addicted. I love the sayings, “I knit so I don’t kill people, I crochet so I don’t choke people, buy yarn, save lives!”
I learned to knit from my mother (when I was 9) after I found out that someone I wanted to be friends with was also learning to knit. My mum only knew how to do knit and purl but took me to the library so I could get some books with more details. I still thank her for taking the time to do this by making her various small things as gifts. Also I did successfully befriend the person, until she moved away 2 years later and we never talked again :( I only did small things until I went to uni were I decided to make a cardigan, then the bug caught hold again...
Both my grandmother and my mother used to sew, knit and crochet, and i actually asked them to teach me when i was about ten or twelve, i believe (knitting was a no-no because my mum thought the big needles might be more dangerous than the hook -go figure!). I wasn't good at keeping good tension, tried making a miniature scarf and got bored. But four years ago i had a boyfriend who was a knitter, so i made him teach me the basics, and here i am, a knitting addict. I guess i'll keep on knitting till the day i die (yes, my stash is quite big, and i'm not allways able to restrain from buying more yarn, so it's a life-long endeavour trying to use up all that yarn :D ).
my granny taught me to knit when I was about 5 years old (early 2000s) and I made some very simple stuffed toys and then used to make little scarves for my teddies (extremely slowly, I must add!)
I then only just picked it back up early this year! I've since then learnt many new techniques I never tried back then, and particularly love knitting socks, but want to get more into making garments as well (so far I've made 3). it's really interesting because I've found it comes so naturally for me, maybe because I learnt at such a young age? or maybe it's in my blood! but interestingly when I re-learnt this year I had much more success doing continental style, which I'd never done before, I think because of my crochet experience?
I first learnt to crochet when I was 11 (late noughties) when my school set up a crochet club to make granny squares to eventually form a blanket to send off to our partner school in Uganda I believe. me and my friend picked it up the quickest and ended up coming back to the club to teach the younger kids the following year! I've since dabbled in crochet on and off, had a little amigurumi phase a couple years ago, and then decided I wanted to make garments and socks this past winter in lockdown, which is what eventually led me back to knitting.
I currently primarily knit, mainly because it uses so much less yarn, and I like to buy a lot of indie dyed/ethically produced/natural yarns which have a lot higher price point!
anyway, that's my little story, I also got into spinning a few months ago as well which has been super rewarding. I am definitely firmly entrenched in the fibre world now!
I learned to knit while quarantined at the beginning of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. 1st project was a cotton vest knit, 6 finished projects and 4 wipes. I thinks they call that Hooked! Lol
When I was 10 years old, (2007?) I went to a overnight crafting camp through Girl Scouts. There, a whole host of wisened women taught us girls how to knit, crochet, and sew! I took to crochet like a fish to water. BUT, I promptly forgot how to purl 😅 so after years and year of knitting wrong, last year I finally sat down and re-taught myself how to knit correctly. Haven’t put my needles down since!
Thank you for the video! What you told about your struggle with your beast definitely hit home for me. I adopted a rescue dog last year and it's been hard. I had dogs for my whole life and considered myself quite experienced, but well... Apparently I still have a lot to learn. I love my dog but I'm still sometimes mad I have to fix the mistakes of her horrible previous owner.
As for your question, when did I learn to knit... Two times, actually. The first time was in elementary school. At this time it was still mandatory for children to have textil arts as a subject in Germany. I didn't really take to it, which could be attributed to the absolutely nasty teacher. Gladly, I tried again in my twenties, when a friend teached me how to knit socks. That was probably around 2013, so I've been knitting for 8 years now. This time I dived into the whole fiber arts thing. Knitting led to crochet led to spinning... As for my hair, make up and clothes, at elementary school age I was wearing pigtails, no make up and I had a thing for neon orange. The 90ies were wild. :D
I crochet and am a beginner knitter. My grandma crocheted, as did my great grandma. It came very naturally for me and I’m very good at it. Knitting I just picked up. I’m making a cardigan now. The first 1/4 of the cardigan went perfectly. But I’ve just started making a ton of mistakes and I feel so frustrated. With crochet, it’s easy to fix mistakes. So I’m taking a small break and crocheting something to boost my confidence. I think I just have to realize... I have to take knitting slower than crochet.
I actually taught myself to knit using a pamphlet, worsted weight acrylic yarn, and 6.5mm straight aluminum knitting needles, all purchased at Walmart. It was around 2005 or 2006, when I was in 11th grade, my mid/late teens. My grandmother was a quilter and embroiderer, and my mother's domestic skill was more kitchen-oriented, so I didn't have anyone at home who could tell me if I was doing things right. I didn't move beyond garter stitch scarves for a few years because I didn't feel confident in my ability to teach myself stitches beyond the knit stitch.
Congratulations on 50 episodes!
As for my knitting origin story: I did 'french knitting' (using a knitting 'jenny') when I was 9; but learned to do regular knitting in 2004, in my mid-20s. I was living in Japan at the time and found the book 'Stitch & Bitch' at an English language book shop. My darling mum then came to visit me and she showed me how to cast on and how to do the stitches. So gosh, that was 17 years ago!
I'm sorry to hear that you're not yet feeling like yourself. May you continue to heal and process, as you need to.
All the best with your ongoing journey with The Beast. He's so beautiful. Is he food motivated? If so, you could try putting some peanut butter on something, so he can access that for licking, while you brush him. It depends if his anxiety is lower than his food drive in the moment though. Good luck, with whatever option you go with though.
I first learned to knit when I was about 8 years old in the mid 2000s. My family had moved to Cape Town, South Africa for a semester while my dad was working on a project for his Masters degree and my mom was doing a teaching exchange at a school there. I attended the school and was surprised when, at break on my first day, many of my classmates brought out knitting projects to work on while chatting and listening to music - I remember they were all particularly obsessed with Shakira at the time! :)
My grandfather had recently passed away, so my grandmother came along for the adventure and change of pace -- and to keep an eye on my brothers and I while my parents were working. I had seen her knit before, so when I got home from school, I asked if she would teach me so I could join in with my classmates. I stuck with it while in South Africa, but once we moved away again, I lost interest, having only learned the knit stitch.
Fast forward a decade, and one of my American cousins came to visit me in Scotland, where I had been living for about a year. She grew up on a sheep farm and loved spinning and knitting, and she wanted to find some raw fleece or batts/roving from Scottish sheep that she could take home and spin and knit into a souvenir. We spent a day wandering all over Edinburgh looking for a small yarn shop that would sell it, and finally, we found one! We had been talking knitting and visiting lovely, inspiring shops all day, and at this final shop, I decided I wanted to try again. My cousin recommended that if I wanted to stick with it, I should pick a project because I liked it and not because it was expressly simple or 'beginner friendly' - and that I could learn the required skills along the way (I believe I've heard you recommend the same). She showed me how to find patterns on Ravelry and use UA-cam tutorials to work my way through them. That proved to be hugely useful advice, and I fully caught the bug! Woolly, knitted garments are the perfect combination of "beautiful and useful" here in Scotland, so I imagine this hobby that's lived on for the past 6 years will last a lifetime!
As a side note, I'm jealous that your school had so many wonderful craft-based programs! We had a good drawing & painting program, and we occasionally had ceramics units, but there was nothing textile, cooking, etc. related. I think more schools should teach practical, hands-on skills like yours did - it's so great for teaching patience and the value of the physical items we use -- and improving mental health.
I learned to knit when I was 19 in 2013 during the summer after finishing school. I'm from Denmark but was never taught in school. My aunt, who's a very skilled knitter had failed to teach me several times as a child. At 19 I must have been ready to take it in. I'm very left handed so my aunt ended up showing me the knit stich sitting across from me, so that I could mirror it. Purling was more difficult. But with the help from a woman online who send us a video I finally learned! I knit a cowl and a few hats over the next years and. In 2017 I knit my first sweater, discovered knitting UA-cam and Instagram. But that is whole other story.
I got a knitting kit from my grandma around age 12 and I remember knitting a few scarves but never finishing them. I recently got back into it (and cross stitching) this past year as a way to get through the PNW winters...still haven't finished any pieces besides a basic blanket though
😍😍 that camel/nutmeg/turmeric color is so lovely! can’t wait to see it all together
I come from a strong female tradition of making, mostly seamstresses but capabilities expand to fulfil need… My great aunt taught me to knit when I was about 4 (about 1969…), then at my English primary school aged 7 we learnt both to knit and and embroider. In the middle of that we moved abroad. I‘m an only child and so often had to entertain myself, so kept up knitting „purses“ with a Brownie handbook and a passed-down 1940‘s girls‘ knitting book as support. My mother never mastered knitting but taught herself to crochet when she stopped smoking so I learnt to crochet flouncy skirts for my dolls at that point, about 1974 (wearing smock tops and check trousers lol). Myfirst knitted garment was a lilac cape with a hood for Sindy when I was 11 and would spend summers in the UK going through Granny‘s Family Circle magazines looking for crafts to make… As a teen, again in the UK, I knit both from English and German magazines - the 80s in German-speaking countries was knitmanic and people knit in school, at uni, everywhere, much to our amazement (noimagining what our 6th form teachers would have said if we had tried anything so frivolous lol). My friend and I were the only English girls Iknew who knit, the little wool shops were very fuddyduddy to us and dying out - we got our supplies from WH Smith in those days (oh yes!!). When I returned abroad, my local friends who had all learnt to knitat school, insisted I needed to learn the „right“ way to knit, having laughed at my „odd“ English ways 🤣 such a Swiss attitude! I had ny daughters young and knit for all of them, lots of picture jumpers etc. and lacy cotton socks, it never occurred to me that anything might be difficult, I just followed the instructions and it turned out fine. I didn‘t knit for about 10 yrs 1996-2006 when I discovered knitting had gone global online, the Yarn Harlot was the first knitting blog I found, what a revelation…. Rav started and it‘s just gone up and up from there, I knit more than ever now, rhough I‘ve become more particular about what I knit and my supplies, there‘s simply so much choice. Fortunatelx my grandchildren like wearing the stuff I make and I try to make it contemporary. Two of my daughters knit (of whom one sews a lot), the third is a professionally trained seamstress - and my mother still crochets…. 🧶🧶🧶🧵🧵🧵🪡🪡🪡
Hello Anushka! I started knitting with my mother but she wasn’t keen, she preferred sewing, so my skills remained basic until I took it up again in my early 20s (in the 70s!). I only did sewing at school.
Oh and my hairstyle was long straight hair in the 70s! 😂 (but no flowers in my hair…)
About the Beast, I’m not surprised it hasn’t been easy, Bichons are very strong-willed, I remember mine literally sitting with her back turned to me, showing her discontent because I had told her off. But she was good company and I miss her.
Lovely as always to watch your videos!
Hahaha! Thanks for the reassurance! Yes, we have had more than a few afternoons lost to sulking 😅
I guess I'm getting old, because I started knitting in the late 70's😳 Learned knitting from my mom (she comes from a long line of knitters). And I learned crocheting from my fathers mom in the early 80's (her side of the family was allways into crochet and sewing).
Hello there. Enjoying your content. Mostly coming here in autumn and watch all the content from throughout the year :)
I have a little tip: a red border at the bottom of the thumbnail makes videos very easy to be confused with already seen ones as youtube makes a red border there also :) I was a bit confused scouting through the video list :D
I learnt to knit when I was around 8. My grandmother taught me. I found it super fiddly and kept ending up with weird shapes. One day I was showing my other grandmother who also knits and she asked me why I was knitting left handed? Turns out the grandmother who taught me was left handed and once I turned it around I was able to knit so much easier 😂
what a protective bby Beast! good job little guy.
i am still learning to knit :) i started a few months before the pandemic to help with my anxiety in environments in which i felt i had limited control in making more palatable as it happens that also helps with situations- such as the pandemic !
I learned during the summer of 1984, when I was 10. I was visiting my grandparents and we had gone shopping at a department store and i saw this learn to knit set designed for kids. It had horrible acrylic yarn and extremely cheap/crappy plastic needles. I read the directions and it made no sense. So I was taught how to knit by my grandfather and my grandmother's sister ( who also happened to be visiting at the time. I could not knit anything square/rectangular due to dropped stitches and the fact that I really had no clue what I was doing. The next school year we had as part of art/social studies (we were doing something that had to do with the settling of western Canada) a unit on knitting, where we were making a snowman. Here I actually learned to knit a square, purl and bind off. I knitted for a bit after that but stopped and then didn't take it back up again until into the late 2000s and have been an active knitter ever since.
My "learning to knit" story is kind of funny. My older sister was starting to knit when I was about... nine, I think? Maybe eight? And I started crying to my mom that I was "the only woman in this house who can't knit". (Weird, I know!) So she sat me down in front of her and guided my hands with hers until I knit a very loose swatch with some pastel rainbow acrylic. I still have the swatch somewhere.
I didn't do anything more than garter stitch until I was a teenager, though, when my mom let me choose what I wanted out of the yarn she wasn't able to sell at our yard sale. My first attempts at ribbing were a disaster, but I quickly learned from my mistakes.
Regarding being inspired by the clothes in Friends: I watched the modern (80s style) remake of The Turn of The Screw called The Haunting Of Bly Manor and it features perfectly iconic 80s clothes. I highly recommend it if you are looking for something spooky with some great outfits!
To ravel is to untangle. To unravel is to fray as in ones collar and cuffs are frayed.
Have you tried knitting your cuff on a circular needle with a short cable? I find them easier to use for knitting hats and fingerless mittens. Also you are not in any danger of losing your stitches on dps
i started knitting in 2019, at age 24! my ex-boyfriend actually taught me how! i knit a long rectangle in this horrible pink acrylic yarn that he had lying around (and i still have lying around somewhere) and then i ended up putting it down. he broke up with me soon after (about a month or so?) and i went home to visit my family because i was sad, and my friend (who had just started getting into knitting as well) and i went to visit an ArtFest that was happening in my hometown. there was a roaming wool/knitting shop in this caravan there, we went in and i bought some yarn and a pattern and made my first project -- the Turbulence Cowl by Laura Chau! looking back i can't believe that was my first project, with all the short rows, haha. but i found i took to it very naturally and that it was super exhilarating to create something with my own hands. i quickly became obsessed and literally knit constantly when i was home/in my down time. i've slowed down a bit recently since i've gotten back into reading but now i would say i am quite a proficient knitter! so i guess i have one good thing to thank my ex for at least haha
I really like Classy Cabled Gloves pattern by Kaitlyn Yeager. I have knit in different weights and made it fingerless etc. it is my go to glove pattern
I taught myself to knit just this year! Loads of crochet but just leard this year to knit.
Eta: I've gone back and I can't seem to find the shade name for that Black Isle "Killen" yarn. If you could share the shade name I'd love to buy some!
The colour of that sweater though 😍
One of my teachers taught me to knit! It was the mid 2000s so my hair was crimped and filled with butterfly clips lol. I would finish my work much faster than my classmates and was a bit of a nuisance to the rest of my classmates looking back now. So she taught me in hopes that it would keep me occupied, which it did!
I picked up crochet during 2018 when my sister had her baby and I wanted to make baby toys, but knitting them took forever so someone suggested I crochet them instead.
Crimping! Butterfly clips! Oh yes. Hope you had hair glitter too ✨ ☺ 💛
I learned to crochet when I was 9 or so and started knitting in college, right around the time stitch and bitch came out.
I learned crochet and knitting at school but didn‘t like it then. Crochet I started again in 2019 and knitting during Covid…
Grooming fluffy dogs is always a hard one so I"m sorry you are having difficulties. I'd get some advicew from your vet on how to approach that because you need to work psychologically on the dog to overcome the issues. I have a dog that needs grooming but I knew that when I got her as a puppy. we started slowly with her and started very early to touch all of her when we were petting her around her bottom and under carriage her legs in a soft gentle way and for very short periods and always praising her for being 'a good girl 'hehehehehe. When she sat with us on the loung, I'd just brush a few strands on her back and used an encouraging voice with her because dogs like her and your dog can't go long without a brush or the job is worse, the hair becomes dreadlocked and it's a huge ordeal. We keep Hunni shorter which would be good for your dog too, and maintain that and it's made it so much easier. I'd take your dog to a proper groomer to start with and stay with the dog while it was groomed and go though the issues with them. they are the BESt ones to help you learn how to handle your dog. I did think when i saw yours that it was going to be a job with all that fur and it gets matted if you don't maintain it. Dreadlocks HURT a dog when it rolls on the ground because all that hair is knotted anyway and has no give. Good luck and seek some professional help - we get Hunni groomed once a month - it's just part of the cost of having an animal so we accept that. I know I can't groom her myself but she's kept shorter now and it's awesome and so much easier to brush her in the cay. Lu