My knitting roots

Knitting has been a part of my life pretty much as long as I can remember.

First, it was the sound of needles jingling rhythmically in the hands of my grand-mother. She used to knit all the grandchildren new socks for Christmas (and birthdays too, when we had growth-spurts), always using the same pattern – ribbed ankle, half-patent heel and stockinette foot – and our favourite colours. She always said that there’s no greater joy than just knitting, without having to think about it.

When I was around 15 I asked my grand-mother to teach me how to knit, and something just clicked. Once I got the hang of the basic techniques (knits, purls, adding a new yarn, binding off etc), I started making socks and mittens (with the same pattern my grand-mother used, of course), and was happy doing that for some time.

I’ve had my ups and downs with knitting, and at some point I spent years without even touching a skein or needles. But when I turned 30, I got a gift card to a local yarn shop in Helsinki from my step-mother, and decided that it was time to take my knitting to the next level. With that gift card I bought the yarn for my first-ever sweater. Since then, my appetite for knitting feels to just grow from day to day, project to project. I’ve dove deep into the world of variant techniques, learning about different yarn types, and being part of the global knitting community.

Today, in May 2020, I am (almost) in my mid-30’s, and my life is in a quite a turmoil. My daughter was born in 2019, and not too long after she was born, my grand-mother passed away. This year our family is moving abroad for my husband’s work, and I’m putting my career on hold and embracing the strange. Not to mention how crazy the world has gone around us. More than ever, I need something familiar, warm and cozy in my life – knitting.

Even though I have now switched mostly to wooden needles, I occasionally enjoy using those old DPN’s I got from my grand-mother, just to hear that comforting jingling again. It always takes me to a happy place and lulls me into that special sense of security, love and care. Back to my knitting roots.