I've mentioned before that these days I'm a project knitter. I don't knit for the pure joy of knitting... my wrists and thumbs and tendons become angry when I knit for the sake of knitting for hours on end. But, there is a joy that I still get when I knit for someone I love. When there's a project to work on, one that I can see come to life in and by my hands. This time of year is one of my favorite's to knit, when the humidity is low and I am longing for my beloved Autumn to just start already! While I love beach days, summer beach days are hard on my body and I love to take refuge in a comfy chair with my yarn and needles and dream of hot tea and chilly nights and hand knits to pull tight around my shoulders.
My girl had a little sweater that I knit for her two or three years ago. She wore it non stop, the only hand knit that has been worn endlessly until it was too small. The yarn was not my first choice, as it was an acrylic blend, but it held up to countless washes in the machine and even a few tumbles in the dryer. So when she asked for another one, but in purple (and size appropriate for a nearly six year old!) I said yes, and cast on as soon as the yarn arrived.
Recently I've spoken with a few people about the relationship that knitting and writing have in my life. As a writer, unless you print out your words you don't normally hold your work in your hands. It's not a very tactile sort of work. But knitting... knitting grows and you can see the progress you are making. You can feel the bumps of the purl stitches, the smooth of the knits. It is a welcome change from the less physical act of writing (aside from the hand on the forehead, elbow on the table position that I often take when I am staring off into space coaxing words into form...)
And so, below are photos of my girl's second Tiny Tea Leaves sweater. In purple.
